At the beginning of 2022, the biggest action in the domestic new energy vehicle market is to usher in a wave of price increases.
First, the rear-drive versions of Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y models rose by 10,000 yuan and 21,000 yuan respectively.
Immediately after, the two major new car-making forces head enterprises could not sit still. Xiaopeng Automobile announced a price increase for the whole series, ranging from 4300-5900 yuan for the P7 series and 4800 yuan to 5400 yuan for the P5 series; Nezha Automobile will increase the price of the current models on sale by about 3,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan.
Even domestic veteran traditional car companies have joined the army of price increases. BYD raised the official guidance price of new energy models related to Dynasty and Ocean Network by 1,000 yuan to 7,000 yuan; SAIC Roewe also announced price increases for a number of new energy models.
According to incomplete statistics, 17 new energy vehicle companies have announced price increases.
Recent new energy vehicle companies price increase statistics, entrepreneurship state watchmaking
Judging from the announcements of various car companies, the rise in raw material prices, the shortage of global chips, the decline in new energy subsidies, and the rise in premiums are the superficial reasons for the price increase.
"Last year's raw material price increase pressure, basically battery companies digested themselves, failed to transmit to the downstream car companies; the reasons for the price increase, from the information released by car companies, mainly subsidies declined, battery raw materials and chip supply urgent price increase, forcing car companies to increase prices." Yu Qingjiao, secretary general of the Zhongguancun New Battery Technology Innovation Alliance and chairman of the Battery Hundred People Association, told Chuang Chuangbang.
In the view of Zhang Xiang, an independent automotive industry analyst, the rise in the cost of auto parts is a long-term trend, if the short-term car companies can still afford it, but if it lasts for one or two years, car companies will definitely increase prices.
Behind this wave of price increases, the contradiction between supply and demand in the new energy vehicle market is reflected, and the product value of some car companies has been greatly improved, and a competition under a new pattern has been quietly launched.
In the face of new energy vehicles after the surge, why are consumers still willing to pay?
The marketing strategy of "rising and rising" car prices
Just a few years ago, consumers generally turned away from new energy vehicles, and fuel vehicles have always been their first choice for car purchases.
Nowadays, with the continuous improvement of mileage and after-sales service level, consumers' acceptance of new energy vehicles is increasing day by day, and the penetration rate of new energy vehicles will reach 14.8% in 2021, which is significantly higher than the penetration rate of 5.8% in 2020, which invisibly also gives car companies the courage to increase prices.
The time of the price increase of new energy vehicle companies is mainly concentrated in January 2022, which is basically in line with the general marketing strategy of car companies.
Zhang Xiang analyzed that when the sales volume is generally rushed at the end of the year, car companies do not dare to increase prices, hoping to increase the sales volume in December last year as much as possible. January of the second year is actually a sales off-season, and the sales volume of car companies in a year can be adjusted by the later time, so January is a better time to increase prices.
"One of the factors in the price increase is because consumers' acceptance of new energy vehicles has increased, coupled with the implementation of local consumption promotion policies and the improvement of the quality of service in the aftermarket of new energy vehicles, consumers' acceptance of price increases is also increasing." Yu Puritan said.
According to the evaluation results of the China Association for Quality, the user satisfaction index (NEV-CACSI) index (NEV-CACSI) index of China's new energy automobile industry in 2021 is 80 points (out of 100 points), which is the same as that of fuel vehicles. Among them, the pure electric vehicle user satisfaction index was 80 points, a record high, an increase of 2 points year-on-year, and an increase of 6 consecutive years.
The increase in consumer acceptance has also led to the continuous growth of new energy vehicle sales.
According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in 2021, the mainland sold 3.521 million new energy vehicles, an increase of 1.6 times year-on-year.
In addition, Yu Puritan believes that it is not excluded that some car companies will use price increases as a staged promotion method to boost sales before the price increase date.
In just over a month from November 19, 2021 to December 31, 2021, Tesla Model 3 entry-level models have increased prices three times in a row, with a cumulative increase of nearly 30,000 yuan.
After the price increase information was announced, the holders of the currency waiting to buy rushed to tell each other, but Tesla's sales ushered in an explosion. In December 2021, Tesla delivered 70,847 vehicles, setting a new record for new car deliveries in a single month.
New energy vehicles are hard to find
The increase in consumer acceptance has also made new energy vehicles in short supply.
"The reason why car companies have increased prices is that some brands of models in the market have become in short supply." Zhang Xiang said that some models like Tesla may have to wait two or three months to pick up the car after paying a deposit, and some bydir models even have to wait for half a year to pick up the car.
Tesla's order volume is still hot. According to the news revealed by relevant channels, the current order volume of Tesla's Shanghai factory has been in short supply, in addition to providing sufficient production capacity for domestic consumers, but also consider the order demand of the European market.
According to the information on Tesla's official website, domestic consumers currently need to wait 3 to 4 months for the delivery of model Y and model 3 cars. For the European market, foreign media sources said that the waiting time for the model 3 rear-drive version has been extended to 9 months, that is, it will not be delivered until November 2022 at the earliest, and the demand is very large. But the Model Y can be purchased directly through Tesla's Berlin factory in Germany.
Previously, in Tesla's internal earnings call in the fourth quarter of 2021, Elon Musk had said that Tesla will not launch new models in 2022, and the main task is still to expand production capacity, and the annual production growth rate is expected to exceed 50%.
In Zhang Xiang's view, the current new energy vehicle market has formed a contradiction between supply and demand, that is, supply exceeds demand, and price increase is a more effective means to solve this contradiction between supply and demand.
Price increases can greatly increase the value of some of the more popular brands, and the commercial value will also increase. The operating income and profit of car companies will increase.
Of course, not all car companies dare to increase prices.
"Most car companies still dare not increase prices, because the overall overcapacity of the automotive industry, after the price increase will lead to a reduction in product competitiveness, sales may decline in the future, so only a few more popular brands dare to increase prices." Zhang Xiang said.
For Tesla, which is leading the domestic new energy vehicle market, not increasing the price means that the competitiveness will be stronger, why should it still choose to increase the price?
In fact, most of the owners who buy Tesla belong to the middle class, the consumption power is strong, the budget is relatively sufficient, the Model Y price increase of 20,000 yuan, which is affordable for the owner, and after the price increase, Tesla's profits, operating income, and brand value have further increased. Therefore, Tesla chose to increase the price, and the benefits far outweighed the disadvantages.
Zhang Xiang judged that some car companies' price increases belong to the trend, such as Tesla's price increase, like Xiaopeng and Tesla belong to the relationship of fierce competition, then Xiaopeng also followed the price increase, which is the so-called follow-up. Of course, the price increase of car companies has been carefully calculated and studied, and it is necessary to ensure that the price increase will not have a great impact on its sales, and the price increase is also acceptable to consumers. After the price increase, the profit and turnover of car companies will increase, and the brand value will also increase.
However, in the eyes of industry insiders, tesla, BYD and other car companies launched this wave of price increases will not last long, price reduction or will become a long-term trend in the market.
Yu Qingjiao believes that even if the price increases, the amplitude will not be too large, and car companies will find ways to reduce costs and promote consumption from other aspects, and the final sales will have little impact.
In 2022, the national new energy subsidy policy will decline by 30%, which will undoubtedly increase the cost pressure of car companies. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Vehicle Market Information Joint Association, also pointed out that the subsidy decline of 30% may still have a certain impact on the growth rate of new energy vehicles, and car companies are facing the challenges of the post-subsidy era and will inevitably adjust prices. "But price increases are only short-term phenomena, and if car companies want to remain competitive, price declines are a long-term trend."
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