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CAR Study: Price Decline for Electric Cars Causes Leasing Rates to Rise

(dpa) Those looking to buy an electric car can currently hope for high discounts. According to a study, however, leasing customers are at a disadvantage. Highest discounts are for the Dacia Spring, Chinese brands with up to 30 percent discount, VW up to 20 percent. Without a bonus, electric cars become a problem for leasing companies.

In October, Opel was still advertising with the same leasing rates for gasoline and electric cars, but that is a thing of the past with the end of the subsidy. | Photo: Opel
In October, Opel was still advertising with the same leasing rates for gasoline and electric cars, but that is a thing of the past with the end of the subsidy. | Photo: Opel
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Johannes Reichel

The decline in prices for electric cars will increasingly become a problem for leasing customers, according to an expert. While new electric cars are currently available with high discounts, leasing rates are higher compared to similar combustion engine cars, writes Ferdinand Dudenhöffer in a study by the Bochum Center Automotive Research. The reason is the uncertain residual values of returned vehicles in a few years, which companies are already factoring in. On average, buyers of new electric cars can expect almost 16 percent discount, according to the study results. Prices for 53 models from various manufacturers were analyzed.

The highest discount currently is for the fully electric Dacia Spring with 44 percent. Chinese manufacturers, who are pushing into the European market, are luring customers with discounts of 20 to 30 percent, while VW offers up to 19 percent discount for ID models. The reason for this is the declining interest in electric cars after the removal of the state purchase premium, according to Dudenhöffer.

“Automakers have no choice but to join this discount competition or mothball the electric cars.”

 

With leasing, the situation is different, according to the examples from Volkswagen and Opel that the institute analyzed. CAR evaluated the rates of independent providers here. For example, an electric VW ID.3 currently costs around twelve percent more than a gasoline-powered VW Tiguan when purchased outright after all discounts, but in a 48-month lease, the overall cost is 23 percent higher, according to the study. For an Opel Corsa, the cash price for the electric version is almost 70 percent higher than that of the gasoline sibling model, whereas the 48-month lease incurs a 142 percent premium. "That's quite significant," said Dudenhöffer. Apparently, leasing providers anticipate a high depreciation of used cars and set accordingly higher rates, especially for long-term leases. "Since the reduction of government premiums, the electric car has become a problem for leasing companies, landlords, and corporate customers," Dudenhöffer concluded.

"The depreciation when later reselling as a used car is sometimes dramatic. It seems the higher the discounts, the greater the loss of confidence and the fear of depreciation."

Translated automatically from German.
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