Telsa joins VW and BYD in cutting prices in Germany

Telsa has now joined Volkswagen and BYD in slashing the prices of its vehicles in Germany after the government ended EV incentives, according to Automotive News Europe. But compared to BYD’s drastic 15% cuts, Tesla is taking a more measured approach.

In Germany, Telsa reduced the price of its Model Y Long Range by €5,000 to €49,990 ($54,340), a discount of 9%. It also cut the price of its Model Y Performance by €5,000 to €55,990, an 8% discount. 

German drivers can also get the Model Y for €42,990 – €1,900 less than the previous price.  

The Model Y was Germany’s top-selling BEV in 2023, with some 45,800 new car registrations. However, Tesla lost its No. 1 position as the country’s best-selling BEV brand to Volkswagen. VW reports BEV sales of 70,628 units last year, a 12% increase, compared to Tesla’s 63,685, a 9% drop. 

Electrek reported last week that BYD is dropping prices of its EVs in Germany by as much as 15%, with its Atto 3 compact SUV seeing the biggest cuts. BYD only sold 4,140 cars in Germany in 2023, but is looking for 10% market share after its factory in Hungary starts production in a few years.

Volkswagen responded to Germany’s decision to pull the plug on its EV subsidies by funding them itself for buyers of its ID electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, Tesla is stopping production of most of its EV production at Giga Berlin, which builds the Model Y for European markets, from January 29 to February 11 due to battery deliveries from China being delayed due to the Red Sea shipping crisis. Volvo, too, has rerouted its shipping and announced delays at its factory in Ghent, Belgium.

Electrek’s Take

Germany ended its EV subsidy program a bit earlier than expected in December after paying out €10 billion since 2016, Reuters reports. A tighter new budget pushed the decision to drop it early, which was a bit of a surprise since subsidies were originally intended to run through the end of this year. Automakers VW, Stellantis, Mercedes, and Audi have said that they will absorb some or all of the costs, but it’s obviously not a long-term solution. And BYD is looking to make some serious moves in Europe, and now that it will be building EVs in Hungary in the next couple of years. So we’re likely to see more of these price shifts and cuts as the industry settles into a new normal, post-subsidies.

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