Volkswagen Confirms Sales Of e-Golf In Canada In 2020

[ElonSucks]

https://insideevs.com/news/354954/volkswagen-confirmed-sales-e-golf-canada-2020/

Looks like the e-Golf will still be available next year, at least in Canada anyways. If they're selling it in Canada, they'll surely sell it in the CARB states as well since they still need the EV credits, the ID.3 isn't coming to NA, and the CROZZ isn't coming until 2021.

Interesting there's an 8 month waiting list due to limited supply. Why is there still production issues for a car that's been out since 2015? Limited lithium battery availability or VW just wants to produce and sell the bare minimum to meet compliance credits? If they ever do get past the production constraint will we see even deeper discounts at bay area dealers later this year?

 

[Verbruggan]

Unlike the US market, there is not a stockpile in Canada. 8 months represents the time for the order to work up the chain to Wolfsburg, then the time it takes to get over on the next boat. Bet the colors are black, white, gray, blue. Then there is the issue of the # of trained mechanics, something they are working on in anticipation of the MEB, but not outside major metropolitan areas. Plus the news last month about a Canadian Federal rebate$ last month is another push. It is all about the money to recoup the loss they are taking in going electric.

 

[f1geek]

Give VW some time, and it will also confirm e-Golf sales in the USA (at least in CA) in 2020. VW entered into a consent decree with CA that stipulates the e-Golf or it's replacement will be sold in the state through 2025, plus a BEV SUV plus one additional EV. The e-Golf is not going away in the USA, especially if VW claims the ID3 won't be sold here.

 

[zanzabar]

Why are the CA dealers giving such huge discounts on the 2019s right now? (I just gone one with $10k on the hood.) I assumed it was because the ID.3 was scheduled to be on sale in mid-2020? But apparently it's just that there is a surplus of them right now? Curious to see what the pricing will look like on the 2020 e-Golfs.

 

[manybees]

Why are the CA dealers giving such huge discounts on the 2019s right now? (I just gone one with $10k on the hood.) I assumed it was because the ID.3 was scheduled to be on sale in mid-2020? But apparently it's just that there is a surplus of them right now? Curious to see what the pricing will look like on the 2020 e-Golfs.

Just speculating here, but there are probably a number of factors at play, a couple of which may be:

- CARB credits: VW needs to get its CARB credits, and so needs to sell more vehicles to make their numbers in CA. I believe that this year they are no longer allowed to transfer credits from sales in other states. Thus, offering discounts may be the cheaper option.
- Competition: There are some compelling BEVs available in the roughly $35k-40k range (Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Kona EV, Kia e-Niro, etc.) with up to double the range of the e-Golf. The SEL's MSRP of $39,925 and the SE's MSRP of $33,725 (both before TTL) are not very inviting price points for 125 miles of EPA range compared to these other EVs. I do love my e-Golf, but if I hadn't gotten a huge discount off the MSRP of my SEL, I would have just bought a Model 3 instead at the ~$40k price point.

There might be other things at play as well, but these are two that sprang to my mind.

 

[JoulesThief]

Why are the CA dealers giving such huge discounts on the 2019s right now? (I just gone one with $10k on the hood.) I assumed it was because the ID.3 was scheduled to be on sale in mid-2020? But apparently it's just that there is a surplus of them right now? Curious to see what the pricing will look like on the 2020 e-Golfs.

Probably because they have to, to move cars, to get ZEV credits, against the cars the competition offers, with more range or distance in their batteries. 125 miles on a charge, compared to the competition, indicates a small, cheaper battery option that their competitors. That's if you believe most of the cost of the car is still in the battery pack.

And that range will decrease as the car ages, gets more miles and gets older.

So to move them, now, you are looking at a $22 to 25k value car, compared to the competition, for a SE or SEL, IMHO. The other factor is that e-Golfs have done poorly in maintaining their used car market value, the depreciation level is astronomical for a 4 year old car that, in my case, had a $36.3k MSRP.

 

[Sparklebeard]

The other factor is that e-Golfs have done poorly in maintaining their used car market value, the depreciation level is astronomical for a 4 year old car that, in my case, had a $36.3k MSRP.

You have often stated that you paid much less (roughly a third, if I recall) of that price so I’m gonna say your depreciation has been rather good, actually.

