In recent days, the turmoil in the international and regional situation has exacerbated the already scarce supply of auto parts. Under the influence of multiple factors such as rising raw material prices, continuous shortage of chips and subsidies, the development of domestic new energy vehicles has ushered in unprecedented pressure. Among them, the most implicated is undoubtedly pure electric vehicles, in the case of price increases have become a foregone conclusion, consumers as a pressure party are still facing the embarrassing situation of not being able to get a car for a long time, and the new energy vehicle market is encountering a crisis of trust.
Price increases and production suspension news continue
The new energy vehicle market may face a reshuffle
Although there are always many problems in charging and endurance, the share of new energy vehicles in the domestic automobile market has increased significantly year by year, and this performance is naturally inseparable from national policy support. According to the data of the Association, the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles in China in 2021 will be 2.989 million units, of which the sales of pure electric vehicles will be 2.444 million units, accounting for 81.8%. However, after entering 2022, the new energy vehicle market is in a wave of price increases, of which the price of pure electric vehicles fluctuates greatly, on the one hand, it is affected by external factors such as raw material shortages and chip shortages, on the other hand, it is the internal inducement of subsidy decline, resulting in automobile companies having to alleviate the pressure through price increases. At present, a number of traditional new energy automobile companies and new car-making brands have announced the increase in the price of new cars, with an increase ranging from 2,000 yuan to 21,088.8 yuan, which has greatly increased the cost of car purchases for consumers. At the same time, after the price increase, the new car is still unable to overcome the problem of tight production capacity, and consumers have to bear the loss caused by the long-term failure of the new car to be delivered.
According to the latest survey by the domestic media, the current new energy vehicle market, the vast majority of brand pure electric vehicles have the phenomenon of "one car is difficult to find", the new force brand has very few existing cars, the booking cycle is as few as a few weeks, more than 4 months; in contrast, the traditional brand of existing cars is more sufficient, some models also have cash discounts, such as the Volkswagen ID series generally has a cash discount of about 13,000 yuan (for reference only).
Price increases can indeed allow some new energy vehicle companies to temporarily alleviate cost pressure, but for low-end models that have always been the main cost-effective, price increases are tantamount to seeking their own dead end, so some auto companies simply stop production of low-end models in time to stop losses, but also make way for the production capacity of high-end models, but this may lead to the gradual tilt of the new energy vehicle product structure to the high-end, and the market share of low-end new energy vehicles may be further compressed.
The number of complaints has increased significantly
The reputation of new energy vehicles is worrying
On the surface, rising prices may be the direct cause of the slowdown in the future growth of the new energy vehicle market, and the deeper root cause may be the declining reputation of new energy vehicles. In recent years, the number of complaints about domestic new energy vehicles is showing a geometric growth. According to the data of the vehicle quality network, the number of complaints about new energy vehicles in China in 2021 totaled 12,841, a surge of 1.65 times compared with 2020. Among them, the service problem has become the hardest hit area for new energy vehicle complaints, accounting for 45.1%, and the complaints are mostly concentrated in the problem of "inconsistent with the publicity", and the owners generally reflect that there is suspected false propaganda such as the car chip and the mileage, causing disputes.
In addition, the number of complaints about the problem points of "disguised charging" and "not being able to lift the car" is also relatively large, these two types of problems are mostly related to the delivery of new energy vehicles, and the owner reflects that some automobile companies require temporary price increases when picking up the car, or cannot deliver the car for a long time after paying the deposit, and there is deception. In dealing with consumer complaints about "disguised charges" and "can't pick up the car", the response of the vast majority of automobile companies is relatively simple, providing consumers with two choices, one is to insist on the original purchase of the car and continue to wait; the other is to return the deposit in full, but no matter which plan, it seems that there is no complete solution to the problem.
From the perspective of the proportion of complaints about quality problems, body accessories and electrical appliances are still the absolute subject of complaints, and the number of complaints is as high as 5816, accounting for more than 60%. In terms of specific problems, the number of complaints about "audio-visual system failure" and "power battery failure" far exceeds other problems, and involves a variety of models of different brands. It reflects that some new energy vehicles have obvious shortcomings in battery technology and product quality control, and at the same time, software and hardware matching and electrical architecture also need to be optimized and upgraded.
Enhancing word-of-mouth has become a top priority for enterprises
Deferred delivery urgently needs to be regulated by policies
In the face of huge market demand and the reputation of deteriorating year by year, how should new energy vehicles save themselves?
In terms of quality problems, combined with the complaint situation, it can be solved by adjusting the supply system, improving battery performance, and optimizing software and hardware matching, but whether the ensuing cost increase is directly passed on to consumers or borne by enterprises is still debatable. In terms of service problems, the current primary task is to enhance the brand reputation, enterprises should put an end to false publicity and mark-ups, while responding quickly to consumer orders, rationally planning production capacity, and delivering new cars on time, thereby eliminating public opinion noise.
In fact, in the face of chip shortage, shortage of raw materials and many other unfavorable factors, not only pure electric vehicles, but also the entire new energy vehicle market have an imbalance between supply and demand. The reason why delayed delivery and mark-up car pick-up have become the main strategies for enterprises to deal with supply problems at this stage is because these behaviors are in the blank space of market supervision. According to the "new energy vehicle company delivery cycle significantly delayed" previously released by the car quality network, what do you think about this? According to the survey results, nearly half of the consumers participating in the survey believe that for the widespread problem of delayed delivery, the state should introduce relevant systems to regulate it, so as to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers from infringement. Here, the car quality network also calls for the introduction of relevant regulations at the national level to further restrict the behavior of automobile companies, and resolve the contradiction between manufacturers and consumers in the delivery process of new cars through policy intervention.
summary
Auto companies in fully enjoy the benefits of supply chain globalization while also bearing greater risks, from the current situation, chip shortage problem is likely to continue for a long time, the recent rise in raw material prices has cast a cloud on the domestic new energy vehicle market. In the face of the current cost crisis, on the one hand, automobile companies should strengthen supply chain reform and optimize and improve production capacity, on the other hand, they must also pay attention to quality and service, and cannot sacrifice brand reputation in order to pursue immediate interests. At the same time, it also calls on relevant departments to introduce policies and regulations as soon as possible to build a harmonious production-consumer relationship for the new energy vehicle market.