EV sales fall in Europe with VW seeing a 24% decrease and Mercedes also ... trends now
Electric vehicle (EV) sales have plummeted in Europe with Volkswagen seeing a 24 per cent decrease and Mercedes also seeing a decline as manufacturers blame high inflation and rising energy costs for the slump.
As drivers flock back to cheaper petrol models, the demand for battery-powered vehicles has dwindled and popular car manufacturers are feeling the hit.
Volkswagen sells some of the UK's most popular EVs, including the Audi E-tron range and Volkswagen ID.
But recent data suggests that demand for petrol in the UK is climbing at a faster rate than for electric amid concerns over price and charging infrastructure.
Car giant Mercedes-Benz also yesterday reported an eight per cent decline in EV sales, and blamed 'the abrupt end of a tax incentive' in Germany and the gradual phasing out of an electric model from its Smart brand.
Drivers are flocking back to petrol and diesel vehicles amid concerns over electric car prices and charging infrastructure
Vauxhall Stellantis have U-turned on their initial plans to switch its best-selling city car to all-electric by 2027
Aston Martin pushed back the release of the battery-powered vehicle from 2025 to 2026. It is still planning to deliver its first plug-in hybrid supercar, the Valhalla (pictured), later this year
Globally, all-electric sales at the owner of Audi, Skoda and Porsche dropped by three per cent to 136,400, while sales of combustion engine cars rose four per cent to nearly two million.
The boss of Aston Martin yesterday said it will keep making petrol cars until it is forced to stop by regulators amid the subdued demand for EVs.
The company also delayed the launch of its first battery vehicle from 2025 to 2026 amid the rapid decline in demand.
Chairman Lawrence Stroll said there would 'always' be demand for sports cars with petrol engines – such as its V8 and V12 models.
Like its rivals, the 111-year-old manufacturer will have to grapple with a ban on new petrol or diesel cars in Britain from 2035.
But Stroll has declared that his business would not give up on the gas-guzzling vehicles until it had to.
'We will continue to make them as long as we are allowed to make them. There will always be demand, albeit that will shrink,' the billionaire sportscar maker said.
He also claimed the push towards EVs was more about 'hype' than real and current consumer demand.
His remarks contrast with competitors such as Jaguar and Rolls-Royce, which have pledged to be fully electric within six years.
Stellantis, the car manufacturer that owns Peugeot,
