The tide of price increases has begun to spread from electric vehicles to fuel vehicles.
Following Mercedes-Benz (hereinafter referred to as Mercedes-Benz) launched the "first shot" of fuel vehicle price increases, BMW and Weipai of Great Wall Motors also announced price increases on April 12. According to the "Daily Economic News" reporter,
The price increase of some Mercedes-Benz models is 3,000 yuan to 121,000 yuan;
According to BMW China's official website, the prices and configurations of five BMW 3 Series, X3, X4, 4 Series and Z4 models will be adjusted, and the price will increase by 1600-11000 yuan;
The price of some models of Weipai's coffee series will be raised by 5,000 yuan to 12,000 yuan, which will officially take effect from 00:00 on April 15 this year.
"I really can't hold back. The decline of new energy subsidies can still stand up, the chip shortage can also survive, even if we have been enduring losses, we have not passed on to users and dealers. But now not only chips, the cost of battery materials continues to rise, the prices of steel, rubber, aluminum alloys are rising, bicycle profits are getting lower and lower, no price increase. Weipai CEO Li Ruifeng quite helplessly told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that the current cost pressure of the automobile industry can not be alleviated for the time being.
In this regard, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, believes that the price of raw materials has risen more than expected, and the shortage of chips has also caused insufficient supply of current models, driven by multiple factors, the cost of automobile manufacturing has increased, and the main engine factory is facing huge pressure. According to the latest data released by the Association, the production of luxury cars in mainland China fell by as much as 31% year-on-year in March, and the output of luxury car brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi in March was significantly lower than the normal monthly level.
Price increases began to spread in the fuel vehicle market
According to public information, as of April 12, there were a total of 28 car companies that announced price increases this year. Before April, the models that increased prices were mainly new energy vehicles, but since April, three car companies have raised the price of fuel vehicles.
On April 12, Weipai, a subsidiary of Great Wall Motor, announced that it would adjust the official guidance price of some coffee-based models such as Macchiato, latte, and Mocha, which was raised by 5,000 yuan to 12,000 yuan, and said that the price adjustment would take effect from 00:00 on April 15, 2022.
Prior to this, Mercedes-Benz announced price increases covering multiple sub-brands such as Maybach and AMG and CLA, E-class, GLC, S-class and other car series. This is already the second price increase for Mercedes-Benz this year, and mercedes-benz has already raised its price once as early as January this year.
Image source: Per reporter Zhang Jian photographed (data map)
BMW and Audi, which belong to the same luxury car camp, are also brewing price increases. Among them, as early as February this year, Audi has raised the price of all models in the Australian market, ranging from 600 Australian dollars to 7600 Australian dollars.
In addition, the BMW Group also announced that the price of all BMW models in Germany and other parts of Europe will increase slightly (about 3%). Prior to this, the price of all BMW models on sale in the Indian market had already risen by 3.5% from April 1. It is worth noting that some domestic and imported models of BMW (3 series, X3, X4, 4 series, Z4) have also recently undergone price adjustments, with an adjustment range of 1600 yuan to 11,000 yuan. However, the reporter learned that BMW's price increase is actually a price recovery behavior. Mainly because of factors such as the shortage of global chip supply last year, some BMW models cancelled some configurations and lowered their prices. Today, with the easing of chip supply, the price of some BMW models has gradually recovered.
In addition, the reporter learned that although some car companies have not officially announced price increases, they have been "ready to move". "Now the cost pressure of building a car is too great, almost exceeding our digestion capacity." We also have the idea of increasing prices, but the specific situation is still under discussion, and general fuel vehicles rarely increase the official price of the model, so be cautious. A self-owned brand staff member revealed to reporters.
But overall, unlike the tide of price increases of new energy vehicles, other fuel models have not fluctuated much at present. "Our vehicles are not getting a price increase right now, and we haven't heard about any price increase plans." When the reporter asked SAIC Volkswagen, Geely, Lincoln and many other fuel vehicle sales personnel, they all got similar replies.
Car companies are facing high cost pressures
From luxury brands including BBA (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi) to independent brands Weipai, behind the price increases of many fuel models is the current high cost pressure faced by OEMs.
"I thought that the auto industry in 2020 would be difficult enough, but I didn't expect that 2022 would be even worse." Multiple pressures such as rising raw material prices, the epidemic situation, and unstable supply of parts are squeezing the cost space of car companies at the same time. The above-mentioned independent brand staff helplessly told reporters.
Similar to many new energy vehicle companies, "soaring raw material prices" is the main reason for the price increase of fuel vehicles.
The reporter combed and found that at present, the overall price of natural rubber, the raw material of tires, is maintained at a high level of 13,000 yuan / ton ~ 14,000 yuan / ton, and in the first quarter of 2020, the price of natural rubber is only hovering around 9,000 yuan / ton. This has also caused the price increase of tire products such as Shandong Yongsheng Rubber and Wanli Tire. Wanli Tire said that due to the rise in raw material prices, it was decided to increase the price of its PCR and TBR brand products by 2% to 3% from April 20.
In the metals market, the price of palladium metal used in automotive catalytic converters has risen by more than 5% since March and by more than 65% during the year. "Due to the rising cost of raw materials such as rhodium, palladium and steel, BMW's overall manufacturing costs may increase by $1.2 billion." Nicolas Peter, director of finance and China at the BMW Group, said.
It is worth noting that the recent epidemic in Shanghai has also brought certain challenges to the cost control of domestic car companies. "The production and delivery delays of parts manufacturers in Jiangsu and other surrounding areas have led to limited production of car companies, and the bank believes that the cost of shortage in the automobile supply chain has risen, and it is estimated that the short-term profit of the automobile and parts industry is under pressure." CICC said in its report.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has also become another "black swan" event that squeezes the cost of car companies. Nicolas Peter said: "At present, the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine is still continuing, and the situation has not improved, which has also led most German car manufacturers to find new suppliers for engine wiring harnesses. ”
Even Porsche, which has high profitability, is considering how to balance cost pressures. Porsche staff told reporters: "The geopolitical crisis has a huge impact on the automotive industry, and we are thinking about how to change the overall procurement structure. Now the new global situation is prompting us to consider expanding the source of procurement globally, and we must have a long-term strategy of raw material control and procurement stability. ”
Multiple factors make the supply side of car companies unstable, which leads to the production capacity of car companies can not keep up, and consumer orders are accumulating more and more. Recently, the minutes of the BYD investor meeting disclosed that at present, BYD's cumulative undelivered orders are still 400,000 vehicles, and according to the analysis of market supply and demand, the shortage of commodities will also become the "butterfly wings" that cause car prices to rise.
There are fuel vehicles in disguise to adjust prices
"Generally speaking, car companies have the ability to resolve the problem of upstream raw material price increases through internal adjustments." In Cui Dongshu's view, the official price increase of fuel vehicles is relatively rare.
In fact, the reporter learned that the response of some traditional car companies is indeed the same. The above-mentioned Porsche staff revealed to reporters: "In the short term this year, the price of some raw materials will be higher than in the past, but we choose to offset the rise in raw material prices with better cost control." ”
But the reporter also observed that although some fuel vehicle brands will not officially increase prices, they are already taking more flexible measures to adjust prices. "Different from the model of the new car-making forces, traditional car companies will adjust the price of models through the dealer's rebate model, promotion policies, adjustment of inventory, etc." An auto industry insider told reporters.
The reporter also found that some car brands are reducing cash concessions during the visit. For example, the recent cash discount for golf models is about 3,000 yuan, and the discount is slightly narrower than before.
"In fact, as early as May last year, the trend of increasing normal promotions was reversed into the characteristics of promotional contraction. In particular, the decline in promotions from August to December last year was particularly obvious, and reducing promotions gradually became a common choice for all car companies. Cui Dongshu said that it was not until March this year that the promotion began to increase.
"In addition, due to the epidemic and the increase in gasoline prices, the cost of vehicle use has risen, and the automobile terminal market is not in a recession. Considering factors such as market share, many car companies should not consider raising the official price of models. The above-mentioned auto industry insiders said.
In fact, the current fuel vehicle market does have a lack of sales growth. According to the association data, in March this year, the retail sales of the mainland passenger car market were about 1.579 million units, down 10.5% year-on-year, and the decline was mainly affected by the fuel vehicle market. According to the analysis of the Association, the market environment of traditional fuel vehicle models has deteriorated, and the demand for some traditional fuel vehicles under high oil prices has been converted to new energy vehicles, and the consumption diversion has weakened the sales of traditional vehicles, while the decline in the purchasing power of consumer groups has also brought about a decline in demand for traditional vehicles.
"Some car companies have begun to raise prices. This year's car purchase discount for fuel vehicles will be further compressed, and now is really the best time to buy a car, and the cost of buying a car in the next few months is likely to increase. A car salesperson at FAW-Volkswagen told reporters.
Reporters| Huang Xinxu| Sun Lei, Lu Xiangyong and Wang Jiaqi
Proofreading | Cheng Peng
| the original article of the daily economic news nbdnews |
Reproduction, excerpting, reproduction and mirroring without permission are prohibited
If you need to reprint, please apply to the background of this official account and obtain authorization