Why aren’t electric cars sold? Is it a question of the availability of charging points or a lack of incentives? Could it be because they cost a fortune and there is no money?
April 30, 2024
Land sales of electric cars they have slowed down throughout Europe, but in Italy they are going particularly bad, and in cases like these we are always looking for a cause and, if possible, for a culprit. Who points the finger at the Government for the failure to provide incentives, who, how the ACEA (European car manufacturers’ association, whose president is the CEO of Renault Luca De Meo) instead identifies the lack of available infrastructure, with forecasts of worsening, despite the main energy distribution operators having already installed around 650,000 top-ups in Europe. However, the 2030 objective is to reach 3.5 million points, which would mean increasing the speed of expansion of the current network by almost six times, which is stuck at around 160,000 charging stations per year.
But the real problem is the price (of cars and top-ups)
Tall true, but decision makers have lost touch with reality, whether they blame infrastructure or incentives. the real problems, which among other things concern cars in general and not just battery-powered ones, are prices skyrocketed. The classic A-segment small car which in Italy constituted the foundation of individual mobility it almost doesn’t exist anymore and in any case the entry price of the new one is around 15,000 euros, honestly many, too many for a Panda or Pandina. Not to mention the electric ones, which start from almost double figures and, in the best case scenario, will drop to a minimum of 24,000 euros for the cheapest versions with poor autonomy. Consequences for Italy? One of the oldest (and least safe) car fleets in Europe and an ever-increasing number of people who are forced to give up their cars, especially in certain areas of the country where there is a real campaign to discourage people from using cars (even electricity) with absurd fines, traffic restrictions, insecurity, taxes. For battery-powered models, an added problem has arisen most recent: what seemed like the best side of BEVs, the charging costs, is turning out to be an economic drain for those who don’t have the possibility of charging at home, and it’s not like electricity is given away here either: go and see the PUN, single national energy price, and compare with the cost per kWh that you find on your bill, and you will discover that the costs are three times higher, if all goes well. Let’s not talk about those who relied on subscriptions for top-ups, crushed by the closure of almost all contracts. Maybe it’s time to stop and rethink the next few years as a period of restructuring of the offer of cars within the reach of a salary of 1000 euros per month, perhaps giving up a profit margin which, in fact, does not arrive: the results of the first quarter of the year many groups are in deep red, primarily Stellantis (-12%) and Volkswagen (-20%).
