The Charge For Electric Dominance

Ever since the UK government announced sales of fully petrol and diesel cars would be banned from 2030, traditional car manufacturers such as Ford, BMW and the like have had to radically shift their attention to designing and developing electric cars, not only to meet the 2030 deadline but also to establish dominance in a relatively open market.

In this article, we analyse the current Electric Vehicle (EV) landscape and look at the strategies traditional car manufacturers have developed in order to take back the market share from the already established, Tesla Motors.

Current Landscape Of The EV Market

The EV market is growing fast. As of July 2021, there were around 290,000 pure-electric cars on UK roads, with 68,107 new car registrations for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) year-to-date (YTD) compared to 39,119 registrations at the same point in 2020, an increase of 117%. In comparison, petrol cars have seen a marginal increase of 0.8% YTD and diesel has taken a significant hit, with a decrease of -31.1% YTD. This not only demonstrates how important electric cars are going to be in the future, it also shows how important they are to the automotive industry today.

As a result, it’s no wonder Tesla Motors has shot to the top of the best selling cars list, despite only being part of the automotive sector since 2009. They’ve managed to steal a march on the EV market and have seen huge rewards for doing so. New car registration figures for June 2021 sees the Tesla Model 3 take the top spot in Britain, beating more established models such as the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa. And it’s not only on British soil where Tesla is beginning to dominate. In the USA, Tesla’s Model Y sold the most units in the EV market but also secured second place with the Model 3, eighth with the Model X and tenth with the Model S.

This means traditional car manufacturers, who have been established for decades, need to drastically shift from standard petrol and diesel vehicles to electric-mobility, and fast.

Which Traditional Manufacturers Have Reacted Fastest?

When looking at the model ranges of the well-established car manufacturers’, you can see which brands have been the fastest to react to the ever-growing demand for EVs. 

The chart below highlights how each car manufacturers’ electrified model range is predicted to look by the end of 2021 and how they’re predicted to look by the end of 2025.

Three of the biggest manufacturers, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have all spotted the risk Tesla and other dedicated EV manufacturers are having on their dominance in the automotive sector, and are consequently predicted to end 2021 with 14 electric vehicles between them, to try and get a foothold in the EV market as soon as possible.

However, despite the size and stature of these three manufacturers, they aren’t in the lead when it comes to having the largest available EV model ranges in the sector. In fact, it’s Vauxhall and Volkswagen that are predicted to end 2021 with the most EVs on sale, with both manufacturers set to end 2021 with a total of eight and six electric cars in their respective product portfolios.

Other manufacturers are also hot on the tails of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, with Citroen, Honda, Hyundai, KIA, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault and Smart all predicted to have three EVs within their model line up by the end of 2021. 

But how will things look by 2025?

* Cars arriving by 2030, were not included in the graph.

* Kia has its own electric plan for 2025 so has been kept separate from Hyundai for the purposes of this graph.

Which Manufacturer Will Have The Most EVs By 2025?

We’ve researched several news articles and reports to find out what car manufacturers have planned for the near future, in particular, how many electric cars they’ll each have in their model range by the end of 2025, to give us a sense of who’ll be in pole position in the EV market by the time the 2030 regulations come into place. 

Hyundai appears to be in the lead when it comes to creating a full range of cars fit for the EV transition. According to reports, the Korean automaker is predicting to have a staggering 23 cars within its range that will be all-electric, under an electric vehicle platform called “E-GMP”, that will serve as the base of Hyundai and Kia's global EV future, beginning in 2021. This could see Hyundai become one of the biggest leaders for electrified vehicles in the automotive industry by 2030.

Other manufacturers that are predicted to make big strides in the EV market over the next few years are Kia and Toyota. Kia has recently announced a ‘Plan S’ strategy that will produce 11 pure-electric models by 2025, with three already available, which will be used to reach a company target of one million sales of eco-friendly vehicles by 2026. Toyota, however, could be set to go a step further and release a total of 15 brand-new pure-electric vehicles by 2025, which will be a small part of what is a huge project to shift to an electrified future. Announced through a press release on their website, the Japanese manufacturer will be creating a staggering 70 new EV models by 2025, which includes the 15 pure-electric cars but also alternative fuel-cell and hybrid cars too, in order to provide a range of “diverse choices” for its customers. 

As for Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, we could see Audi pull away from the pack with 20 EVs planned for production by 2025, in comparison with 13 electric vehicle models expected from BMW and Mercedes with only six electrified models announced so far.

Who’s Investing The Most In Electric Vehicle Technology?

To pursue dominance within the EV market, or even to just be a part of it, car manufacturers must invest very, very heavily. The table below ranks car manufacturers by the amount they’ve anticipated to invest into electric vehicle technology over the next few years.

Hyundai Group	$87 Billion
VW Group	$86 Billion
Daimler (Benz)	$85 Billion
Stellantis	$35 Billion
BMW Group	$32 Billion
Ford	$29 Billion
Tata (JLR)	$14 Billion est.
Toyota	$13.3 Billion
Fiat/Chrysler	$10.5 Billion
Renault Group	$10 Billion
Geely (Volvo)	$6 Billion est.

As the table shows, all the recognised names in the automotive industry will be investing a serious amount of money into the development of EVs, which not only shows how important this transition is to car manufacturers but also how costly it’ll be.

Surprisingly, it’s not Audi (VW Group), BMW (BMW Group) or Mercedes-Benz (Daimler) that top the leaderboard, but Hyundai Group instead, which houses Hyundai and Kia. This coincides with Hyundai’s goal to produce and develop more EVs than any other manufacturer by 2050. 

It’s also interesting to see Volkswagen Group investing more than both its German competitors, with an expected one billion dollars more than Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) and more than double the amount of BMW Group. This is likely to be down to BMW being the dominant brand within their group, unlike VW and Hyundai where the investment needs to be split between the groups’ subsidiaries.

Could Europe Be Key For Traditional Manufacturers To Beat Tesla?

Despite Tesla’s current dominance, some manufacturers have acted fast and already have EV  models performing well in the market, even challenging Tesla in some regions, particularly European markets.

In Europe, drivers are continuing to opt for home-grown EVs. In France, the Peugeot e-208 pinched the top spot from the Tesla Model 3 in EV registrations (Jan-Apr 21), taking a narrow 0.2% market share advantage over Elon Musk’s flagship vehicle. In Germany, VW’s e-UP and ID.3 models were the most popular and in Italy, their love for small, nimble motors saw the Fiat 500e and Smart ForTwo take the top spots over Tesla. 

If you’re looking for a brand new electric car, here at Peter Vardy we have an amazing range where you’ll be able to find one that’s perfect for you.