New cars are getting cheaper: Opel starts the discount war

class = “sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>

In Europe, especially in Germany, car manufacturers are under pressure after the removal of state start-up subsidies for electric cars. Tesla recently lowered list prices (not for the first time). Chinese brand BYD, which is successful in our northern neighbor, also reduced its list prices by 15 percent at the beginning of the year. The price of the BYD electric model Atto 3, which is the most popular in Germany, now starts from only 38,000 Euros.

But now Opel is making headlines in Germany with an almost immoral pricing campaign. Under the label “Flash Deal Day”, Opel offers extremely attractive rental prices on new cars to all private customers from January 27 to February 10. The product range includes many electric and conventional combustion engine models, such as the popular Opel models Corsa, Mokka and Astra.

Cars are almost given away as gifts

For example, according to the trade magazine “Automobilwoche”, the Opel Crossland (starting price: 25,580 euros) is offered for sale with a monthly fee of 33 euros and a term of two years and 10,000 kilometers per year. This corresponds to a rental factor of only 0.13, i.e. the ratio of the monthly fee to the price (the lower the leasing factor, the better the offer). For a better classification: ADAC traffic club defines a factor below 1.1 as “a good rental factor”, a factor below 0.9 as “a very good rental factor” and a factor below 0.7 as “a good rental factor” It is considered as “the best rental factor”. ADAC does not name a smaller unit. Therefore, we can consider Opel’s 0.13 as a “virtual gift”.

However, Opel emphasizes that this campaign is not a general price reduction, but rather short-term offers from some participating dealers, linked to specific internal conditions and targets. While Opel in Germany essentially threw away its new cars at the beginning of the year, we want to hear from Opel Switzerland Managing Director Tobias Dilsch (48) whether Swiss people will soon be able to benefit from similar price promotions. «As Opel Switzerland, we design our prices specifically for our market. “We attach great importance to the long-term pricing strategy,” says Dilsch.

However, there are currently attractive promotions for Swiss Opel customers. “Our customers currently benefit from a strong offer; for example, Corsa or Astra and Astra Sports Tourer with a 3,000 franc trade-in bonus and a 1.99 percent rental rate, regardless of the type of driving. With an exchange bonus of 3,500 francs and a rental rate of 1.99 percent,” declares the managing director of Opel Switzerland.

Other brands will follow

Even though the industry does not want to formulate it so clearly, there is great uncertainty. After a recent steady rise in new car prices (a new car on the Autoscout24 online marketplace costs an average of 60,600 francs in 2023), tariffs are likely to fall again this year. Opel’s big price campaign in Germany earlier this year is probably just the beginning of a major discount war, and other brands are likely to follow suit with attractive discounts and promotions soon.

Source: Blick