Sales worldwide declined for the first time. That the car industry is in trouble is not news: trade wars, Brexit threat and economic headwind have put an end to a celebration that lasted two decades.
Electric Car Sales Plummeting 50% in July
Car sales have collapsed almost everywhere. Even the sales of electric cars suddenly dropped in July, where the growth figures so far have regularly been above 50 percent. In July, 14 percent fewer e-cars drove out of the showroom, according to a report from market researcher Bernstein. Main reason: China. The country with the world's largest market for those cars saw sales collapse after the government cut into subsidy schemes for so-called new energy vehicles, which also include hydrogen cars and plug-in hybrids.
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Electric cars sales flattening
The change is not entirely unexpected, the signals that the sale of e-cars in China are flattening have come earlier. Relatively speaking, e-cars are still doing well in China. The total car market has been in a minor situation for more than a year, something that has not happened since the turn of the century. Mild consolation: despite the dip, the total increase in the number of e-cars throughout 2019 will be higher than the year before, Bernstein's market researchers expect.
Electric cars: Volkswagen, Tesla
Nevertheless, the decline is worrying for large groups such as Volkswagen and Tesla. In China, about half of all e-cars are sold and the country is an important market. The decline must have terrified VW, which has started a large-scale conversion of factories from fossil to electric propulsion in Europe. Tesla, which is currently building a factory in China, will also look at the change with great concern.
Bernstein expects the decline to be temporary. The demand for e-cars will eventually also pick up in China, if only because the country has stricter demands on car emissions. The same applies to Europe, where e-car sales are still growing. E-cars also still sell well in the Netherlands, although here too the tax benefits are reduced. Certainly compared to the total car market, which shrank by no less than 16 percent last August.
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