Citroen eC3 (C3 Electric) - Expected Vs Actual Prices | V3Cars

Citroen eC3 Price Comparison – Expected Vs Actual

Here is the comparison table of expected prices vs actual prices of the Citroen eC3:

My estimations were off by Rs. 1.13 lakh - Rs. 1.50 lakh. I blew past our 5% margin of error and my estimation was up to 13% off the actual launch price of the car.

Assumptions

If you haven’t read my calculations and assumptions for the C3 electric’s expected price, then you can head to the following link:

Citroen eC3 Electric SUV Expected Price Calculation - With Logic

In my calculations, I found that the eC3 will save you about Rs. 5.20 lakh over the C3 normal petrol variant if you own it for 1,00,000km. This value comes not only from lower running costs, but also from the convenience of an automatic transmission and higher torque output of the eC3. We also factored in the lower ground clearance and power figure and adjusted the figure using our in-house algorithm to arrive at the final figure of Rs. 5.20 lakh.

Here’s the table for quick reference of value comparison between the C3 and eC3:

*Note: The < and > arrows in the centre column indicate whether the left side or right side car won the particular round.

Other electric cars like the Tigor EV and Tiago EV also have a very high km-to-breakeven figure of more than 1,00,000km. With that in mind, just adding Rs. 5.20 lakh over the C3’s price brings us very close to the actual launch price of the car.

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Where I Went Wrong

However, I assumed that after the C3’s lacklustre sales performance, Citroen might want to set some sales charts on fire in the EV space. Having a lower km-to-breakeven figure of around 75,000km would give them a safe space to offer good value and establish the brand without greatly compromising on the profit margins.

After driving the C3 turbo, I was further convinced that the eC3 would meet the requirements of electric cab aggregators and fleet owners. While the common buyer is not too keen to do the math, fleet buyers are good with these kinds of things. A 40,000km - 50,000km lower km-to-breakeven figure would instantly entice Blu Cabs and Uber to place large orders.

Some notable advantages the eC3 has to succeed in the commercial space are:

1. Rear seat space
2. Ease of ingress and egress
3. Phenomenal ride comfort
4. Good boot space
5. Acceptable performance

I was so wrong to assume that Citroen wanted to achieve high sales figures and challenge Tata Motors on their home turf. They are here to follow the norm and breed mediocrity. They’re perhaps not ready to compromise on their profit margins. The Rs. 10.0 lakh starting price would have created a huge demand for the eC3. Citroen perhaps either don’t want such high demand or can’t handle such high demand, which kept them from aggressively pricing the eC3.

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Lessons Learnt

Citroen are a very low-volume player in the car market and probably plan to remain so with this kind of pricing strategy. Going forward, I’ll keep this in mind to improve my estimations.