Tag Archives: European market

News

Toyota sold over 1 million C-HRs in Europe

In 2016, Toyota launched a subcompact crossover SUV, the Toyota C-HR, and it took just eight years for over 1 million cars to be delivered to their owners. We are only talking about cars sold on European soil, which is a respectable achievement for the world’s largest car manufacturer.

Why is this car so popular? Well, Toyota’s plan was to design a car that would be attractive to customers, which turned out to be a complete hit, as design was decisive for customers in choosing this SUV. Since it appeared on the market, it has become one of Toyota’s best-selling models, and in 2024 alone, over 100,000 customers chose the C-HR.

In 2023, the second generation of this model was launched, which also turned out to be good timing. Precisely in that period, the popularity of SUV cars began to grow intensively, so it can be said that Toyota was lucky. It is offered with three powertrain versions: 1.8 L 2ZR-FXE I4 engine combined with an electric motor for a total output of 140 hp (103 kW), 2.0 L M20A-FXS I4 engine combined with motors for a total output of 194 hp (145 kW) , and a plug-in hybrid variant with a 2.0-L M20A-FXS I4 engine combined with a motor for a total output of 220 hp (164 kW). All versions use an eCVT transmission.

Source: Toyota

News

BYD sent a ship with 5,000 EVs to Europe

In March 2024, Chinese carmaker BYD ordered seven new transport ships to meet the goals and the increasing demand for electric cars in Europe. The first of the new ships (BYD Changzhou) set sail from the port of Yantai in late November with 5,000 new EVs.

The 200-meter-long ship, with a capacity of 7,000 vehicles, headed for the ports of Bristol (UK) and Rotterdam (Netherlands) with vehicles produced in several plants. It was built to high international standards and uses a dual-fuel LNG drive, which reduces carbon emissions during the journey.

These seven ships will help BYD to transport its cars around the world faster. Currently, Chinese companies own fewer than 50 car cargo ships, and their combined capacity is less than 150,000 vehicles. In comparison, Japanese companies have ships that can transport 1.6 million vehicles.

“Having our own ships helps us better control our exports. We can now deliver our environmentally friendly vehicles to customers around the world in an even more efficient manner,” the company said.

Since the beginning of the year, Chinese manufacturers have exported 5.28 million vehicles, up 25 percent from 2023. BYD currently operates in 99 countries and regions around the world, and plans to acquire more ships to enhance its global supply of quality and environmentally friendly vehicles.

Source: BYD

News

The European EV market is growing

The European EV market has been in crisis for a long time, and European manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the Chinese, which produce electric cars at a speed unattainable for any European brand. However, despite the difficulties, the European market is showing signs of recovery.

A few years ago, European manufacturers set the goal of becoming completely CO2 neutral by 2030, but that goal proved to be unattainable over time, primarily because of the supply chain, which was an unsolvable problem for most companies. In the meantime, Chinese auto makers developed electric cars at a speed that was not expected, or others overestimated their capabilities, so their cheap EVs, supported by government subsidies, began to arrive in large numbers on the European market.

European manufacturers began to sink and their cars were no longer competitive with Chinese ones. They began to look for a solution to the growing crisis and to demand protection from their governments. In 2023, the EU launched an investigation into the privileged position of electric vehicles produced in China due to subsidies, which after a year resulted in the introduction of additional customs duties.

Companies have set a new goal of complete CO2 neutrality by 2035, but many countries are not showing the necessary support to make this transition happen. At the end of 2023, Germany ended its plan to help customers and abolished subsidies. However, the Germans are aware that they must return to eco-bonuses if they want to increase sales. Also this month, France announced plans to reduce government support for the purchase of electric cars.

In September, almost 300,000 EVs were sold in Europe, which is an increase of 4.2% compared to last year. Great Britain saw the highest growth of 24 percent, while the best-selling models were the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

Big challenges await Europe in the coming years, and the first of them is the Euro 7 standard. Expectations have been lowered, so analysts hope that in 2025, 3.78 million EVs will be sold on the European market, and by the end of the decade, that number should reach 9.78 million.

Source: Reuters