End of the road for electric cars: Shocking graph shows how electric car sales have slumped around the world – resulting in Volkswagen, the newest car brand, having to close its factories

Electric vehicles (EVs) are being touted as an environmentally friendly solution to the climate crisis, offering passengers smooth, emission-free rides.

But it appears the electric revolution – considered essential to reduce CO2 emissions – is coming to an end.

MailOnline’s chart shows that global EV sales from three top manufacturers have fallen in recent months as the public struggles to fall in love with the technology.

Despite the growing steam in the long run, Elon Musk‘S Tesla saw quarterly sales of electric vehicles fall from a peak of 484,500 in the fourth quarter of 2023 to just 386,800 in the first quarter of 2024.

Meanwhile, Chinese automaker BYD – the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles – saw global electric vehicle sales plummet earlier this year.

In the first quarter of this year, the company sold just over 300,000 electric vehicles – a dramatic drop from 526,000 in the final quarter of last year.

Similarly, German carmaker Volkswagen sold 239,500 electric vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023, but only 136,400 in the following quarter, although sales recovered to 180,800 in the second quarter of this year.

It comes at a time when Volkswagen has been forced to close three of its factories and cut jobs, partly due to a slower-than-expected transition to electric vehicles.

Why are electric car sales declining?

Two experts claim there is a ‘clear downward trend’ in the global EV market.

Electric vehicles run on energy from a charged battery, just like a smartphone, but they come with a hefty price tag – around £46,000 on average in Britain.

“Electric vehicles tend to cost more upfront,” say Milad Haghani, lecturer in urban analytics at UNSW Sydney, and Hadi Ghaderi, professor of supply chain at Swinburne University of Technology, in a piece for The conversation.

“Sales have slowed in parts of Europe and the United States, often due to reduced incentives, but strong sales growth continues in other regions such as China and India.”

The two experts say a “flood of cheaper Chinese vehicles” is lowering the cost barrier.

However, these eastern exports have raised fears of surveillance.

Another ‘major problem’ for car buyers is the uncertainty about the resale value of an electric model compared to a standard petrol or diesel model, the researchers emphasize.

Electric cars made by Chinese company BYD have more attractive prices than those of rival Tesla, owned by Elon Musk and based in California

BYD cars are equipped with the latest high-tech features such as a 360-degree camera, radar and sensors to assist the driver and help avoid obstacles, fueling fears of surveillance

“Consumers are concerned that electric vehicles are depreciating in value faster than traditional cars… these concerns are primarily related to battery deterioration, which affects a car’s range and performance over time.”

Meanwhile, EV fires have made headlines worldwide – including a high-profile battery fire in a Korean parking lot in August – creating doubt among consumers.

What are Britain’s EV plans?

In Britain, the government plans to end all sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Gasoline and diesel use internal combustion engines, which produce greenhouse gases (GHG) and particulate emissions, which cause climate change and harm human health, respectively.

By the end of September 2024, there will be around 1.25 million fully electric cars in Britain – just 3.75 percent of the 34 million cars on British roads, says Zap-Map.

According to the National Grid, we can expect ten million electric vehicles on UK roads by 2030, and as many as 30 million by 2040.

Carmakers such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Range Rover and Toyota are among Britain’s electric car producers, although most (80 percent) are exported.

Volkswagen is being forced to close three of its factories and cut jobs, partly due to a slower-than-expected transition to electric vehicles. In the photo, employees load and unload Volkswagen cars on the site of the factory in Zwickau, East Germany on October 28, 2024

“The majority will go to markets that are phasing out sales of petrol and diesel cars and switching to electric cars,” said Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

“If our automotive industry does not adapt production to these trends, it will face a very uncertain future.”

A recent report from CBI Economics shows that failing to support the UK car industry in making the switch to electrification could see economic output fall by 73 per cent, or £34 billion, with more than 400,000 jobs lost to go.

What are the problems with EVs?

Like any emerging technology, the transition to electric vehicles is not without its challenges – and not just the race to roll out charging infrastructure.

There are also public concerns about depletion during travel, although research is underway to find ways to prevent this.

Electric vehicles also cannot combat the problem of tire wear, which can cause tiny rubber particles, invisible to the naked eye, to enter our lungs.

Pollution from rubber particles could become even worse in electric vehicles, as their tires press harder against the road due to the sheer weight of lithium-ion batteries.

EVs generally have lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional cars, but there are some hidden environmental costs of an electric car

Rowan Atkinson, who bought his first electric hybrid 18 years ago and his first pure electric car nine years ago, has now said that ‘electric motoring doesn’t seem to be quite the environmental miracle it claims to be’.

Last year, actor and car enthusiast Rowan Atkinson shook things up when he dismissed electric driving as ‘not the environmental wonder it was made out to be’.

He claimed electric cars are powered by lithium ion batteries that require ‘a lot of rare earth elements’ – although several scientists debunked the Mr Bean star’s claim.

Tom Stacey, an automotive industry expert at Anglia Ruskin University’s School of Economics, agrees that rare earths are not used in EV batteries, but instead include lithium, aluminium, nickel, manganese and cobalt is used.

‘The rare earths are a collection of non-abundant metals, some of which are in the magnets of many electric motors, but none in the batteries of electric vehicles,’ he told MailOnline.

Atkinson – who has a degree in electrical and electronic engineering – also said greenhouse gas emissions during the production of an electric car are almost 70 percent higher than during the production of a petrol car.

However, academics cited research to MailOnline which showed the actor got his facts wrong after basing them on unreliable sources.

A 2021 study from the International Council on Clean Transportation found that battery-powered electric vehicles have by far the lowest greenhouse gas emissions over their entire life cycle.

The following February, evidence submitted to the House of Lords alleged that Atkinson was partly responsible for ‘damaging’ public opinion about electric cars.