According to data from the China Automobile Association, production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 368,000 units and 334,000 units respectively in February, down 18.6% and 22.7% month-on-month, and 2.0 times and 1.8 times year-on-year. From January to February, new energy vehicles produced and sold 820,000 units and 765,000 units, up 1.6 times and 1.5 times year-on-year.
However, although the production and sales of new energy vehicles have maintained a high-speed growth trend, the road ahead is still full of challenges. On March 16, BYD officially adjusted the official guidance price of its dynasty network and ocean network related new energy models, which was raised by 3,000-6,000 yuan, due to the sharp increase in raw material prices. Rising raw material costs, declining policy subsidies... BYD, Tesla, Xiaopeng, Weima and other car companies have raised prices, raising the threshold for new energy vehicle consumption, which is not conducive to further sales in the future, and the market urgently needs to boost new energy consumer confidence.
The new energy market pattern is diversified
Independent brands take the lead
Although the performance of new energy vehicles in February was weaker than that of the month-on-month due to the price increase, it still increased rapidly. From the perspective of penetration rate, the wholesale penetration rate of new energy vehicle manufacturers in February was 21.8%, an increase of 12.2% year-on-year, and new energy gradually began to guide the market. Among them, independent brands still have the fastest transformation in the new energy market, with a penetration rate of 38%, while the penetration rate of luxury brand new energy vehicles is 29.4%, and it is gradually keeping up with the pace, while the penetration rate of mainstream joint venture brand new energy vehicles is only 3.3%, and the transformation is still slow.
At the same time, the consumption upgrade trend of new energy vehicles is obvious, and the digestion of high-end models is better. In February, the sales of high-end electric vehicles increased strongly, B-class electric vehicles reached 85,000 units, accounting for 35% of the pure electric share, while the trend of low-end models was also good, the wholesale sales of A00-class models were 68,000 units, accounting for 28% of the share of pure electric vehicles; A0-class and A-class electric vehicles accounted for relatively small, and the consumption of new energy vehicles showed the characteristics of the "dumbbell type" market.
From the perspective of specific brands, the current new energy vehicle market pattern is more diversified. Independent brands rely on new energy vehicles to obtain greater market growth space, BYD with pure electric and plug-in hybrid two-wheel drive, continue to consolidate the position of independent brand new energy leaders, with retail sales of 866692 to lead, an increase of 751.3% year-on-year, market share accounted for 31.8%, that is to say, almost every 3 new energy vehicles sold 1 from BYD, but also "crushed" the second place SAIC-GM-Wuling nearly 60,000 vehicles.
SAIC-GM-Wuling ranked second with 28,713 vehicle sales, an increase of 48.4% year-on-year, with a market share of 10.5%, after Tesla, which was riding the dust, sold 23,200 vehicles in February, ranking third, an increase of 26.7% year-on-year, and a market share of 8.5%. Geely, Chery, GAC Aean and other independent brands are still among the best, firmly occupying the head position.
On the other hand, the new car-making forces, in February, ideal, Nezha, Xiaopeng all performed better in sales, the month-on-month decline was very small, the ideal ranked first in the new car-making forces with 8414 sales, an increase of 265.8%; while Nezha ranked second with 7117 sales, an increase of 255.5% year-on-year, Xiaopeng ranked third with 6225 sales, an increase of 180.0% year-on-year, and Weilai's weak performance only increased by 9.9%. The second echelon of enterprises such as zero running has a 10-fold increase in monthly sales year-on-year.
Mainstream joint venture brands are also constantly making efforts, north and south Volkswagen's new energy vehicle retail 10378 vehicles, an increase of more than 1 times year-on-year, is also the "only two" joint venture brands on the list, reflecting Volkswagen's firm electrification transformation strategy has achieved initial results, is constantly challenging its own brands.
Exports of new energy vehicles are still rapid. According to the data of the Association, the export of new energy vehicles in February was 45,300 units, maintaining strong growth, and the main sales came from Tesla. Tesla China exported 33315 vehicles, SAIC Passenger Car exported 4325 new energy vehicles, Dongfeng EasyJet exported 4536 vehicles, 1145 DPCA, BYD 804 vehicles, Geely Automobile 588 vehicles, SAIC Maxus 240 vehicles.
Raw material costs have risen sharply
New energy vehicles to meet the "rising price tide"
Although the growth rate of new energy vehicles has doubled, there are "shadows" on the way forward, and one thorny problem after another has followed. In the first quarter of this year, a wave of "price increases" for new energy vehicles continued to raise their consumption thresholds.
On March 15, BYD said it would adjust the official guidance price of new energy models related to Dynasty Network and Ocean Network, with an increase of 3,000-6,000 yuan, effective on March 16, due to the sharp increase in raw material prices.
Coincidentally, on the same day, Tesla officially announced a price increase again, while the last wave of price increases was only 5 days ago. According to Tesla's official website, the Model 3 high-performance version and the Model Y long-endurance version and the high-performance version continue to increase in price, the price of the Model 3 high-performance version is adjusted to 367,900 yuan, up 18,000 yuan, the Tesla Model Y long-endurance version is 375,900 yuan, up 18,000 yuan, and the high-performance version is 417,900 yuan, up 20,000 yuan.
Behind the price increases of BYD and Tesla is the tip of the iceberg of this year's "price increase tide" of new energy vehicles. On January 11, the price of all models of Xiaopeng Automobile after the latest subsidies has increased, the P7 series has risen by 4300-5900 yuan, the P5 series has risen by 4800-5400 yuan, and the G3i series has risen by 4800-5400 yuan. WM Motors is also affected by factors such as rising parts prices, since March 1, WM 2022 EX5-Z PRO and Lead Chuang collar version increased by 3,000 yuan and 4,000 yuan respectively. The new energy models of Nezha, Feifan, JiKr, BYD, SAIC Roewe, SAIC-GM-Wuling and other car companies have also announced price increases.
Why are new energy vehicles rising in price? Some analysts believe that the new energy price continues to rise this time, part of the reason may be the continuous rise of upstream raw materials, tight supply chains, and greater cost pressure.
Since 2022, the prices of lithium, cobalt, nickel and other materials upstream of the new energy vehicle supply chain have been in a state of rapid rise. Recently, the average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate exceeded 500,000 yuan / ton, an increase of 900% over the beginning of 2021, and the same price of nickel has soared.
In this regard, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology clearly proposed that the power battery of new energy vehicles is facing the pressure of lithium, cobalt and nickel and other ore resource guarantees and price increases, and it is necessary to improve the key resource guarantee capabilities such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, also called for the current severe supply and demand situation of lithium resources and the challenges facing the development of the industry, and the exploration and development of domestic lithium resources should be accelerated to ensure the safety of the supply chain, while strengthening independent innovation and scientific and technological research, and improving the level of efficient utilization of resource recycling.
On the other hand, from 2022, the subsidy for new energy vehicle purchase will be reduced by 30% on the basis of 2021, and the subsidy will be terminated until December 31, 2022. The pressure of subsidies for new energy vehicles is obviously transmitted to terminal sales, and the price increase of new energy vehicles in 2022 may continue, bringing greater pressure to the terminal sales of new energy vehicles.
However, under the pressure of new energy vehicles, the Association estimates that the wholesale demand for new energy vehicles will be about 5.5 million in 2022, which is still optimistic. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, said that the recognition of the new energy market by domestic consumers has increased significantly, and the policy subsidies are stable, which will inevitably promote the total sales of new energy vehicles in China in 2022 and continue to maintain the leading position of more than 50% of the world's super share.
Southern Daily reporter Gong Qianshu
This edition is planned/co-ordinated: Guo Xiaoge