EV price war of 2023

Interior only has minor cosmetic changes, and we don’t get the 12” screen they do on LHD, its coming next year on RHD.

Exterior is more obvious, removal of the black plastic section on the bonnet, front grill honeycomb is gone, and some rear lighting tweaks, but its relatively minor alright.

The base ID.3 1st wasn't particularly well specced. Eg no reversing camera. You had to pay about an extra 7k for the Plus which had the matrix lights etc.

There were also extra incentives such as 2000kWh of free charging at Ionity and free home charger or free service pack (Incl tyres) or free pcp payments(Can't remember the details.)

Not the same at all, they've spent billions in R&D, especially VW to go down the same road Toyota will in time and it's not just batteries they are buying either btw, drive trains etc. Toyota in the end will be proven right to have waited

VW statement today on EV's doesn't read good :) Job losses, plants closing, EV demand down, looking for more incentives lol and then you got Musk having monthly fire sales like Tesla are going into receivership lol

It's gonna be interesting few years that's for sure

"Volkswagen’s Emden plant in the northwest of Germany will remain closed for six weeks, according to a new report. Factory workers on the electric vehicle lines will get an extended one-month summer break, and one shift will be cancelled for two weeks.

Wulff also announced a reduction in the number of plant workers. 300 of the 1500 temporary workers will not have their contracts renewed in August 2023. The workforce reduction and extended holidays point to one conclusion: it’s a sales crisis.

Demand for EVs is down by 30 percent, compared to original production figures. Moreover, potential EV buyers are showing signs of reluctance, Wulff told Nordwest Zeitung. Production of the ID.7, originally slated for July 2023, has been pushed back to later this year.

Volkswagen announced last year that it had planned to invest nearly $1.1 billion in converting and retooling the Emden plant for MEB platform-based electric cars. It employs 8,000 workers at the facility"

The brand makes electric cars at multiple sites across the globe, four of which are in Germany: Emden, Hanover, Dresden, and Zwickau. Its international EV plants, where primarily the popular ID.4 is made, are located in the cities of Anting and Foshan in China, and Chattanooga, Tennessee in the US

Olaf Lies, the minister of economic affairs for the state of Lower Saxony, told the newspaper that Volkswagen’s decisions in Emden were “understandable.” To counter the sales slump, he called for a reduction in value-added tax (VAT) and additional EV incentives.

Volkswagen Group sales were up by 68 percent in Europe in Q1 2023 year over year, while US sales increased by a remarkable 98 percent. However, China sales were down by a worrying 25 percent, as it is VW Group’s largest market, and also the biggest plug-in car market by volume in the world"

Volkswagen Faces Headwinds In EV Market: Emden Plant Production Reduced (insideevs.com)

Yeah that's kind of my view as well, the ID.4 1st Max that I got was around €57k new

Now it's €72k for what is largely the same car. The "improvements" are better Travel and Parking assist (whatever) and a Heat Pump (overhyped)

So I either pay off the loan and keep the car, trade down to a lower spec for the same amount of money, or go with a competitor (of which none really appeal to me)

It's for this reason I think I'll be paying off the loan and keeping the car for a few more years yet, I just don't see anything that makes the cost of changing worthwhile

EU I presume going by the article

Yes fully agree, autogiants have taken the piss for years and I can't wait for the Chinese to bury a few of them, like you said the excuses for the extortionate prices have been endless, covid, semiconductors, Ukraine, emissions, wages, EU grants, while they made record profits year after year

"1 in 3 jobs in places like Germany are in someway connected to the auto industry"

Are you sure that is correct? That would be around 15 million people.

€600 gets you a better aftermarket reverse camera which integrates well

Ford are basing (some of) their designs on MEB platform so it's only a small step to go for some BYD platform in the future. Where the Chinese are poor at the moment is the annoying software features, but once things standardise there it will a tough place to compete for the European makes. So far some of the European manufactures have managed to keep their head above the surface by focussing on posh models but I really think that most of the "Premium" makes are living on borrowed time and cashing in on their history without any substance.

It must be worrying for the Europeans though that the Chinese are not just building white goods but actually adding their own style. It may not be everybody's cup of tea, myself included, but the approach is very different from what the Koreans did back in 90's where they did bland but good cars to compete against the other volume makes. Now the Chinese are targeting "premium".

Is there some bias here, people on these motor and ev forums are "engaged" buyers, they take an interest, they do research, and they debate. They are not the silent majority.

I don't think most families will give 1 hoot about the guitar strings (something constantly raised on fora and review videos). Price, space, and regarded as safe are the 3 things that will drive most sales in my opinion. thoughts? From what I have seen the interiors are absolutely fine in some of these newer cars.

Nissan Juke is IMO, one of the ugliest cars on the market, especially the MK1 version. but wierdly one of Nissan's best selling cars in Ireland and the UK.

Is it NIO with the stupid hello kitty type head assistant on the dash