An electric car that sells for 25,000 euros (about $26,700) or less can be built profitably in Europe by 2025, according to a study by the environmental group Transport & Environment.
The affordability of electric vehicles has been a key topic in recent years, especially as Chinese automakers start to make inroads in Europe with brands such as MG (owned by SAIC) and BYD. The issue has the potential to balloon into a full-fledged trade dispute, with the EU announcing this week that it would investigate China's domestic subsidies that critics say give cars built there an unfair advantage.
“Survey after survey shows cost to be a key barrier to a faster BEV (battery electric vehicle) adoption,” Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and e-mobility supply chains at T&E, said in the report released Thursday.
There is also a large gap in electric vehicle adoption rates, with less-wealthy southern and eastern European nation lagging far behind countries such as Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K.