According to sources that German and French newspapers have spoken to, some of the many electric cars that are currently piling up in European ports have been idle for a year.
At the Port of Esbjerg, you are currently dealing with up to 4,000 new cars that don't really get on. But out in other European ports the problem is far greater.
In Germany, according to analysts, there are 100,000 electric cars that have not yet been sold or moved on. And the French newspaper Le Monde writes that, if possible, things are even worse in the Belgian port city of Antwerp.
On the harbor itself, writes the newspaper, there are cars as far as the eye can see. Although the place is well guarded, there is no hiding the fact that the many cars take up a lot of space. And maybe more than good.
According to Le Monde, all the electric cars come from China. And here they stand still for a very long time. Because even though the cars are waiting to move on to countries such as Italy, Great Britain, Germany and Poland, it can easily happen that some of them sit at the port for a year.
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This is what employees on site tell both the French media and the German newspaper Zeit. And there is no prospect of the cars moving on.
– Yes, we now have cars that have been here for over a year. There are days when the chaos is unmanageable, confirms the employees of Le Monde.
In order to make room for the increasing number of cars arriving at the port, plans are being made to expand the terminal area. But charging stations must also be erected.
A third problem is the pace at the port. There is simply a lack of both people and trucks that can move the many cars quickly enough.
– The pace is hectic. There is a shortage of trucks and drivers everywhere, says truck driver Rinus de Vries to Le Monde.
According to the newspaper, a similar problem can be found in the German city of Bremerhaven, where the Chinese brand BYD has recently delivered as many as 3,000 new cars. And more ships, which BYD plans to put on regular routes to Europe, are on their way.
The problem is just that the Chinese brands have not yet really convinced the Europeans. This can be seen, among other things, in the sales figures at home. The latest report from De Danske Bilimportorer shows that only one Chinese brand, namely Volvo, makes it into the top 10 from 1 January to 31 May 2024.
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