These cars whose price has plummeted recently in France

Fierce competition and a declining market have pushed some manufacturers to lower, sometimes drastically, the price of very recent models. An aggressive and fairly new practice.

Hostilities have been underway for a long time in China, but they are only just beginning in Europe. The price drop in our country began in the second half of last year and it is no coincidence: the drop in orders was already being felt by distributors. Manufacturers already knew very well that they were going to face a wall in 2025 with the tightening of CO2 targets and to avoid paying too heavy fines, they had to put the package on the flagship electrified models. Sometimes, the price drop was simply the result of a disappointing career. But often it was a matter of not losing the thread as the market tightened. And it only took one brand to light the fuse for others to follow suit.

The list is gradually growing

The most striking example remains the Ford Mustang Mach-E. The Propulsion version with standard battery was priced at nearly €57,000 at launch in 2021. Since then, Ford has chained discounts to the point that the American SUV is now priced at €43,990, taking into account an exceptional discount of €9,000. With the bonus, the Mustang Mach-E therefore falls below €40,000! Also at Ford, there is already a discount of €1,500 on the very recent Explorer, sold from €44,400.

Huge price drop for the electric Renault Megane

Unsurprisingly, most of the price cuts concern electric cars, most of which were sold at very high prices from launch. But the customer is king and dictates the law of the market. Once the famous “early adopters” (the wealthy customers from the first hour) are passed, it becomes more difficult to go and get the bulk of motorists who cannot afford an electric car costing more than €40,000. And given the reductions made on certain models, it seems that the margins were particularly comfortable at the start of the commercial season!

So don’t expect too many discounts on diesel, petrol or micro-hybrid vehicles. Dealers will be instructed to focus on low-CO2 hybrids or electrics. However, there are some nice reductions on models with a combustion engine. This is the case of Toyota rechargeable hybrids, led by the new C-HR, which recently received a nice price drop.. Let’s not forget the discounts automatically applied to most non-rechargeable hybrids at Toyota, which almost make us forget that there are official catalog prices…

Automotive journalist (and a bit of a bicycle enthusiast too). As passionate about new things as industry or the environment, but also anything that will advance mobility.