Vauxhall is continuing its push to make its electric cars more affordable by slashing the prices of the Astra and Corsa EVs.
The biggest cut is for the range-topping Ultimate-trim version of the Astra Sports Tourer, which has been reduced by £4765 to £40,695. The electric estate’s entry-level trim, Griffin, now starts from £36,195, down by £1000.
Meanwhile, the Astra Electric hatchback has been discounted by up to £3865, with the Ultimate trim falling to £39,385. The middle-rung Design and GS versions have been reduced by £2850 and £2905 respectively, while Griffin remains priced from £34,995.
Similarly, the Corsa Electric’s starting price is unchanged, at £26,895 – making it one of the UK’s cheapest electric cars – but the more costly grades have received big reductions. Design and GS are £3400 and £2850 cheaper respectively, while range-topping Ultimate has been reduced by £4150.
The cuts come shortly after Vauxhall announced that the new Frontera SUV would be priced identically in petrol and electric form, from £23,495. In April, it also reduced the starting price of the Mokka Electric by £7115 to £29,495.
Vauxhall managing director James Taylor recently told Autocar that “optics” were a key issue in the battle to boost electric car sales.
Referring to the public reaction surrounding the top-rung Corsa’s previous price of £38,585, he said: “One of the challenges we have all faced with electric vehicles is that you end up with a comparison between a [74bhp] base-spec car and a [154bhp] long-range [EV].
“It’s a bit like back in the day when you would have Design as the entry to the range and a [sporting] VXR with 150bhp, but you wouldn’t expect those two things to be the same price.
“But obviously in the optics of how people compare and contrast, it does make electric look very expensive. And that’s why we launched the Yes special edition [EV at £26,840].”
Meanwhile, Ford of Britain managing director Lisa Brankin has called for VAT on electric cars to be halved because “we are not seeing customer demand for EVs”.
Brankin added: “We need incentives to drive demand in the consumer market.”
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Perhaps Ford could learn from Vauxhall by lowering their prices. Manufacturers can certainly afford this after enjoying increased margins since COVID. It's unfair for taxpayers to subsidize the profits of these car companies.
Shows the absolute contempt they've had for their customers by such gigantic overcharging.
Residuals will continue their slide until they find a level that matches the expected life of these cars.
Look at how cheap old Leafs are - and that's with a groups of incquisitive people trying them out as the cheapest entrypoint to EV.
For better or worse I suspect long term 5+ year old EVs will be 25-30% below the cost of a petrol car. They'll cost less to run, but the market will be mostly people who can make use of a car with a real world winter range of 75-100 miles, versus almost any petrol car with 350+.
Its not a simple as a calculation as that though, production costs will have come down or maybes they are gambling on volume increase in order to reduce production costs. Look at fiat stopping 500e production, unit costs on that will be spiralling with a factory on pause.
Residuals will continue to be awful on EV's until the private sector buyers get behind them.
75 miles, 100 miles max, in the winter, even more anti BEV rubbish.
I have had a Corsa-e for 3 and a half years. Depths of last winter the lowest I saw after a full charge was 67 miles predicted range.
Short local journeys with the heater, aircon, wipers and headlights collapse the range.
I like the car - software updates have improved the summer range (can just about eek out 4mi/kWh), but the efficiency in winter is dire.
I've also got a degree in automotive engineering. I understand why the efficiency is so bad in winter and how to maximise it, but you can't change the laws of physics.
What's your qualification? Fully paid up member of the church of net zero?
@gagaga 67 miles seems low, even at that time of year. I guess a resistance heater rather than a heat pump is the main problem in the Corsa? With real-world efficiency of combustion engines being about 20%, due to thermal losses, no doubt fuel consumption also rises considerably in the winter months for combustion cars. I'm convinced my petrol Corsa uses more fuel in the winter over the same journeys.
Yep, resistance heater, the lights, the motors in the wipers, aircon, heated seats (and wheel!) - power use on those accessories can easily exceed motive power in start-stop town traffic for an EV. Even at a steady cruise motive power is often single digit kW - adding 4-5kW of accessories to that has a huge effect.
re Petrol - yes, around town 20% might even be optimistic ... but a good chunk of the extra power use is 'free' on ICE - heat for the cabin is part of that 80% waste, aircon etc comes from slight additional loading so minor increases in consumption vs the massive % increase for EVs.
Church of net zero, that's funny. Going back to your post you made it sound as if BEV's have a range 75 miles in winter, why not say 67 miles, either way complete rubbish as with your method of extreme quoting you may as well say petrol cars do 18 miles per gallon in winter.
As to just about being able to ekkk out 4 miles per kilo watt from a 3 year old car with a 50 kwh battery but ending up with just 67 miles from around 45kwh I get your driving checked out.
Maybe read what I wrote. 67 was the lowest - an outlier. That's why I said 75-100. Autumn runs on the motorway keeping to low 60s steady speed gave an effective rage of 100miles before needing to charge. Actual numbers, not 75 mile 'first drive' tests by journalists in ideal 25C heat.
My driving is fine, thanks. Maybe do a little research on how much energy is actually needed to move a car at town speeds vs the power usage of accessories like the heater and aircon that come straight off the battery.
It's a fairly extreme case here - lots of hills sapping power and (in winter) what would be regen on the down slopes going towards the use on accessories.
I like the car, i'd take it over petrol every time for round-trips under 100-120 miles. You can eulogise about what EVs are meant to be like all you like, but the reality is that many single car households are going hybrid for the replacement after experiencing the real-world reality of EVs when you can't exist exclusively off home-charged local trips.
The transition is a good one for most traffic, it's just being forced through 1-2 generations of cars too soon.
So 67 miles for a electric Corsa, I once did 15 mpg in a car so what. Your extreme examples, if true, are embarrassing for someone you thinks they know everything.
I can confirm that winter range on the sister car of the Corsa-e is atrocious. I don't even attempt longer journeys in the Winter any more.
How's your hydrogen car dream going?
It's a joke that Ford want VAT on new EVs halved. Any new car is a luxury and so no government should subsidise them by a preferential VAT treatment.
If the government wants to support EVs they should instead invest in a better charging infrastructure. That would benefit all EV users, not just those who can afford the luxury of a new car.