The electric car is not faltering, it is on its way
What feels awkward now will soon be taken for granted—just like solar energy and mobile internet, writes Maarten Steinbuch.
Published on May 1, 2025
Maarten Steinbuch is a high-tech systems scientist, entrepreneur and communicator. He holds the chair of Systems & Control at Eindhoven University of Technology, where he is Distinguished University Professor. His research spans from automotive engineering to mechatronics, motion control, and fusion plasma control.
Last week, the government announced a tax break for electric car owners. But if you go by earlier media reports, you would think that the electric car is already on the way out. In recent research conducted by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, in collaboration with the Electric Drivers Association, more than 3,500 electric drivers were asked about their future plans. Some of these drivers have serious doubts about whether their next car will be electric, citing the loss of tax benefits as the main reason.
What we are seeing here is not a decline in interest but temporary confusion. The transition to electric driving is irreversible and will only accelerate in the coming years. Tax incentives have indeed been erratic. And yes, some electric models are expensive to buy, and charging can sometimes be a hassle. However, if you only consider the current situation, you miss the bigger picture: electric cars are technologically superior and will eventually become financially unbeatable.
Mainstream
What we are currently experiencing is the transition phase from pioneering to mainstream. This is never frictionless. We have seen this before with solar energy, mobile phones, and broadband internet: at first, they are expensive, difficult to use, and reserved for early adopters. Then they become cheaper, more user-friendly, and taken for granted.
The price reductions still to come in battery technology, vehicle production, and charging infrastructure are far more powerful than any tax measure. The law of economies of scale is at work and will not be hindered by a temporary dip in sentiment. Incidentally, sales figures for new electric cars indicate that growth remains substantial: in Europe, the market share increased from 11% in 2024 to 15% in the first months of 2025. In the Netherlands, the percentage is around 25%.
In China, electric cars are now cheaper than comparable models with combustion engines. The market for electric vehicles is growing fastest in China compared to other countries. At the Shanghai Auto Show last week, many new electric models were presented, including those from European brands such as Volkswagen. There is also considerable attention on the trade war with the US, which could accelerate the advancement of Chinese electric cars in Europe, in addition to the strong growth of the past year.
Fewer parts
On every continent, brands are increasingly focusing on electric models and discontinuing the development of fuel-powered cars. It is simply more efficient, cheaper to maintain, and less technically complex. The powertrain of an electric car contains a fraction of the parts of a combustion engine. Fewer parts means fewer breakdowns, less maintenance, and lower production costs—especially once mass production is up and running.
Consumer scepticism during transitions is understandable and mainly a result of uncertainty. Many people are unsure of what to expect, are put off by incidents, such as exaggerated stories about queues at fast-charging stations on the way to winter sports destinations, and lack an overview. That's not a bad thing. Change rarely comes about through conviction, but rather through a sense of inevitability. Once electric cars become as easy, affordable, and reliable as gasoline cars, and you can charge them anywhere, even in southern Europe, the doubts will disappear.
Electric cars will soon become part of a smart energy system. They charge when the sun is shining and feed back into the grid when electricity is expensive. This is called bidirectional charging. This will make cars more than just vehicles: they will become mobile energy storage devices that can be flexibly deployed in a sustainable energy system. In combination with solar panels, home batteries, and dynamic energy rates, electric driving will become not only logical but also lucrative. The experiments conducted by “we drive solar” and MyWheels in Utrecht with the new Renault 5, which can charge bi-directionally, are already demonstrating this potential.
'Not feasible'
The resistance to electric mobility is reminiscent of previous technological breakthroughs, such as the mobile phone. Who doesn't remember the 1990s video of a street interview in which no one wanted a mobile phone? With every significant transition, there are initially calls that it is 'not feasible', that 'people don't want it', and that 'it's too expensive' or 'unnecessary'. Until it suddenly becomes everywhere, everyone wants it, and no one can imagine it ever being any different. The transition to electric cars is one such transition.
There will undoubtedly be bumps in the road in the coming years. Not every policy will work equally well, not every charging station will always work, and not every model will catch on. But the trend is clear: electric driving is becoming cheaper, more widely available, and will eventually become the norm. The government would do well to support this process with clear, stable frameworks. However, even if that doesn't happen, the market will not be hindered.
In short, the electric car is not faltering. It is on its way, and it is coming.