More than two-thirds of German car dealers have stopped accepting electric car trade-ins because they are considered a loss-making business.
– In my opinion, used electric cars of the first generation are victims of the rapid technological development, especially on the used car market, Philipp Seidel, auto expert at Arthur D. Little, told the news magazine Stern.
The survey, conducted by the trade magazine Kfz-betrieb, points out that car dealers are currently only able to sell electric cars if they offer substantial discounts to customers.
Last month, four out of five dealers said they were making a loss selling electric cars, and 51% said used electric cars were “almost unsellable”.
Customers’ lack of interest in buying used electric cars is largely due to perceived high prices and a reluctance to buy a car with technology that will quickly become obsolete.
New strategies
Car manufacturers such as Audi and BMW have tried to find new strategies to address the situation and have started to develop training programs for their dealers, focusing on improving their used car sales skills.
– These trainings are currently in high demand, according to an Audi spokesperson.
Mercedes has taken a different approach, instead offering a full five-year warranty on some of its electric car models, and Volkswagen has announced that it will “keep its electric vehicles for as long as possible in order to offer attractive used car leasing contracts to its customers”.
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