The price war is here to stay in the electricity sector. While many Chinese manufacturers are present at the Munich fair that just opened this week, European brands are also preparing a wave of major zero-emissions innovations.
Opel prepares to go 100% electric
This is the case of Opel, the only brand of the Stellantis group present at the Bavarian show. Essential, however, for the German representative of this group, which has a total of 14 brands.
Starting in 2025, Opel plans to launch only new 100% electric models in Europe. However, existing thermal models, including hybrids, will continue to be produced until the end of their commercialization.
A target price of 25,000 euros
With an issue of paramount importance: the price. Currently, the electric Opel Corsa starts at 36,050 euros in France (31,050 euros with the ecological bonus of 5,000 euros). Even with this subsidized price, the difference is still significant with a comparable gasoline Corsa (130 horsepower with automatic transmission) with a base price of 26,000 euros.
“An electric vehicle is still more expensive than a thermal vehicle, mainly because of the price of the components,” recalls Florian Huettl, Opel’s CEO, interviewed by BFM Business.
But, especially with the arrival of the new Stellantis platforms, Opel points to a much more attractive price: 25,000 euros.
“Future generations of electric vehicles will get closer and closer to thermal ones, with a target price of around 25,000 euros for these models,” sums up the head of the German brand.
Renault, with its future R5, Volkswagen, with its ID.2, or even Tesla, with a more affordable entry model than its Model 3 in the program, have mentioned this starting price for their future models. But the head of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, had relaunched the debate at the beginning of July with the particular case of the Peugeot e-208, which will not be produced in France for reasons of production costs.
Autonomy according to use
Another strong trend at the Munich show, the race for electric autonomy with new models that exceed the symbolic limit of 600 kilometers.
Also on this point, the Opel boss is strongly committed to these new Stellantis platforms to offer correct performance and attract customers:
“At Opel, in the future and already now, you will be able to choose between a range of 300-350 km like today, but that can go up to 700 km. This will depend on the concept of the vehicle and its use: in a Corsa you cannot it needs a range of 500 or 600 km. In bigger cars, it’s more interesting,” explains the leader.
For a B-segment vehicle (such as the Opel Corsa or Peugeot 208), Florian Huettl predicts a range of between 400 and 450 km.
“We will be very, very well placed,” said the Opel boss.
These types of models currently offer a range of between 225 km and almost 400 km, but at prices well above the target of 25,000 euros.
Source: BFM TV
