European economies are facing an energy crisis and soaring prices over the coming months. There have been concerns in some quarters that the increasing cost of charging an EV will disincentivize uptake among consumers. “The cost advantage for electric vehicles versus gasoline cars is fast diminishing here in Europe, and I’m really wondering to what degree that will begin to impact sales for EVs. According to the head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, Elon Musk’s recent comments about the need for more oil and gas reflect a broader concern that rising electricity prices will stymie the uptake of electric vehicles.
“We see that in the 12-month trailing auto sales figures coming out of the United States and Europe, they’re coming down, and they’re coming down pretty hard in Europe.” On the electric vehicle, Garnry noted that while the segment was “still expanding, rapidly expanding,” there were also areas of potential concern. “I don’t think it was a coincidence that Elon Musk was in Stavanger, Norway, saying ‘please don’t decommission any more nuclear power plants,’ you know… ‘We need oil and gas to do the clean transition, we need that bridge.'” “And I think he’s well aware that you can’t sell a lot of electric vehicles right now with electricity prices skyrocketing.”
“I mean, the cost advantage for electric vehicles versus a gasoline car is rapidly diminishing here in Europe, and I’m really wondering to what extent that will begin to impact EV sales,” Garnry says, referring to a recent interview Elon Musk gave at the ONS 2022 Conference in Norway, in which he discussed fossil fuels and the larger energy transition. “To be clear, I am not someone who would tend to, sort of, demonize oil and gas,” Musk said. “This is critical right now, or civilization will collapse. “At this point, I believe we actually need more oil and gas, not less, while simultaneously moving as quickly as we can to a sustainable energy economy,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk added. Musk, who also emphasized the importance of renewables such as hydro, solar, geothermal, and wind, later described himself as “pro-nuclear” and stated that “we should really keep going with the nuclear plants.” With European economies facing an energy crisis and soaring prices in the coming months, some have expressed concern that the rising cost of charging an EV will disincentivize consumer uptake.
In the United Kingdom, at least, there has been a lot of talk about the cost of charging an electric vehicle in recent weeks, especially since regulator Ofgem raised the energy price cap. The United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, is expected to announce a support package to address the cost-of-living crisis soon, leaving the overall impact of Ofgem’s decision uncertain. In the days following the announcement of the new price cap, a spokesperson for the RAC sketched out the current situation. Despite recent price drops in petrol [gasoline] and diesel, the cost of charging at home is still good value when compared to paying for either fuel, but it highlights how the rising cost of electricity is affecting so many aspects of people’s lives,” Rod Dennis said. We’re also aware that public ChargePoint operators are being forced to raise their prices to reflect rising wholesale costs, which will have a significant impact on drivers who have no choice but to charge up away from home,” Dennis added.