European carmakers descend on Paris to showcase low-cost EVs

With drivers balking at the high cost of owning electric vehicles, Stellantis NV, Renault SA and Volkswagen AG plan to showcase their latest budget EVs at the biennial event that starts Monday. Their aim is to turn around a slump that started last year when governments began pulling back incentives to ditch combustion engines.

The stakes are high for the new models to succeed. Chinese rivals led by BYD Co. are gaining market share in the region with cheaper models. And if the European carmakers fail to sell more EVs, they’ll be on the hook for as much as €15 billion in fines for failing to meet stricter fleet emissions-reduction targets.

“The mood is not great around EVs right now — there’s not enough charging infrastructure, there’s volatility on price, but let’s see,” Renault Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo said. “We are really trying our best.”

Renault is at the forefront of the affordability push, unveiling plug-in models in Paris including the R4, which is expected to cost less than €35,000 ($38,269). It’s also showing off the new R5, a €25,000 electric version of a 1970s gasoline car that offered fuel-efficient transport during a time of soaring oil prices.

The show could mark a turning point for Europe’s automakers, which have struggled to produce cheap EVs. Early problems developing software, high labor costs and persistently expensive components like batteries have plagued the industry.

To keep margins up, many carmakers focused on selling premium models. That, together with the removal of subsidies in countries including Germany and Sweden, pushed the average EV price above €45,000 this year. That’s put electric models out of reach for many Europeans, who are already trying to cope with higher borrowing and living costs.

Chinese Competition

The European incumbents are going up against several Chinese manufacturers eager to expand in the region despite Brussels’ decision this month to boost tariffs on their EVs as high as 45%.

BYD is bringing EVs and plug-in hybrids to Paris including mass-market models competing with the French and German cars as well as Tesla Inc.’s Model Y. In a bid to demonstrate its technology prowess, BYD also will be showcasing the Yangwang U8, a luxury SUV costing around 1 million yuan ($141,509).

Guangzhou-based Xpeng Inc., which has a partnership with Volkswagen, will present its upcoming P7+ sedan, a longer-wheelbase version of the €50,000 P7 that competes with more expensive mid-size models from BMW and Mercedes.

While manufacturers including Great Wall Motor Co. and Nio Inc. are absent from the show, a number of Chinese automakers have sent their staff to Paris to discuss potential partnerships, market entries and European production with local manufacturers and dealers.

Stellantis

Stellantis is tapping China’s Leapmotor to help bring down the cost of its electric cars. Models presented in Paris include the Leapmotor B10, a compact SUV aimed at younger drivers that’s expected to undercut competing models on price. The reception at the show may determine next steps for Stellantis’ push to produce Leapmotor vehicles at a group plant in Poland.

The company’s Citroën brand — which in 1948 helped bring affordable cars to France with the 2CV — plans to show moderately priced EVs in Paris including the New C3 Aircross, which it calls “the most affordable compact SUV” on the market.

It’s also showcasing the €23,300 Citroën ë-C3 city car, which started shipping months behind schedule in mid-September due to software issues. A version costing €19,999 will be launched in the first half of next year, brand CEO Thierry Koskas said Monday.

“We may be getting close to a tipping point,” for EV demand as prices are coming down, he told reporters at the show. 

The models are essential for Stellantis, which is going through a rough patch. Pressure on CEO Carlos Tavares is rising after a disastrous profit warning last month and consistently poor performance in the US, the company’s biggest single profit pool. Tavares will attend several events in Paris after he jettisoned his finance chief Thursday as part of a sweeping management overhaul.

VW 

Volkswagen, whose EV push has suffered from software stumbles and high costs in its home market Germany, won’t debut any electric cars in Paris. Instead, it’s showing off newish models including the Elroq, a plug-in SUV its budget brand Skoda unwrapped earlier this month at a price of around €33,000 — roughly the same as its combustion-engine counterpart. VW will also present an ID GTI concept car, an all-electric take on its successful Golf GTI model.

The true test of Volkswagen’s ability to make a battery-powered “people’s car” may be the ID.2all. The launch of the €25,000 EV isn’t expected until the end of next year.

BMW 

Even luxury-car maker BMW AG is bringing its budget offering to Paris, showcasing several Chinese-made Mini models alongside pricier performance-oriented versions including the John Cooper Works Electric and a larger, 5-door Aceman version.

Jochen Goller, BMW’s management board member for sales, said Monday that the cars are meant to appeal to younger drivers looking to switch to battery-electric models.

The German company will also display an electric concept for its next-generation entry-level SUV, the Vision Neue Klasse X. BMW promises 30% faster charging and up to 800 kilometers (497 miles) of range on a single charge.

Renault

Renault’s Dacia budget brand will premiere the Bigster, a larger SUV aimed at countering “spiraling costs” in the segment, the company said. 

Aside from the R4 and the R5 — de Meo called the latter “the best little EV in the world” — Renault is unwrapping a prototype for an electric Twingo that’s supposed to cost less than €20,000 when it hits the market in 2026.

“We are finally to starting to see smaller vehicles and more affordable EVs,” said Serge Gachot, director of the Paris show. “There is still a gap with Chinese EVs in terms of costs, but that gap is narrowing.”