Price cuts are effectively being made by most car makers on selected EV models
Autocar finds makers are offering contributions up to £14k as demand in private EV sector falters
Research by Autocar shows car makers are slashing prices of some new electric cars by up to £14,000 in a bid to boost their sales of electric vehicles in the face of flagging consumer interest and to counter the impact of the ZEV mandate, which stipulates that at least 22% of their new car sales in 2024 must be EVs.
Offered in the form of a deposit contribution with a PCP – the most popular finance product among private buyers of new cars – price cuts are effectively being made by most car makers on selected EV models.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported that EV registrations claimed 16.9% of the market in April, compared with 15.4% the year before. However, the increase was driven solely by businesses rather than retail demand.
The SMMT expects this trend to continue and, as a result, has downgraded its forecast for EVs’ share of this year’s market to 19.8% – notably less than the 22% ZEV mandate threshold.
SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said: “The new car market continues to grow, driven primarily by fleet demand. This is particularly true of the electric vehicle sector, where the absence of government incentives for private buyers is having a marked effect. Although attractive deals on EVs are in place, manufacturers cannot fund the mass-market transition single-handedly.”
Exactly how attractive these deals are is revealed by Autocar’s research. A £14,000 contribution is the largest we found and is available on the Audi E-tron GT Quattro. It dwarfs the contributions that Audi is offering on its other EVs but they are also generous: £7750 on the Q8 E-tron and £5750 on the Q4 E-tron.
Audi isn’t alone. BMW is offering contributions that range from £1561 on the i4 eDrive35 M Sport to £4167 on the iX xDrive50 M Sport. Lexus is incentivising its EV sales with contributions of around £6000 on the RZ Takumi and £4500 on the RZ Premium and UX 300e. Volvo is offering an £8000 contribution on the XC40 Recharge.
Meanwhile, rather than a contribution, Polestar is offering a choice of a £1000 price cut, a free home charger or £900 of public charger energy on its 2. At the other end of the brand spectrum, where competition for EV buyers is equally as fierce, Skoda is offering £4000 off the Enyaq 80 and Volkswagen £3000 off the ID 7 and ID 7 Tourer.
The standout offers at this level, however, are Vauxhall’s deposit contributions of £7450 on the Corsa Electric Design and £4590 on the Mokka Griffin. Elsewhere, Peugeot is offering a contribution of £6500 on the e-2008 and Mazda £6000 on the MX-30. Renault is offering a £2750 contribution on the Mégane E-Tech and has announced a £500 price cut and enhanced equipment levels across the range.
Autocar found the value of a contribution is influenced by a range of factors including the list price of the vehicle and its popularity, with more niche or expensive offerings or those facing the greatest competition attracting the heaviest support. Larger contributions are generally accompanied by low-rate finance while more modest ones might be paired with zero-rate interest offers.
Many deals are being supported with free home chargers or free public charging, but rarely both. In addition, dealers are boosting deals further still by offering discounts worth an average of 11%, a record figure.
Explaining Audi’s decision to offer generous PCP deposit contributions with its EVs, a spokesman said: “The E-tron GT is in the middle of a life cycle change and an updated version of the car is due to be available in the UK in a few months’ time. In terms of EV demand per se, then that is still good. We are the largest market in Europe for Q4 and with Q6 E-tron now available for ordering, and A6 E-tron a bit later this year, we expect interest to continue.”
