BMW and VW are confident again about electric cars – economy

German automakers Volkswagen and BMW are facing an electric car swansong: Volkswagen reported on Wednesday a sharp increase in orders for electric cars in the first quarter. BMW sold more than a quarter of battery-powered cars worldwide and broke the milestone of one million electric vehicles. “With the delivery of the one millionth electric vehicle since the market launch of the BMW i3, we have reached an important milestone,” said BMW sales boss Jochen Goller. Things have been good, especially in Europe, including Germany.

There is great concern in this country about the decline of electric cars because government funding ends in 2024. Volkswagen collected more than twice as many orders for electric cars as the previous year. The Wolfsburg-based group now has orders for 160,000 vehicles on its books, more than it sold in the first quarter. At 136,400, the group produced three percent better electric cars than in the same period last year.

But the orders gave VW confidence that it will grow both in its home region and around the world for the rest of the year, explained VW sales boss Hildegard Wortmann. And this despite the weakness of the market in Germany: After the end of the government’s environmental bonus, electric cars are becoming slow sellers – new registrations fell by 29 percent in March. Many automakers have recently let discount campaigns lapse. In April, the discount for electric vehicles was only 12.6 percent compared to 16.9 percent for combustion engines.

However, carmakers are relying on selling more electric cars if they want to meet the European Union’s CO₂ targets. From 2025 onwards, fleets should emit an average of 15 percent less greenhouse gas than in 2021. For car manufacturers, according to calculations by Patrick Hummel from the Swiss bank UBS, this means that a good fifth of sales next year will have to be electric. . cars. Stifel analyst Daniel Schwarz said Volkswagen in particular could be in trouble from 2025 because CO₂ emissions are so high. “It’s good for the profit of selling more combustion engines,” he said. “But from 2025 onwards, their share must decrease significantly, otherwise there will be a big penalty.”

VW presented more cars with combustion engines

In total, VW delivered 2.1 million vehicles to customers in the first quarter, 3.1 percent more than a year ago. A four percent increase in cars and trucks with combustion engines more than offset the decline in fully electric vehicles. A VW spokesman also blamed restrictions on the supply of electric motors from the Kassel plant, which caused the production break. The electric vehicle factory in Zwickau, where, among other things, the ID.3 comes off the assembly line, was particularly affected by the interruption.

BMW sold 594,671 vehicles from the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands in the first quarter, 1.1 percent more than a year ago. The drivers of growth are electric cars and models from the upper premium segment. When it comes to electric vehicles, the people of Munich reported a 27.9 percent increase to 82,700 vehicles.

Rival Mercedes, on the other hand, has problems with all types of cars. With 463,000 vehicles in the quarter, the Swabians sold almost eight percent less than a year ago. Among other things, they struggle with delivery problems for important parts. Sales boss Britta Seeger expects sales to improve over the course of the year thanks to new models, including an electric version of the G-Class off-roader.

Things got worse for BMW and Mercedes in the regions, especially in the key market of China: BMW sold fewer cars here by 3.8 percent, Mercedes even twelve percent. The latter is due to changes in the model in the E-Class, explained the car manufacturer. VW’s luxury brand Porsche saw its sales in China drop by nearly a quarter as the sports car maker deliberately steered clear of an ongoing discount battle there. However, things went well for VW in China, where sales rose by 7.6 percent. However, the Wolfsburg-based company recorded a sharp decline in sales here a year ago and had to relinquish its top spot as the leading automaker to local rival BYD.