Global carmakers are stepping up their investment in hybrid technologies as consumers’ growing wariness over fully electric vehicles forces the industry to rapidly shift gear, according to top executives.
Bruce Springsteen’s first Irish gig of 2024: The Boss kicks off in Belfast with No Surrender, then builds a momentous setBody of dead man may have lain undiscovered in Co Cork flat since ChristmasSales of new electric cars are down 14.2 per cent in the first three months of 2024 compared with last year, despite the overall new car market growing by 8 per cent.
Electric car sales growth slowed in the US and Europe last year, prompting carmakers to offer discounts. Industry executives have already acknowledged that the market has lost some momentum as future sales growth increasingly depends on demand from mainstream buyers rather than early adopters. US rival General Motors, which had largely eliminated plug-in hybrids from its range, said in January that it would reintroduce the technology.