According to Xinhua News Agency, Germany's largest transport association, the All-German Automobile Club, released a survey showing that 59% of Germans are willing to buy cars produced by Chinese automakers, of which young people are more willing to buy, 18-29-year-old German consumers are willing to buy Chinese brand cars accounted for 72%, and 30-39 years old accounted for 74%. Among respondents who are interested in buying a pure electric vehicle, 80% of Germans are willing to choose to buy a Chinese electric vehicle. When asked about the reasons for choosing Chinese brands, 83% of Germany respondents cited cost-effectiveness as the top reason, while 55% and 37% respectively cited innovative technology and design as attractive factors.
On Friday, local time, the Germany Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) lowered its annual electric vehicle sales forecast. The agency forecasts that sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids will fall 21% to 551,000 units, compared with a previous forecast of a 17% decline to 578,000 units.
According to data released by the Federal Motor Transport Administration (KBA), the cumulative sales of Germany cars in the first eight months of 2024 were 1.9072 million units, down 0.2% year-on-year, of which 197,300 units were sold in August, down 27.8% year-on-year. Among the sub-brands, including MINI (-45%), Audi (-37%), BMW (-23%), and Mercedes-Benz (-16%), all saw significant declines, with Volkswagen being the brand with the largest market share in China, but sales also fell by 23%.
In contrast, the situation in the electric vehicle market in Germany is even bleaker. The data shows that in the first eight months of 2024, Germany's electric vehicle sales increased by 12% year-on-year, but this achievement is thanks to the number of registrations at the beginning of 2024, and Germany's electric vehicle sales have begun to decline sharply in recent months, including a year-on-year decline of 69% in August, a 37% decline in July, and a 16% decline in June, and the decline in sales is due to the decline in electric vehicle subsidies.
In 2023, driven by subsidies from the German government, the German electric vehicle market will usher in explosive growth, especially when the subsidy is nearing the end, German consumers are rushing to buy electric vehicles. After the decline of electric vehicle subsidies, the soaring price of electric vehicles in Germany, coupled with the imperfect charging infrastructure and battery life problems, have made consumers retreat, resulting in a more obvious slowdown in sales this year. In other words, the high price of electric vehicles, range anxiety and concerns about the popularity of energy replenishment facilities are the main reasons for the collapse of electric vehicle sales in Germany, and consumers have begun to return to traditional fuel vehicles after the decline of electric vehicle subsidies.
Among the sales of electric car brands in Germany, Tesla's decline is the most significant. Data shows that in the first eight months of 2024, Tesla's sales in the Germany market were 26,100 units, with a market share of 1.4%, a year-on-year decline of 44.7%, of which 2,370 units were sold in August, a year-on-year decrease of 65.7%.
At the same time, although more German people began to favor Chinese brand cars, in fact, Chinese car brands are also "sad" in the Germany market, including MG, BYD, Great Wall Motor and other brands in the Germany market share is not high, this is mainly because of the lack of awareness of Chinese brand cars, plus Chinese car companies will face huge tariffs in Europe, making it difficult for Chinese brand cars to gain a foothold.
On October 4, the European Union voted on whether to impose a five-year countervailing duty on Chinese electric vehicles. According to a statement issued by the European Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "European Commission"), the European Commission's proposal to impose tariffs on Chinese BEV imports has received the necessary support from EU member states to impose tariffs of up to 45% on electric vehicle imports from China. However, the Commission also said in a statement that the EU and China will continue to work to explore alternative solutions that are fully compliant with WTO regulations, adequately address the harmful subsidies identified by the Commission's investigation, and be monitorable and enforceable. In other words, even if the proposal for tariff increases is approved, the Commission will continue to negotiate with China and continue to review the proposed tariff alternatives.
Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz said before the vote that Germany opposes the EU's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, and Europe must continue to negotiate with China. Germany Finance Minister Lindner said on the 4th that the European Commission should not trigger a trade war, "we need to negotiate a solution." Earlier, Scholz stressed that the European market must compete openly and fairly with Chinese cars. He also warned that Europe will not tolerate dumping, overcapacity and intellectual property infringement. It is reported that Scholz's visit to China was accompanied by executives and three ministers of several important Germany enterprises.
Electric vehicles are the future of automobiles, and the continuous collapse in new car sales is also a wake-up call for the German car market, even if the sales of fuel vehicles have rebounded, but the future of the entire market is uncertain. For Germany, the key to developing electric vehicles lies in technological innovation, colleague car companies need to provide more attractive prices and services, and the government should also introduce long-term and stable incentive policies.
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