While France has started the transition to 100% electric cars, some models have seen sharp price increases since the beginning of the year due to inflation in commodities and energy.
It is one of the best-selling electric cars in France and the price has increased by more than 11,000 euros in a few months. This is the Tesla Model 3, long on display at a price of 43,800 euros, for its entry-level version launched last year.
Price increase and bonus reduction
A prize below the ceiling of 45,000 euros, which entitles France to the maximum ecological bonus. A grant that was originally 7,000 euros has increased to 6,000 euros since July 1, 2021. Result: a rate, including support (not counting the local support or the conversion premium) has thus fallen to 36,800 euros.
But today the star sedan of the American brand is shown for a minimum price of 49,990 euros. An increase of 6190 euros since the beginning of March causing another, with the reduction of the bonus awarded for this model. Indeed, by crossing the threshold of 45,000 euros, a vehicle sees its support reduced to 2,000 euros. And there is no longer any support for a vehicle of more than 60,000 euros, excluding hydrogen-powered electric cars.
So we have an increase of 11,190 euros between a Model 3 purchased on June 30, 2021 and today, or an increase in the final bill for the consumer of almost 36% in just over 9 months.
Other Applicable Models
If Tesla does not provide an explanation for this increase, it is not an isolated case. For example, Ford just increased the price of its Mustang Mach-E. The SUV saw its price in January start at 50,450 euros and has just risen in France to 56,400 euros (+11%).
Price adjustments for certain versions “to cope with the significant increase in production and material costs,” explains Ford France. The semiconductor shortage in 2021 will continue to disrupt production this year, and the war in Ukraine is also fueling raw material and energy prices.
A phenomenon that mainly affects electric cars with specific components in the batteries that are currently under voltage.
“For the first time since 2010, the cost of batteries is expected to rise in 2022 due to the surge in raw materials, especially lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese,” explains Nicolas Meilhan, industry expert and consultant for the EV Volumes site. . materials accounted for 40% of the cost of the battery a few years ago and today it is 80%.
In this context, Luc Chatel, President of the Automotive Platform, was concerned last week that the price gap between thermal and electric vehicles would widen even further:
“We have a difference of about 40% in the selling price of an electric vehicle compared to a thermal vehicle. This difference will increase further,” he said on the air. BFMBusiness.
A strong question
Another explanation for this price increase: strong demand for electric vehicles, boosted by record levels of fuel prices and a bonus that would normally be reduced by €1,000 from July 1, to €5,000. However, in the case of the re-election of Emmanuel Macron, the Economy Minister, Bruno Le Maire, had explained on March 15 that this support would remain at the current level of 6000 euros, a priori and at least until the end of the year. year.
“This extension of the current bonus would be a logical decision given the delivery times that have been significantly extended since the beginning of the year, this would allow to avoid the rise in the price of raw materials and the gradual disappearance of discounts in concessions,” underlines Solal Botbol , co-founder and president of BEEV, a seller of 100% electric long-term rental cars.
Due to the current high demand, available stocks of new electric vehicles are at their lowest and delivery times are continuously increasing†
If Fiat has not increased the price of its electric 500 500, which always starts at 24,500 euros, you will have to be patient if you cannot find what you are looking for among the available models, with a waiting period of three months after the order has been placed . Count on a month longer for a Renault Zoé, another star on the French market.
“While there can be strong variations depending on the model, we have gone from an average lead time of 3 months at the beginning of the year to 6-8 months, or even a year now, an issue that will eventually pass before prices for many customers, says Solal Botbol. But if you want to switch to electric in the short term, now is still the right time to equip yourself to anticipate future price increases. And manufacturers can’t raise prices on electric too much while sales of thermal models are falling.”
On the diamond brand side, there are even potential price cuts on the new Mégane, which is sold in electric only. Renault would lower the prices of certain versions to below 45,000 euros to get exactly in the nails of the maximum bonus, it believes the specialized site clean cars† But the cessation of production from April 14 to 25in the absence of components, it again comes down to the availability of the model, rather than the price.
Hyundai, for its part, ensures that it has not increased the price of its Ioniq 5 since the beginning of the year.
On the other hand, at Dacia, the Spring, the cheapest electric car on the market and best-selling model in January, cannot escape the phenomenon. The price has increased by 1000 euros a week ago. Since the launch a year ago, the price excluding bonuses of the Comfort version has increased from 16,990 euros to 18,690 euros and the Comfort Plus version from 18,400 euros to 20,190 euros.
Logically, it is then necessary to go to the second-hand market with two advantages: sharper prices and immediate availability. Assets that contributed to the explosion in sales last year, but in a market that is also reaching saturation. With increasing demand, the average price is rising, especially for thermals, which still represent the bulk of sales.
Even if sales of second-hand electric vehicles more than doubled in France last month, they still represent less than 2% of transactions, the automotive data specialist AAA Data points out.
The second-hand supply is lacking, fueled by the shortage of new vehicles for two years. The Aramisauto site has seen the number of searches for hybrid and electric vehicles double between February and March, but is struggling to satisfy all interested buyers. Very popular models: In March, 77% of electric cars placed on the site found buyers in less than 7 days, while this percentage is only 35% for petrol cars.
In addition to the 100% electric models, it is all recent cars, between 0 and 2 years old, that are affected by price increases, emphasizes Olivier Flavier, automotive vice president of the Leboncoin group. On the platform, the average price for these vehicles increased from 26,755 euros in February 2021 to 30,327 euros in February 2022, an increase of 13.5% in this category.
