The increase in energy costs has seriously jeopardized the transition process to the electric car. The powerful German automotive industry has sounded the alarm and points out that the future of the electric car is threatened. The increase in electricity prices not only affects production, but also sales.
The automobile industry in Europe is facing truly turbulent times. In addition to the stock crisis in dealerships due to the global shortage of microchips and drivers, there has been an increase in the cost of raw materials and, above all, energy. Some problems that have become complicated challenges since the European Union is still determined to materialize the roadmap for the transition to the electric car.
From the powerful German automotive industry they have sounded the alarm. The future of the electric car is threatened. According to several experts in the sector, the increase in energy costs is a heavy burden on the road that the industry must travel to materialize the electrification process that has been under way for a long time.
The electric car faces the “perfect storm”
To the previously mentioned problems we must add the economic problems that are already plaguing the Old Continent. The general reduction in disposable income, together with the increase in electricity pricesis having a considerable impact on the production and sale of automobiles.
Short-term forecasts are not encouraging and the risk of a “chronification” of the situation has put manufacturers on alert. There is already talk of a domino effect on investors who will lack incentives to build charging points, which will make the aforementioned transition process to electric mobility even more difficult. The deployment of a charging infrastructure is essential for the change to the electric vehicle.
Until recently, the purchase of electric cars had become more attractive as the price of fuel (gasoline and diesel) increased. But since the recent rises in electricity prices the difference in costs has narrowed considerably. In Germany alone the price of electricity has become more expensive by about a third in just one year.
Video test of the Polestar 2, a new generation electric car that has recently arrived in Spain
The cost of electric car charging is rising
Electric car owners have witnessed how the cost of charging the battery has suffered a notable rise. In addition, and according to the media Guardianmarket analysts expect further price increases.
Allego, one of Germany’s largest charging station operators, raised its prices earlier this month from 43 cents per kilowatt (kW) to 47 cents. As for fast charging through direct current, it has gone from 65 to 70 cents per kilowatt hour, while the so-called ultra-fast charge has increased from 68 cents to 75 cents per kWh, respectively.
This situation does not only affect charging station operators. We are also witnessing how supermarkets and other surfaces that had been offering a free charging service have chosen to introduce some type of surcharge or directly charge it.
The collapse of electric mobility in Europe
Stefan Bratzel, economist specialized in the automotive industry and founder of the Center for Automotive Management (CAM) has placed special emphasis on The danger posed by the rising cost of electric cars: “If electric cars become more expensive to use, the boom in electric mobility is in danger of collapsing, because hardly anyone is going to buy an electric car. Electric cars are losing their charm.