CAP has called on Renault to include the battery cost in the list price of the Renault Zoe EV, otherwise it won’t be able to set residual values.
That leads to a completely misleading headline price for the Zoe and, as used car price experts CAP say, is akin to Ford removing the engine costs from their cars to reduce list price.
But it gets more complicated than that, as the mix of ‘purchase’ and ‘lease’ costs for the Zoe EV will play havoc with BIK rates and payments, especially in a couple of years when EVs start to be charged at 5 per cent.
CAP are refusing to offer residual values for the Zoe as long as Renault continues with their daft pricing policy, and they warn that HMRC will count the battery side of things as the lease of an asset and charge for it. And with a cost of £7,392 attached to the battery (which would make the Zoe EV list at £25k) the Zoe becomes a complicated, and expensive, prospect for companies.
CAP’s relationship manager, Martin ward, said:
HMRC’s decision to base the BIK on the total is only fair, otherwise Ford, for example, could deflate the P11D value of a Mondeo by excluding the engine.
Until Renault removes the unnecessary layer of complexity caused by treating the battery as a separate entity to the car CAP will be unable to forecast its used values so fleets can work out competitive lease rates.
But we all know why Renault hasn’t included the Zoe’s battery in the price: It’s because it would then list at £25k, three times the price of the entry-level 2013 Renault Clio on which it’s based.
Yuval Brandstetter says
Renaults move would make sense if the the battery was swapp-able and serviced by an outside entity. But Renault just shot themselves in the foot by shutting out the Better Place technology, causing the demise of that entity. So now instead of being a 13K hot commodity its a 26K deadweight. That’s what you get for ditching the Israeli technology. Incidentally, dont write off Better Place. Its being acquired, revamped and renamed. It future batteries wont be Renault.
Andrew Bissell says
You say that the Zoe costs £25K including battery. But with an entry price of £13,650 and adding your figure of £7392 for the battery gets me to £21K.
Then you say that it’s three times the price of a Clio. But your own link shows the Clio at £11,995 upwards, or £12,995 if you want nav (which you get with Zoe). So 21/12 = 1.75 times – not the “three times” you mention.
I am somewhat surprised you feel the need to exaggerate the numbers so much.
It’s also worth noting that the battery lease exists exactly to allow you to compare costs. The base car without battery is very sinilar (within £1 or 2K) between a Clio and a Zoe. The battery is costing something around £70 – 120 per month very comparable to what you will pay for petrol. Electricity will be a very small amount.
It’s then just a choice about what you prefer to drive. But not a big economic difference at all.
Cars UK says
Well, the ‘headline price of the Zoe may be £13.6k, but the actual price is more like £18k before the taxpayer bribe (which is both limited by time and amount, so will end). We did make a mistake on the Clio entry price which is £10,595 (for the spec below that mentioned in the article linked), so you do have a valid point there.
But apart from the fact an EV is not a practical replacement for an ICE car, the numbers still don’t make sense for anyone other than as a statement. The list price of the Zoe EV is just so high compared to a Clio.
Oblivious says
Another illustration of the stupid prices of electric cars. £25k, for f***s sake! For an electric Clio!!!
Tramp12 says
I accused you of being disingenuous when you published the prices for the Zoe by headlining it with the price before the incentive for electric cars. But I take it back. It’s Renault who are misleading everyone with a price that doesn’t even include the bit that makes it go. CAP has it right: It’s like other car makers not including the engine price in the cost.