As of: March 26, 2024, 4:59 a.m
By: Markus Hofstetter
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Car buyers can look forward to increasing discounts - but only for combustion engine models.
From an expert perspective, politics is to blame for this.
Berlin - Sales of electric cars are sluggish in Germany.
One reason is the abrupt end of state funding in December.
But the Stromer's poor image is also likely to play a role.
But not only sales of electric cars, but the new car market as a whole are developing weakly.
Study by Ferdinand Dudenhöffer: Discounts when buying combustion engines are on average higher than for electric cars
The car manufacturers have reacted and are increasingly relying on combustion engine models again.
According to a study by Bochum car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, VW, BMW, Stellantis & Co. are trying to boost sales of gasoline and diesel models with high discounts.
This is shown by the analysis of the discounts in March.
Accordingly, the discounts when buying a combustion engine are on average even higher than for electric cars.
According to Dudenhöffer, car buyers could expect an average discount of 16.8 percent for gasoline and diesel cars in March, while it was only 16.2 percent for electric cars.
In February, the discounts for both types of drive were still the same.
The evaluation is based on data collected from independent new car brokers on the Internet.
15 combustion engine and electric models from eleven manufacturers were examined.
Car manufacturers are increasingly relying on combustion engine models again.
© Jochen Tack/Imago
Study by Ferdinand Dudenhöffer: VW in particular is increasing its discounts
According to the study, Volkswagen in particular increased the discounts for combustion models in March.
The facelift of the Golf 8, which was presented in January and is due to be delivered in the summer, was offered online with a discount of 17.5 percent on the list price.
In February it was 13.8 percent.
Such high discounts are unusual for a new model, says Dudenhöffer.
This means that the discount level is approaching that of the VW electric models.
There, VW continues to grant higher discounts of up to 21.7 percent for the ID.4.
Compared to February, the level remained constant.
For the other manufacturers examined, discounts remained largely stable in March.
For most of them, however, the discounts for combustion engines were already higher than for electric cars in February, according to Dudenhöffer.
Study by Ferdinand Dudenhöffer: You can make more money with combustion engines than with electric cars
After the purchase bonus for electric cars in Germany expired at the end of 2023, manufacturers initially significantly increased the discounts for electric cars in order to compensate for the loss of the bonus.
In the meantime, however, a change in thinking can be seen, says Dudenhöffer.
In view of the overall weak demand, attempts are being made to stimulate business with the still dominant combustion engines and thus utilize the company's own factories to capacity.
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“The weak car market is taking a turn,” said Dudenhöffer.
“Electric cars are also being promoted less among car manufacturers.” Due to the higher profit margins for combustion engines, it is easier for manufacturers to grant discounts here.
With electric cars, however, only small profits or even losses could be made after the state purchase bonus was abolished.
In the current downturn, manufacturers are increasingly relying on combustion engines, which continue to “earn good money”.
Study by Ferdinand Dudenhöffer: Politicians have destroyed electric cars
However, Dudenhöffer defends the car manufacturers.
After the subsidies for e-mobility were eliminated, they had no other choice to utilize their factories to capacity.
“It wasn’t the car manufacturers who destroyed the electric car, it was the politicians,” said the car expert in
Wirtschaftswoche
.
He identifies Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) as the main person responsible, who would rather take care of “cloud cuckoo homes” such as green steel production than the automobile industry.
But in Dudenhöffer's opinion, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) is also contributing to the poor state of electric cars by confirming the review of the combustion engine ban in 2026.
In view of current developments, Dudenhöffer comes to the following conclusion in
Wirtschaftswoche
: “The combustion engine is secured for the next hundred years.”