Electric cars in the crisis: funding sinks, future uncertain!

Electric cars in the crisis: funding sinks, future uncertain!

In 2024, the new registration of electric vehicles in Germany experienced a dramatic decline of 18.3 percent, while the total number of newly approved car increased by 15.1 percent. This is reported by the Vorarlberg Chamber of Commerce and attributes the decline to expired funding programs and uncertainties regarding the political framework. In particular, fluctuating electricity prices and unclear signals regarding the future of internal combustion engines unsettle car buyers and have many who were previously interested in electric cars. Specialist group chairman Lins warns that a withdrawal from existing funding programs could endanger the achievement of the EU CO2 goals of the EU and call for strengthening financial support and expansion of the charging infrastructure.

changes on the car market

The DIW (German Institute for Economic Research) analyzes the events and shows that the number of the offered models for electric cars has almost doubled while the offers for combustion cars have decreased. A significant decline in sales figures can be observed, especially for vehicles under 40,000 euros, which indicates a general shift towards electric cars. The data also show that an increase in the purchase bonus for electric cars had a positive impact on the new registrations. Between 2018 and 2021, the number of approved electrical cars rose by astonishing 680 percent, while the sales figures for non-funded models only increase by 200 percent.

These trends show that despite the positive development in the area of electric vehicles, the new registrations of models with an incinerator will disappear. The purchase bonus not only led to an increase in electric car registrations, but also pressed the sales of combustioners by 47 percent with a price of less than 65,000 euros. Researchers argue that, in order to achieve the climate goals, a sustainable transport policy is essential that goes beyond the purchase premium and also takes action to promote public transport. The development illustrates that the automotive industry is facing a profound transformation process, which brings both new opportunities and challenges to successfully design the mobility turn.