Zhongxin Jingwei, April 19 (Niu Chaoge) Price increases are the key words that the automotive industry cannot avoid in the near future. Following the rising price of new energy vehicles, fuel vehicles have also begun to rise in price. Mercedes-Benz (hereinafter referred to as Mercedes-Benz), BMW and other car companies have officially announced price increases, and Mercedes-Benz's S-class S-class Maybach led the price increase list with an increase of 121,000 yuan.
Zhang Xiang, a special expert of the China Bo Lian Think Tank, believes that price increases are a commonly used marketing method for luxury cars, which can not only adjust the contradiction between supply and demand, but also reflect the value preservation of models. At the same time, because of the price change, it naturally attracts attention, and it can also earn enough market attention.
Maybach current price, picture source Mercedes-Benz official website
The highest price increase of fuel vehicles was 121,000 yuan
After entering March, nearly 20 new energy vehicle companies have announced price increases, involving nearly 40 models. Specifically, Tesla raised prices three times in a week, with a single increase of up to 20,000 yuan; the upper limit of Xiaopeng Automobile's price adjustment was also as high as 20,000 yuan; and WM Motors' price was as high as 26,000 yuan. The highest price increase of all models of the C11 series of zero-run cars was 30,000 yuan, becoming the new energy vehicle company with the highest single increase.
On April 3, Mercedes-Benz announced that the price of its fuel models was raised across the board, and the models with rising prices were mainly imported models, including Mercedes-Benz imported C-class, E-class, S-class, Maybach, etc., in addition to some domestic models. The price increase of Mercedes-Benz ranges from 3,000 yuan to 121,000 yuan, of which the S-class Maybach has a maximum price increase of 121,000 yuan.
After the official announcement of Mercedes-Benz, BMW announced on April 12 that the price and configuration of the five BMW 3 Series, X3, X4, 4 Series and Z4 models on sale were adjusted, and the price was raised by 1600 yuan to 11000 yuan. Foreignly, as of the end of March, BMW has announced a price increase of about 3% in Europe and India. According to Dr. Nicolas Peter, bmw's director of finance and China affairs, BMW's overall manufacturing costs could increase by $1.2 billion due to rising raw materials, for which it had to increase the price of its entire BMW model in Germany and other parts of Europe by 3%, and BMW's price increase in the North American market is also under subsequent consideration.
It is worth noting that the price increase is also a domestic car brand - Wei brand automobile under Great Wall Motors.
On the same day that BMW announced the price increase, Weipai Automobile issued an announcement that it would adjust the official guidance price of some coffee-based models such as Macchiato, latte, and mocha, with an increase of 5,000 yuan to 12,000 yuan. Among them, Macchiato DHT-PHEV has the highest price increase, with a price increase of 12,000 yuan.
According to public information, Weipai Automobile is a high-end line brand under Great Wall Motors, according to the official website, Weipai Automobile has a total of 5 models on sale, and after the price increase, all models are priced at more than 150,000 yuan.
Mercedes-Benz BMW has increased prices, but what about Audi, a veteran player in the luxury car camp? On the 18th, Zhongxin Jingwei consulted the Audi sales store in Beijing, and the clerk said that there was no price increase for the models currently on sale, and there was no notice of price increase.
In addition, the sales staff of Buick, Nissan, Honda and many other fuel vehicles have given similar replies. There are also car companies to reduce the way to reduce the way to a wave of "disguised price increases", public reports show that some of the medium-sized cars for home and popular SUVs, MPV models, some time ago the terminal preferential range of nearly 10,000 yuan, and now it is "shrinking" to about 5,000 yuan.
Some media reported that some car companies also have the idea of price increases, but because "general fuel vehicles rarely increase the official price of models, so be cautious."
From the perspective of the international market, according to public reports, in February this year, Audi adjusted the price of all models in the Australian market, ranging from 600 Australian dollars to 7600 Australian dollars. Honda Chief Financial Officer Kohei Takeuch told the media recently: "We usually digest the cost increase through internal efforts to cut costs, but now the increase is too big to digest." ”
Rising raw materials have brought cost pressures
It is reported that many car companies are stopping or expecting to stop the production of fuel vehicles, and "de-fueling" has become a trend. On the evening of April 3, BYD announced that it would stop the production of fuel vehicles from March, and would focus on pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. In addition, according to the Shengang Securities Research Report, Changan Automobile, BAIC Group, Toyota, Nissan and other car companies plan to achieve "de-fueling" in 2025.
