The European auto industry, separated from Russia, fell into crisis. Automobile expert Udalov named three reasons for the decline in sales among European automakers 01/17/2025, 14:15

Audi

Among the German premium brands, the Audi brand, affiliated with the VW Group, showed the worst performance. It sold 1.7 million cars last year; This is 12% less than in 2023. The company cited geopolitical and industrial factors as the reason for the decline.

“The reasons for the overall decrease of almost 12% (8% for all-electric models) compared to the previous year

difficult economic conditions, a highly competitive market and limited parts availability.

In addition, the impact of the new product portfolio on global sales volumes is only gradually becoming evident,” Audi said in a statement accompanying the annual report.

In this context, American Tesla managed to surpass Audi in the number of cars sold in the world for the first time in history. Elon Musk’s company sold 1.8 million electric cars in 2024.

Audi issues that led to this outcome include Bloomberg named Increasing competition in Europe and China,

and Audi’s failure with its electric range.

In general, the Volkswagen Group (which includes the Volkswagen Skoda, Cupra, Audi, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini brands) also closed the year with a decrease in sales. Last year it managed to sell 9.03 million cars worldwide; It showed a decrease of 2.3% compared to 9.24 million the previous year. At the same time, Volkswagen Group’s sales fell the most in China.

“Growth in North America (+6%) and South America (+15%) was offset by stable deliveries in Europe (-0.1%) and a decline in China (-10%),” Volkswagen said in a statement. .

BMW and Mercedes-Benz

Global sales of the BMW Group (the group includes BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce and motorcycle division Motorrad) are down 4% to 2.45 million vehicles in 2024.

Demand for the Bavarian automaker’s cars fell the most in China, with a 13% drop.

In the electric car segment, the BMW Group is doing better: 426.6 thousand cars of this type were sold worldwide in 2024; This is 14% more than the previous year. Unlike BMW, which is growing, Mercedes-Benz’s electric car sales are down 23%.

In general, the concern is that despite the good results of the last quarter, it closed 2024 in red. According to the report, the automaker sold 1.98 million passenger cars (-3%) and 2.39 million (-4%), including light commercial vehicles.

Stellantis

Transatlantic automobile giant Stellantis includes Chrysler, Opel, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, DS, Abarth, Ram Trucks and Vauxhall brands. The holding announced its results for the fourth quarter of 2024; Automobile sales in this period decreased by 9% compared to the same period last year, falling to 1.395 million vehicles.

A more serious decline is seen in Fiat, which is also a member. Automobile production in Italy decreased It increased by 46%, falling to the lowest level since 1956.

Chinese are waiting

In the face of the declining performance of European automobile companies and the intention of the Volkswagen concern to close factories in Germany, the Chinese are showing interest in these enterprises.

“Chinese authorities and automakers are monitoring German factories scheduled for closure and are particularly interested in Volkswagen plants.” reported Reuters reported a source familiar with the Chinese government’s plans.

Producing cars in Germany for sale in Europe would allow Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers to bypass protective duties imposed on their products by the European Union.

energy from russia

The decline in car sales shown by the main European players is explained by the fact that buyers in China have turned their attention to the products of local car companies, as well as the increase in gasoline prices, which are sensitive in Europe. For industrial enterprises, this is largely due to the break in relations with Russia, experts say.

“For European automakers, the Chinese market, the largest in the world, was quite important. They came there and opened production facilities. But lately

China has made significant progress in its electric vehicle development policy.

Sergei Udalov, general director of the analytical agency Autostat, explained to socialbites.ca.

Many years of cooperation with Europeans have benefited Chinese companies. The sales distribution in China is strongly skewed towards electric vehicles, where local brands are strong and outperform European ones, he added.

“Everything is no longer fine in the economies of European countries, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the strong increase in gas prices affecting production and the decrease in buyer activity due to macroeconomic problems,” Udalov said. .

European countries are allowing Chinese companies to set up factories here, and the next step could be deepening technical cooperation between Chinese and European automotive companies in terms of platform sharing.

“The Chinese have become more active in purchasing cars from their own brands. The most important thing is that

Chinese cars have become bolder and more interesting,

“Unlike good and understandable, but more conservative cars of European brands,” Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine, told socialbites.ca.

According to him, all European car companies are experiencing the same problems: firstly, their work was affected by interruptions in the supply of electronic components during the pandemic, to which was added the decline in sales in China, the leaders of the German car industry (BMW, Volkswagen, Porsche) also lost part of the market in Russia He left .

“In addition, the movement towards the “green agenda” imposed from above continues in Europe. It is probably correct and logical, but when you have to give up everything and urgently make crazy investments in other projects, this increases the problems,” concluded Kadakov.

What are you thinking?

The largest European automakers closed 2024 in the red: a decline in sales was observed at the Stellantis concern, which includes BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volkswagen, as well as European brands such as Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat and Opel. Europeans are losing ground in the world’s largest Chinese market. See the article by socialbites.ca about the reasons for the problems of automobile companies leaving Russia.



Source: Gazeta

Popular

More from author

Pasha’s wife technique returned to the police after the rapper’s attack: “Child in tears” 12:24

Rapper Pasha Eva Karitskaya's civilian profit, Telegram channel after the next failure, said he wrote a statement about the rapper. “Pepper pepper cylinder, attack, tears...

A new way to improve insulin regulation in the body 12:21

Scientists from the University of Michigan found that insulin -producing pancreas contain abnormal mitochondria patients with diabetes in beta cells. The elimination of such...

The most popular pirate copies of the game in Russia 12: 34

The game Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl became the leader in the number of downloads of pirate copies among Russian players in 2024. This...

China Crossover Dongfeng’s four disadvantages 580 12:27

Automobile Expert of the "Driving" magazine said About the disadvantages of used China Crossover Dongfeng 580. “The motor 1.8 is a variation of the Toyota...