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The electric car crisis in Europe: public dissatisfaction with government support and a collapse in sales

April 24, 2024

Europe is facing a crisis in the electric car sector; Government support for these vehicles arouses widespread discontent among consumers and workers, while sales figures show a noticeable collapse.

Switching to electric cars and eliminating fossil fuel-burning vehicles is a key pillar of achieving carbon neutrality in Europe by 2050.

However, sales figures show that continental drivers are not yet convinced by these cars; Electric car sales in Europe fell by 11.3% last month, while demand in Germany fell by 28.9%.

This is due to several factors, most notably the significantly higher prices of electric cars compared to fossil fuel vehicles. Which makes it an additional burden on consumers.

The effectiveness of government policies in encouraging the use of electric cars is also highly questionable. Many believe that it does not provide realistic solutions to challenges such as the lack of charging stations and high infrastructure costs.

The severity of the crisis increases with China's success in attracting the attention of European consumers with its cheap electric car products. This raised concern among experts and politicians in Europe.

The situation is no better in other Western countries, such as the United States; US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on China to reconsider its support for the electric car sector.

In Britain, government support for electric cars faces strong criticism from the British Drivers' Alliance, who believe that this support constitutes a burden on taxpayers and restricts consumers' freedom to choose what suits them from vehicles.

The coalition is calling for the ban on fossil fuel car sales to be scrapped starting in 2035, and the return of taxpayer money used to support electric cars.

Overall, this crisis indicates that the electric vehicle transition policy in Europe faces major challenges, and that there is a need to comprehensively re-evaluate it, taking into account the needs of consumers and workers.