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AUTOMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE
OPINION * UK - We need to re-charge the electric car market
(Photo from Inhabitat: Solar Powered Blue Car, designer Pininfarina and French battery manufacturer Bolloré)
Nuremberg,Germany -GfK Automotive/AutomotiveWorld, by Francisco Lopez -March 19, 2012: -- 2011, the year of the electric car that never was. It started so promisingly: Denmark offered tax exclusions for EVs, while governments in the UK, Spain and Sweden offered subsidies. Across the continent, brands spent heavily on marketing, promoting their green credentials as well as their vehicles. And then... nothing... In the first half of last year - the last period for which figures are available - just 5,222 electric cars were sold in Europe. And in the UK, just over 1,000 EVs were sold by the year's end - a tiny fraction of a parc of almost 30 million vehicles. As a consequence, all involved have begun to revisit sales forecasts and significantly downgrade EV production plans. So is the EV a write-off before it's even charged up? ... The factors preventing the average Briton from replacing the family car with an EV will come as little surprise - price, range of travel, scarcity of charging stations and so on. Interesting, however, was the significant lack of awareness and misguided understanding among consumers - many underestimate the cost, for example, placing it as equal to, or less than that of a petrol car, when in reality it's quite the opposite. Many also misjudge the charging time and the range of travel on a single charge... Worryingly for manufacturers, at present, it is the consumers with the least realistic expectations of EVs who said they'd be most likely to buy one... Our key conclusion from this research is that the mass market approach taken by the government and manufacturers to date simply isn't going to work, nor is trying to instil the belief that an electric vehicle can completely take the place of a petrol car any time soon... Affluent Greens account for 10% of all UK motorists. Targeting this group could lead to a quadrupling of EV sales in the short term...* China - Dongfeng Honda recalls cars with faulty horns
- Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co. will recall nearly 460,000 multi-purpose passenger cars and sedans due to horn defects, China's top quality watchdog said Wednesday... The joint-venture company will start the recall on April 30, according to a statement posted on the website of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine... The statement said that the defects may cause horns not to sound properly when used, which could affect driving safety, the news agency reported... Read more* Italy - Fiat output in Italy at a halt over lorry strike
- All five of Fiat's car factories in Italy are shut and are likely to remain so over the weekend due to a lorry driver strike which threatens heavy losses, a company spokesman told AFP... Lorry drivers walked out repeatedly in January and February and Fiat's factories ground to a halt on January 24 as a result of nationwide strike action launched by drivers against a new government tax that has increased fuel prices... Read more* Kia Motors says to suspend U.S. plant; shares drop
- Kia Motors Corporation said on Monday that it would suspend production at its U.S. plant on Monday and Tuesday, after media reported said a fire broke out at a parts supplier... Read more* China - Great Wall Motor net profit raises
- Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. reported a net profit of CNY 3.43 billion for 2011, a 26.8% year-on-year increase; its operating income was CNY 30.08 billion (U$S 4,75 M), a 30.9% year-on-year increase... Read moreLabels: automakers news
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