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The largest delivery of cars from China has just arrived in Teesport. The vessel has 5000 cars aboard including Jaecoo, Chery various models and the first cars from Lepas, probably the L8. With these amounts of cars arriving in the UK it would be hard for Motability Operations to ignore the availability & possible discounts being offered by manufacturers. With Chinese cars already on the scheme, are we about to see a lot more?
After browsing the show rooms last week & looking at cars from Peugeot, Ford, Renault, Vauxhall & even Skoda, can they compete with the quality, price & specifications that the Chinese cars have, I don’t think so, do you?
Skoda Enyaq Coupe 85x Sportline Plus Adanced, Heat Pump & 21" Supernova Wheels In Moon White Metallic - Ordered 27th December 2023 - Confirmed 31st January 2024 - Build Week 16 (W/C April 15th) Estimated Delivery 26th May. Build Week moved back to week 23 W/C 3rd June) Build Week moved again to week 32 (W/C 5th August) Brought forward to week 27 (W/C 1st July 24) Advised Week 31 That car us built & in Transit to UK. August 22nd, car arrived at dealership but wrong spec. Collected the car 18/9/2024. Ver
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The largest delivery of cars from China has just arrived in Teesport. The vessel has 5000 cars aboard including Jaecoo, Chery various models and the first cars from Lepas, probably the L8. With these amounts of cars arriving in the UK it would be hard for Motability Operations to ignore the availability & possible discounts being offered by manufacturers. With Chinese cars already on the scheme, are we about to see a lot more? After browsing the show rooms last week & looking at cars from Peugeot, Ford, Renault, Vauxhall & even Skoda, can they compete with the quality, price & specifications that the Chinese cars have, I don’t think so, do you?
It all rather depends on what the customer (either on or off scheme) wants from a vehicle and what they are prepared to pay.
Not everyone will base their vehicle choice on price or availability. The same as some will use the Motability scheme and others will look elsewhere to meet their vehicular needs.
It is about having choice. The more vehicles that are available, the wider the competition becomes and in general keeps prices lower across the board.
However one thing that all fleets (including Motability) need to be wary of is putting all their eggs into one basket. If the current Motability ‘love in’ with Chinese vehicles heads towards a monopoly situation, or if geopolitical or economic relations with China sour, it could put fleet management into a vulnerable position.
Hence, offering a wide portfolio of vehicle manufacturers makes their business more secure. Hopefully one day when domestic politics returns to something akin to normal, certain European brands may yet return to the Motability scheme to widen the portfolio further. Who knows?
As for offers, there will always be some, no matter where the vehicles are manufactured as dealerships will undercut each other for volume bonuses etc. Even where offers are not overtly advertised (such as with Agency status manufacturers), it may still be possible to negotiate some form of deal privately.
Also, for any vehicle to be viable for the scheme, there needs to be a strong dealership backing. Motability commited to 50% of vehicles being British built by 2035, which will certainly exclude vehicles like Aston Martin, Range Rover etc, Bentley & Rolls Royce, Lotus etc
, leaving likely contenders from Nissan (Qashqai, Juke, Leaf), Toyota Corolla, Vauxhall & Mini.Motability would therefore have to manage their expectectation and not become swamped.
Well said Big Dave.
After watching the Beijing motor show & seeing the amount of manufacturers aiming to sell in the UK, there’s going to be a lot. Many are tied to European companies like VW & Xpeng, Xpeng are using the VW dealership network to sell their cars, the 1st being the Xpeng G6, G8 & P7plus which is a fantastic car, all built in Austria using Chinese parts to avoid import duties. Also Zeekr who make thier own P7 SUV knocking at the door!
These companies will be hard to ignore and most offer the type of vehicle that Motability customers seem to be choosing! Interesting times ahead!
