sales of electric cars could fall next year, according to China’s MG

2023-12-15 17:25:00

Could the new French ecological bonus harm sales? This is what was stated MG Motor, brand of the Chinese group SAIC 600104.SS this Friday. This last expects the electric vehicle market in France to decline next year. Caused by the tightening of the conditions for granting the ecological bonus.

And for good reason,The government presented last Thursday the list of winners and losers of this bonus which consists of public aid of between 5,000 and 7,000 euros for the purchase of a new electric vehicle. It will be intended for vehicles having obtained a favorable environmental score from December 15. Above all, no car produced outside Europe will be entitled to state aid upon purchase. Among brands outside Europe, only the Hyundai Kona, the Mazda MX-30, the Nissan Townstar and Leaf as well as the Toyota Proace city verso will continue to benefit from this aid system. In total, 30% of electric cars currently sold will no longer have a purchase reduction.

Electric car: excluded from the new ecological bonus, the Chinese manufacturer MG cuts prices

Or, « there are cars that will completely lose competitiveness », Reacted a spokesperson for MG dont le new model, the MG4, will be deprived of the ecological bonus in France. Its spokesperson explained that the brand had not submitted an application for the new bonus on the grounds that the scale chosen was “ made to exclude us » and the chosen timings are not very compatible with industrial time.

A third of electric cars sold come from China

And the Chinese manufacturer is not the only one whose model is excluded. Dealers have already expressed their concern that, among the 16% of electric cars sold this year, more than a third come from China. This new bonus might thus reduce car orders, already in the red for this year, by 13% compared to 2022, “ already one of the worst years for the automobile », conceded to The Tribune Marc Bruschet, president of private vehicle dealers within the Mobilians union earlier in December.

Indeed, on electric cars – on average 10,000 euros more expensive than their gasoline counterparts – the old version of the bonus, which concerned cars manufactured in China, made it possible to have models around 20,000 euros. From now on, it will be difficult to obtain electric cars at this price. We will have to wait for the arrival of the next Citroën C3 and the Renault 5 next spring to benefit from electric models below 20,000 euros.

MG Motor strikes back

But GM Motor has not said its last word and nevertheless expects stability in its sales in France in 2024 thanks to the reinforcement of two new models, hybrids this time, added the spokesperson.

Electric cars: European manufacturers make pacts with their Chinese rivals to better contain them

To ensure you sell your new model « We have been running an campaign for several weeks on television and radio to encourage people to come and buy before the end of the ecological bonus. », explained MG on December 13. The latter thus offered discounts of around 3,500 euros on its flagship models, bringing the price of the ZS urban SUV down to less than 18,000 euros, bonus included and social leasing at 99 euros per month. These offers also stopped today, the day the new bonus rules were implemented. With this aggressive policy, order intake in recent weeks has never been stronger, according to MG.

(With Archyde.com)