Study: E-car buyers prefer domestic models - for German manufacturers that is dangerous

Created: 04/07/2022Updated: 04/07/2022 2:20 p.m

E-car charging station: According to a study, buyers often opt for domestic electric models.

© Sven Hoppe/dpa

According to a study by the management consultancy Alix Partners, buyers of electric cars prefer domestic models.

This could become a problem, especially for German manufacturers.

According to a study by the management consultancy Alix Partners, buyers of electric cars prefer domestic models.

In North America, US manufacturers such as Tesla* and Ford dominate with 82 percent of newly registered e-vehicles, in Europe 69 percent come from European and in China 80 percent from Chinese car manufacturers.

Although BMW*, Mercedes* and the Volkswagen* group were able to increase their share in China from a total of 3 to 4.8 percent last year, it "has not yet reached the sales shares that are usual with combustion models," according to the publication published on Thursday Study.

Volkswagen alone generates around 40 percent of its total sales in China.

Should the group not be as successful with e-cars in the Middle Kingdom as with combustion engines in the medium term, the Wolfsburg-based company would have a huge problem.

Alix study: Fully electric cars more popular in Europe than plug-in hybrids

According to the Alix study, every sixth vehicle sold in China and Europe is already electrified, in North America only every 18th vehicle.

In Europe, the demand for all-electric battery vehicles (BEV) finally seems to prevail against the long-successful plug-in hybrids (PHEV).

“One reason for this is, among other things, the growing range of electrified models, especially from European manufacturers.

VW and Stellantis now offer a wide range of electrified vehicles, each with almost 40 vehicles," said study author Martin Schreiner.