With the advent of social leasing at 100 euros per month, electric car manufacturers are announcing models at great prices, like Citroën and its ë-C3 starting at just 54 euros per month. Renault does even better with its Twingo E-Tech at 40 euros per month. But which of these offers is the most interesting for small budgets? Decryption.
The news surrounding electric cars is particularly rich at the end of the year. Between new ecological bonus, tightening of the rules for obtaining, social leasing and the new features looming for 2024, it is difficult to find your way among all the announcements of recent weeks.
Among those which were able to make an impression, there are undoubtedly the communications from manufacturers concerning social leasing and the presentation of the first offers. And the least we can say is that they have the merit of making an impression, since Citroën presented its ë-C3 from 54 euros per monthwhile Renault hits even harder with a Twingo E-Tech from 40 euros per month.
The match would have been more balanced against a Renault 5 E-Tech, but this will only be presented from the end of February 2024 for marketing which will take place in the second half of that same year.
Still, a car at the price of a telephone subscription is enough to make people react, and we wanted to compare these two offers to find out which was the most interesting.
The Citroën ë-C3 at 54 euros per month and the Renault Twingo E-Tech at 40 euros per month
Around 40 cm longer than the Twingo, the ë-C3 wins the battle for habitability, but also that of versatility since it benefits from a better field of action. The Twingo will be more helpful in urban environments, while the ë-C3 will allow you to go further, without being as comfortable as the electric sedans with impressive autonomy that we regularly report to you on Excited.
The Citroën ë-C3 at 54 euros per month
The Citroën ë-C3 is based on the “Smart Car” platform from Stellantis. This platform integrates a LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery pack of 44 kWh of capacity, to offer autonomy of almost 320 km according to the WLTP cycle.
The fast charging capacity of 100kW DC allows you to recharge from 20 to 80% in 26 minutes. Charging from 20% to 80% on standard AC takes approximately 4 hours 10 minutes using 7 kW power, or 2 hours 50 minutes if 11 kW is available.
The car incorporates a single electric motor of 113 hp (83 kW)enough to allow it to go from 0 to 100 km/h in 11 seconds approximately, and reach a maximum speed of 135 km/h.
The offer concerns the basic “You” version, which is already rather well equipped, despite some pettiness:
- Suspension with double hydraulic stops Citroën Advanced Comfort
- Air conditioner
- Cruise control with speed limiter
- Rear parking sensors
- Head-up display
- Emergency Brake Assist (AFU)
- Electric parking brake
- Active Lane Departure Warning System
- Recognition of speed limits
- Driver Attention Alert
- 6 airbags
- Automatic lighting
- LED front headlights
- Power Mirrors
- 16-inch Pyrite steel wheels
- Rear spoiler
- One-piece folding bench seat
As you can see, it is not the apotheosis on certain points, since there is not even the 10.25 inch touch screen in the center. Instead, Citroën has integrated “My Citroën Play with Smartphone Station”, a dedicated application is offered as standard to allow owners of the You model to access music, radio, calls and navigation from their own smartphone.
The Citroën Advanced Comfort seats with their very comfortable seating and which we were able to appreciate when testing the Citroën ë-C4 are not there either.
The Renault Twingo E-Tech at 40 euros per month
As is often the case with this type of offer, this is the base model, namely the “Authentic” finish for the Twingo E-Tech. As standard, the car is equipped with the following equipment:
- Tinted glass
- Makao 15 inch hubcaps
- Dark upholstery with Kario patterns (implies Black ambiance)
- Grained Black exterior mirrors
- Radio Connect R&Go with smartphone support compatible with the R&Go & Push to talk mobile application
- Folding rear seat
- Luggage cover
- Glove box closed
- Centralized door locking with remote control
- Electric front window
- LED daytime running lights
- Automatic switching on of lights
- Speed limiter
- Board computer
- Heated rear window
- Tire pressure detection
- Front and side (head-thorax) airbags for driver and passenger
- Seat belt alarm (driver, passenger and rear seats)
- ISOFIX attachment to the rear seats
- Inflation and repair kit
- Alarm pre-equipment (accessory pre-disposition)
- Centralized door locking
- Grained Black side strips
- Accelerated charging AC22
- Flexi charger
- Charging cable bag
The car is equipped with a small electric motor of 81 horses. Its battery with a capacity of 22 kWh gives it autonomy, according to the WLTP cycle of 190 kmand up to 270 km only in urban use.
Concerning charging, you will be entitled to the same connector as the Zoé with a Type 2 socket. There is no Combo connector for fast charging, the charging power increases to 22 kW thanks to three-phase alternating current. To recover 80% of the battery, Renault announces that it will take around an hour, or around 150 kilometers. On a classic domestic socket, it takes 15 hours, 8 hours on a reinforced socket and 4 hours on a Wallbox.
