The new car market will be hit with challenges and pressures at the end of 2024 that will be reminiscent of, and may even surpass, those felt during the 2008 economic crash and the pandemic in 2020, a new report claims.
The reason for this is the expected volatility created in the final quarter of the year by the ZEV mandate – the new law that demands a percentage (22% in 2024) of car makers' total sales are EVs – with manufacturers making strategic and tactical plays in order to hit the government's legislative target.
These moves may come in the form of restricting ICE and PHEV sales and “aggressively” pushing EV stock into fleets because called-for government-backed incentives have yet to materialise.
Predicted as part of Cox Automotive’s new car forecast, this could create “an unrealistic and unnatural market", the firm warns, with long-term ramifications such as lower manufacturer and dealer profitability, less consumer choice and a hit to residual values.
