The American company Cox Automotive analyzes the situation in the electric car market. Despite the efforts of producers, their prices still remain quite high, which negatively affects demand. According to the survey, in the first quarter of 2024, manufacturers sold their electric vehicles at a discount of an average of $6,000. However, the cars are piling up at dealers.
Some companies have gone further. For example, Nissan offers its electric crossover Aryia at a discount of almost 16 thousand dollars. That's almost a third of the model's suggested retail price. According to Cox Automotive, the Nissan Ariya sells for about $35,500, the Nissan Leaf for less than $28,000, and the Hynudai Ioniq 6 for $36,506.
Mercedes-Benz is selling its EQS at a discount of 20 thousand dollars, which is 19% of the price of the model. So now the electric flagship can be bought cheaper for 105 thousand dollars. Tesla and Ford also dropped their prices. The discounted Tesla Model 3 costs $40,547 and the Model Y costs $43,238. According to Cox Automotive, the average price of the Ford Mustang Mach-E is $44,910.
According to Automotive News, as of April 1st, electric cars were in dealer warehouses for an average of 119 days. At its peak in mid-February, the average was 169 days. For comparison, the average indicator of gasoline models is 73 days.
The reduction in prices made it possible to significantly shorten the period of sale. So after the price of the Mustang Mach-E dropped by $8,100, delivery time dropped from 314 days in February to 140 days in March. The Nissan Ariya sold in an average of 94 days, while in February the buyer had to wait 159 days.
The reason for the increase in the delay of electric cars in the dealerships is one thing - a drop in demand. In the first quarter of 2024, electric vehicles accounted for 7.3% of new car sales, up just 2.6% from a year earlier. For comparison, in the first quarter of 2023, the volume of sales of electric cars increased by 46% on an annual basis, in 2022 - by 81%.