Want to pick up the car for the New Year no play, do not buy and may increase prices, the end of the new energy vehicle market makes it difficult for car owners

Source of this article: Times Finance Author: Chen Yanyu

"It is difficult to get the car before the Spring Festival, and at most it can only guarantee the delivery of the car in the first quarter of next year, and it is likely to wait for three months at the longest."

2021 is coming to an end, but the chip shortage throughout the year is still affecting the terminal car market. Recently, Times Finance visited the Guangzhou new energy vehicle market and found that unlike the previous year-end and early year sales with the slogan of "driving a new car, celebrating the New Year", so that consumers can quickly place orders, the current pick-up time of many mainstream new energy vehicle brands is still relatively long, generally concentrated in 7-8 weeks, it is difficult to catch up with the Spring Festival, and some of Tesla's hot models even have to wait for up to 3 months.

It is worth noting that behind the lengthening of the time to pick up the car, in order to stimulate consumers' enthusiasm for car purchases, many salespeople will hang on their lips such as "new energy subsidies are about to decline" and "if you don't buy again, you will increase prices". "Now is the best time to buy a car, starting next year, the national new energy subsidy will be reduced by 30%, and the price of new energy vehicles will soon be increased." On December 12, some sales people told Times Finance.

Lead times of up to three months

In previous years, the eve of the Spring Festival is another peak season for car purchases in addition to the "Golden Nine Silver Ten" of the year, and many consumers will choose to buy new cars during this period to go home for the New Year. But this year, consumers' car purchase plans may be disrupted. It is reported that behind the Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger (February 1 next year) with less than 2 months to go, many new energy vehicle pick-up cycles are generally concentrated in 7-8 weeks, in other words, to catch up with the Spring Festival before the car is highly likely to be realized.

In the process of visiting Times Finance, although many sales have promised to strive for the car to be mentioned years ago, there is a certain difficulty in frankness, and Tesla sales people have bluntly said that it is difficult to achieve.

Among them, an ideal car sales person in Guangzhou told Times Finance that at this stage, the cycle of the ideal ONE from the decision to the delivery is an average of one month, and the car can be delivered in mid-January; the Xiaopeng sales person said that the delivery of the P7 varies depending on the configuration, of which the 480E model delivery cycle is the shortest, about 5 to 6 weeks. Tesla salespeople said that they can only guarantee delivery in the first quarter of next year, but it is likely to wait for three months at the longest.

Image source: BYD Auto's official website

According to the official APP of the times financial inquiries of various car companies, the three models on sale of Weilai generally show that "it is expected to pick up the car about 8 weeks after locking the order"; the ideal ONE car purchase page shows "expected to be delivered within 7-8 weeks after placing an order"; while the car cycle of different models of Xiaopeng Automobile is different, the P7 related version of the car purchase page shows "expected to be delivered in 7-8 weeks after signing the contract, and the cycle of a small number of models is slightly longer", and the P5 related version shows "Expected to be delivered in 12-13 weeks after signing the contract". G3i versions are expected to be delivered in 13-14 weeks.

According to its sales staff, Qin PLUS DM-i models are in short supply, the car pick-up cycle takes 3 to 4 months, and the manufacturer is scheduled according to the order of the 4S store, so it is difficult to mention the car years ago. According to BYD's latest sales report, its new energy sales reached a new high in November, soaring 252.7% year-on-year to 90,121 units.

Subsidies retreat or boost year-end impulses

Although the current waiting time for buying a car is still long, in the industry's view, the chip shortage problem is gradually improving, the subsequent delivery of car companies is expected to accelerate, and the high growth trend of the new energy vehicle market can be expected.

"It should be possible to balance the supply and demand of automotive chips in January next year." On December 10, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, told Times Finance. In its view, affected by factors such as the release of the previous backlog of orders, the delivery of new energy vehicles should usher in a small climax at the end of the year.

According to the latest data from the Association, in November this year, the retail sales of new energy passenger cars reached 378,000 units, an increase of 122.3% year-on-year and 19.8% month-on-month. More critically, the domestic retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles in November was 20.8%, a record high, while the penetration rate of 13.9% in January-November was significantly higher than 5.8% in the same period of 2020.

It is worth noting that the current annual changes in the new energy subsidy policy are also boosting the growth of new energy vehicle orders at the end of the year. According to times finance in the process of visiting, many sales people will be "new energy subsidies are about to decline" and "if you don't buy again, you will increase prices" and other words on their lips, attracting consumers to hurry up and place orders.

Previously, Tesla has taken the lead in reacting. On the 24th of last month, according to Tesla's official website in China, the price of the Model 3 rear-wheel drive version and the Model Y rear-wheel drive version increased by 4752 yuan, and the current starting price of the two cars was 255,652 yuan and 28.0752 yuan, respectively. For this price adjustment, Tesla China said that it was due to changes in the amount of subsidies for new energy vehicles in 2022.

According to the requirements of the "Notice of the Development and Reform Commission of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the Ministry of Finance on Further Improving the Financial Subsidy Policy for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles" previously issued by the state, the subsidy standards from 2020 to 2022 will be reduced by 10%, 20% and 30% respectively on the basis of the previous year.

However, in the view of industry insiders, from the perspective of the growth of new energy sales in non-restricted cities, the consumption of new energy vehicles has completely moved towards marketization, and the impact of subsidies is very small. On the other hand, there are also non-subsidized factors such as double integration, carbon emissions, and traffic restrictions, so the subsidy will be completely cancelled after 2022, and the impact on the new energy vehicle market will not be too large.

"China's new energy vehicle market has entered a steep growth range from the cultivation period to the growth period and then to the current period of rapid growth. The reasons for the market outbreak are mainly technological progress, product abundance, and policy strength. Although the growth rate exceeded expectations, it was also logical. We expect domestic new energy vehicle sales to be around 3.3 million units this year and will reach about 5 million next year, with a market penetration rate of more than 20%. Ouyang Minggao, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and vice chairman of the China Electric Vehicle Hundred Association, said at a media communication meeting earlier this month.