What are the conditions to be eligible for LLD offers for Citroën ë-C3 and Renault Twingo E-Tech
The two offers being correlated with the famous social leasing planned by the government, there will be a few boxes to check before you can benefit from these offers.
LLD at 54 euros per month for the Citroën ë-C3
This is a long-term rental offer on 36 months and 15,000 kilometers per year, or 45,000 km in total. Citroën indicates that the offer at 54 euros per month is subject at a first rent of 11,728 euroswhich returns to zero once the ecological bonus of 7,000 euros and social leasing aid are deducted.
LLD at 40 euros per month for the Renault Twingo E-Tech
This is, again, a long-term rental offer on 37 months and 12,500 kilometers per year, or 37,500 km in total. Renault indicates that the offer at 40 euros per month is submitted at a first rent of 11,798 euroswhich returns to zero once the ecological bonus of 7,000 euros and the social leasing aid of 4,798 euros are deducted.
The conditions to be met to benefit from one of these two offers
This is where it gets complicated. Social leasing is intended for customers whose reference income per share is less than 15,400 euros, or 39,600 euros for a couple with one child. Thus, 4 to 5 million people would potentially be eligible for social leasing.
Another condition to benefit from it (and these have just been added to further reduce the number of people concerned), drive approximately 8,000 kilometers per year by car, i.e. four trips of 15 to 20 kilometers per day between his home and his place of work, supporting proof.
Another problem, and not the least: we will have to elbow our way to benefit from social leasing. Indeed, the government will only select 20,000 to 25,000 files initially, in 2024, and while stocks last. This range could double in 2025, but that still leaves few files in the end. Remember that you can test your eligibility on the platform provided for this purpose and available via this link.
How much will the LLD of the Citroën ë-C3 and Renault Twingo E-Tech cost you?
Let’s move on to the math, and these are pretty simple.
LLD at 54 euros per month for the Citroën ë-C3
Over three years of long-term rental, your Citroën ë-C3 will cost you 1,890 euros. Citroën displays its car from 23,300 euros on its site, ecological bonus of 7,000 euros and social leasing aid not deducted. The calculation will be a little truncated with social leasing aid because this obviously involves financing. They will not be eligible for a “cash” purchase of the car. Therefore, let’s start with a front price with the bonus of 7,000 euros deducted, which gives us 16,300 euros.
Starting from this price, you will pay over the three years of the rental 11.5% of the price of your car. This is significantly less than the three-year discount for this type of car.
LLD at 40 euros per month for the Renault Twingo E-Tech
Over three years of long-term rental, your little electric Twingo will cost you 1,440 euros. Renault displays its car from 25,250 euros on its site, ecological bonus of 7,000 euros and social leasing aid not deducted. Same problem as for the ë-C3 above, we cannot remove social leasing aid for the calculation. The price, with the bonus of 7,000 euros deducted, is therefore 18,250 euros.
Starting from this price, you will pay over the three years of the rental 7.9% of the price of your car. This is, again, significantly less than the discount over three years.
Things to remember
Concretely, when we see the cost price over three years of the car, there is no doubt, these are the deals of the century, especially for the Citroën ë-C3 which is the more recent of the two and which will be available during 2024. Let’s not forget that to get there, these cars are very heavily subsidized, with a premium of almost 13,000 euros in the best case.
On the other hand, and as you have noticed, there are many conditions to be met to arrive at these offers, and most new car customers will not fit all the criteria. You must first be eligible for social leasing, but also be among the first to submit a file on the dedicated platform.
Long-term rental is interesting if you want to change your car regularly, without bothering with resale. Maintenance and warranty can be included throughout the duration of the financing, even if an electric car does not necessarily require the same maintenance intervals as a thermal model. For the Renault Twingo, the diamond firm announces a three-year warranty, 24/7 assistance and maintenance for six euros per month. Citroën does not (yet?) provide details on this subject.
Other good news for the Twingo, six months of recharge are included with this offer. How is this calculated? It’s very simple, 500 euros will be credited to your Mobilize Charge Pass account and will be used within three years from activation of the promotional code. This amount makes it possible to finance six months of recharging based on the reference mileage of social leasing (12,000 km/year). The amount credited is estimated according to the price charged by charging operators in AC mode, i.e. 0.48 euros/kWh on average.
The Twingo offers more for less money than the Citroën, but remember that it also only has a few months of life left. The announcement appeared a few days ago: the Twingo E-Tech will end its marketing in March 2024 with the Zoé, just to make room for the Renault 5 E-Tech which will arrive shortly after. You will therefore only have three months to benefit from it. In 2026, Renault will also launch a new Twingo, which largely echoes the first generation and which is already promised below 20,000 euros. But by then, there might well be no more bonuses…
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