Skoda Enyaq Coupe 85x Sportline Plus Adanced, Heat Pump & 21" Supernova Wheels In Moon White Metallic - Ordered 27th December 2023 - Confirmed 31st January 2024 - Build Week 16 (W/C April 15th) Estimated Delivery 26th May. Build Week moved back to week 23 W/C 3rd June) Build Week moved again to week 32 (W/C 5th August) Brought forward to week 27 (W/C 1st July 24) Advised Week 31 That car us built & in Transit to UK. August 22nd, car arrived at dealership but wrong spec. Collected the car 18/9/2024. Ver
Recently collected a MG3 Hybrid.
Some criticism from certain quarters was to be expected.
I rather think it’s an invalid criticism ( buying Chinese cars that is).
After all, most people buy through need or desire. When through need most seek value for money. This remains true whether oranges, clothes or cars.
I am fussy about one area and deselect fruit from one area. This is a political choice. Declining a car from China? A personal decision, a political one or purely economic?
Of course if individual choice has a macro economic effect then I’m surprised.
If the huge European car manufacturers cannot compete with the Orient then that’s their problem.
I seek value. And the MG3 Hybrid provides that with its summer mpg of 67.4, its very nippy engine (0-60 in 6.8sec) and its plethora of high tech safety features. Scratchy plastic can be found on the dash ( why do reviewers obsess about this?)…. My previous car, Clio Hybrid requires a £3k AP ( £500 3 yrs ago).
We’re all different fortunately and Motability must continue to serve all needs.
Thanks
Harry
Well worth looking at the recent Carwow YouTube video about the Chinese Audi.
It’s a bit of an eye opener.
It will be interesting to see what effect and how quickly it will progress to reach Motability’s target’s of 25% U.K. made cars by 2030 and 50% of U.K. made cars by 2035 affecting the limitation of Chinese cars and our choice of car.
Also I wonder and fear, how long it will take before the political party’s, Motability and Joe Public to decide that many of these highly specked Chinese cars go way beyond our basic needs to travel form A to B, at the so called tax payers expense.
It will be interesting to see what effect and how quickly it will progress to reach Motability’s target’s of 25% U.K. made cars by 2030 and 50% of U.K. made cars by 2035 affecting the limitation of Chinese cars and our choice
I firmly think Motability’s statement about percentages of UK built cars on the scheme was totally of its time. Designed to deflect the flack it was getting about so called luxury cars on the scheme.
A totally aspirational percentage number plucked out of the air at the time to meet a political need. Set to go the same way as the dodo and that app Motability insisted upon foisting on customers which Motability no longer care to mention and which has now died a death or in political speak, paused sine die!
What will the Chinese cars be worth in 3 years time. Will anyone buy them either from Motability or from any lease company. Will the components used to build them last the duration.
What will the Chinese cars be worth in 3 years time. Will anyone buy them either from Motability or from any lease company. Will the components used to build them last the duration.
I can remember people doubting the quality and lifespan of Japanese cars, over 50 years back,
mind you, the lifespan of most cars back then, was well short of ten years.
I’m drawn towards the MG HS, it suits my needs and the zero AP offers seem endless. I’m put off by one thing, and please don’t pile on as it’s baseless, but it’s the badge MG. I live in the Midlands and still carry the memories of Longbridge and all the related problems. When I look at the badge it just screams crap.
I’m drawn towards the MG HS, it suits my needs and the zero AP offers seem endless. I’m put off by one thing, and please don’t pile on as it’s baseless, but it’s the badge MG. I live in the Midlands and still carry the memories of Longbridge and all the related problems. When I look at the badge it just screams crap.
😂😂
I’m currently looking for a Rover 75 V8 / MG ZT V8 and depending on the year built, the choce is either Cowley or Longbridge…
Volkswagen Group have invested Half a Billion Euros in Xpeng to share technical know-how, manufacturing bases, future market share & dealership outlets, VW to sell into China & Xpeng into Europe, a smart move by VW. They know what’s coming & unable to stop it so they’ve jumped onboard early! JCT600 Hull & many more have already got the Xpeng signage up next to the VW sign. They are all getting inter linked, Chery & Geely being an example. Lotus, Volvo, Mercedes all in there too! In fact, if I’m correct, the new Zeekr P7 has suspension designed for it by Lotus engineering!
