European and American car companies plan to stop selling new fuel-fired cars or delayed

Tesla (Tesla) warned that this year's growth rate will be significantly lower. 2024 production, delivery, shipments growth rate may be significantly lower than in 2023. Tesla has not announced a delivery target for this year, and has long set its multi-year average annual growth rate at 50 per cent. in 2023, Tesla's global vehicle deliveries grew 38 per cent year-on-year. The company's rival, Rivian, also said 2023 deliveries were below Wall Street expectations.

Ford Motor (Ford Motor) expects weaker-than-expected growth in electric vehicle sales in 2024. It will cut production of its electric pickup truck, the F-150 Lightning, due to weak sales.

Stellantis (Stellantis) chief executive Carlos Tavares warned that carmakers too quickly cut the price of electric cars could lead to the industry "bloodbath". Carlos Tavares said the company will not be like other carmakers, to take price cuts to increase sales of electric cars. Carlos Tavares said the company would not take the same price cuts as other automakers to boost sales of electric cars.

The slowdown in electric car sales has led to a series of 180-degree turns in the European auto industry.

Renault Group cancelled a planned IPO of its electric-car and software unit Ampere, which was to be part of a complex overhaul of Renault's battery-powered car production from its traditional combustion-engine division.

Volkswagen Group has postponed plans to seek an outside investor for its battery unit PowerCo. Volkswagen decided to suspend the listing of its battery unit as PowerCo is facing doubts about whether it can produce batteries on a large scale, and the company is no longer prioritising the sale of its stake or the listing of the PowerCo business this year or next.

Volvo Cars has decided to axe its premium electric car brand Polestar, to stop providing funding to Polestar and to consider selling its stake to parent Geely. The latest results show that Volvo Cars' profits are being dragged down by Polestar, a loss-making business.

Not long ago, Volvo CEO Jim Rowan (Jim Rowan) said at the Davos forum, Volvo Cars is still confident in the "huge growth" of the electric car market, countering more pessimistic forecasts from rivals. Unlike other companies, he sees good growth in electric cars globally, with demand particularly strong in Europe. The company said demand for its premium brands was growing stronger than its mass-market rivals. However, the company's share price has lagged behind its European rivals and electric car companies. Its market capitalisation has fallen by more than a third since it went public.

The slowdown in European electric car sales has raised questions about whether the European Union is on track to phase out electric cars.

Porsche () CFO Merschke (Lutz ) said that the plan to phase out the sale of new fuel-efficient cars in Europe by 2035 could be delayed, despite the fact that there is now a lot of discussion around the fuel car moratorium. Meischke believes that the local electric vehicle charging network infrastructure in Europe is not yet perfect, electric vehicle prices have been high, incentive subsidy policy retreat and other factors hinder consumers from buying electric vehicles.

In 2023, the resale value of the best-selling electric cars in the United States fell by nearly one-third amid a general slowdown in electric vehicle growth in developed countries.

Data shows that the used value of the top 10 best-selling battery cars in the US, including Tesla, GM and Ford models, fell by an average of 28 per cent in 2023. Falling prices for used electric cars mean that financing costs for consumers to buy new battery cars have risen.

Recently, US car rental chain giant Hertz Rent-A-Car (Hertz) sent the market reeling when it announced that it would switch back to petrol-fuelled cars. The reasons given by Hertz Rent-A-Car were weak demand for pure electric cars and high maintenance costs. Hertz Rent-A-Car plans to sell 20,000 electric cars, about one-third of the number of electric cars the company offers in the U.S. market.

The bulk sale of EVs signals the beginning of a shift away from Hertz Rent-A-Car's transition to new energy vehicles, which has been ongoing for several years. Hertz's dramatic shift underscores the declining demand for electric vehicles in the U.S. market.

A full 59 per cent of EVs sold through US dealerships in December 2023 were leased rather than purchased outright, the highest proportion in three years, the data shows. The leasing model is a perfect fit for EVs, at least from a consumer perspective. Vehicles are typically leased for three years. Renters can avoid the unexpected depreciation that any new product faces. However, this percentage excludes Tesla, the EV market leader, which sells primarily directly to consumers. Tesla's lease share is at the other extreme: leasing fell to 2 per cent of deliveries in the fourth quarter of last year, the lowest in at least four years.