The evolution of the car industry

The car industry has faced sluggish sales and low levels of demand, which has thrown a spanner in the works of global car makers. But is it short-lived?

Businessman controlling hologram or car industry and electric vehicles
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Over the past few months, the car industry has “never been far away from the headlines”, says Jon Wallace of the Jupiter Green Investment Trust. The seemingly unstoppable rise of electric cars appears to have hit a speed bump, and governments have rapidly reversed ambitious targets to ban sales of new petrol-powered cars by the end of the decade. Meanwhile, the threat of competition from Chinese car makers has prompted US president Joe Biden to hike tariffs on electric vehicles from the country. Are these problems just a bump in the road on the way to a new future – or something more serious?

Challenges faced by the car industry 

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri