Cheap Cars: MG4 Electric Starts at €18,000, Petrol Models Rise

Neither electric nor petrol: the cheap car vanishes from the market

The cheap car is no longer sold. What the sector presents today as an affordable electric model costs around €18,000 with subsidies, offers about 200 kilometers of real range—1.5 to 2 hours of driving—and serves, according to its defenders, at best as a second family vehicle. It is still called 'cheap,' and that is where the problem begins.

The discussion about car prices is not about ecology, but arithmetic. The transition from combustion to electric engines advances steadily, and as it does, traditional brands have abandoned the entry-level segment to refuge in premium. Fewer sales miccionan higher prices. The result is paradoxical: a compact electric car, barely discounted, has become competitive in terms of usage cost.

What is considered a cheap car today?

A Citroën C3 electric has been presented as the great affordable solution. The poster does not withstand scrutiny. Its range, like that of other general compacts, barely reaches 200 kilometers, making it a vehicle for short trips: commutes of 30 to 45 minutes from the charging point. For those needing a single car for everything, this figure is not a technical detail, but a usage sentence.

Some argue that these 200 kilometers suffice for daily life and that home charging solves almost everything all year round. Against this weighs the opposing argument of those who report trips of 400 to 500 kilometers to rural mountain destinations, where playing to find a charger halfway is not an option. The general electric compact, it is said, is a scooter with a body.

Cost per kilometer: the only terrain where electric wins

The energy bill is, according to a calculation circulating in the debate, the terrain where electric wins: a consumption of 18 kWh per 100 kilometers costs about €4 in the best domestic scenario, compared to €8 for an efficient petrol car in optimal conditions. Add less maintenance and fewer mechanical breakdowns, and the comparison becomes uncomfortable for gasoline.

The problem is everything else. A BMW Series 1 owner from 2018 fills the tank for €70-80 and travels over 1,100 kilometers without looking for a plug. Another calculates that with €100 of fuel he makes 800 kilometers without worrying about range. In contrast, an MG4 electric costs €30,000 without subsidies, with 300 theoretical kilometers that drop to 200 real ones. And then there is the fine print: repairing a Tesla damaged after a storm in Scotland was estimated at £17,374, about €20,088.

Used cars and financing around 12%

Money has become expensive, and vehicle financing has risen to 12% or more, a figure that directly makes installment purchases unaffordable for many buyers. It is now common for used car dealerships to stop advertising financed and non-financed prices separately.

On this carpet rests a used car bubble that debate participants compare to the housing bubble. Used vehicles at new prices, fueled by the scarcity of affordable new cars. If the cost of money remains high, those warning about it argue that the adjustment will come, and it will hit electric cars harder, whose battery deterioration affects valuation: replacing the battery of a model a few years old costs between €5,000 and €7,000, with the recommendation to do so every five years.

Why European brands raise prices instead of lowering them

Traditional automakers do not lower tariffs because, simply put, they cannot. They need to pay debt, sustain dividends to not sink the stock, and finance their own conversion to electric. Their natural market has shrunk to Europe, and on this residual market, they apply increases until the buyer stops enduring. Some analyses blame anti-pollution regulations for forcing the fleet renewal; others argue that these same regulations were pushed by the industry itself to justify the price jump. The dominant thesis points to short-term management: dividends today and let whoever comes next start rowing.

The Chinese offensive: €15,000 for a petrol car

While Europe raises prices, Chinese firms attack from below. A basic MG4 has been placed at around €18,000 with subsidies and without financing, already below many equivalent petrol cars. An MG petrol 1.5 has been seen for €15,000, with a simple engine that can be worked on from any side. Those who have seen it up close highlight precisely that: old-school mechanics, easy to repair.

The strategy imitates Dacia but with better finishes. The industrial muscle is different: some argue that an Asian firm (BYD) employs more engineers than all European brands combined. The question is whether they will have enough stock to serve both their market and ours. For now, they compete. The old brands either hustle or pack their bags.

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The prediction, with all reservations. If oil prices move and financing does not ease, the current balance of forces may become obsolete in just four months, according to a participant in the debate. What is presented today as a cheap electric car may not look like it in the next motor show. No one signs when the used car bubble bursts; what is clear is that sustaining it costs more and more.