Cars in crisis, the many unknowns (including EU fines) of the coming year

A dramatic year, the one that, automotive-wise, is drawing to a close. And the year 2025 does not promise anything better, at least in Europe where the air of crisis caused by a perfect storm of electric cars that sell very little, billionaire investments that do not return, factories closing down even in Germany is hovering. And that's not all: ahead of the big European groups is the Chinese threat, strong with interesting technologies and well-made products (including thermal) but, for now, with little image and brand value. The real nightmare for 2025, however, is the fines for exceeding the new CO2 emission limits set at 94 g/km. A value that will force manufacturers to stop offering thermal cars, with a halt to production, repositioning on hybrids, raising Ice price lists, pulling down Bev price lists to rebalance the gap and re-enter the "Cafe" regulations decided by the EU before the pandemic and before geopolitical conditions changed. In the meantime, the course towards the 2035 thermal stop seems to be set, between houses that brake and others that make U-turns on early all-in. After all, it is clear that the electric car has not convinced buyers (apart from Tesla), for a number of reasons: some serious, others falling into the realm of fake news. The fact is that they sell poorly and it was an announced film. The industry's inability to react, even in terms of communication, is astonishing, because the automobile disaster is seasoned by the marketing of many manufacturers who play with influencers and tiktokers, disconnecting themselves from reality and the customer's real needs. They sound almost like the violinists who played as the Titanic sank. And it closely resembles the industrial and technological tragedy of Nokia, unable to react to the advance of smartphones and the touch display revolution. But there is a difference: the smartphone was a quantum leap from the mobile phone: it gave much more. The electric car, on the other hand, as great as it is to drive and has a lot of economic and environmental advantages, does not solve problems, does not open the door to new worlds, but in a way complicates the way of getting around. Rightly or wrongly, this is the sentiment of the sovereign customer who decides what to buy. And then, last but not least, there is the cost factor. The volume crisis, regardless of traction technology, is due to the increase in the average price from 21 thousand euros in 2020 to the current 30 thousand threshold. Manufacturers' strategies must take this into account. The market demands economical cars, but manufacturers do not make money with them. So perhaps the solution lies in the search for new technologies to cut costs, as the Chinese are doing. And here the redemption of the European car could start from a continental consortium, sort of the Airbus of the car, which would enable them to regain competitiveness. But time is running out.