If you had planned to treat yourself to a Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric, you will have to deal with a sharply rising price. In doubt, the withdrawal of the entry-level finish with the small 40 kWh battery.
for a few weeks, a real price war has started between various manufacturers. In question, the price reduction operated by Tesla in its Model 3 and Model Y, which later lost up to 13,000 euros in a few hours. A strategy that allows the brand to increase its sales but which worries its rivals, some of which were quick to react, such as Xpeng, VinFast, Lucid or even Ford, Toyota and Nissan.
Renault increases its prices
But this is not the case for everyone and some have said loud and clear that they do not want to play this little game. This is particularly the case with Volkswagen but also with Renault, like their boss Luca de Meo. The latter confirmed thatdid not intend to lower the price of their carshe claimed he had very little leeway due to the high cost of the battery.
According to him, this then represents 40% of the total price of an electric car. This partly explains why they still cost so much more than their thermal equivalents, despite lower maintenance in use. Therefore, there is no doubt that the diamond firm will lower the prices of its cars, while it has even recently increased those of its Twingo and Zoé.
An increase that follows that of the Dacia Spring a few weeks earlier. But it is not over, since it is the turn of another model to see its price increase. It is then the Mégane E-Tech, the brand’s best-selling electric model and which was at the forefront of zero-emission car registrations (in use) in France last August.
Until recently, the compact, rival of the MG 4 and the Volkswagen ID.3, which has just had a small restyling, was shown from 39,000 euros (ie, 34,000 euros discounted ecological bonus). But now, taking a look at the brand’s website, we realize that its price has just increased to 42,000 euros. A rise of 3,000 euros in total, which customers should not like. But there is a reason.
A simplified range
In fact, if we take a look at the configurator, we notice that the entry-level version known as theEV40 130 ch Charge Boost it has simply disappeared from the catalogue. Therefore, customers will have to upgrade directly to version EV60 130 Channel Supercharge, charged more for the same trim level called the Equilibre. This includes, among other things, the 12-inch digital instrumentation, the 9-inch touchscreen compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as keyless entry.
So, therefore the Mégane E-Tech is no longer offered with the small 40 kWh battery. Which may seem surprising when Luca de Meo had said that reducing the size of the batteries would be the only solution to lower the prices of electric cars. But then why did you remove this alternative then? Actually, there are several reasons, as explained by automotive cleaning.
First of all, the 40 kWh battery had a hard time selling, whereas 80% of orders were for the 60 kWh version, allowing to travel up to 450 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle. However, a recent study revealed that motorists were very interested in long ranges, which however is wrong. But that is not all. In fact, it is also said that Renault wanted to reduce competition with the Zoé, which has a 52 kWh battery and starts from 35,100 euros.
However, the diamond brand wants to offset this increase by offering small gifts to its customers. Those who would switch from the Zoé to the Mégane would benefit froma bonus of 25 euros on the rent of the lease. Renault also offers terminal and home installation for those who opt for the Super Charge version, up to a limit of 1,900 euros.
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