Sales of electric cars in Europe are relatively low, yet these vehicles are piling up at major ports.
An increasing number of imported electric cars, many of them from Chinaare stuck in European ports, as manufacturers and distributors struggle with slowing sales.
Apparently, the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge (Belgium) They are flooded with electric vehicles from China. However, port authorities have told ‘Euronews’ that it is not just Chinese vehicles, although They did not reveal any other exporting countries that contributes to the problem.
Ports crowded with Chinese models
‘Le Monde’ reported that in Calloo, near Antwerp, and Zeebruggethe huge parking lots to accommodate to 130,000 newly shipped vehiclesare now crowded with Chinese models.
Chinese electric vehicles aim to benefit from European market trendsincluding state aid from several countries that aims to encourage buyers to opt for the electric vehicles.
While European efforts are directed to support your automobile manufacturing industryvehicle exports to the continent from China They continue to pour in, and reached 1.3 million in the first quarter of this year, 33% more than a year agoaccording to European Vehicle Logistics Association (ECG).
The first European destination for Chinese manufacturers was Belgium in February, where electric vehicles reportedly they accumulate spectacularlyturning ports into parking lots.
“This is what is happening in all European ports that handle large numbers of cars,” said a spokesman on behalf of the port of Antwerp-Bruges, Europe’s second largest.
In total, the port received just under 1.7 million cars last year, a figure still lower than the 1.95 million they encountered in 2019.
According to ‘Le Monde’, citing forecasts from port managers, this year the global number of vehicles coming from China pcould reach between 600,000 and 1 million landing in Antwerp-Bruges in 2024.
Car sales decline across Europe
There have been reports of a slowdown in car sales in Europe, which is one of the main reasons why cars shipped to Europe are getting stuck at ports.
According to the port of Antwerp-Bruges, another factor causing the problem is the lower car transport capacity by road and the shortage of delivery drivers, as well as the less capacity available for maritime transport short car distance within Europe.
Anonymous sources claim that, in some cases, it hasand parked cars in the port for more than a year. The ICO, responsible for the handling and storage of vehicles shipped in the port of Antwerp-Brugesdid not immediately respond to questions from ‘Euronews’.
The ‘Financial Times’, which first reported the congestion in European ports, attributes the problem to the fact that Chinese models are sent to Europe without a sales network on the continent or subsequent transportation. Consequently, Chinese models did not sell in Europe as quickly as expected.
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