The Citroën C-ZERO, now available from 16 300 € in France
Renault’s battery rental model seems to have inspired its competitors: Citroën also has a similar offer. Is this an attempt to remain the electric vehicle market leader in spite of the arrival of new competitors?
PSA is the current EV market leader in terms of sales, and fully expects to maintain this position. Having revised its pricing downwards on two models (the iOn and the C-Zero), the group intends to pursue its commercial offensive in the light of the new and growing competitors, especially with the launch of the Renault ZOE.
Citroën now sells the C-Zero from 16 300 € (the Attraction version, including government subside), along with a monthly battery rental fee. For us lucky habitants of Alsace, this means that the car is available from 11 300 € ! We need to add battery rental to that number, which is a variable cost, depending on the annual kilometers that you plan to travel:
| Monthly rent for batteries Tax Incl. (Tax Excl.) | |||
| Durée | 10 000 km/year | 15 000 km/year | 20 000 km/year |
| 24 mois | 110 € (92 €) | 125 € (104 €) | 140 € (117 €) |
| 36 mois | 95 € (79 €) | 110 € (92 €) | 125 € (104 €) |
| 48 mois et plus | 80 € (67 €) | 95 € (79 €) | 110 € (92 €) |
The battery rental also includes a certain number of services and guarantees:
- a guaranty for possible battery failures
- a guaranty on charging capacity
- 24/7 assistance, excluding power outages
- battery maintenance.
The Citroën proposals need to be examined more closely to know exactly what are the manufacturer’s commitments in terms of the charging capacity of the battery, and the maintenance needs for the battery. Of course, car buyers may also buy the battery along with the car, if they wish.
In any case, I find that this is very encouraging news, and is a step in the right direction to making electric vehicles more affordable for the wider public. This pricing structure is much closer to the one buyers of standard cars are used to, that is to pay around 15 000 € for a car, plus a couple of hundred euros per month for “fuel”, which are the battery rental and electricity costs, in this scenario.
It remains to be seen how the public reacts to these battery rental proposals. This is the principle unknown factor in this clever commercial equation.
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