Rise of Electric Cars from China Causing Chaos at European Ports

• Charlotte Klein

  editor of Mobility

Parking spaces are no longer available at port car terminals, several national (international) news media have reported in recent weeks. The conclusion is that it is all due to the rise of the electric car from China. And that too while demand is already declining. That’s why all these destinations are so crowded. But it is worse.

There is indeed something going on in the electric car market. Last week it was announced at Tesla, for example 10 percent of the jobs disappeared after disappointing sales figures. Hundreds of jobs have also been cut at Polestar. In February ElaadNL already expected the growth of the electric car market to slow slightly.

But this knowledge center may expect stagnant growth in the short term, but that doesn’t matter in the long run. Car manufacturers are already fully committed to it, batteries are getting better and cheaper and in China – an important player – the choice for electricity has been made for a long time.

That does not mean that the market is already under the influence of Chinese brands. Chinese car market beating gently on the doorstep of Europe, but there is no question of flooding: the market share is still very small.

China would like to see that change. Chinese brands send cars to Europe, and they often enter the market through Belgian and Dutch ports.

The Chinese work differently than many European brands. The latter produce cars to order from car dealers, among others. Chinese brands (and the American Tesla) have production, assembly and sales all in their own hands. They make a product according to their own wishes and therefore their supply is not so specific according to demand.

So the port is seeing an increase in brands that no longer have showrooms, but deliver their cars directly to the customer. “So these cars spend longer in the port waiting for a buyer, which causes capacity problems, but does not cause them. “

Because the chaos at the ports is nothing new – at least not in the Belgian Zeebrugge, the world’s largest car port. Last year, 3.5 million new cars passed through there.

“This is not a new problem, but it has been going on for years,” said the spokesman. “For example, there are too few drivers to take the cars to the right garage and there are too few ships and crew for a good flow of ‘short stays’: cars that would quickly cross over to the United Kingdom. And we are at the right level in terms of numbers that are not even at pre-corona levels.”

There are also more cars waiting in Dutch ports – although the big three, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Vlissingen, say there is really no problem. The port of Rotterdam, traditionally a port for Korean and now also Chinese brands, sees slightly more car arrivals than departures, but the car destinations take into this by arranging additional parking spaces outside the port. This cannot be determined at the destinations themselves: nearby car destinations do not want to answer for commercial reasons.

The Dutch merchant then. The car industry and lobby clubs for electric driving have long been making a point about the potential benefits of a phase-out, but it’s not clear whether it will happen that really. According to the industry, the market is still not strong enough to stand alone without decoration.

One of these tax benefits is exemption from motor vehicle tax (MRB). Electric car drivers would actually pay the same tax as fossil fuel cars from next year, but last week’s Spring Paper showed the outgoing cabinet will increase the slower rate in the coming years than expected.

In exchange for the extension of the MRB exemption, the purchase subsidy of 2,000 euros for a second-hand electric car has been cancelled: it expires this year. The exemption from purchase tax (bpm) of an electric car still applies this year.

So some of the benefits are disappearing, some have been extended. Do we see the uncertainty that continues to plague the industry reflected in the figures? No. De Bovag continues to monitor growth. “There is only ever increasing demand and supply. “

In short, the soup is not eaten as hot as it is served. Of course supply is growing and changing, but the market share of Chinese brands is still very small. The capacity problem at car depots is multifaceted and in the Netherlands there is (yet) no real decline in demand.