China’s Electric Commercial Vehicle Takes Over Europe’s Electric Commercial Vehicle Market

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LONDON – The famous car maker started production late electric vans their business. That opens the door for other electric commercial vehicle (ECV) manufacturers to gain prominence in the European market, such as SAIC Motor Corp.’s Maxus brand. of China.

Fleet customers complain that they cannot find enough electric vehicles from brands like Ford Motor Co, Stellantis NV, Peugeot, Renault or Mercedes. So they are looking for alternative brands to meet the demand for electric commercial vehicles.

Established automakers have been slow to develop electric vehicles, allowing Tesla Inc to compete against other passenger car makers. However, with commercial vehicles, they also face supply chain challenges.

Long haul shipping to the UK package exclusively using ECV to deliver parcels in London to large and small corporate clients, seeking a zero-deductible experience for consumers.

Packfleet is growing tenfold by 2022 and CEO Tristan Thomas says the majority of the company’s fleet of 53 vehicles is Maxus Vans. The company aims to double its fleet this year.

While the company was looking for its first ECV at the end of 2021, “Basically we were being laughed at by a lot of dealers, with a lot of old cars on 12-month orders,” Thomas said as reported by Reuters, Friday (14). /4/2023).

Packfleet was recently able to buy more Peugeot, Ford and Citroen ECVs, but will have to move quickly to get them. “As soon as the car arrived, the dealer called us and we had to move quickly,” says Thomas. “Otherwise, the ECV will expire within a few days after being purchased by another customer,” said Thomas.

As fleets transition to zero-emission vehicles, new brands have an opportunity to gain market share. Maxus has an advantage as legacy manufacturers struggle to create electric vehicles across a range of models.

SAIC said it sold 18,000 mostly electric Maxus-branded vehicles in Western Europe and Scandinavia last year, including buses and trucks. “We plan to expand further in the Central European region,” he added.

Data on the electric vehicle market is scarce, but according to figures provided to Reuters by the International Clean Transport Council, by 2022 Maxus has around 6 percent of the new European ECV market, including the UK, selling around 5,000 ECVs . That’s more than Ford, Nissan or Fiat, and up to 28 percent compared to 2021.

Other Chinese companies looking to acquire shares include the Geely van Farizon brand, which will begin delivering vans to Europe in 2024.

B-ON, which bought the StreetScooter ECV brand from Deutsche Post DHL unit, increased production in Germany and the United States, while carmaker General Motors Co’s BrightDrop van brand did the same at its plant in Ontario, Canada.

“There is no magic wand to fix it, we just need to speed up production,” said Tim Albertsen, CEO of ALD, one of Europe’s largest car rental companies. “For the next few years, ECV supply will not be sufficient.”

source: Reuters