Thousands of cars, most of them electric cars, waiting for buyers, flooded parking lots in Germany. More specifically, it is reported about six thousand new cars that have clogged the free spaces, and the reason is the weak demand. They are located at the site of logistics company CAT in Essen, Germany.
Cars estimated to be worth at least 300 million euros are piling up in parking lots because of falling demand for new cars in Germany. Some of the cars have been there for more than a year.
„I have never come across anything like this here before, and I have been working here for more than 10 years,” says a CAT official. According to Bild, all parking spaces in Essen, and more specifically at the site of the logistics company CAT, are already full.
The main reason for the accumulation of unsold cars is the lack of demand, the publication notes. Overall, the market was quite weak this year with 2.3 million new cars registered between January and October.
In fact, this is a drop of just 0.4% compared to the same period last year, but last year's figure was also low for Europe's main car market, says Frank Schwope, an economist at the Hannover University of Applied Sciences.
At CAT, the reason for the overcrowding of parking lots is seen in high prices and problems with electrification. However, the company notes that the situation is advantageous for it: car manufacturers pay more for providing parking spaces.
Most of the stored cars are of the Volkswagen and Audi brands, which are in acute crisis. For the first ten months of 2024, about 169,000 Audi cars were registered in Germany - 17.9 percent less than last year.
As part of the savings, Volkswagen will close factories in Germany as well as cut bonuses and wages. Union negotiations with management have so far yielded no results, so concerned workers are preparing for strikes.