Uk and Europe prices suck

[Eldictator]

I'm guessing that the estimate of $48-50k(without deductions) price tag in the U.S will suddenly morph into 50k stirling instead of the actual conversion rate of around £30k, which will royally piss me off!

I can understand adding of a few thousand for importing and taxes etc, £36-37k maybe, 40k at a push? but come on... 20K!....This *sugar* pisses me off all the time....If it isn't that, it's electronics etc... why should I have to buy my computers and graphics tablets from america at almost half the price, including import fees, same for the car.....

I may just buy a left hook model s and import it

end of rant

 

[raymond]

I'm guessing that the estimate of $48-50k(without deductions) price tag in the U.S will suddenly morph into 50k stirling instead of the actual conversion rate of around £30k, which will royally piss me off!

$50k = £32k. Add 17.5% VAT and 10% import duty = £41360.

But for some reason cars in the EU are more expensive than cars in the USA, and surprisingly this is even true for VW's, BMW's, etc. Question remains: WHY?

 

[mpt]

Each car I've bought in the US I've compared to the UK equiv. It's outrageous, no doubt about it.

The only explanation that I can offer up is the resistance by US consumers to spend on cars.

Back in the UK, the family car is a sign of status, certainly in the circles that I lived in. I had a car that was half the price of my house and considered that normal... ish. In the US, people have $3M homes and drive $20k cars.

In the US cars are accessories, three, four or more per family is commonplace, more than one per person is not at all unusual.

Each car requires a great deal of servicing; most people that I know, even the tech savvy people change their oil and service their car at 5, 4 or even 3,000 miles. That's a lot of post-purchase revenue for the auto-industry, and of course a great deal of revenue to loose if the car doesn't have a petrol engine in it.

Net-net, with UK cars serviced every 10, 15, 20,000 miles or more it may well work out to be closer than on first inspection.

Now, please explain how an electric car can be anything but the exchange rate?

 

[steve841]

That's why most of us here in the US are fighting mad ....

I don't want to pay for health insurance and everything else for the lazy lot who wont get a job or get off their butts in some way to better themselves.

Europe ... most get that health care ... someone's gotta pay for everyone else.

 

[Arnold Panz]

I don't think this has anything to do with cars particularly, or health care (what?!). Most American-made products are much cheaper in the US than in Europe, and that takes into account shipping/tarriff costs, and before the VAT kicks in (which is how social services like health care are paid for). Two years ago I was in NY during December and the stores were jammed with folks from the UK who had determined that paying for a cheap flight to the US was worth it to buy some of the stuff they wanted from Apple or whomever. At the time, the British pound was at least 2:1 versus the dollar. This was a well known phenomenon.

Twelve years ago I went on my honeymoon to Italy and in the pre-Euro days the dollar was getting 1700 lira to 1, which made most products in Italy about half the cost of the equivalent products in the US, and these were clothes, shoes etc.

Bottom line is that retailers try to price goods based on their value to other goods in the same geographic marketplace, and try not to base them on exchange rate fluctuations. Most cars made in the US are cheaper than the equivalent car in the UK, so this is not a situation unique to Tesla, but rather Tesla doing what every other car company, and retail company in general, does with respect to sales in other countries. And keep in mind, for every country they do well in, there may be another that has a weak currency where they're getting hurt relative to their price in the US, so they need to balance all of these fluctuations in setting their prices.

 

[Cobos]

Also keep in mind that for most European retailers aimed at consumers you are required to list prices including any relevant fees and sales tax. At least I know it's like that in Norway and Belgium and it seems to be like that in the UK as well. This in contrast with the US tradition of listing without taxes or fees or anything really.

Also keep in mind due to higher prices in some countries like Norway base model has a lot more included equipment than US base model which is usually very stripped down. At least for cheaper cars. It seems to be the exact opposite for BMWs comparing US and Norways equipment lists though.

The problem for Tesla and the earlier buyers in Norway is that people will do a greyimport if the price differential is too big. And Norwegian consumer laws says the official importer has to offer support for that US made import I beleive....

Out of curiosity to the OP, when did you get to know the European Model S price?

Cobos

 

[bolosky]

$50k = £32k. Add 17.5% VAT and 10% import duty = £41360.

The $50K number is AFTER the US federal income tax credit. Tesla gets $57.5K, which is the number you should use here. That puts you at more like £48K.

Also, as someone else pointed out, the $50K number is before sales tax for those states that have it, which can add 5-10% to the cost. Luckily, my state (Washington) waives the sales tax for EVs, so I didn't have to pay the nearly 10%; it's a way bigger deal than the federal $7.5K for me.

 

[dpeilow]

Out of curiosity to the OP, when did you get to know the European Model S price?

Cobos

He's didn't:

I'm guessing that the estimate of $48-50k(without deductions) price tag in the U.S will suddenly morph into 50k stirling instead of the actual conversion rate of around £30k, which will royally piss me off!

The thread is a bit of a rant, based on an assumption.

 

[mpt]

The thread is a bit of a rant, based on an assumption.

Ok, sound point, I suspect the frustration is born of previous experience. How are the prices in the UK generally at the moment, is there still a euro-uk gap?

 

[dpeilow]

In car terms, not really. The gap had shrunk to the point of not being economic to import them and that was even before the huge swing of the Pound against the Euro.

 

[BelgianTriple]

I've asked the prices for Belgium at the Brussels Motor Show in January and I wasn't too happy to hear the figures the guy mentionned.


BTW: I hope the guy I met isn't going to be the Belgian importer for Tesla. Lack of commercial feel, not very communicative.

Anyway, time will tell. I hope EU importers keep the price 'down' (instead of trying to make big money in a short amount of time). We would be 2 to order a model S, me and my businesspartner.

 

[Todd Burch]

Incidentally, $3M is *A LOT* for a home...it's not as if that's a common number in the US. My house is $260,000.

I don't know anyone who has a $3M home (maybe my boss, a successful entrepreneur who pulls in $1-2M per year), but those who do have a home that expensive rarely if ever would be found driving a $20K car .

Or at least that's been my experience.

 

[vfx]

Incidentally, $3M is *A LOT* for a home...it's not as if that's a common number in the US. My house is $260,000..

VA clearly does not equal CA :smile:

 

[steve841]

Don't feel too bad over in Europe. This clown we have in office is doing his best to ruin our economy and force the need for a VAT ....

When the Model S finally rolls out ... there may be another 10% or more on top of its price by then.