According to an expert, the decline in prices for electric cars is increasingly becoming a problem for leasing customers. While new electric cars are currently available with high discounts, higher rates are due for leasing than for comparable combustion engines, writes Ferdinand Dudenhöffer in a study by the Bochum Center Automotive Research. The reason is the uncertain residual values of the returns in a few years, which the companies are already taking into account.
On average, buyers of new electric cars could expect a discount of almost 16 percent, according to the results of the study. The prices for 53 models from different manufacturers were evaluated. The highest discount is currently on the fully electric Dacia Spring at 44 percent. Chinese manufacturers pushing into the European market offered discounts of 20 to 30 percent; at VW, discounts of up to 19 percent are possible for ID models. The reason is the declining interest in electric cars after the state purchase bonus was abolished, according to Dudenhöffer. “The only choice the car manufacturer has is to enter this discount competition or to mothball the electric cars.”
Falling residual values drive up leasing rates
When it comes to leasing, things are different, the institute explains using examples from Volkswagen and Opel. CAR has evaluated the rates of non-group providers here. An electric VW ID.3 purchased in cash, after deducting all discounts, currently costs around twelve percent more than a VW Tiguan with a gasoline engine, but the bottom line for a 48-month lease is 23 percent more, according to the study.
For an Opel Corsa, the cash price for the electric version is almost 70 percent higher than that of its gasoline sister model, while for a 48-month lease there is a 142 percent surcharge. “That’s really intense,” said Dudenhöffer. Apparently the leasing providers expected a high loss in value of the used cars and set correspondingly higher rates, especially for long terms.
“The electric car has become a problem for leasing companies, landlords and corporate customers since the government cut premiums,” is Dudenhöffer’s conclusion. “The loss in value when later sold as a used car is sometimes dramatic. It seems the higher the discounts, the greater the loss of trust and fear of loss in value.”