I will certainly consider my next car to be from a Chinese manufacturer even if it means leaving the scheme to get the right car & deal! If the Xpeng P7plus is launched in the UK in time then, I’ll seriously consider that car, it’s already being sold in Europe.
Skoda Enyaq Coupe 85x Sportline Plus Adanced, Heat Pump & 21" Supernova Wheels In Moon White Metallic - Ordered 27th December 2023 - Confirmed 31st January 2024 - Build Week 16 (W/C April 15th) Estimated Delivery 26th May. Build Week moved back to week 23 W/C 3rd June) Build Week moved again to week 32 (W/C 5th August) Brought forward to week 27 (W/C 1st July 24) Advised Week 31 That car us built & in Transit to UK. August 22nd, car arrived at dealership but wrong spec. Collected the car 18/9/2024. Ver
Skoda Enyaq Coupe 85x Sportline Plus Adanced, Heat Pump & 21" Supernova Wheels In Moon White Metallic - Ordered 27th December 2023 - Confirmed 31st January 2024 - Build Week 16 (W/C April 15th) Estimated Delivery 26th May. Build Week moved back to week 23 W/C 3rd June) Build Week moved again to week 32 (W/C 5th August) Brought forward to week 27 (W/C 1st July 24) Advised Week 31 That car us built & in Transit to UK. August 22nd, car arrived at dealership but wrong spec. Collected the car 18/9/2024. Ver
That’s the Jaguar or Range Rover gone then as promised by Rachel from accounts!😂
Skoda Enyaq Coupe 85x Sportline Plus Adanced, Heat Pump & 21" Supernova Wheels In Moon White Metallic - Ordered 27th December 2023 - Confirmed 31st January 2024 - Build Week 16 (W/C April 15th) Estimated Delivery 26th May. Build Week moved back to week 23 W/C 3rd June) Build Week moved again to week 32 (W/C 5th August) Brought forward to week 27 (W/C 1st July 24) Advised Week 31 That car us built & in Transit to UK. August 22nd, car arrived at dealership but wrong spec. Collected the car 18/9/2024. Ver
VW to sell into China & Xpeng into Europe, a smart move by VW.
VW group has a rich history that dates back to 1984, with connections going back to 1978. Some of the well known venturers include:
1984 – 45 year joint venture with SAIC
1990 – joint venture with FAW
2017 – joint venture with Anhui formally JAC
The Cupra Taviscan was built in the Anhui plant and shipped back to europe to be sold.
Europe auto sector has been at it for years in China, so you can’t blame China wanting a slice of the cake in europe.
If a build quality of Chinese cars is as of our leased BYD Dolphin Surf, pictures of which I posted time ago, then European cars industry is safe. For 3 years lease it is perfect, but to own… God forbid.
Some say BYD Sealion 7 and other more expensive models have much better quality. Don’t know.
As to Polestar, Lotus and other cars built in China, I struggle to justify their absurd asking price and I think they will have to adapt to the evolving market.
Plus I hope
“When the hurlyburly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won”
everyone will rush back into Kaliningrad to rebuild their VW, Renault, GM and other production lines pushing prices even lower.
Sent from a mobile device.
Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 - September 2026 (won my case with Ombudsman)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019Good Gosh. 5000 cars. What size was the ship. ? Also Stellantis have bought shares in Leap Motor for exactly the reason stated below. They can see where their biggest profit comes from.
