2024-08-21 18:22:37
The German car manufacturer Volkswagen is focusing on greater sustainability. A recent survey among customers seems to support this decision. But the sales figures tell a different story.
Sales of electric cars in Germany remain at a low level, but at the same time a large proportion of Germans believe that car companies have a responsibility when it comes to sustainability. This dichotomy is evident in a new representative study conducted by the opinion research institute Insa on behalf of Volkswagen, which t-online has exclusively obtained.
According to the study, 62 percent of survey participants believe that the automotive industry has a special responsibility to offer sustainable products. 26 percent agreed with the statement to a lesser extent or not at all. Twelve percent of respondents did not provide an answer.
According to customers, sustainability also influences their car purchase for 55 percent of them. According to the survey, this plays no role for 28 percent. Ten percent of respondents do not buy cars and seven percent abstained from answering the question.
Another result should particularly please VW: 59 percent of respondents believe that companies that focus on more sustainability now will be more successful in ten years than companies that do not. 24 percent, however, think this is unlikely. For the survey, 1,005 people over the age of 18 in Germany were questioned online between July 19 and 22.
“The Volkswagen Group is convinced that its commitment to sustainable solutions will open up new business areas and opportunities today and tomorrow,” the company commented on the data. The most important factor in terms of sustainability is electric cars. VW needs these above all to meet the EU’s targets for the fleet’s CO₂ emissions. In addition, there are the federal government’s ambitious goals of having a total of 15 million electric cars on German roads by 2030.
But all the customer statements in the survey are initially just lip service. Because many European companies are currently having difficulty getting their electric cars to customers.
In July, only 30,762 new electric cars were registered. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, this was 36.8 percent less than in the same month last year. The number has also fallen significantly compared to June, by around 30 percent. Measured against the total number of new registrations, electric cars accounted for 12.9 percent in July 2024. This is also less than in the same period last year. In July 2023, 20 percent of new registrations were electric cars.
German car manufacturers are also feeling this. VW says the year started “modestly”. The group’s profit fell by four percent to 3.63 billion euros in the second quarter.
CEO Oliver Blume said at the beginning of the month: “Now it’s about costs, costs and costs. Above all for the Volkswagen brand, but also for all other brands.” It was recently announced that the start of production of the Trinity electric car has been delayed. The future model will not be built until 2030 at the earliest, according to company sources. The car was originally supposed to come onto the market in 2026.
Demand for electric cars in particular was weak. After the government purchase premium was abolished at the end of 2023, it actually collapsed. The fact that the subsidy was ended at short notice has once again sparked skepticism among many potential customers. In addition, many are concerned that the charging infrastructure is still not being developed across the board.
But there is also a reluctance abroad – with clear consequences for the German automotive industry. On average, the German plants of Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes & Co. were only operating at just over two-thirds of capacity last year. This is the result of an analysis by data specialist Marklines for the German Press Agency. According to the information, all locations together could deliver 6.2 million cars per year. This figure was last almost reached in 2011, when almost 5.9 million cars were built in Germany. In 2023, the figure was only a good 4.1 million. According to the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), three quarters of these were exported.