August's French electric car sales rise seen as mere transitory blip

摘要

Peugeot-Citroen's decision to clear high stocks of excruciatingly slow-moving electric cars with fire-sale prices this August injects some hot air into France's otherwise limp electric car balloon, but observers believe that it can't last and that the vexed question of when sustainable lift-off can be expected will not be answered any time soon. The good news for Europe's deeply anxious electric car industry is that electric car registrations in Western Europe rose to their highest monthly level this August. However, the not so good news is that this is due in large measure to a sudden pick up in French demand, fuelled entirely by a hugely attractive, but time-limited discount deal to shift bloated stocks of Peugeot's excruciatingly slow selling iOn electric car from jam-packed company stores and dealer premises onto consumer drives.