European car makers have a drop in profits as demand for electric vehicles (EVs) stalls. Mercedes was the worst hit in the first quarter, with profits tumbling 30 per cent year-on-year to £3.3billion. Electric vehicle (EV) sales dipped 8 per cent during the period, Mercedes reportedly said. They claim the slow uptake of purely electric cars was dragging on the entire industry, noting that hybrids were expected to ‘play an important role’ moving forwards.
Volkswagen said profits dropped by a fifth in the first quarter to £3.9billion as it struggled to offload its more premium brands like Porsche. Volkswagen revealed EV sales in Europe fell by 24 per cent in the first three months of the year as high inflation and rising energy prices softened demand.
Stellantis was reportedly more upbeat about EV sales, which climbed 8pc during the first quarter.
Stellantis group has launched four models since the beginning of 2024, out of a total of 25 planned for the full year, including 18 EVs.
Money Mail reveals a timebomb looming in the second-hand market for electric vehicles (EVs).
Experts said that the average EV battery guarantee lasts just eight years. After this time, the battery may lose power more quickly and so reduce mileage between charges. Many EVs will lose up to 12 per cent of their charge capacity by six years. Some may lose even more.
Yet the cost of replacing an EV battery is astonishingly high, In some cases, the cost of a replacement battery is as much as £40,000. For certain EVs, the cost of replacing the battery could be ten times the value of the vehicle itself on the second-hand market.
That means used EVs have a limited lifespan — which makes them a bigger and bigger risk as the years go by. Research into EV batteries is yet to be conclusive and the second-hand EV market is new, given the first popular EVs were rolled off the production line in 2009. While you can drive a traditional petrol or diesel car for around 200,000 miles over 14 years before the engine needs fixing or replacing, by comparison a new EV is typically guaranteed under a warranty for 100,000 miles over eight years Weather also plays a part in how long your battery will last and EV batteries operate best at a temperature between 25-45 degrees Celsius.
The high cost of EV batteries is a result of it being difficult to mine metals such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and manganese that are used in the lithium-ion batteries.
Source: (Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk
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