Europe Automakers Launch Cheaper Electric Cars to Compete With China (cnbc.com) 19
"Several of Europe's biggest carmakers unveiled low-cost electric vehicles at the Paris Motor Show this week," reports CNBC. The automakers are "seeking to jump-start a demand slump and recapture some of the market share now held by Chinese brands."
"It feels like Europe is fighting back," Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and e-mobility supply chains at the Transport & Environment campaign group, told CNBC at the Paris Motor Show. "There are so many new models on show, and what is really great is that there are a lot of launches that are more affordable. So, Citroen, Peugeot [and] Renault, they are all showing some smaller affordable models," Poliscanova said. "This is exactly what we need for the mass market, for people to buy those vehicles more, and this is also where the competition from the Chinese is also the hardest," she added...
"The storytelling is that people have cooled off on EVs and there is no consumer demand, [but] this is really not true," Transport & Environment's Poliscanova said. "This year in Europe, we did not have affordable models, so people are not buying those overpriced premium vehicles. However, as soon as vehicles come in the right price range next year ... people will flock to buy them." Poliscanova said the launch of several low-cost EVs means electric car sales could account for up to a 24% market share next year, up from 14% this year. Chinese-made EVs typically cost less than half the prices seen in Europe and the U.S. last year, according to figures published by data firm JATO, underscoring the challenge for Western automakers to keep pace with Beijing...
Pere Brugal, president and managing director of GM Europe, said that the challenges facing Europe's auto industry should be seen as a transitional phase — and not evidence of a crisis. "The adoption of new technologies and new behaviors is never a linear growth story, but the end is full-electric [vehicles]," Brugal told CNBC at the Paris Motor Show.
Meanwhile, GM's CEO "says it will start making money on battery-powered models by the end of the year — becoming the only U.S. automaker aside from Tesla to achieve that feat," reports the New York Times (adding that sales are increasing "and the company just introduced a model that sells for less than $30,000 after a federal tax credit.")
And GM "is still committed to doing away with combustion engine cars in the United States by 2035."
"The storytelling is that people have cooled off on EVs and there is no consumer demand, [but] this is really not true," Transport & Environment's Poliscanova said. "This year in Europe, we did not have affordable models, so people are not buying those overpriced premium vehicles. However, as soon as vehicles come in the right price range next year ... people will flock to buy them." Poliscanova said the launch of several low-cost EVs means electric car sales could account for up to a 24% market share next year, up from 14% this year. Chinese-made EVs typically cost less than half the prices seen in Europe and the U.S. last year, according to figures published by data firm JATO, underscoring the challenge for Western automakers to keep pace with Beijing...
Pere Brugal, president and managing director of GM Europe, said that the challenges facing Europe's auto industry should be seen as a transitional phase — and not evidence of a crisis. "The adoption of new technologies and new behaviors is never a linear growth story, but the end is full-electric [vehicles]," Brugal told CNBC at the Paris Motor Show.
Meanwhile, GM's CEO "says it will start making money on battery-powered models by the end of the year — becoming the only U.S. automaker aside from Tesla to achieve that feat," reports the New York Times (adding that sales are increasing "and the company just introduced a model that sells for less than $30,000 after a federal tax credit.")
And GM "is still committed to doing away with combustion engine cars in the United States by 2035."
Those are not compact cars. (Score:4, Interesting)
Showed are €35k cars.
They may be compact cars by US standards but in the EU that is considered mid-size.
The only true compact shown is just a concept, claimed to go on sale for less than €20k. But it is also rumored to be a Chinese platform with a Renault designed body on it.
That is not to say we really need some new sub €20k cars, right now all of them have been killed off by overregulation. Environmental and safety laws have made is close to impossible to sell a new ICE car below that amount in Europe.
Because of this (and EVC subsidies) the cheapest new car in most EU countries is currently the electric Dacia Spring. While Dacia is a Romanian subsidiary of Renault, the electric Spring is also built in China,
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That is not to say we really need some new sub €20k cars, right now all of them have been killed off by overregulation. Environmental and safety laws have made is close to impossible to sell a new ICE car below that amount in Europe.
Sorry that's a load of crap. You can look to many manufacturers to find ICE cars under 20k EUR. Just as an example:
Renault Clio - base price 18,750. It's not the smallest car they sell. For that you can look to a Twingo, which incidentally also has an EV model that is under 15000 EUR.
Volkswagen Polo - base price 19,250. It's not the smallest car they sell. For that you can look to an Up! that is under 15000 (ICE, not EV).
Citroen C3 - base price 14,990. It's not ths... okay I'm going to stop repeating this s
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"For that you can look to a Twingo, which incidentally also has an EV model that is under 15000 EUR."
In 2026. Maybe.
"Volkswagen Polo - base price 19,250."
There is no Polo EV.
Can't be bother to fact check the rest of your made up BS.
Maybe compete with Tesla too... (Score:2)
Maybe they want to compete with Tesla too. I understand China might have cheaper EVs but I read recently that Tesla wants to lauch a $25,000 EV.
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I've been reading that Tesla wants to launch a cheap EV since 2013. I'll believe $25000 Teslas when I see them delivered (not just put for sale along with an apology a year later that the price ended up being higher than what was listed for the pre-order). That said the $35000 Tesla Model 3 is a 40,000EUR car. European prices are higher, so if they are targeting $25000 (30000EUR) then they will already have competition from Volkswagen, Renault, Fiat, and Citroen for their EV models (some of which come in fa
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I thought the same when I posted and expected this response. By the way, $25000 != 30000EUR:
Today $25000 == 23,037.39 EUR
Last time I have been to EU, it's been quite a while, $25000 was about 10000EUR. What the heck did happen to the euro and to EU?
Well, kinda sorta (Score:3)
1. Renault showed the production version of the 5, and people love the design, but after more than a decade of reasonable volume EV manufacturing with the Zoe, it’s a shame they couldn’t do improve on range or get the price down further. The group as a whole has done the Dacia Spring, and that’s properly affordable, though. And the 4 looks like it will be a hit, and is a reasonably cheap CUV, too.
2. Peugeot’s cheapest EV is the e208, which has been around for ages. The new car this time was the e408, which is bigger and pricier
3. Citroen’s cheapest EV is the eC3, which has also already been around. The new car this time was the eC4, which is again bigger and pricier. However, it did show a natty refresh of the Ami, which is a microcar EV.
What this is really about, is that the French volume car makers have historically aimed at the family value segment, rather than premium like the German OEMs. And so they’re building out their ranges of family cars that are EVs. This is definitely good news for those of us that want EVs to succeed, but there’s a way to go on affordability yet.
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Just a comment, the link in TFS is a Renault Twingo, which is priced "less than €20,000" (the Renault 5 starts at 25 k€).
On the rest I agree. Nothing specifically links their offer to competition with China. They are just making the same cars they have always made, but electrify them at a refresh.
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it’s a shame they couldn’t do improve on range
People buy small cheap tiny cars as city cars. Very few people have a problem with the current range of the Zoe. In fact there are several car companies targeting this market with even less range.
Citroen’s cheapest EV is the eC3
Actually it's the Ami and is half the price of the eC3. - Again small city car with highly limited range. But that suits a lot of people.
What, already? (Score:2)
How do you compete against... (Score:3)
1) Massive government subsidies
2) Low, borderline slave wages in parts of the chinese industry
Answer - you can't, at least not in europe. So the EUs answer is stiff tarifs. If euro car makers can produce cheap EVs then great, but I wonder if any will be profitable or they'll simply be sold at cost price or a small loss in order to push out chinese makes.