Falling BEV demand threatens 2035 deadline

A new survey has revealed that only 18% of European car buyers are considering an electric car.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence, consumers still favour petrol, diesel and hybrid models over pure electric vehicles, with a lack of charging points, range anxiety and high prices their top concerns.

There were only 780,000 public charge points in Europe last year, which is well below the 1.4 million required by 2025 to meet demand.

These figures suggest governments may have to water down plans to ban ICE sales from 2035, especially with 68% of those surveyed believing the deadline should be delayed.

Michael Dean, senior industry analyst, said: “European carmakers are dialling back EV sales goals in 2024 due to rising consumer apathy. Our latest research shows less than one in five private buyers favour EVs, with nearly half preferring hybrids.”

The survey also found that customers favour the same brands, with 62% saying they are unlikely to switch when they buy their next car and only 14% saying they will.

Dean added: “Brand loyalty is key for legacy automakers to shield market share against the mounting threat of new entrants such as Tesla and lower-cost imported Chinese BEVs.”