Used sales for electric vehicles grow to 15% of the market

According to the online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk there has been growing demand for electric vehicles, reaching their highest level in the used car market, taking a 15% market share.

It is believed that this increase is attributable to the government’s recent announcement that they plan to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030.

Analysts at BuyaCar believe that consumer curiosity about all-electric cars has reached a tipping point, meaning that the used market may be key to the future mass adoption of EVs, enabling more cost-conscious car buyers to take that tentative first step into EV motoring.

Tesla, GM and Toyota are well place for recovery in 2021

Tesla, General Motors and Toyota are reported to be the best-placed vehicle manufacturers to benefit from the automotive industry’s continued recovery in 2021, according to a new study by GlobalData.

The study utilised four indices for the operational measure and five for the strategic measure. Each of the contributing indices were given equal weighting in the overall operational and strategic scores.

GlobalData’s Calum MacRae commented that:

“Tesla, followed by GM, Toyota and Hyundai came out on top for operational leadership. Strategically, the highest rated company of those assessed was demonstrated to be VW, with Toyota, Tesla, Ford and GM in pursuit.

“Tesla scored very highly on the operational metrics and is clearly riding high as it ramps up production and taps into rising demand for electric vehicles. GM, too, is doing well and it’s the operational metrics that will most obviously feed into short-term performance prospects into 2021. The companies that tend to take a long view with investment strategies are positioned well there, including Volkswagen and Toyota, in particular.”

Volkswagen accelerates transformation towards E-Mobility in China

Volkswagen has inaugurated a research and development centre for e-mobility in the Anhui province of China. GlobalData’s Bakar Sadik Agwan commented in the move by saying:

“The R&D centre in the Anhui province will act as the next e-mobility hub for the company. The development follows VW’s announcement of bringing its ID.3 and ID.4 vehicles to China and the recent increase of stake in the JAC-VW joint venture to 75% from 50%. China, which accounts for the highest volume sales for VW, has always been at the epicenter of the company’s business strategy. The development will support VW’s strategy to increase its share of electric models in the country to 35% and deliver 1.5 million EVs by 2025.

“The R&D centre will be followed by a manufacturing facility to roll out electric vehicles based on the company’s modular electric drive matrix (MEB) platform. The production of vehicles is expected to commence in 2023. VW will leverage its global synergies, existing capabilities in the country and the available adequate supply of parts and components to strengthen its e-mobility products and solutions. The move to establish the R&D centre will also help the company to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050 in the country.

“Volkswagen, which is already the market leader in China in terms of sales is all set to grab the opportunities in the high growth electric vehicle market. The country is the first automotive market to recover from the COVID-19 slump and the appetite for new vehicles, including the electric models, has been growing, thanks to the conducive government policies and strong charging infrastructure. The company now needs to focus on bringing in right positioned electric vehicle products to continue its legacy in China.”