The price war electrifies the car market. The USA and China are in the lead, the Europeans are not there
The electric car world could be shaken by an unprecedented price war: Tesla, Ford and several Chinese manufacturers have already moved. The Europeans are not there
The electric car market seems about to experience a real price war. There are in fact more and more manufacturers which, in order not to lose market shares ( see Tesla ) or to attack new ones (this is the case of the Chinese brands) are ready to implement particularly aggressive strategies, which the Europeans do not like, which are already grumbling for having remained deprived, compared to rivals on other continents, of any form of state subsidy (which in China lasted until a few months ago , while in the US it takes the form of the infamous Biden's Wrath).
VW DOESN'T LIKE THE PRICE WAR
“Our goal,” said Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume in a recent interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung , “is not size at any price. Our ambitions must be focused on added value, on profitable growth”.
Naturally, this does not mean that the Group intends to abdicate its role as European leader in the production of electric cars, on the contrary, the goal is to become "a global leader", simply "We have a clear pricing strategy and aim about reliability,” the German manager hissed. “We have full confidence in the strength of our products and brands.”
TESLA SHUFFLES THE CARDS
Undoubtedly, the reference is not so much to the aggressive policies of the Chinese manufacturers in China (with which Germany and VW itself do excellent business in the automotive sector, the Wolfsburg manufacturer makes about 40% of sales and half of the profits in Asian country), as for Tesla, which moreover has been undermining the Wolfsburg brand at home since last year, having opened a gigafactory on the outskirts of Berlin.
A few days ago Tesla also cut the prices of its models in Italy, in the wake of what was done in China and the United States. Without changes to equipment and features, the Model 3 can now be purchased starting from 44,990 euros, while the Model Y is offered at 46,990 euros: with a monstrous price-cut of 12,500 euros for the Model 3 and 3,000 euros on the Model Y .
THE OTHER AMERICAN ON THE FOOT OF WAR
Also in the States, Ford also took action by announcing cuts for the Mustang Mach-E, one of the most successful electric cars in the States, which vary between 1.2% and 8.7% equal to about 4,500 dollars, where the most performing and equipped versions benefit the most.
Compared to Tesla, which has had to deal with the anger of customers who bought cars at full price, Ford has opted for a retroactive cut: that is, valid since last January 1st.
WHAT RENAULT SAYS
All moves that the European manufacturers, still waiting for IRA-like umbrellas from the EU Commission – obviously did not like. New Renault brand CEO Fabrice Cambolive , commented: “If you reduce by 10% or more within a week, it affects the residual values of the cars and hurts customers. Stability is important to us."
However, the 54-year-old manager at the helm of the Boulogne-Billancourt brand left a crack open: "It is foreseeable that the prices of electric vehicles will become the subject of examination", but it is clear that without a European policy to support manufacturers, the margins action remain limited. In short, the cuts will hardly be significant.
THE PRICE WAR BETWEEN CHINESE
And then there are the Chinese, who now have to get by even without incentives , with a market that is already showing the first signs of a slowdown. Seres was the first to announce a reduction of at least 30,000 yuan (4,200 euros) for all its models.
It was closely followed by Xpeng which reduced the base price of the P7 sedan to 209,900 yuan (about 28,660 euros), 12.5% less than before. According to Reuters , all versions of the P5 and the sporty G3 have been lowered, with cuts ranging from 10% to 13%.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/la-guerra-dei-prezzi-elettrizza-il-mercato-delle-auto-usa-e-cina-in-testa-le-europee-non-ci-stanno/ on Wed, 01 Feb 2023 05:54:25 +0000.