The price surcharge will cost customers dearly afterwards

Car buyers have been feeling the effects of inflation for some time. Long waiting times are no longer uncommon when buying a car. So the decision to buy an electric car is often a nail-biter: how much does the car cost when it’s finally here? A question that more and more customers have to ask themselves, no matter which drive it is.

A car, especially a new car, is usually an expensive affair. It is important for buyers to be able to plan carefully. But that’s getting harder and harder. Anyone who decides to buy an e-car already knows the nail-biter: Subsidies can only be applied for after approval. Accordingly, the amount of the subsidy depends crucially on the time of delivery.

Price surcharges afterwards: This is how BMW and Co. secure their profits

But in the meantime it has long since ceased to apply only to those interested in an electric car. If you want to buy a new car, no matter what type, you can hardly rely on the price. This is due to the mixture of persistently high inflation and increasing delivery times. The traditional German brands BMW and Mercedes in particular stand out here: Both are currently giving one Price guarantee of only four months (Source: Automobilwoche via t-on-line).

If the manufacturers need longer, they can unilaterally correct the price upwards. BMW customers can then decide whether they still want to buy the car at the new price or withdraw from the contract. Mercedes is even more rigorous: Here, a resignation is only possible if the price increase is more than 3 percent.

Using the example of the Mercedes entry-level model, the A-Class, this would mean: You can only withdraw from the purchase if the new car costs around EUR 37,972 instead of the current entry-level price of EUR 36,866.20 upon delivery. With more expensive configurations or models, you have to put significantly more money on the table.

Inflation makes price comparisons between e-cars and combustion engines even more difficult:

BMW and Mercedes are not alone in this. After all, Kia gives a price guarantee of seven months. At VW, the price remains fixed as soon as a delivery date has been agreed.

Automakers agree: Inflation can also hit customers afterwards

The reasons for the price increases are high inflation and high energy prices, which it costs manufacturers more money to build their cars. The longer the time between order and delivery, the greater the surcharge can be. Automakers then adjust prices to protect their profits.