Older electric car models BMW i3 (from left to right), Renault Zoe, Nissan Leaf: sellers are often threatened with a fiasco
Photo: T3 Magazine / Future / Getty ImagesManufacturers are selling more electric cars in Germany from month to month. The boom is good for companies, but annoys many customers: Most companies cannot keep up with production, and buyers are annoyed by long delivery times.
For many drivers, the question arises: does a used electric vehicle make more sense? After all, you would get it right away.
But there is a tricky situation on the market. The state purchase premium for new vehicles is now 6,000 euros, and Berlin has doubled it as part of the Corona economic stimulus package. In addition, there are 3,000 euros net from the dealer, so that the new car price is reduced by 9,480 euros.
This makes e-cars so cheaper that models from the secondary market hardly appear attractive. "SomeNew cars suddenly find themselves in the price regions of used vehicles that last several years, "says electric mobility expert Peter Fintl from the technology consultancy Altran. This is very noticeable in small and compact electric cars.
Example VW e-Up: A new car is on the list for 21,421 euros, so after deducting the environmental bonus it would only cost 11,941 euros. Used e-Up can be found at online retailers for around the same price. But these cars are six or seven years old and some have more than 100,000 kilometers on the clock.
Cars have their tires flat at dealerships
The seller of the used e-Up is in a very weak position. He may once have paid almost 27,000 euros (list price) for his little Stromer, at that time there was no state funding. Now he is offering a model with a range of just half that of today's e-Up, around 130 kilometers.
It is understandable that such specimens have their tires flat on the yards of dealers and buyers look for other offers, unless there is a massive discount. Car owners who opted for e-mobility early on and now want to change models are at risk of extreme loss of value.
"We look at the development with concern," says residual value expert Andreas Geilenbrügge from the vehicle valuation specialist Schwacke. The purchase premium will have a major impact on the prices of used electric cars in the coming weeks and months. Even when Berlin increased the purchase premium nine months ago, this depressed the residual values of used cars.
The fact that new cars are a long time coming obviously doesn't really make used cars more attractive. "We notice this quite clearly with the younger used cars", says Alexander Kafke, Head of Renault Used Cars Hamburg, "here the customers usually opt for a new car that comes for almost the same price after deducting the environmental bonus".
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Schwacke-Mann Geilenbrügge sees another handicap in the sale of used electric cars in the fact that new electric cars are sometimes pushed onto the market at extremely low leasing rates. "With small cars, monthly installments of less than 100 euros are not uncommon and the customer can simply return the car after two or three years. He is not interested in loss of value."
Many manufacturers are selling e-cars at high discounts in order to meet the EU's new CO2 fleet targets. They apply for the first time this year. New vehicles are allowed to emit an average of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer, battery vehicles are counted with zero grams.
Another thing that puts the prices on the secondary market under pressure: the new e-cars are usually technically significantly better than the old ones. "The ever shorter innovation cycles also have a strong influence," says Stefan Bratzel, car expert at the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach.
Who wants a BMW with a range of 100 kilometers?
This is especially true for battery cells and charge management. Even compact cars such as the Opel Corsa-e or the technically identical Peugeot e-208 now have a 50 kWh battery on board that enables ranges of more than 300 kilometers.
When BMW launched its futuristic i3 at the end of 2013, its battery capacity was just 22 kWh. But who wants to be on the road today with a battery that doesn't even guarantee a range of 100 kilometers in winter? "Models from the previous generation or those before a facelift are much less attractive and lose more than average value," says Geilenbrügge.
Such problems do not yet affect too many car owners: At the turn of the year there were only a good 140,000 e-cars in Germany - out of a total of almost 48 million. But in the first half of 2020 alone, the authorities allowed a further 60,000, and the trend is rising.
Jaguar rookie mistake
More and more car owners have to be prepared for the fact that after a few years their vehicles no longer correspond to the state of the art if, for example, battery technology makes further progress. That depresses the residual values - regardless of whether purchase premiums additionally distort the secondary market.
Some beginners' mistakes made by manufacturers also haunt electric car owners for longer. Jaguar once saved a three-phase on-board charger in the car with the noble I-Pace SUV. That is why the car only sucks with 3.6 kW of power from the wallbox at home. It takes more than 20 hours until the empty battery is full again - a no-go in this vehicle class.
Some used car buyers are probably aware of this by now - and prefer to turn to a new car. Even if you have to wait a long time.
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