Dhe statistics speak a clear language: The average new car in Germany now costs 41,300 euros, according to figures from the Center Automotive Research (CAR) in Duisburg. That is around 14,470 euros more than ten years ago and has now become a real problem for many families. And the combustion engines are still included.
“If we are soon to buy all electric cars, mobility will be significantly more expensive,” says Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director of the CAR research institute. He estimates the average price of battery-electric cars in the country at 42,800 euros.
The statistics also contain outliers, such as the Mercedes EQS from 109,551 euros and the Porsche Taycan with over 190,000 euros. But the cheapest ID.3 is in the list after the facelift at 43,995 euros. And according to VW, it is something like the Golf of Generation E and therefore the average car par excellence.
The Dacia Spring, after all one of the cheapest e-cars in the country, already costs 22,550 euros. “With such prices, we will exclude many customers from the new car business in the future,” admits Bertrand Leherrisier self-critically.
The product planner at Citroën is currently struggling to come up with concepts with which the horsepower industry can take everyone with it into the new era. One result of this struggle is the Citroën Oli.
For Leherrisier, the show car embodies the ideal of a reasonable Generation E family car: a good four meters long and big enough for four people, it should only cost 25,000 euros, he outlines the general conditions.
Like every study, the car is hopelessly oversubscribed. And it is also experimenting with new materials such as car body elements made of cardboard or an interior made of PU foam that is created in a 3D printer.
Less is more – also with the electric car
But the basic ideas are enduring: In order to push the price down, we have to turn the arms race around and practice a little modesty, says the strategist, describing a spiral of disarmament: Less weight enables a smaller and therefore cheaper battery without the range suffering too much . And slower speed means less motor power, which in turn means a smaller battery and therefore less weight – and costs less money.
So if you are willing to go 110 km/h and are satisfied with a radius of action of 400 kilometers, argues the Frenchman, you can get by with a 40 kWh battery and may soon be able to offer a compact car suitable for everyday use for the price of a previous combustion engine.
As if from building blocks: With the concept study Oli, Citroën shows a cheap electric car
Source: dpa-tmn/Citroën
However, that stands or falls with the battery prices, warns Renault board member Guido Haak, who heads the advance development of the French. “Because they still make up a good third of the costs for high-volume cars.”
And instead of becoming cheaper through large quantities like computer chips used to be, prices have just gone up steeply due to demand and supply bottlenecks.
More inexpensive e-cars in the works
And yet: The French are not alone with the Oli, which, according to Bertrand Leherrisier, is intended more as food for thought than as a series car. Instead, several volume manufacturers are currently making cutbacks and are struggling for e-cars that should be affordable without a cardboard body and monoblock charm:
VW is working flat out on the ID.2 based on the ID study. Life, for which the new brand boss Thomas Schäfer has promised a price of less than 25,000 euros. The group has confirmed that there will also be a similar model at Skoda and at the Seat offshoot Cupra.
The Rocks-e from Opel is a small electric vehicle
Source: dpa-tmn/Christian Bittmann
And Renault wants to revive the R5 for affordable electric mobility. A starting price of around 25,000 euros is also the goal for him, according to company boss Luca de Meo.
The extent to which the struggle for affordable electric mobility goes is shown by the vehicle category of light vehicles and micromobiles, which have gained in importance with the drive revolution.
Micromobiles as a replacement for the car
Models such as the Swiss Microlino or the Opel Rocks-e, which used to be more of a mobility aid for people without a driver’s license, are now deliberately looking for proximity to the car and are closing the gap in new car prices, at least for city traffic.
“After all, leasing a Rocks-e often costs no more than the monthly ticket for the transport association and is therefore affordable for almost everyone,” says Opel boss Florian Hüttl about the two-seater for 7,990 euros.
However, you shouldn’t expect much more than basic urban mobility: 9 kW/12 hp engine power and 5.5 kWh battery capacity are enough for a top speed of 45 km/h and 75 kilometers.
Smaller batteries, lighter constructions or minimalist dimensions – there is another way to lower the price of new cars, says Jan Burgard from strategy consultant Berylls: “Production in a country with lower labor costs”.
Of course, he thinks of China first, but not necessarily of cheap Chinese imports of no-name brands in the style of e-scooters from the hardware store. Instead, he refers to current premium projects such as the next Mini or the new Smart, both of which are being built in the Far East with large German participation. “This is an example that volume brands could soon follow in the struggle for lower prices.”
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