Europeans losing appetite for electric vehicles

Sales of electric cars declined in Europe in 2024 amid an otherwise stable market, data from carmakers showed on Tuesday. A total of 1.99 million battery electric vehicles were sold in Europe in 2024, a drop of 1.3 percent from 2023, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The figures represent a stall after several years of strong growth for EVs in Europe. According to data published by the Rho Motion consultancy, EV sales rose 25 percent globally in 2024 thanks to a surge in China. According to ACEA data, overall car sales edged 0.9 percent higher in Europe -including Britain, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, to just shy of 13 million. Cars with gasoline engines accounted for one in three new cars sold in 2024 in Europe, followed closely by hybrids with a 30.9 percent market share. Plug-in hybrids accounted for another 7.1 percent of sales. Fully battery EVs accounted for 13.6 percent of total sales in 2024, a drop from 14.6 percent market share in 2023.

Chinese investment hailed by Germany

Germany's auto industry lobby said on Tuesday that it welcomed investment from China on its home turf amid rising competition from Asian carmakers. "If we want to manufacture in China, then it's of course good if Chinese companies want to manufacture in Germany," said Hildegard Mueller, head of the German Association of the Automotive Industry. Open markets "work both ways", Mueller said at the VDA's annual conference, following a difficult year for the auto sector. German manufacturers have come under pressure from high production costs at home and rising competition from China. And while traditional European powerhouses have struggled with the switch to electric vehicles, Chinese manufacturers have raced ahead. Between 2025-29, German auto companies are projected to invest approximately 320 billion euros ($329.6 billion) in research and development, along with 220 billion euros in plants and equipment. However, Mueller noted a concerning trend: a growing share of these investments is flowing abroad, endangering Germany's domestic economy, where 70 percent of automotive jobs rely on exports.

Hyundai Motor nears GM tie-up deal

South Korea's Hyundai Motor said on Thursday it is in talks with General Motors to supply commercial electric vehicles to its US peer, as it expects sales growth to halve this year due to softening demand. It also flagged policy risk in the United States with President Donald Trump taking office with promises of import tariffs, though it said any negative impact will be greater for Japanese rivals. The automaker, which signed a preliminary tie-up deal with GM last year, also said it aims to sign binding contracts on cooperation in parts procurement and passenger and commercial vehicles within the first quarter of this year. "We are considering re-badging our commercial EVs and supplying GM ... The deal will pave the way for our entry into the North American commercial vehicle market," Hyundai Chief Financial Officer Lee Seung-Jo said on an analyst call.

Record high demand recorded in Malaysia

Malaysia's new car sales rose 2.1 percent year-on-year to a record high of 816,747 units in 2024, the Malaysian Automotive Association said last week. Car sales were propelled mainly by the passenger car segment, amid a resilient economy with broad-based improvements in all key economic sectors, leading to overall stronger domestic demand, the MAA said in a statement. The increase in sales was largely due to the strong performance of national automakers, particularly Perodua. Electric vehicles accounted for 5.6 percent of the total industry volume compared to 4.8 percent in 2023. EV sales jumped 19 percent year-on-year to 45,562 units in 2024. Meanwhile, total industry production of new vehicles in 2024 increased by 2 percent year-on-year to reach a total of 790,347 units. The MAA projected that new car sales will decline by 4.5 percent year-on-year to 780,000 units in 2025.