Panel Key Results ?The future of the European electric vehicle market?

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Three experts from the UK, Netherlands and Portugal gave an update on ?The Future of the European Electric Vehicle Market? in their region. An open discussion with all speakers followed. The panel took place at the Smarter Mobility Europe Live event organized by Ben Pullen and hosted by Roger Atkins. A first-hand exchange of information for and with decision-makers was provided.

My statement to start the discussion:

"Germany as a developping country for smart mobility is finallly waking up driven by Tesla, Dieselgate & COVID19. Now a broad consensus in society | politics | economics is evolving throughout Europe. We need a mobility revolution in order to preserve our personal mobility and autnomy."

Discussion points

The results of our discussion and insights on the future of the European electric vehicle market:

Governments within most Europe countries decided to support and subsidise electric vehicles post COVID19. They support EV and sustainable public fleets and not like in the past Internal Combustion Engines (ICE). In addition, the waiting time for an electric vehicle can reach up to a year as OEMs are not able to fulfil the demand with the ongoing production challenges.

As a consequence, the market share of electric vehicles exceeds forecasts and expectations:

• the global sales of electric vehicles surpassed 10% this year with Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands reaching 30-40%
• the market share targets need to be updated every year as the demand is exponentially growing
• the more people see and use it the more electric vehicles get accepted
• mandatory targets for the public sector for EV adoption (such as in France) support the EV adoption strongly
• corporate EV adoption by identifying superusers inside each company and identifying the most efficient charging options for each company

New challenges that come along with the rapid transformation are to evaluate and adjust:

• by far not enough public charging infrastructure as not everyone has a garage or space to charge their car at home - heavy investment in infrastructure is needed
• the energy grids cannot manage the energy demand if everyone wants to charge their car at the same time - governments need to step up and implement a smart energy system that supports grid readiness as well as local energy production (e.g. photovoltaics)
• the government needs an ambitious policy framework to address the current barriers to EVs

Conclusion - and my final question to the panel and audience 

The future prospects of electromobility must be viewed holistically. All transport modes and distance ranges must be examined and characterised in terms of their requirements for electromobility. In the future, both technologies will coexist side by side. Battery-powered electric vehicles are highly efficient for short distances and low loads. On the other hand, fuel cells are strong enough for long distances and high loads.

Source: Mobility Austria 2030 Source

COVID-19 acts as an accelerator for the electrification of the drivetrain. Global EV sales grow exponentially and also vehicle- as well as public-fleets, transform quicker than expected to electric drivetrains. OEMs can not fulfil the recent demand or still have no sophisticated EV model on the market. Sustainable and stable energy grids combined with heavy investments in the needed infrastructure will be the main drivers of electric vehicles. One thing is certain: the future is electric.

Please find here the full Blog-Post including poll results scenario 2030 on my website.

 #coronarampup #reboot #automotiveindustry #EV #Fleet #smartmobility #Europe