The new purchase premium puts the electric car manufacturer e.Go under pressure. The German government and the automotive industry agreed at the summit in early November that the purchase price for e-vehicles should be significantly increased. For purely electric cars below a list price of 40,000 euros, the subsidy will rise from 4,000 euros to 6,000 euros. Half of the premium is paid by the state, the other part by the manufacturer - in total 3000 euros. And that's where the problem lies for e-Go boss Günther Schuh.
The business model of e.Go is based on offering an e-car at the lowest possible price. With 15,900 euros for the basic version of the e.Go is currently even the cheapest electric car in Germany. The extremely reduced vehicle therefore offers no room for margin. In addition, e.Go can not cross-finance the money with the sale of burning cars, as the big manufacturers do.
An extra charge for customers would therefore be the only solution for Schuh. Say, the premium share of 3000 euros e.Go would have to roll directly to the customers. "Since we designed the e.Go from the outset as an affordable electric car for everyone, the purchase premium is extremely counterproductive for us," says Schuh. And that the investors are willing to handle the additional costs is loud shoe more than questionable.
Diesel scandal drives up costs in addition
Add to that another problem: the diesel scandal. In the wake of the emissions scandal, many suppliers have changed their terms and conditions - which now also affects the electric car manufacturer e.Go. For example, the suppliers have introduced their own acceptance procedures to ensure that the delivered components are also used by the automaker in accordance with the law after installation. Due to the resulting extra effort, the delivery of the vehicles according to the shoe has been greatly delayed. In addition, additional costs of around 35 million euros were incurred. To compensate for this amount, the price for the e.Go would have to rise by another 1200 euros, says Schuh.
However, e.Go wants to keep the price increase of its models as low as possible and therefore demands to suspend the own share of the premium with pure electric car manufacturers. Schuh is currently holding talks with political decision makers. During a visit to the e.Go plant in Aachen, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) assured that they had recognized the problem, reports Schuh. Also with the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) Schuh is in conversation. "I'm hopeful that we can still derogate for pure electric vehicle manufacturers," says Schuh. If he could pass the full premium to the customers, the base model would cost only 9900 euros.
Which cars with the bonus now become favorable
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Price comparison: electric car vs. NitroIn the event that no agreement is reached, shoe has a plan B. But the many customers who are waiting for the cheap Stromer, just as little inspire as shoe itself. "If necessary, I have to think, my cars only once in the Until the problem is resolved in Germany, "Schuh says - in the Netherlands, Belgium or Switzerland, for example.
As a result of the delay, e.Go has so far been able to deliver only around 200 vehicles to customers, 600 of which are expected to be completed by the end of the year. Originally, however, were planned by then, 4300 electric cars. At the end of next year, production is to be increased significantly and the two-shift operation will be introduced at the plant. From the end of 2021, e.Go plans to produce 30,000 cars a year.