That’s the catch with EV bargains from China
Hard times are dawning for e-car customers. Electric vehicles are becoming more and more expensive, the waiting times are long and the environmental bonus keeps falling. It’s worth taking a look at cheap alternatives to VW and Co, which often come from China. They’re a lot cheaper, but there’s a big catch.
10,000 euros less: China e-cars with an attractive price advantage
In Germany, customers have to dig deep into their pockets when it comes to buying an electric car. New rules for the environmental bonus have also been in effect since January 1, 2023. This makes Stromer even more expensive. The Chinese manufacturers show that there is another way. they have one Price advantage of up to 10,000 euros in small electric cars.
There are several reasons for this. For Chinese e-car manufacturers such as GM, BYD or Nio, the development costs in the People’s Republic are significantly cheaper. The Chinese brands also come off cheaper when it comes to labor costs. In addition, they would use less capital in production, says Patrick Koller, head of the automotive supplier Forvia (source: Reuters).
The company is one of the largest suppliers to the automotive industry worldwide and works with the Chinese battery and automotive group BYD, among others. The manager even sees that as a result of the higher prices in the west individual mobility at risk.
In his opinion good cars are built in China which are also well received in Europe – or will soon be. That’s because some Chinese brands are only just getting their foot in the door of European markets, especially with larger, more expensive models where the price advantage doesn’t really matter. The cheap, smaller models are usually not yet available for German customers.
In 2023 there will be changes, and not just around electric cars:
VW and Co. should take Chinese automakers seriously
It will be really difficult for the long-established manufacturers if that changes. The analysts from Jato Dynamics have compared the prices in the markets of Europe, Asia and China and show the extremely different developments: rose the Average price for an electric car in Europe since 2015 from almost 49,000 euros to over 55,000, in China it has more than halved in this period: from almost 67,000 euros to just under 32,000 euros.
Competitive e-cars at such prices would be a real hit for German brands such as VW, but also Ford or Opel, which traditionally serve the entry-level and middle class.
