VW Electric Car Sales Plunge…Socialists/Greens Say More Electric Cars Are the Way Forward! – Watts Up With That?
Via P Gosselin
VW is on the brink of disaster. German socialists and greens propose to solve the problem they themselves created.
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(Translated/edited by P. Gosselin)
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The bad news about Volkswagen never ends, but neither does the clever advice from politicians. The strangest things come to light. The economy minister of Lower Saxony, of the socialist party SPD, Olaf Lies, (the state owns 12% of VW) was unaware of the events and problems at the manufacturer until the press release.
He is not on the supervisory board. The state economy minister used to be on the board, but he was replaced by a Green culture minister. Not because of his qualifications, but because she is a Green Party member and the Vice-Chancellor of Lower Saxony. Do they talk to each other? It is difficult to say.
So Mr. Lies was taken aback and also claimed in the media that energy prices in Germany were causing problems for Volkswagen. It is hard to imagine what would happen if the country allowed its two nuclear power plants to continue operating, even though it was a federal decision. It is also a bit crazy that energy prices are rising due to the green energy transition and the restructuring of the grid. A self-fulfilling prophecy, except for Mr. Lies, who proposed to solve the problem with new subsidies.
So consumers are failing and buying too few electric cars, for whatever reason. The drop in registrations is not just affecting Volkswagen, but also internal combustion cars, which says a lot about the economic situation in Germany. According to Federal Motor Transport AgencyRegistrations were down 28% year-on-year. Electric vehicle registrations were down almost 70%. However, Volkswagen has been made quite clear that there is only one way forward, and that is electric mobility.
Surprisingly, factories that still produce cars using internal combustion engines are doing very well.
We increasingly read that the current Federal Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck (Greens), stated in 2019 that VW could only survive if it produced an electric car for less than 20,000 euros. The largest cost factor for an electric car is likely to be the car’s battery. In a small car, this has a bigger impact on the price than in a mid-range car. Batteries can account for 30-40% of a car’s price. If even a small car like the Fiat 500 costs 30% more in electric form than its internal combustion counterpart, the dilemma becomes clear. Battery prices will only come down with mass production, and manufacturers are still a long way from that. So it’s a chicken-and-egg problem. Chinese-owned Volvo has shelved plans to make its cars 100% electric by 2030. T-Online.
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