This manufacturer offers “unlimited charging” on its flagship electric car, but be careful with the terms

Cupra is offering a great gift to customers of its Born electric compact, giving them free and unlimited charging. But in fact, it is a little different, and you should pay close attention to the terms of this interesting offer.

With a market share of 15.9% in France, electric cars are more popular than ever. However, certain obstacles still remain, such as the price considered too high and freedom. And the common feature between the two: the cost of recharging.

Attractive offer

Charging your electric car battery is not free. It costs an average of 11.60 euros per 100 km to charge at a public station. The price that varies however depending on the selected operator and payment method, with or without registration eg. Not to mention the fact that the budget also varies depending on whether you are a light or heavy rider. In short, this is not real science.

But now the manufacturer has found a solution to make life easier for its customers, and above all to attract new ones. This is Cupra, which has been selling its first 100% electric compact, the Born, since 2021. The latter looks good on paper, when its sales increased by 84.3% during the first nine months of 2023, and 32,300 registrations according to a communiqué of the brand.

And there is no question of resting on your laurels. This is what Cupra has just announced new advertising operation to attract new customers. And the least we can say is that it is very interesting. In fact, the company advertises in a communiqué what offers unlimited recharge for new buyers of its electric compact, a cousin of the Volkswagen ID.3. On paper, it’s hard to say no. But pay attention to the terms.

Looking in more detail at this operation, we realize that it is not so simple. And for good reason, the end doesn’t matter as long term rental offers (LLD) and not a cash purchase. And there is no question for the manufacturer to give his recharging Born for life, as you can imagine. Because it would end up costing him a lot. But then, how does this version work?

What conditions?

In fact, this operation translates to “exclusive discount of €3,000 for 3 years or €4,000 for 4 years, corresponding to the estimated average annual electricity consumption for the Born.“. The manufacturer provides discount on the rental pricebased on certified average consumption, of course thanks to the WLTP cycle.

However, and this is a good step, the Spanish manufacturer is considering rate of 0.59 euros per kWh for burden in his calculation. A price that is in line with what is often charged at fast stations, even if some operators are cheaper, such as Lidl that charges only 0.40 euros per kWh on its 360 kW sockets. The brand also notes that extensions are provided in the event of additional payment costs or additional usage.

In this case, the last “returns you the difference depending on the confirmation submission”, without giving further details. The press release indicates that this offer is valid for registration of the LLD offer issued between January 1 and February 29, 2024as long as registration is done before December 31, 2024.

The way to relaunch the “sales” of the compact, the production of which was stopped at the end of last year due to insufficient sales. It remains to be seen if other brands in the group will offer similar promotions to increase subscriptions. For its part, Volkswagen has lowered the prices of its ID.3 and its ID.4 and ID.5 while Audi has renewed its special Design Edition series on its Q4 e-tron.