Audi is moving to a direct sales model for all of its electric vehicles in Germany after closing a deal with its dealer network. Beginning on January 1st of 2024, all-electric Audi models will sell through dealers on behalf of the automaker at fixed prices. Dealers will no longer buy them from Audi and then make their money on the back end. The German automaker is only the latest brand to make this shift as pressure from other direct-sales competitors like Tesla looms large.
According to Automobilwoche, the deal includes a six percent fixed commission on sales for dealers along with a flexible payment of 1.5 to 2.5 percent. Dealer sources report that the flexible part of the payment plan is expected to end up at around 1.5 percent after 2026. Notably, the deal specifically does not include any vehicle with a combustion engine. So gas-only cars and hybrids are both excluded.
Many automakers in Germany are switching over to direct sales. Despite being a part of the same family, Volkswagen dealers currently get a four percent fixed commission on EVs plus a two percent flexible remuneration. BMW is going to offer its dealers 5.5 percent in addition to bonuses that could result in a profit of up to 7.4 percent though it won’t begin that program until 2026.
More: Ford CEO Hints Again At No-Haggle Fixed Prices
Only Mercedes with a fixed rate of 6.5 percent for the first two years of its new dealer agreement pays more. It drops to six percent after that short timeframe. All of these companies are dealing with pressure to increase market share in the EV space.
Part of that strategy is to offer customers a fixed price through direct sales, something that Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and others are already doing. Say what you might about such pricing but customers of those brands know what they’ll pay upfront without markups and haggling.
It’s not all good news for customers worried about markups though. The end of those dealer-set prices also means the end of dealer rebates. Now, each Audi partner will have to garner business based on something other than final price, at least when it comes to all-electric models.
Notably, Ford has hinted that it’s considering a similar move to fixed prices in the past. None of the ‘big three’ automakers in the USA have made significant progress to that effect yet though.