Skoda Enyaq Coupe 85x Sportline Plus Adanced, Heat Pump & 21" Supernova Wheels In Moon White Metallic - Ordered 27th December 2023 - Confirmed 31st January 2024 - Build Week 16 (W/C April 15th) Estimated Delivery 26th May. Build Week moved back to week 23 W/C 3rd June) Build Week moved again to week 32 (W/C 5th August) Brought forward to week 27 (W/C 1st July 24) Advised Week 31 That car us built & in Transit to UK. August 22nd, car arrived at dealership but wrong spec. Collected the car 18/9/2024. Ver
Skoda Enyaq Coupe 85x Sportline Plus Adanced, Heat Pump & 21" Supernova Wheels In Moon White Metallic - Ordered 27th December 2023 - Confirmed 31st January 2024 - Build Week 16 (W/C April 15th) Estimated Delivery 26th May. Build Week moved back to week 23 W/C 3rd June) Build Week moved again to week 32 (W/C 5th August) Brought forward to week 27 (W/C 1st July 24) Advised Week 31 That car us built & in Transit to UK. August 22nd, car arrived at dealership but wrong spec. Collected the car 18/9/2024. Ver
I’ve read this on another site. I think it highlights the issues existing European brands are facing & why I think that there will be a lot more Chinese Manufacturers & cars coming to the Motability Scheme?🤔
The XPENG G6 Salary Sacrifice Price Makes Absolutely No Sense… Until You Look Closer
I was playing around with the Octopus Electric Vehicles salary sacrifice calculator and I honestly had to check the figures more than once.Same basic setup across the cars:
3-year term. 10,000 miles a year. Similar-sized electric SUVs.
And this is what came back:
CarEstimated net monthly costXPENG G6 Long Range RWD£360
Audi Q6 e-tron £645
Mercedes Electric GLC 400 Premier Edition £722Read that again.
The G6 is £360 a month.
The Audi is nearly £300 more every month.
The Mercedes is basically double the price.
Over three years, that works out at roughly:
XPENG G6: £12,960
Audi Q6 e-tron: £23,220
Mercedes GLC: £25,992
So compared with the Mercedes, you are talking about a difference of more than £13,000 from your net pay over three years.
That is bonkers.
And before anyone says it, yes, I know the Mercedes and Audi are premium German brands. I know the Mercedes here is 4MATIC and highly specified. I know badge, materials, refinement and resale values all play a part.
But £13,000?
That is where I start asking questions.
The interesting thing for me is that these cars are not worlds apart in terms of what they are trying to do. They are all large, comfortable electric family SUVs. They all give you plenty of space, technology, range and performance.
Yet the G6 sits in a completely different financial universe.
And having owned and driven the G6, that makes the comparison even more ridiculous.
The G6 is not some stripped-out budget EV where you immediately understand why it is cheaper.
You get a very well-equipped car, loads of technology, a big comfortable cabin, strong performance, excellent charging capability and a software platform that keeps improving.
The gap in monthly cost simply does not reflect the gap in the actual day-to-day ownership experience.
I think there are a few reasons for this.
Firstly, XPENG is clearly being very aggressive on fleet pricing.
A company like Octopus will not necessarily be paying anything close to the headline retail price we see as private buyers. XPENG wants cars on UK roads, and salary sacrifice is one of the fastest ways of doing that.
That means manufacturers can quietly support lease and fleet deals without publicly reducing the retail price of the car.
Secondly, leasing is all about depreciation.
It is not simply about what the car costs new.
The leasing company cares about what they buy the car for, what they think they can sell it for after three years, and how much money they lose in between.
So even if an Audi or Mercedes retains a better percentage of its value, it can still lose far more money in actual pounds.
A £70,000 car losing £30,000 is still more expensive to finance than a £45,000 car losing £18,000.
That difference lands straight in your monthly payment.
Then there is the obvious point: the German cars are simply more expensive vehicles to begin with.
But this is where the G6 becomes such a problem for them.
Because XPENG is offering something physically comparable in size, with huge amounts of equipment, at a price point that makes the traditional premium brands suddenly look very expensive indeed.
