UK’s most popular car maker slashes production of electric cars

THE UK’s most popular car maker has slashed the production of electric cars due to a drop in demand.

Volkswagen revealed it would cancel production of EVs for at least six weeks at one of its biggest plants in Germany.

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Company executives from the German manufacturer claimed that demand for EVs is 30 per cent lower than expected.

Volkswagen has also confirmed it would lay off 300 of its 1,500 employees working on EVs at its Emden plant, The Times reports.

Manfred Wulff, the head of the Emden plant, said: “We are experiencing strong customer reluctance in the electric vehicle sector.”

Production of the new VW ID.7 electric model had been due to start in July but will be pushed back until the end of the year – and the ID.4 electric SUV and ID.7 have also been affected.

Research by Teads, an advertising technology company, has shown that one in ten drivers planning on purchasing a new car in the next six months will go for a petrol or diesel vehicle due to the rise in charging costs.

Most drivers are reluctant to buy an electric vehicle as there are 85 EVs for every public charger in the UK – which increases their anxiety about making it to their destination on a single charge.

A spokesman for Volkswagen UK said: “The Volkswagen brand, like other car manufacturers, is currently seeing softening demand for electric cars.

“Reasons for this include reduced subsidies, higher inflation and recent longer delivery times due to the shortage of parts.

“We are confident that demand for all-electric cars will pick up again as the year progresses. With the extensively revised ID.3 and the new ID.7, we continue to launch attractive new models.”

This comes after drivers were warned of serious problems with electric cars despite soaring popularity.

Plus, electric vehicle drivers were warned that they could soon be hit by a pricey “pothole tax”.