[Auto] Manufacturers respond to lower demand for electric cars

[Noticias ALEJANDRO]

Plug-in hybrids, seen as a transitional technology on the path to total electrification, have regained momentum this year, coinciding with the lower growth in electric sales, which in the first quarter of the year remained at 12% of the market European (12.1% in the same period of 2023). Plug-in hybrids remain at 7.4%, according to ACEA figures, but a year ago they were only 7.2%.

 

 

Manufacturers depend on plug-ins to meet their CO2 emissions targets. And they increasingly have longer electric ranges, as we can see in models such as the renewed Volkswagen Tiguan or Cupra Formentor, which already exceed 100 km of electric range... figures until now reserved for premium manufacturers, since the need to include batteries and Separate combustion car transmissions kept costs high.

Faced with a hesitant market, brands such as BMW and Audi are decisively betting on electric vehicles, "but if waves or fluctuations occur in the transition, we can react to them," as Audi CEO Gernot Dollner pointed out last week. And Ola Kallenius, CEO of Mercedes, gave his opinion at the end of last month: "We believe that plug-in hybrids will remain relevant for many years." Volvo also renews its portfolio of this type of vehicles.

 

 

We talk about premium brands because their products are the best sellers. In 2023, the best-selling PHEV in Europe was the Ford Kuga... but in 2024, the Volvo But are not the only ones. BYD, which only had electric vehicles in its European range, will have a PHEV version of the BYD Seal U in a few months. And Ford has already indicated that if they see a strong demand for plug-in hybrids, they will sell them... since the current demand for electric vehicles does not match the expectations that the brand had and implies changing the strategy.

 

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