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Selling one loses ten thousand! Many car companies have stopped selling urgently, and the business of micro-electric vehicles is not easy to do

The source of this article: Times Finance Author: Zhang Xu

Following the Euler white cat and black cat, another A00-class new energy model stopped receiving orders.

A few days ago, Changan New Energy issued an announcement that due to the shortage of upstream raw materials and the limitation of vehicle and parts production capacity, the delivery cycle of the E-Star national version model has a long delivery cycle, so the order collection of the E-Star national version model will be suspended from 00:00 on the 25th of this month. It also said that it will go all out to coordinate production resources to meet the scheduling plan of existing orders and ensure that the users who have booked cars can pick up the cars as soon as possible.

Selling one loses ten thousand! Many car companies have stopped selling urgently, and the business of micro-electric vehicles is not easy to do

Changan Ben E-Star. Image from the official website

Previously, the Euler brand under Great Wall Motor also suspended orders for black cat and white cat two A00-class cars, which have not yet resumed. Nowadays, if you want to spend 30,000 yuan to buy a micro-electric vehicle, why is it so difficult?

The more you sell, the more you lose?

It is reported that the Ben E-Star National Edition, which stopped receiving orders, has a total of 5 models, with a price range of 29,800 to 53,800 yuan, while the higher priced Qingxin version (69,800 yuan) and the appreciation version (74,800 yuan) two models have been retained.

According to public information, Changan Benben E-Star was first listed in April 2020, and the price of 69,800 to 74,800 yuan made its competitiveness more limited, while the lower price of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV was sold hot, allowing a number of car companies to see the potential of the sinking market. Subsequently, the E-Star National Edition model, which was priced down to 29,800 yuan to 39,800 yuan, was officially launched in January 2021.

Compared with Hongguang MINIEV, the Ben E-Star National Edition, which has a lot of advantages in endurance and space, started well. According to the association data, the E-Star delivered a sales report card of 582.7% year-on-year to 76,381 units in 2021.

However, affected by factors such as chip shortages, at the end of 2021, Changan New Energy has stopped orders for low-priced versions such as the Xinyue Edition in the Changan Ben E-Star National Edition model, and has not yet recovered. The prices of these discontinued models ranged from 29,800 yuan to 43,800 yuan. From April 25, the colorful version of the 53,800 yuan model will also stop receiving orders, and consumers will only choose 69,800 yuan and 74,800 yuan.

Selling one loses ten thousand! Many car companies have stopped selling urgently, and the business of micro-electric vehicles is not easy to do

Changan New Energy Announcement

Coincidentally, Euler Automobile also took the lead in "opening the knife" with low-cost models.

Euler Automobile has three main product lines: black cat, white cat and good cat. Among them, the price of black cats is 59,800-102,800 yuan; the price of white cats is 71,800-106,800 yuan; and the price of good cats is the highest, 121,900-151,900 yuan.

On February 14, the Euler brand issued a notice to the terminal that black cats and white cats would stop taking orders, but the good cat models were still on sale. For the reasons why Euler black cat and white cat no longer accept orders, Euler Automobile's official Weibo said: "Due to the shortage of chips, spare parts supply can not guarantee production and many other reasons, resulting in a large backlog of black and white cat models, the customer purchase cycle is too long, affecting the customer experience, in order to avoid trusting the owners of Euler models to bring more bad car buying feelings, manufacturers will coordinate internal resources to meet the existing order scheduling plan faster, to ensure the existing order customer pick-up speed and car purchase interests."

Dong Yudong, CEO of Euler Automobile, said bluntly on the APP: Due to the sharp rise in raw material prices, Euler Black Cat loses more than 10,000 yuan every time it sells, and the more it sells, the more it loses.

According to market research institute IHS Markit data, in the late 2021, lithium battery prices rose by about 10%-20%; the increase in raw material lithium salts reached about 400%. According to data released by benchmark mineral intelligence, from January 2020 to January 2022, the prices of battery-grade cobalt, nickel sulfate and lithium carbonate rose by 119%, 55% and 569% respectively.

Times Finance noted that since February, Dong Yudong will report the scheduling of black and white cat models through the Euler APP every few days, and the latest April 21 notice shows that the 2021 Euler black and white cat order has not yet been delivered. There are more than 2400 comments in the comment area, and the prospective owners have urged: "I have waited for five months, survived the cold winter, and waited until the heat" "Last year's sales said that the car was delivered at the end of the year, is it the end of this year?" ”

Selling one loses ten thousand! Many car companies have stopped selling urgently, and the business of micro-electric vehicles is not easy to do

Euler CEO Dong Yudong reported from time to time on the scheduling of Euler black and white cat models.

It is worth noting that behind the suspension of some low-priced models, the resource tilt of car companies for high-priced models is also very obvious. In 2021, Euler Automobile sold 135,000 vehicles in the whole year, of which Euler Good Cat sold 50,000 vehicles, accounting for 37%; in January 2022, before black cats and white cats stopped receiving orders, Euler sold 13,000 vehicles, of which Euler Good Cat sold 9,020 vehicles, accounting for 68% of total sales.

The A00-level pure electricity market is still a must for soldiers

Behind the soaring prices of raw materials, in addition to the emergency suspension of some A00-class new energy models, price increases have also become a countermeasure.

Among them, the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV, known as the "God Car", was adjusted from 28,800 to 38,800 yuan to 32,800-44,800 yuan after experiencing a price increase on March 24. In addition, Chery small ants, QQ ice cream, etc. have also announced price increases.

"Battery costs account for the highest cost of pure electric models, and battery costs may account for more than 40% in some low-end models with fewer chips." Market analysts said that as an A00-class car, its own profit is thinner, and after the price of power batteries rises, profits will further shrink.

In the face of the rising noise, will Wuling Hongguang have further actions? On April 27, SAIC-GM-Wuling responded to Times Finance that "there are no relevant adjustment policies in the near future."

According to the data of the Association of Automobile Associations, in March this year, the sales volume of A00-class new energy vehicles still accounted for 32% of the domestic pure electricity market, which is currently the largest market segment. Despite the shrinking profits, the A00 level is still a must-fight place for soldiers.

On April 22, Changan Automobile released its first model, LUMIN, based on the new pure electric platform EPA0. The new vehicle is positioned in the pure electric mini car market with a range of 155km and 210km, and is expected to be launched in the second half of 2022.

In this regard, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, told Times Finance, "The car was born from the pure electric platform launched by Changan New Energy, and the cost of the new model will be lower than that of many oil-to-electricity models." For example, the design of the fuel vehicle chassis is very complicated, but the chassis of the pure electric car can be very simple, and changing to the pure electric platform can save a lot of unnecessary design, and the cost will be reduced. ”

According to the data of the Association of Passenger Vehicles, in 2021, the sales volume of A00-class models will account for 33% of the sales of pure electric passenger cars. The Association believes that A00-class models have long-term rigid demand, and under the aging trend of consumer groups, there is still huge room for development of micro-electric vehicles in the future.

In Cui Dongshu's view, in addition to the aging trend, activities such as "cars going to the countryside" have also made people who could not afford to buy cars become car owners, so the increase in demand for A00-class pure electric models will be a trend.

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