This year, French manufacturers seem to want to respond to the offensive that we have been seeing for some time, particularly from the Asian continent. In 2024, with an ecological bonus which mainly concerns brands from the old continent, do Peugeot, Renault or Citroën have a chance of knocking out the competition?
The saga of the ecological bonus that we experienced at the end of 2023 – with its environmental score which especially penalizes vehicles manufactured in China – has not finished making headlines this year. If cars that we consider to be excellent and which were selling well in 2023 have automatically seen their price rise by €6,000, others are arriving at full tilt, to try to grab market share. We can, for example, cite the newly arrived Renault Scénic E-Tech, or the Peugeot e-3008.
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What do these vehicles have in common? That they are offered by French manufacturers, assembling the vehicle in France. Eligibility for the bonus is therefore a major advantage, compared to some of the competition, even if it generally does not take long to react. In the end, is this enough for the French brands, or is it wasted effort to beat Tesla and MG this year?
In France, do we drive French electric?
As of December 15, 2023, the list of electric vehicles which retain the ecological bonus was known. Among the lucky ones, we found quite a few French ones, without much surprise: Renault Zoe, Twingo, Mégane, Scénic and Kangoo E-Tech, Peugeot e-208, e-2008, e-308 and e-3008, or Citroën e-C4, e-C4X and the DS DS3.
What do these electric cars have in common? They are not on the podium most sold in 2023 in France. The best is fifth in the ranking (Peugeot e-208), which shows that the French are not that chauvinistic when it comes to automobiles, when it comes to voting with their wallets.
In this case, vehicles from China – partially for certain models – monopolize the first places in the ranking: Tesla Model Y, Dacia Spring and Tesla Model 3. None of the three is from a Chinese manufacturer, but all are assembled in China (the Tesla Model Y assembled in Berlin is not enough to satisfy all orders for Europe at the moment).
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But if this was the situation last year, a big change appears at the very end of the year: the Tesla Model 3 and the Dacia Spring say goodbye to the ecological bonus, just like many other models that were popular. We can for example cite the MG4, the Kia e-Niro, the Hyundai Kona or the MG ZS EV which have all found their audience.
However, to put the figures in perspective, even though only one variant of Tesla Model 3 was eligible for the ecological bonus in 2023 (the Long Autonomy and Performance versions were beyond €47,000), more than 24,500 units were sold. are sold in France. If we add some 37,000 Tesla Model Ys, this means that the American brand has sold no less than 61,500 electric cars in France in 2023.
Opposite, Renault has its first car which is in 7th place in the ranking: the Mégane E-Tech sold 17,623 units. By adding the Zoe and Twingo, we only arrive at less than 32,000 units, or more or less half of what Tesla did. The account is not there at the moment.
A bonus that will not change the situation for SUVs
As recalled above, we are in very different orders of magnitude between the French cars at the top of the table and the best-selling electric cars last year. Can certain new cars like the Scénic E-Tech or the Peugeot e-3008 reverse the trend?
Let's start by looking at the list prices of the most popular French cars in 2023 and probably in the coming year, which have rivals from other manufacturers.
| Vehicle | Price (entry level) |
|---|---|
| Peugeot e-3008 | €44,990 |
| Peugeot e-208 | €34,100 |
| Renault Mégane e-Tech | €34,000 |
| Renault Scénic e-Tech | €38,990 |
| Citroën ë-C4 | €35,740 |
Opposite the SUVs (Scénic and 3008), we can consider the Tesla Model Y Propulsion displayed at a price of €42,990. And the latter is eligible for the bonus in the same way as French women.
When we know that its ability to make long trips, its useful volume and its consumption are benchmarks in the segment, it is a safe bet that the two French women will have difficulty in their duel with the Model Y.
On paper, the entry-level Renault Scénic is still €4,000 cheaper than the Tesla Model Y Propulsion, but with the same 60 kWh battery on both vehicles, Renault announces that for long journeys, it will be behind: it takes more than 10 minutes longer to go from 10 to 80% in Scénic than in Model Y.
The Peugeot e-3008, for its part, is more expensive than the Tesla Model Y Propulsion, but has a slightly larger battery (73 kWh). The announced WLTP range is then 525 km, but the reality is much more complex. Given its weight of more than 2 tonnes, the first tests will tell us if it can achieve reasonable consumption or if it is yet another example of an electric car that is too big, too heavy and therefore unfortunately unsuitable for long journeys.
As you will have understood, in the electric SUV market, the French must show that they have serious advantages against the leader in the segment. For the others (e-208, Mégane and ë-C4), there is good news: the competition is no longer entitled to the bonus. Which does not mean that the price to pay will increase.
Responses that are not expected from other manufacturers
The Peugeot e-208, the Renault Mégane E-Tech or the Citroën ë-C4 all probably have the same objective: to win against the MG4, which until the disappearance of the bonus undoubtedly offered the best price/service ratio of the electricity market in France.
Unfortunately for French manufacturers, MG rolled up its sleeves and still offers today, in February 2024, the MG4 from €22,990or €7,000 to €9,000 less than the electric Peugeot, Renault or Citroën mentioned above.
All this agitation at the start of the year has also been summarized in our article. In the end, we see that the ecological bonus is often a necessary condition, but not sufficient for a model to sell correctly.
Manufacturers do not hesitate to cut back on their margins to bring prices down and remain competitive, which was again the case for the Tesla Model Y in January, while it retained the bonus. For Renault, Peugeot or Citroën, even benefiting from a bonus more or less designed to disadvantage certain cars produced elsewhere, the match is far from won.
Only the Tesla Model 3, which lost its bonus, could be one of the big losers of the year 2024 in France. But for Tesla, this seems acceptable as the Model Y is sure to be a hit again this year. On the other hand, French manufacturers do not yet have an electric sedan at the moment: a missed opportunity?