E-cars soon to be more expensive? Clever savings trick on the brink

If you want to buy an e-car, you can use the environmental bonus to keep the price down. Battery rental, on the other hand, is less common and therefore less well known – this is another way of lowering the purchase price. Thanks to a ruling, however, rental batteries could soon disappear from the market again.

Rent a battery in an e-car: Renault in court for remote shutdown

So far, battery rental for e-cars has been rather a marginal phenomenon, which is mainly offered by Renault. If the new electric car costs too much for you, you can rent the battery – the most expensive individual component. The purchase price can fall so noticeably. That However, the offer has a major disadvantage, which has led to a lawsuit against the proceedings.

Renault reserves the right, in the event of an “extraordinary termination by the provider” of the rental agreement that runs through Renault Bank, to Switch off the battery remotely (Source: Consumer Advice Center Saxony). The battery cells can then no longer be charged. The consumer center of Saxony had sued against the clause and won the right at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.

“The court classified this procedure as prohibited self-power on the part of the provider because it amounts to encroaching on someone else’s property without the existence of a final judgment. So it is a form of vigilante justice “, says Claudia Neumerkel, lawyer at the consumer center in Saxony.

Renault offers the Battery rental currently for three models to: The Zoe, which was the most popular e-car in Germany for several years, as well as the Kangoo ZE and the electric mini-car Twizy (source: Renault). The monthly rental price depends on the expected annual mileage.

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Is it worth renting a battery without switching it off?

Since the potential disconnection of the battery, according to the consumer advice center, means interference with someone else’s property, the manufacturer must also Bear follow-up costs, For example, if you cannot return home while on vacation.

The judgment from Düsseldorf does not directly question battery rental. However, it is conceivable that Renault again calculates exactly under these circumstances, whether the offer is profitable without the possibility of remote access. If not, it would mean the end of another savings opportunity when buying an e-car. The automaker can appeal the decision.