What's up, 🇨🇳 (My Car Week)
USA vs. China, will Europe join? Mercedes. Tesla. EVs in Germany.
Hey there!
Covid-19 has changed the world; we all know that. It has changed the way we travel, eat and move. That might be one reason, the number of New York City Marathon runners raised between 2019 and 2023. It's especially GenZ driving – running? – this development! The numbers of runners at the age of 20-29 have surged from 8.23k in 2019 to about 10k in 2023. And it’s not just New York, same goes for other Marathons! Seems like, there's a new “quarter-life crisis” after Covid …
See you!
– Thomas
In this mail:
USA puts 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs - will Europe do it too?
Mercedes slows down its EV development
EVs in Germany are a thing – not!
USA vs. China, Will Europe Join?
The Biden administration’s 100% tariffs on Chinese electric cars are a go. The range of new tariffs announced by the White House will be phased in over the next three years.
For electric cars from Chinese production, there were already tariffs of 25 percent in the USA, which – unlike in Europe – kept them out of the market.
The decision seems more of a political sign; the more conservative buyers prefer “America first”-cars anyways. Interestingly enough: If Tesla were to bring vehicles from its Chinese factory to the USA, these models would also be subject to tariffs. Tesla's Shanghai factory supplies vehicles to Canada as well; however, not to the USA so far.
More important even for the US-manufacturer will be, that in addition, the US government is imposing new or significantly increased tariffs on solar cells, semiconductors, and batteries for electric cars. The latter will face a 25 percent tariff in the future. On one hand, this is pure protectionism, on the other hand, this will further stifle the struggling electric car market. Many US manufacturers use batteries made in China.
While the Chinese electric car exports reportedly increased by 70 percent in 2023, most of these might arrive in Europe.
The EU though is still reluctance to take as direct steps as the US.
The EU Commission is currently examining possible tariffs on Chinese electric cars and intends to announce its results before the European elections in early June 2024. Experts speculate on tariffs ranging from 15 to 30 percent.
Mercedes and BMW are strongly opposed to such tariffs. Both automakers fear a trade war that could have massive impacts on their sales. Not only are BMW and Mercedes invested in China, manufacturing vehicles there for the global market. The German brands also sell over 30% of their vehicles in China.
And funny enough: More than half of the EV imports from China arriving in Europe do not have the badge of a Chinese brand, but a German - mainly being cars such as the BMW iX3 or smart #3.
Links: heise.de, Handelsblatt.de
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🔁 Tesla is re-hiring some of the personnel for their Supercharger Network, Musk laid off some days ago …
Mercedes-Benz Halts Development of New Electric Platform Amid Sales Struggles
Mercedes-Benz is falling short of expectations in the sales of luxury electric cars. This is now affecting the development of the new platform MB.EA-Large, which has been temporarily halted. Originally, this platform was intended for electric flagship models.
With the slowdown in the electric strategy, Mercedes is facing increasing challenges. The company plans to continue building combustion engine vehicles for a longer period than originally planned. The problem is that the combustion engine platforms are not future-proof when it comes to electric control systems. These systems would now need to be adjusted.
Additionally, Mercedes aims to largely unify the design of combustion engine and electric cars in the future. In doing so, they are now following a similar course to BMW in Stuttgart, at least in their core models. However, they do allow for exceptions with models like the iX and the future Neue Klasse, which deviate from the otherwise uniform design line.
Link: Handelsblatt.de
⚡️ Mercedes' electric G-Class is now available for order. Prices start at – brace yourselves! – 142,621.50 euros; 20,000 euros more than the cheapest petrol version. Even as an optional extra, there's no trailer hitch available. This is due to the high kerb weight of 3,085 kg of the SUV.
EVs in Germany, By the Numbers
Numbers of new all-electric cars in germany per 1000 citizens – no surprise: since the income in eastern Germany is lower, the number of luxury cars and EV is lower, too.
Source: Luxury Cars & EVs
🚘 The Sedan is rolling toward the great junkyard: GM, Ford, and Stellantis are all done with the car model, and its demise may not be for the best.
"The Ban on Combustion Engines Is Naive"
In a rare candid conversation with the conservative German newspaper FAZ, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse criticized European and German politics.
Normally, BMW CEOs refrain from such explicit statements in public. In the interview, Zipse criticizes the wavering stance of the German government, before directly addressing the EU's ban on combustion engines.
“Attempting to regulate markets on such a scale ultimately worsens everything: the competitive position, the ecological impact, and job security.”
Zipse sees a renegotiation of the combustion engine phase-out for 2035 as inevitable and paints a scenario with "significant consequences for the industrial base in Europe," where the value added by the automotive industry would roughly halve – with corresponding effects on employment.
Link: FAZ.net (Paywall), Archive.md
💸 While Electric car sales in the UK record their best ever start to a year, the EV demand growth is slowing down in the US, putting Nio, Rivan and Tesla under pressure.
That’s all folks!
– Thomas