 For how much longer?
Have you heard anything substantive from new VW CEO Oliver Blume, other than his commitment to e-fuels? We only know the news that the formerly successful Skoda designer Jozef Kaban, who was brought back by BMW
2.5 years ago, has been relieved of his position.
Perhaps more excitingly, the head of Toyota is handing over his job to the CEO of Lexus. We weren't the only ones who had the feeling that one had been marching in the wrong direction there for some time. Does that mean
the competition has found its purpose?
Not even close. Why? Because soon only rich people will be able to afford a car. No, the radical price reduction at Tesla doesn't really help, because on the one hand Teslas are still not a price hit and on the other hand
electric cars don't alone determine what's going on.
Maybe a little in Germany respectively Europe. But Toyota is not entirely wrong to be skeptical about electric cars, especially if you broaden your perspective a little. Our employee in Argentina reports that 7,500 hybrids and
280 electric cars were sold in 2021, despite government incentives, almost 200 of which are not dissimilar to a golf cart.
They just have other worries. But even in the USA, climate protection and the environment are not particularly important to many people. A Tesla is mainly sold in the coastal states and serves more to the image of the buyer.
The Series F from Ford is still the best-selling car and Toyota is the market leader.
| But Ford's Series F is also becoming more expensive almost every month. |
The sale of electric cars will probably also become more widespread at some point. What is currently causing concern, in addition to the delivery difficulties, are the rising prices. They changed almost monthly, probably the
most between the months 12/2022 and 01/2023.
Which brings us back to the German market. Try buying a cheap family car now, even without considering the delivery times. Of course, thoughts of the future are pushing you towards 'electric'. But if you look at the brochures,
you'll come back quickly.
There is a reason that none of the established manufacturers specifies the battery size in kWh, but only works with apparently almost freely juggable ranges. Once the car has been sold, obviously no one looks at the
prospectus and compares how far he/she has driven with it.
The limit of reasonableness seems to be around €30,000. For €1,000 more there is then the best-selling Fiat 500e with 42 kWh, which, however, has become €4,200 more expensive in the last year. They are now going
down again due to the Bafa premium. What remains is a two-door for around €27,000, not exactly the prototype for a family car.
We ordered a 64kWh Hyundai Kona, which went up in price by about the same amount afterwards. After deduction of Bafa it costs €37,000, at least 4 doors, but with 235 liters of luggage space, which is unacceptable for
families, and hardly any space on the back seat. And it will be replaced by a larger one around the middle of the year, but certainly not cheaper.
The ID.3 only starts at a good €44,000, is also not a miracle of space, only has a 58 kWh battery and on top of that a delivery time of 9 to 12 months. There are said to be models, including those from VW and Skoda, you have
even to wait up to 20 months for them.
Two winners of this misery can already be identified. On the one hand, there are the providers of car subscriptions. They obviously get new cars faster, but the prices you pay for something that used to be normal are high.
And then there are the Chinese manufacturers, who can't deliver much faster either, but offer e.g. in the form of the MG4 cheaper. But once the fear of them has disappeared once, the German providers maybe will have to
prepare oneself for the worst.
| A company in which VW AG has a stake is competing with it in its own country. |
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