T&E complains rightfully about the lack of affordable EV offering, whereas it represents 80% of the car market, thus hampering EV adoption and leaving the gates open for chinese competition. But T&E fails to recognize that such EVs don’t match people’s demand: freedom of mobility on top of affordability.
We fully subscribe to T&E’s conclusions and recommendations (see the analysis): “Car makers have been citing low consumer demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as the reason behind backpedalling on BEV production plans. Yet data shows that it is the failure of carmakers todeliver affordable, compact BEV models at volume which is hampering massmarket adoption of BEVs. Lack of affordable compact models and high average prices make new BEVs unaffordable for cost conscious Europeanconsumers. If European car makers are to be leaders in the e-mobility transition they can not continue to focus BEV supply on the large and premium segments while largely failing to supply the compact, more affordable A,BandC segments where 80% of new cars are sold. If they fail to do so, European car makers leave the door wide open for Chinese competition to enter the European mass market with the compact, affordable models that European car buyers want.”
T&E should add that in order to provide adequate customer value in terms of versatility of usage of such affordable EVs, the generalist European car markers should support the deployment of a rental network of modular batteries on demand (https://eptender.com/en/).
If no realistic solution is provided for occasional long distance trips, then the risk of reopening the car CO2 standard in 2026 will become very serious, and the looming impasse on mass market EVs will come to fruition.
No Comments