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Volkswagen boss: The EV sales slump is ‘not the end of the world’

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Transport Reporter

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A recent slump in electric vehicle sales shouldn't concern the automotive sector, VW's brand chief Thomas Schäfer has said.
A recent slump in electric vehicle sales shouldn't concern the automotive sector, VW's brand chief Thomas Schäfer has said.

A recent slump in electric vehicle sales shouldn’t concern the automotive sector, the head of the Volkswagen brand has said, quelling fears that buyers are being put off by high prices.

Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car Summit in London, Thomas Schäfer admitted “we’re seeing a plateau” as countries remove some incentives and subsidies, but that it “wasn’t the end of the world.”

Both Tesla and the Chinese Warren Buffet-backed upstart BYD reported a significant fall in sales in recent months in a major signal the industry is struggling.

In the UK, the Office for Budget and Responsibility (OBR) has halved its forward looking forecasts for EV sales in 2027.

Experts believe most of the early adopters of electric models have already bought their cars, meaning automakers face the tough task of convincing less climate friendly, skeptical buyers.

That’s coupled with ongoing issues surrounding charging infrastructure and a tough macroeconomic backdrop, which is likely to dissuade users from making the expensive switch.

“We’ve made our plans and now the governments, society needs to come along, we can’t do it by ourselves,” Schäfer told the conference.

High EV prices are beginning to come down, influenced by a price war between rapidly growing Chinese brands and mainstay automakers.

But that price war is posing a significant problem for the world’s biggest manufacturers. Schäfer though argued it was “mainly happening on the plug in side,” with most of the areas Volkswagen operate in less impacted.

The problem is deepest in China and in 2022, the Wolfsburg-headquartered firm ceded its title of best-selling car brand in the country to BYD in late 2022.

“The development of China is fast, true the market is tough it has always been a tough market.”

“The move that’s happening at the moment into NEV, battery electric and plug-in hybrids is happening faster than anybody would have expected, but you got to go with the flow and you’ve got to compete we have great value shoulders.

Asked whether Volkswagen still sell cars in the region in 25 years time, Schäfer said: “Absolutely.”

“In every country in the world, it will be a local hero that will take the majority… This is now happening in China but we will still be the biggest non-Chinese player.”