MSRP means nothing. The price you paid means everything.

 

[2016golfse]

The other factor is that e-Golfs have done poorly in maintaining their used car market value, the depreciation level is astronomical for a 4 year old car that, in my case, had a $36.3k MSRP.

Compared to MSRP, you'd be correct. But wait!

OK, I bought one, a 2015 SEL... Price for a Tesla P70D before taxes and registration... $75,000. Price of my Golf before taxes and registration, 25,300. Price of a Tesla after federal tax credit and CA EV rebate $65000. Price on my Golf after federal tax credit and CA EV rebate, $15,300.

So your actual percentage depreciation on a 4 year old car is..... 10% 15%? I don't know how much you were asking when you were considering selling it, but I'm not seeing any evidence of poor used car market value or astronomical depreciation, especially in your case.

 

[msvphoto]

Compared to an i3 the eGolf is doing pretty well for resale. They cost north of $50k new and when we bought our 2015 SEL in 2017 same year i3s were about the same money. Then there is the i8 which it seems nobody wants. They are plummeting rapidly also.

Not complaining, I normally buy heavily depreciated cars.

 

[JoulesThief]

The other factor is that e-Golfs have done poorly in maintaining their used car market value, the depreciation level is astronomical for a 4 year old car that, in my case, had a $36.3k MSRP.

Compared to MSRP, you'd be correct. But wait!

OK, I bought one, a 2015 SEL... Price for a Tesla P70D before taxes and registration... $75,000. Price of my Golf before taxes and registration, 25,300. Price of a Tesla after federal tax credit and CA EV rebate $65000. Price on my Golf after federal tax credit and CA EV rebate, $15,300.

So your actual percentage depreciation on a 4 year old car is..... 10% 15%? I don't know how much you were asking when you were considering selling it, but I'm not seeing any evidence of poor used car market value or astronomical depreciation, especially in your case.

With the new car sales tax, I was out of pocket about $18000, only because I spent the time and money to negotiate a fantastic deal. If I was to trade in my 2015 SEL with 22,500 miles on it, on a new car... Sunnyvale VW offered me only $9000.

I don't think the depreciation is going to be any better on a newer 2019 VW e-Golf because people are treating electric cars as disposable, like they do anything else tethered to a wall socket, be it iPads, iPhones, androids, Galaxy tabs, or whatever. Throwaway society we live in. The technology advances so fast, you pay to drive bleeding edge technology. If it's not bleeding edge tech, like on a VW e-Golf, it depreciates even faster.

The fact of the matter is it's about how much or how little you can get off of MSRP. An SE will probably depreciate a lot less than a loaded SEL.

 

[f1geek]

I recently got a ride from TeslaOnCall, where they are expecting to put 500,000 miles or more on their EVs. Some already have 300,000 miles on them and are going strong with no issues. EVs are certainly not disposable and I see no evidence of people treating them as such. Selling to a buyer for whom the used car makes sense is not the same as putting it in the trash. I plan to keep my car for at least 10 years, so I'm not worried about depreciation, as I'm sure is the case for many EV drivers for whom local driving is sufficient for their needs, with the occasional long distance trip that is easily doable with a minor inconvenience (in our minds) of needing to stop to charge.

 

[2016golfse]

With the new car sales tax, I was out of pocket about $18000, only because I spent the time and money to negotiate a fantastic deal. If I was to trade in my 2015 SEL with 22,500 miles on it, on a new car... Sunnyvale VW offered me only $9000.

You already know that you can get far more than the $9000 dealer trade in value - especially for someone willing to "spen[d] the time and money to negotiate a fantastic [resale value]". Even if you had accepted the $9000 offer, it would represent 50% depreciation over the course of 4 years, which isn't that far off from average depreciation for cars in general and certainly not "astronomical" as you originally claimed.

 

[ElectricTerrapin]

The other factor is that e-Golfs have done poorly in maintaining their used car market value, the depreciation level is astronomical for a 4 year old car that, in my case, had a $36.3k MSRP.

Compared to MSRP, you'd be correct. But wait!

OK, I bought one, a 2015 SEL... Price for a Tesla P70D before taxes and registration... $75,000. Price of my Golf before taxes and registration, 25,300. Price of a Tesla after federal tax credit and CA EV rebate $65000. Price on my Golf after federal tax credit and CA EV rebate, $15,300.

