• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Rising Gas Prices Slowing Americans from Driving This Holiday Weekend
  • The Headlight News Podcast Offers the Latest News about New Cars, EVs and More
  • Average U.S. Automobile is Now a Record 12.2 Years Old
  • Opinion: It’s Time for Elon Musk to Take a Break
  • U-M Warns of Rough Road in 2023-24 for Auto Industry
  • The Rearview Mirror: Ford Courts Ferrari
  • Hyundai Building New $5.5 Billion EV, Battery Manufacturing Complex Near Savannah
  • Tesla Chief Elon Musk and The Very Bad Week
  • Polestar 3 Set for October Debut
  • Faster, Lighter BMW M4 CSL Makes its Debut
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • First Impression: 2022 Audi RS e-tron GT
    • A Week With: 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line 4Motion
    • A Week With: 2022 Kia Forte GT
    • First Drive: 2023 Genesis GV60
    • First Drive: 2022 Mercedes-Benz C 300
    • First Impression: 2023 Nissan Z
    • A Week With: 2022 Lexus LC 500 Convertible
    • A Week With: 2022 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Crew Cab
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning
    • First Drive(s): 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate and AT4X
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers >  “Consumers Do Not Want to Buy or Drive” EVs? That’s Not the Story in Europe

         “Consumers Do Not Want to Buy or Drive” EVs? That’s Not the Story in Europe

        Tesla the #1 brand in Norway and, Model 3 now the top product in the Netherlands.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Sept. 20, 2019
        The Tesla Model 3 is now the best-selling product in the Netherlands and among the top five in the UK.

        During a news conference in Washington on Thursday, U.S. Department of Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao derided EVs as “cars that American consumers do not want to buy or drive.”

        True, all forms of electrified vehicles – from conventional hybrids up to pure battery-electric models – account for barely 5% of the U.S. market, but those numbers have been surging. Demand for plug-based models alone rose 5%, to 200,194, during the first eight months of this year, despite the overall downturn in the American market.

        One has to look elsewhere to see how battery-cars are really showing their potential, however. According to industry data, global demand is accelerating at a far more rapid pace and, in several markets, EVs are beginning to dominate conventionally powered vehicles.

        (Amazon orders 100,000 Rivian battery-powered delivery trucks. Click Here for the full story.)

        Worldwide, reports InsideEVs, 1,253,549 million plug-based vehicles were sold through the end of July, a 139.6% increase over the 897,665 PHEVs and BEVs purchased during the same period in 2018.

        (Chart courtesy InsideEVs.)

        And those numbers underplay the significant growth in acceptance in key markets, such as Europe and China, by including not only the U.S. but other regions of the world where electrified vehicles may not be available – or only in limited numbers.

        China has become the world’s largest market for plug-based vehicles, demand running about 6.1% of the industry total, and spurred by the country’s New Energy Vehicles, or NEV, mandate. Government-funded incentives also have helped. Sales actually have slipped this year – declining again in July by 7% — though that should be no surprise considering the overall slump in the Chinese automotive market which shows no sign of easing up.

        Things are looking a lot more promising in Europe where sales of electric vehicles are expected to hit “at least 1,000,000” in 2020, according to InsideEVs. And that’s supported by trends in several of the EU’s regional markets.

        In Norway, plug-ins hold their highest market share in the world, climbing from just 1% in 2014 to 49.1% for all of 2018. And, according to the Rystad, an energy consultancy based in Oslo, the figure topped 55% of personal vehicles for the first half of this year – though slightly less than half when fleets are factored in.

        (Trump Admin pulls CA emissions waiver, will cut back mileage rules, officials confirm. Click Here for details.)

        (Chart courtesy Blogspot.)

        (As a footnote, Norwegian EVs are among the world’s cleanest vehicles, notes the Norwegian Centre for Transportation Research, because 98% of the country’s electricity comes from hydropower.)

        (Norway isn’t the only European country embracing battery power, however. The Netherlands, where bicycles are nearly as numerous as cars during rush hour, has also plugged in. As in Norway, much of the EV growth comes from sales of the Tesla Model 3 – the 10,000th of those sedans registered on September 17th, according to Dutch media reports. In fact, the Model 3 is now the single most frequently registered new vehicle in the country, nudging aside the Volkswagen Polo hatchback in recent months.

        (You may get the option to choose what your EV sounds like. Click Here to find out why.)

        Tesla has been driving demand pretty much everywhere its products are available. Demand in Germany are up 400% so far this year, and industry data show the Model 3 among the top five most popular vehicles of all forms in the United Kingdom.

        If one were only looking at market share, DOT Sec. Elaine Chao might also dismiss European battery-car sales as something the public does not want to buy or drive. Overall, plug-based vehicles accounted for just 2.9% of the market for the first seven months of the year, meaning gas and diesel-powered models remain overwhelmingly dominant. But the trendline is what is noteworthy. All plug-in models together saw growth of 34% during that period, according to industry data, with pure battery-electric vehicles gaining an impressive 90 percent.

        And consumers will have more reasons to plug in over the coming months as a flood of new models roll into showrooms. That includes the recently unveiled Porsche Taycan sports car and the ID.3, Volkswagen’s first long-range, mainstream-priced model. There’ll be plenty more alternatives giving Tesla a run for its money by this time next year.

        Recently Published
        Family packing the car

        Rising Gas Prices Slowing Americans from Driving This Holiday Weekend

        Yesterday
        Headlight News Podcast Microphone

        The Headlight News Podcast Offers the Latest News about New Cars, EVs and More

        Yesterday
        Vehicles driving emissions

        Average U.S. Automobile is Now a Record 12.2 Years Old

        Yesterday

        One response to “ “Consumers Do Not Want to Buy or Drive” EVs? That’s Not the Story in Europe”

        1. ian Beavis says:
          September 20, 2019 at 12:44 pm

          They are selling but mostly in countries with the biggest subsidies

          Reply

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: