According to incomplete statistics, since 2022, more than 20 new energy automobile companies have announced price increases, Tesla, BYD, Xiaopeng Automobile, Zero Run Car, Great Wall Euler, Geely's geometry car, WM Motor, etc. have announced price increases, of which the maximum price increase of all models of zero-run car C11 has reached 30,000 yuan, refreshing the price increase figures. However, there are also car companies like Weilai Automobile that have not announced price increases.
To know that heavy industrial assets such as automobiles should not pass on the cost increase to consumers, is it really difficult to "open the pot"? Or do car companies want to "fish in muddy waters"?
Is the battery really the culprit of the price increase?
First of all, the market believes that the price increase of lithium carbonate will directly drive the price increase of electric vehicles, although it is said that a little calculation shows that according to the 50kWh of the bicycle, the lithium carbonate used by each vehicle is about 40-50kg. Even if the single ton of lithium carbonate rises by 200,000, the cost of reaching the end of the car will rise by about 8,000 yuan. For mid-to-high-end trams with high charging, the cost increase does not exceed 4%, even for the lower price A00 class, the cost increase will not be large due to the lower charging capacity.
In addition, the decline in aluminum prices and steel prices this year can also hedge the rise in battery prices to a certain extent. Coupled with the fact that the primary goal of car companies is now to seize the market, rather than to improve the profitability of bicycles, the cost increase is unlikely to be completely passed on to consumers. Of course, someone must say, "You see Tesla rose more than 20,000", but who let him be Tesla? Perhaps in the near future, an important futures market will be formed behind lithium carbonate, just as the price of oil is not based on cost.
Automotive Gross Margin?
In addition, the price increase of car companies itself also involves profit margins, such as the "clear stream" Weilai Automobile, which does not increase prices. In the first three quarters of 2021, the gross profit margin of WEILAI's vehicles was 21.2%, 20.3% and 18.0%, respectively. The gross vehicle gross margin for the full year of 2021 is 20.1%, which looks like it is gradually decreasing, but it is important to know that in 2020, this figure is only 12.7%. And according to NIO's latest financial report, for the whole year of 2021, NIO's gross profit was 6.8214 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 264.1%.
Moreover, Weilai has several models at the end of the life cycle, and its sales itself have fallen very seriously, and it is impossible for any company to increase the price in this period of time, after all, the ES8 itself is a highly priced product.
What is Toyota doing?
As the world's largest traditional automobile manufacturer, Toyota Motor corporation recently officially announced that "without affecting the performance and safety of the vehicle, it will use wear or defective parts from suppliers." Toyota Motor's requirements for parts are very strict, so it is called "Toyota that can't be broken" in the automotive industry. Today, Toyota has changed its normal state, and the requirements for parts have been reduced from "perfect" to "good enough". Of course, Toyota Motor's decision is really helpless, it is nothing more than to alleviate the problem of rising costs caused by chip shortages and raw materials, and the use of "defective parts" can not only save costs but also improve production efficiency to achieve predetermined production speed.
As we all know, in the context of the new crown epidemic and the supply chain crisis, the global supply of chips and components is insufficient, and many car manufacturers have been greatly affected, and even have to postpone the release of new cars. According to the data of relevant authoritative research institutions, as of this year, the cumulative production reduction of the global automobile market due to chip shortage is 101.22 million units. By using flawed parts, Toyota may be able to solve the supply problem in a short period of time, but from the perspective of the brand's image impact, it is greatly reduced. It has to be said that in order to resist the rise in raw materials, Toyota has relaxed the standard of parts, which is very courageous.
Write at the back:
The tide of new energy prices has struck, various "cattle ghosts and snake gods" have surfaced, and the rise brought about by the rise of raw materials is normal, but it is difficult to calculate a reasonable range of rises. And the most important thing is that this year is not a question of price increases or price increases, but a question of who can survive smoothly after price increases - price increases lead to a decline in orders and sales, and can not get the battery supply and can not come up, and then be eliminated in all directions. At present, it seems that it is a great challenge for the capital reserves of car companies. For consumers, either they are now gritting their teeth and buying a car at a higher price, or they are waiting for the balance between supply and demand.