8:45 am, May 21, 2024
Tesla is trying to woo leasing companies across Europe after price cuts slashed their fleets’ value.
The American company is offering unofficial discounts on in-stock new cars, and trying hard to rectify widespread servicing and repair complaints which have alienated customers in the past, according to Reuters.
The news agency says it has spoken to nine executives from major leasing and rental car companies, along with interviewing corporate fleet managers.
Price cuts on new Teslas over the past 12-plus months have seen residual values plummet, therefore hitting these firms’ bottom lines.
Tesla slashed prices to try and alleviate the effects of softening electric car demand worldwide, and the rapid rollout of Chinese models.
Richard Knubben, director general of Brussels-based Leaseurope, told Reuters: ‘Tesla is now actively telling our members: We can give you discounts and compensate you.
‘But Tesla’s residuals have dropped so fast, I’m not sure the discounts they’re offering are enough.’
In January, Car Dealer reported Tesla notched up its slowest revenue growth for more than three years during the last three months of 2023.
Despite shifting 1.2m cars in Q4 2023 and the Model Y finishing the year as the best selling EV worldwide, price cuts hit revenue and gross margins.