So your actual percentage depreciation on a 4 year old car is..... 10% 15%? I don't know how much you were asking when you were considering selling it, but I'm not seeing any evidence of poor used car market value or astronomical depreciation, especially in your case.

With the new car sales tax, I was out of pocket about $18000, only because I spent the time and money to negotiate a fantastic deal. If I was to trade in my 2015 SEL with 22,500 miles on it, on a new car... Sunnyvale VW offered me only $9000.

I don't think the depreciation is going to be any better on a newer 2019 VW e-Golf because people are treating electric cars as disposable, like they do anything else tethered to a wall socket, be it iPads, iPhones, androids, Galaxy tabs, or whatever. Throwaway society we live in. The technology advances so fast, you pay to drive bleeding edge technology. If it's not bleeding edge tech, like on a VW e-Golf, it depreciates even faster.

The fact of the matter is it's about how much or how little you can get off of MSRP. An SE will probably depreciate a lot less than a loaded SEL.

Taxes paid typically do not factor in any depreciation calculation. 2016golfse is right. After factoring in federal, state, and other incentives, the actual depreciation may compare well with the depreciation of comparably equipped ICE cars.

There is even another potential upside: If the ID Crozz (the next electric car from VW that is coming to the US in 2020 (expected) sells out fast and all tax incentive thresholds are reached quickly, then the depreciation of our e-Golfs may hold up better. Say all tax incentives are gone by 2021, by 2022, used e-Golfs may experience a much lower depreciation because the difference to the real price paid for a new (comparable) EV is all of sudden much higher.

 

[RonDawg]

With the new car sales tax, I was out of pocket about $18000, only because I spent the time and money to negotiate a fantastic deal. If I was to trade in my 2015 SEL with 22,500 miles on it, on a new car... Sunnyvale VW offered me only $9000.

You already know that you can get far more than the $9000 dealer trade in value - especially for someone willing to "spen[d] the time and money to negotiate a fantastic [resale value]". Even if you had accepted the $9000 offer, it would represent 50% depreciation over the course of 4 years, which isn't that far off from average depreciation for cars in general and certainly not "astronomical" as you originally claimed.

I agree, you can't use a dealer trade in offer to get a true feel of the car's depreciation. Dealers will ALWAYS low-ball you, and if you think they gave you a fantastic offer, they simply added the difference to the other side of the purchase contract.

A quick check on Cars.com is showing the average asking price on a 2015 eGolf SEL to be between $13k and $16k.

 

[JoulesThief]

With the new car sales tax, I was out of pocket about $18000, only because I spent the time and money to negotiate a fantastic deal. If I was to trade in my 2015 SEL with 22,500 miles on it, on a new car... Sunnyvale VW offered me only $9000.

You already know that you can get far more than the $9000 dealer trade in value - especially for someone willing to "spen[d] the time and money to negotiate a fantastic [resale value]". Even if you had accepted the $9000 offer, it would represent 50% depreciation over the course of 4 years, which isn't that far off from average depreciation for cars in general and certainly not "astronomical" as you originally claimed.

I agree, you can't use a dealer trade in offer to get a true feel of the car's depreciation. Dealers will ALWAYS low-ball you, and if you think they gave you a fantastic offer, they simply added the difference to the other side of the purchase contract.

A quick check on Cars.com is showing the average asking price on a 2015 eGolf SEL to be between $13k and $16k.

Those are dealership asking prices, not private party.

I no longer have the time to dick around selling my car privately when taking care of a family member with Alzheimer's. I won't bother you with the details, other than to say it's very time consuming, I am supposed to be retired, and it's feeling more and more like a full time job with no end in sight.

 

[RonDawg]

Those are dealership asking prices, not private party.

I no longer have the time to dick around selling my car privately when taking care of a family member with Alzheimer's. I won't bother you with the details, other than to say it's very time consuming, I am supposed to be retired, and it's feeling more and more like a full time job with no end in sight.

Dealership asking prices don't reflect actual transaction prices but are still going to be considerably higher than their trade-in offer. The car's true value will be somewhere in-between.

My sympathies re the family situation. I have an elderly father that I too help care for and while he doesn't have Alzheimer's he still can be quite challenging to deal with.