Why should fuel vehicles raise prices in the "de-fueling" trend? The rising prices of raw materials, chips and core components have brought cost pressure, which is the explanation given by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Weipai Automobile for the price increase.
According to the official website of Weipai Automobile, the price increase was affected by a combination of factors such as the sharp increase in the prices of raw materials, chips and core components. Li Ruifeng, CEO of Weipai Automobile, also posted on social media: "Now not only the cost of chips and battery materials continues to rise, but the prices of steel, rubber and aluminum alloys are rising, and it is really impossible to bear it." ”
Image source Weibo @ Weipai Li Ruifeng
Zeng Qinghong, chairman of GAC Group, said at a recent financial report media communication meeting that due to the rising prices of raw materials and parts, the cost of GAC Group increased by 7 billion yuan in 2021.
Zhang Xiang told Zhongxin Jingwei that under the influence of the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the raw materials and parts of imported models have indeed been affected. "In the European automotive industry, Ukraine and Russia are important suppliers of raw materials and parts such as automotive wiring harnesses, neon gas, metal palladium, metal nickel, etc. Under the influence of the war, the factories in Ukraine and Russia are facing the dilemma of shutdown and the risk of supply interruption." In this case, European car companies need to find supply channels again. For imported models sold in China, it directly raises the cost of raw materials and logistics risks. Most of the Mercedes-Benz imported C-class, E-class, Maybach and other models with this price increase are affected imported models. Zhang Xiang said.
Luo Lei, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, pointed out to Zhongxin Jingwei that most of the models that are currently priced are tight models, and whether fuel vehicles will collectively increase prices like new energy vehicles depends on the pricing strategy of the main engine factory, but for ordinary cars, the price increase will affect sales.
Experts say marketing is not ruled out
For luxury cars, price increases are a common means to adjust the contradiction between supply and demand and alleviate the pressure on production capacity. When the number of orders for cars exceeds the delivery capacity, car companies will choose to increase the selling price to alleviate the delivery pressure. "After the price rises, consumers who are willing to consume will have a 'wait and see for a while' mentality and choose a more cost-effective time to place an order." But price increases could also cause consumers with desperate buying needs to turn to other brands that are more cost-effective. Zhang Xiang explained to Zhongxin Jingwei.
In addition, car companies will also use price increases to stimulate sales. "A moderate price increase can stimulate sales, and after the price increase, there will be consumers who think that the car is very valuable, which in turn will increase the enthusiasm for buying a car." Zhang Xiang said.
As for Weipai Automobile, in addition to the general price increase of raw materials and the impact of the epidemic, Zhang Xiang believes that the price increase does not rule out the possibility of marketing, "The price increase of Weipai Automobile does not rule out the possibility of attracting the attention of the market, the media and consumers, after all, the price change is naturally concerned." He pointed out that the domestic fuel vehicle capacity has been overcapacitated, so domestic fuel vehicles are easy not to increase prices, and price increases will directly affect sales.
Zhongxin Jingwei Observation found that Weipai Automobile is the only car company in the price increase that hangs the price increase announcement in a prominent position on the home page of the official website, and the response related to the price increase is the top of its official Weibo. Since April 12, as of press time, the price increase announcement has been hung on the home page of Weipai Automobile's official website for 8 days. However, according to Li Ruifeng's previous post, the current price of the dealer shop that everyone can buy is still not increasing.
Homepage of Weipai Automobile's official website
Zhang Xiang believes that the symbolic price increase of Weipai Automobile is conducive to shaping its high-end brand image, "As a high-end brand in the brand matrix of Great Wall Motors, one of the main functions of Weipai Automobile is to shape a high-end brand image. Great Wall Motors does not expect Weipai Automobile to generate most of its revenue, and it is better to hand over sales to other best-selling brands, such as Harvard H6. ”
According to Great Wall Motor's 2021 annual report, the net profit in 2021 will reach about 3.967 billion yuan, and the total comprehensive income will be about 4.075 billion yuan, an increase of about 1.227 billion yuan over 2020.
In terms of sales, according to the March production and sales report released by Great Wall Motors, Weipai Automobile only accounted for 4.71% of Great Wall Motors' sales in March, with sales of 4755 units, which is the lowest sales brand among the five brands of Great Wall Motors. In the same period, the sales volume of the Haval brand was 54,534 units, and the second-to-last tank brand sold about 1.9 times that of Wei brand cars.
Compared with the models of other car companies, according to the data of the Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the SUV sales list from January to March 2022, The Harvard H6 ranked third with sales of 71,411 units, while Wei brand cars were not on the list. (Zhongxin Jingwei APP)
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