As of: January 29, 2024, 5:52 p.m
By: Nico Reiter
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After the environmental bonus was canceled, some electric car manufacturers have reduced their prices.
A well-known manufacturer has good reasons not to go along.
Munich – Although the state environmental bonus was canceled in December 2023, electric cars are becoming cheaper and cheaper.
There were fears that the loss of the purchase premium would result in fewer sales.
In order to continue to post high sales figures, some electric car manufacturers have reduced their prices.
As recently as 2015, electric vehicles were on average more than twice as expensive as combustion engines.
Now the prices are getting closer and closer.
On average, an electric car only costs 1.5 times as much as a gasoline or diesel model.
E-car manufacturers cut prices – Stellantis boss speaks of “bloodbath”
But not all manufacturers pursue this strategy.
“If you lower prices without taking actual costs into account, there will be a bloodbath,” said Stellantis boss
Carlos Tavares in the
Financial Times
.
The brand is the second largest car manufacturer in Europe after VW.
Among other things, they produce the brands Fiat, Opel, Citroën and Jeep.
But these should not become part of the price war.
Tavares sees his brands as well positioned even without discounts.
The Citroën ë-C3 from Stellantis rolls off the car dealer's yard for less than 25,000 euros.
The Citroën ë-C3 by Stellantis © Mauro Ujetto/Thomas Padilla/Imago
Many manufacturers have reduced their prices since the end of the environmental bonus.
The Renault brand shows it.
The Mégane E-Tech is available at a discount of up to 6,700 euros.
The manufacturer Dacia, which belongs to Renault, is currently offering a 10,000 euro discount on the Spring electric entry-level model.
The car will therefore cost 12,750 euros if it is registered by the end of March.
This means it is almost half of the Stellantis model.
VW is also drastically reducing its prices.
Price cuts partly harmful – US manufacturer records decline in profits
The manufacturer is cautious about the price cuts.
His fears are based on the fate of a competitor.
“I know a company that has brutally reduced prices and its profitability has collapsed brutally,” and, according to experts, he is referring to Tesla.
The US automaker has cut prices several times in the past year to stimulate demand, but has also suffered a drop in profits.
The manufacturer recently reduced its prices for the Model Y by up to 5,000 euros.
Germany's best-selling electric vehicle now only starts at 42,990 euros.
Electric car sales are rising worldwide, but at a slower rate than expected compared to their consumer alternatives.
According to
the Financial Times,
sales in Europe actually fell last year.
VW, BYD, Dacia, Renault, Fiat and Tesla are among the brands that are now offering their electric cars cheaper.
Stellantis, on the other hand, is unlikely to reduce its prices.
In return, the manufacturer will cover the original environmental bonus when purchasing until the end of February 2024.