Electric cars only bought by “green addicts” – PSA CEO
Electric cars are only bought by “green addicts” and lack broad appeal required for mainstream consumers, Peugeot Chief Executive Carlos Tavares stated last week (reported by Reuters).
On a conference call that replaced the cancelled Geneva motor show the PSA CEO made several statements on the electric car market.
“When some markets (governments) are cancelling some subsidies, demand collapses,” stated Tavares.
Tavares then went on to say “The battle from now on is that zero emission vehicles become affordable between now and 2025,”
More controversially he then stated “We are selling our electric vehicles to green addicts. We didn’t move to the pragmatists”, referring to the PSA Groups’ troubles in selling electric cars to mainstream consumers.
The lack of a dense charging network, the limited range of electric cars and uncertainties about the long-term price of electricity, are hindering a broader adoption of electric cars, Tavares stated.
Therefore Peugeot decided to develop vehicle platforms which are capable of including fully electric, hybrid or just combustion engines.
“So that we can adapt in a very agile way what the consumers are demanding,” Tavares said.