And yes, the Mercedes will have nicer materials in places.
Yes, the Audi badge carries more prestige.
Yes, the Mercedes in this comparison has AWD.
But does the Mercedes give me twice as much car as the G6?
Not even close.
Does it give me an extra £362-worth of experience every single month?
Again, I really struggle with that.
And this is where I think Chinese manufacturers like XPENG are going to cause a massive headache for the established brands.
For years, European buyers have accepted that if you want a big, premium-feeling, technologically advanced SUV, you are going to pay premium money.
The G6 challenges that assumption.
You suddenly have a car sitting next to an Audi Q6 or Mercedes GLC that can offer a comparable amount of usable space, technology and electric-car capability, yet on salary sacrifice it is hundreds of pounds cheaper every month.
For me, the most shocking number is still this:
£360 a month for the G6 Long Range.
On a salary sacrifice deal that can include insurance, servicing, maintenance and breakdown cover.
At that point, it is no longer just a cheap lease.
It starts looking like one of those deals where you ask yourself:
Why would I pay another £10,000–£13,000 over three years for the badge?
There will absolutely be people for whom the Audi or Mercedes is worth the extra money.
Nothing wrong with that.
But from a pure value-for-money point of view, this comparison is absolutely brutal.
And perhaps the question is not:
“Why is the XPENG G6 so cheap?”
Maybe the real question is:
“Why are we still prepared to pay so much more for the traditional brands?”
Because when you put the three numbers next to each other…
£360. £645. £722.
It really does look completely bonkers.
Skoda Enyaq Coupe 85x Sportline Plus Adanced, Heat Pump & 21" Supernova Wheels In Moon White Metallic - Ordered 27th December 2023 - Confirmed 31st January 2024 - Build Week 16 (W/C April 15th) Estimated Delivery 26th May. Build Week moved back to week 23 W/C 3rd June) Build Week moved again to week 32 (W/C 5th August) Brought forward to week 27 (W/C 1st July 24) Advised Week 31 That car us built & in Transit to UK. August 22nd, car arrived at dealership but wrong spec. Collected the car 18/9/2024. Ver
I went to see BYD Sealion 7. Arrived to Southampton’s branch… Waited…. Waited…. And left…
I am sure Chinese cars are good for fleets, but as private customer it wasn’t level of experience I would love to see – one person in the whole place…Although same I have to say about Jaguar: when none bothered to return to me. It is not surprising they are on their way out of business.
Sent from a mobile device.
Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 - September 2026 (won my case with Ombudsman)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019I went to see BYD Sealion 7. Arrived to Southampton’s branch… Waited…. Waited…. And left… I am sure Chinese cars are good for fleets, but as private customer it wasn’t level of experience I would love to see – one person in the whole place… Although same I have to say about Jaguar: when none bothered to return to me. It is not surprising they are on their way out of business.
There is a shocking contrast of dealers around the UK, come here and they will offer you a cuppa and follow you around like a headless chicken, which does my head in! Any other dealers close?
What did you think of the car?
There is a shocking contrast of dealers around the UK, come here and they will offer you a cuppa and follow you around like a headless chicken, which does my head in! Any other dealers close? What did you think of the car?
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
I thought nothing of the car because it wasn’t on display. There was one outside, but seem like one of the managers driving (personal things inside). Same was with VW Southampton – the car wasn’t on display, but driven by one of their managers. But in case of VW the service was impeccable, the ID.7 is brilliant, although slightly low than I would like to get in, but I may give it a go. Plus Ben from Chapman’s came back, advising he popped into his local VW and confirmed they can install ID.5 kit with no issue.
So nothing left, but to wait for Motability to start the process.
Sent from a mobile device.
Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 - September 2026 (won my case with Ombudsman)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019
, leaving likely contenders from Nissan (Qashqai, Juke, Leaf), Toyota Corolla, Vauxhall & Mini.
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