Electric cars: soon Tesla for 25,000 francs?

Sales in Switzerland make Tesla’s electric shock a lie

The California manufacturer warns of a fall in its international sales. Its Model 3 remains the leader in the Swiss market, thanks to price cuts.

Published: 04/24/2024, 8:45 pm

Tesla’s German factory, near Berlin. The California manufacturer, which announced on Tuesday that it will cut 55% of its profits, is interested in producing a low-cost electric car “as soon as possible”.

KEYSTONE

It appeared in sales reports in late summer, then it was mentioned with the whispers of experts, the suspension of the purchase of electric cars comes to light, and Tesla’s change of fortune.

The Californian brand reported on Tuesday evening a decrease in its products in the last three months. And it expects sales growth “especially low” this year. What better understanding of the layoffs of 10% of its workforce announced last week – more than 400 that would affect Germany.

Tesla is not the only one suffering. Owned by Geely, another Chinese conglomerate, Volvo reported a drop in sales this Wednesday. “Across Europe, the market for electric vehicles has been gradually stagnating since the beginning of the year,” confirms Matthias Schmidt, head of the Berlin-based market research office.

Germany doubt

Impressive across the Rhine – with a third less electric car sold compared to last year – the air gap is also visible in Switzerland. At the end of it monthly update, the AutoSuisse Group notes that “electric cars are struggling to gain ground”, and sales were not as high as a year ago. Battery-powered vehicles continue to represent less than one in five registrations.

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In fact, Tesla is already waging a fierce price war to stop any slide in its sales. And protect its market share. An example? Elon Musk’s brand promises a lease contract starting at 220 francs per month for the entry-level Model Y.

For now, it works. Its SUV, of which more than 2,500 models were produced this year, continues to dominate the electric market in Switzerland. To the point of reaching more than three times the sales of Skoda Enyaq, the best electric seller in the Volkswagen galaxy. And widen the gap.

Throughout 2023, Tesla sold just under 6,200 of its Model Ys, nearly a thousand more than Skoda sold Enyaqs. So, the difference was only 20%.

The plastic-nosed electric car with the “T” logo has become the best-selling car in the country, a title long claimed by the Skoda Octavia. A family favorite in the station wagon version, this must-have on Swiss roads has long sold 10,000 copies a year. Before losing land, from 2020, it will reach only half of this amount. But it is not finished.

Because, surprise, if the Model 3 has widened the gap with the Enyaq since the beginning of the year, Skoda is making up for it with… its old Octavia, an improved version that is arriving in dealerships. The latter model has once again become the second best-selling model in the country, with almost 1,700 already registered in 2024. So this is twice Enyaq, the new electric brand of the Czech brand, while at All of last year, their sales were almost identical. Hasn’t the petrol or (scandal) diesel station wagon had its last word?

“The most worrying thing? The rates shown a year ago in Germany, Sweden and Norway were already low, after many orders were previously issued to anticipate the reduction of subsidies – or the removal of taxes – to come,” warns the head of Automotive Research Schmidt .

According to forecasts from the company EV Volumes, a benchmark in the sector, in 2024 sales in Europe should increase by 23%. But this remains far from the increased promise of the past few years.

Demi-tour is not possible

A situation that encourages historical developers to slow down. Wisely. Especially since many of them “can stay under their overall ceiling of CO₂ emissions without selling more electric cars, which encourages them to push their hot models, which are more profitable”, decipher analysts from the AutoVista office .

Above all, an opportunistic attitude. Because the industry no longer seems to be going backwards, after envelopes of more than 500 billion dollars have been released over the past two years to accelerate this technological revolution, according to the latest calculation from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Even Carlos Tavares, the boss of the Peugeot-Fiat-Chrysler group, assures that he does not agree to roll back the obligation to sell only electric cars in 2035 – in an undisguised message to many future European parliamentarians. About one in five cars on the road in Europe could be electric by 2030, the IEA reiterated on Tuesday, presenting attitudes for that sector.

Tesla “low cost”?

Under intense scrutiny due to their purchasing power but also the absence of government procurement support influencing their choices, Swiss consumers reveal the extent of the underground shift at work. Despite a sharp decline in recent months, the Tesla Model 3 remains the best-selling car in the country, all engines combined.

The question is in fact no longer transition to electricity but the reduction of its price below 25,000 euros, presented for a long time by manufacturers as a minimum to avoid selling at a loss. Therefore, in its strategic plan unveiled last week, Nissan hopes to offer electric cars in 2030 that cost less than gasoline models.

For its part, Tesla has been putting the release of the future Model 2, for $ 25,000, back on the table since Tuesday. “Rather early 2025, if not the end of 2024” mentioned Elon Musk. A promise that at least made it possible to stop the fall of the stock market and Tesla this year.

Pierre-Alexandre Sallier has been a journalist in the Economy section since 2014. Previously he worked Weatheras well as for every day Tribunein Paris.More information

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