European car brands have not yet succeeded in getting the EU to relax upcoming emission requirements, so now all gasoline and diesel cars will become more expensive.
To reach the EU's electric car target, European car brands are increasing the prices of petrol and diesel cars to make electric cars more attractive to customers.
The EU requires that electric cars make up 20 percent of sales for most major car manufacturers from January 1. Otherwise, they risk paying hefty fines.
To meet the demands, several car brands have chosen to raise the prices of their petrol and diesel cars. For example, Stellantis, Volkswagen and Renault have raised the prices of selected models by hundreds of euros in recent months. The same has happened with Audi.
Peugeot increased the price of all models sold in France (except electric cars) by up to 500 euros ($530) in November. According to Denis Schemoul, an automotive analyst at S&P Global, these price adjustments could help finance future discounts on electric cars.
This year, electric cars have accounted for only 13 percent of total car sales in the EU. Several politicians are calling for the 2025 targets to be relaxed, as the car industry could otherwise face penalties of up to 15 billion euros (approximately 111 billion kroner, ed.).
To avoid stalls, many car manufacturers will pool their emissions quotas with other brands. For example, Suzuki will pool its quotas with Volvo in 2025 to avoid potential stalls.
Over the next year, a number of new and supposedly cheaper electric cars will be launched in Europe. These include the Hyundai Inster, Fiat Grande Panda, BYD Seagull, Cupra Raval, Renault R5, Skoda Epiq and VW ID.2.
In addition, there are several electric cars for under 25,000 euros (approx. 185,000 DKK) in development, including the next Renault Twingo, Kia EV2 and VW ID.1.
A source close to one of Europe's major automakers told Reuters that it is not certain that higher prices for gasoline and diesel cars alone will be enough to increase sales of electric cars, as growth in the electric car segment is weak.
