Overview
- An ADAC study reports that nearly 90% of test buyers received a discount without hard bargaining, with more than three quarters getting money off in the very first offer.
- In over 100 sales talks, a first request produced the initial discount in a further 12% of cases, a second ask yielded extra cuts in 13%, and a third try worked only 6% of the time.
- Researchers configured 14 models online, then took those offers to eight dealers per model across Germany, excluding current electric‑car subsidies to measure pure dealer and maker pricing.
- Discount size swung widely by vehicle: BYD Atto 2 averaged 25.4% off (about €9,520), BMW iX1 averaged 18.8% off (about €11,739), while low‑price cars like the Leapmotor T03 and Dacia Duster saw little to no reduction.
- Dealer approach mattered too, with Toyota Corolla quotes differing by about 21 percentage points between outlets, and brands using agency sales such as Mercedes sticking to preset configurator discounts that stores did not improve.