The car rental company Sixt wants to reduce the number of its electric cars. The co-chief executive also blames the federal government's inconsistent policy for this.
The car rental company Sixt wants to reduce the number of its electric cars and blames the federal government's inconsistent policy for this. “If you want an end to the combustion engine, then you have to be consistent and promote electromobility in the same way as you do in other regions of the world,” said Co-CEO Alexander Sixt to the “Handelsblatt”.
“If you don't do this and then realize that it doesn't work and question the ban on combustion engines again, then it's difficult for everyone,” Sixt continued to criticize. “No matter what you do now, you are reaping the seeds of industrial policy inconsistency,” he added.
Demand for electric cars below expectations
The federal government abruptly ended funding for electric cars at the end of last year. The company boss assured that Sixt will not say goodbye to e-mobility because of this. But one will have to “reduce electric cars”, also because the demand for these vehicles is below expectations. In 2023, six percent of the Sixt fleet would consist of electric cars.
“Between summer 2022 and March 2024, the residual values for battery-electric vehicles in Germany fell by an average of around 40 percent,” Sixt further argued. The resulting higher depreciation is one reason for the loss that the company reported for the first quarter of 2024.
