With so many new EVs being priced so similarly, we may see a price war soon
Well, it is no secret that electrification has caught up with Malaysia and now we have more options than ever when it comes to purchasing a new electric vehicle (EV). However, while there are some EVs that are absurdly expensive, on the flip side, there are many budget friendly options that are priced so close to each other as well.
Now, we already know of the infamous EV Price Wars ongoing in China. Not too long ago, Tesla started price cuts which led to other EV makers to do the same and thus a vicious cycle of cutting prices began. Now with the Chery Omoda E5 just launching here in Malaysia, will there be a price war here as well?
Moreover, the ORA Good Cat from GWM has been here for a while but hasn’t been selling all that well, so the launch of the Chery Omoda E5 may just trigger GWM to slash prices to gain a competitive advantage. Now obviously the Omoda E5 and Good Cat compete in 2 different segments but they are priced very similarly.
Let’s not forget the also recently announced MG4, which starts from RM104,000 as well as the BYD Atto 3 which starts from RM149,800. Clearly, all these bigger EV SUVs are currently cheaper than the ORA Good Cat hatchback which started at RM139,000 on launch but will this be the case for much longer?
On top of that, the smart #1 has been doing very well for itself and the RM146,800 starting price for the Chery Omoda E5 may just take away from that as the former costs a significant amount more, starting from RM189,000. We have seen how effective the EV Price Wars have been in China so we may also see it happen here.
Now, it is obvious that smart is enjoying a huge slice of the EV sales pie for now but given that the top spec BRABUS version of the #1 EV costs almost RM250,000, well, the Chery Omoda E5 may just be the death of all other EVs here in Malaysia and Mini (under BMW) is also set to release an EV so lets see how that one is priced.
So with so many automakers already giving out discounts and promos in lieu of festive seasons, a price war is just over the horizon now. Let’s see what happens.
