Electric cars.

[Chippy_Tea]

BBC news
Tesla's shares have fallen by more than 40% since the start of this year


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Tesla has cut its prices again in a number of major markets - including the US, China and Germany - as the electric car giant run by multi-billionaire Elon Musk faces falling sales.

The move comes after it reported a sharp fall in its global vehicle deliveries in the first three months of this year.

A price war has been intensifying between electric vehicle (EV) makers, with particularly fierce competition coming from Chinese firms.

Tesla is due to report financial results for the first quarter of 2024 after the US market close on Tuesday.

In a post on social media platform X, external, formerly Twitter, Mr Musk said: "Tesla prices must change frequently in order to match production with demand."

In China, the firm cut the starting price of the revamped Model 3 in China by 14,000 yuan (£1,562) to 231,900 yuan.

Prices of the Model Y, Model X and Model S vehicles in the US were reduced by $2,000 (£1,616) on Friday.

There were also price cuts in many other countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according Reuters, the news agency.

BBC News has contacted Tesla for comment.

The company triggered an EV price war over a year ago when it aggressively cut prices at the expense of profit margins.

The firm has been slow to refresh its ageing models while rivals in China, such as BYD and Nio, have been rolling out cheaper models. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi also launched its first EV last month.

Last week, Tesla announced plans to lay off more than 10% of its global workforce.

Over the weekend, Mr Musk said he would postpone a planned trip to India, where he was due to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, due to "very heavy Tesla obligations".

On Friday, the firm recalled thousands of its new Cybertrucks over safety concerns.

It is because their accelerator pedals currently risk getting trapped by the interior trim, increasing the possibility of crashes.

Tesla's shares have fallen by more than 40% since the start of this year

 

[JockyBrewer]

Insurance tends to be in line with the "quick" versions of the equivalent ICE car but less than the daft ones - for instance the Electric Mini is insurance groups 20-26, which is the same as the Cooper (20) and Cooper S (26) but less than the JCW (27-30). The electric Fiat 500 is 15-17, whereas the ICE versions top out at 15 for the 95/105bhp versions and the old Abarth version was 26-27. So that may be a bit of a shock if you don't normally drive a quick car.

Teslas are another story though, as Thatcham don't rate their app-based security and a few other things so put even the Model 3 at groups 48-50.

The other problem with many EVs affecting insurance premiums, and particularly Tesla, is the high rate of insurance write offs due to the way the cars are being manufactured.

Tesla has pioneered 'gigacasting' of the chassis, where instead of welding/bolting together dozens to hundreds of pieces of steel to build a chassis, they use very large presses to mould steel into a few large parts that snap together. It's much cheaper to produce once you get past the cost of the presses, and keeps weight down too.

The problem is that you can't repair small bits of the casting. Ding one bit of the chassis and the car has to be written off. I think that will change, but it's a symptom of the rethink manufacturers are having over the fundamental design of cars.

 

[old dog new tricks]

This issue has affected other cars like the Audi A2, Lotus Elise etc as the tubs are bonded structural alloys.

Sadly this may become the norm, also the huge amount of radar detection equipment is an issue, some manufacturers have made styling choices ie lights in what was the bumper corners for exmple.

in the interest of fairness not all EVs are hugely more expensive to insure, some are only 10% higher, this will become easier as the numbers increase and hopefully repair costs subside.

As much as new EVs are struggling the used market is very strong and prices are holding firm or rising as demand outstrips supply.

 

[JockyBrewer]

in the interest of fairness not all EVs are hugely more expensive to insure, some are only 10% higher, this will become easier as the numbers increase and hopefully repair costs subside.

Yes, the lack of repair skills out there is the other problem, but again that will go away.

I'd expect the mass car market shifting to using LFP batteries will help too as they are cheaper and less explodey but will also limit cars to something similar to your average family ICE car.

As much as new EVs are struggling the used market is very strong and prices are holding firm or rising as demand outstrips supply.

I think we're still stuck in a bit of the limited supply of the 3 year old cars thanks to covid, although things are getting better.

 

[old dog new tricks]

Yes, the lack of repair skills out there is the other problem, but again that will go away.
I'd expect the mass car market shifting to using LFP batteries will help too as they are cheaper and less explodey but will also limit cars to something similar to your average family ICE car.
I think we're still stuck in a bit of the limited supply of the 3 year old cars thanks to covid, although things are getting better.

Well i have been trying to see and test drive a Kona 64kw via Arnold Clark average turn around time from advertising to sale is 2 days the fastest selling used car they currently have.
Kia Niro non existent and commands a much higher premium £17.5k / £280 per month
MG 4 starting prices up here £18.5k / £290 per month too rich for my budget for an MG

Definitely a big regional difference in price looked on autotrader UK wide the prices are much lower

 

[Cwrw666]

Yes, the lack of repair skills out there is the other problem, but again that will go away.

A problem a lot of garages have is that they can spend quite a lot getting one of their mechanics trained up for EVs only to have them move elsewhere as they now have a very marketable skill. I suppose this will go away as more and more of them get trained up to match the rise in EV numbers.

 

[Nicks90]

This is where we need a bit of a reality check , as the vast majority of an EV does NOT require any EV training.
Suspension, brakes, anti lock / traction control systems, bodywork, various externally facing sensors/radars/cameras, all the interior and switches.... None are connected to the high voltage system. They're all 12v or purely mechanical

Only time you need specific EV training is for the battery and motors - both of which have shown themselves to be massively reliable in nearly every EV produced