Xinhua Finance | the "May Day" new energy vehicle market heat continues to be under pressure and it is difficult to stop the strong consumption momentum

Tianjin, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Just past the "May Day" holiday, the automobile consumer market continued to heat up, new energy vehicle sales have not been affected by factors such as limited production capacity and rising prices, and the good momentum since the first quarter has continued. Experts said that with the implementation of policies such as new regulations on motor vehicle registration, the consumption of new energy vehicles is still in a period of rapid growth, and it is expected to further accelerate the "going out" while gaining the recognition of domestic consumers.

In previous years, the "May Day" holiday was one of the few "price troughs" in the car market in the year, but this year's situation is different. In addition to a few cities such as Shenzhen, which have launched "promotional packages" and automobile consumption subsidies, most regions and most car companies in the country have not taken action on the eve of "May Day", and some brands have even just announced price increases in April or early May.

However, the lack of price concessions has not affected the warming up of the "May Day" car market. The reporter saw in a number of auto 4S stores in Tianjin that on the basis of doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control measures, consumers watching cars and negotiating in the exhibition hall were in an endless stream, and the sales person in charge generally said that the passenger flow and the number of signatures generally increased significantly compared with usual.

The picture shows consumers watching cars at the Tianjin Jinhui Ditong 4S store on May 2 (Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Ning)

"Browsing online through our mobile phones, we locked a car early in the morning and took advantage of the holiday time to come directly to place an order." At the Tianjin Jinhui Ditong 4S store in Tianjin's Xiqing District, Mr. Li, a Tianjin citizen, told reporters, "Now is a good time to buy a car, take advantage of new energy vehicles and state subsidies to buy, afraid of price increases again." ”

Tianjin Jinhui Ditong 4S store is mainly engaged in BYD new energy vehicles, sales manager Yu Boyuan told reporters that during the "May Day" period, there were many people who came to see the car, with an average of more than 20 orders per day, which was about 2 times that before the festival. "In the first two years, new energy vehicles are usually the first choice for the second car of the family, and since this year, the number of consumers who buy for the first time and exchange for the first time has been increasing. In terms of model selection, sales of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles are almost equal. ”

Just like the fiery sales market of Tianjin Jinhui Ditong 4S store, the substantial growth of new energy vehicles is a major highlight of the automobile market this year. According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the first quarter of this year, the production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 1.293 million units and 1.257 million units, respectively, an increase of 1.4 times year-on-year, and the market share reached 19.3%. Under the background of the decline in the growth rate of national automobile production and sales, the year-on-year increase in production and sales of new energy vehicles shows its strong market advantages. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers expects that the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China will reach 5 million units in 2022.

In the sales list of new energy vehicles, the contribution of domestic new energy vehicles is indispensable. In the national new energy model sales list released in April, BYD Automobile topped the list, achieving sales of 106,000 units, compared with only 26,000 units in the same period last year; the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles from January to April were 392,000 units, an increase of 387.94% year-on-year. While achieving eye-catching sales performance, BYD Automobile announced the suspension of traditional fuel vehicles in early April, showing its determination to specialize in new energy vehicles.

Wang Wei, general manager of Tianjin Jinwei Ruitong Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the sales of BYD automobiles in Tianjin, introduced that BYD Automobile's new car sales in Tianjin accounted for more than 10%, higher than the national average, which is related to the "double limit" policy of Tianjin's purchase restriction and number restriction. He believes that the reason for the sharp rise in sales of new energy vehicles this year is, on the one hand, due to the recent continuous rise in oil prices, the cost advantage of new energy vehicles is highlighted; on the other hand, the positive factors such as the increase in the mileage of new energy vehicles, more mature technology, and more convenient charging have given consumers confidence.

In fact, due to the continuous rise in the price of raw materials such as new energy batteries, the price of new energy vehicles is also rising, and many new energy vehicle companies have announced price increases this year. In the case of BYD, for example, it raised prices twice on January 31 and March 15 this year, each time rising by 5,000 yuan to 16,000 yuan per vehicle. Wang Wei said that the price increase is an unfavorable factor for automobile sales, but because new energy vehicles are usually order sales, orders can be locked before the price increase, so many consumers actively rush to buy and sell in advance. At the same time, the rigid demand of consumers for new energy vehicles is relatively strong, and the heat is still unabated after the price increase.

The introduction of policies and new industry regulations is one of the focuses of attention in the industry. From May 1 this year, the ministry of public security's newly revised "Regulations on Motor Vehicle Registration" was officially implemented. The reporter found that the new regulations introduced a series of facilitation measures such as "one-stop service" for motor vehicles, "one certificate for small and micro non-operating vehicles", exemption from inspection and registration of new vehicles, "inter-provincial general office" for motor vehicle change information, and license plate exchange, which are expected to further help the development of the automotive industry.

The consumption of new energy vehicles is again favorable. On April 25, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Releasing Consumption Potential and Promoting the Sustained Recovery of Consumption", which proposed that the state support the accelerated development of new energy vehicles, advocate green travel, increase the proportion of urban public buses and trams, and promote the electrification of public service vehicles. At the same time, encourage qualified areas to carry out new energy vehicles and green smart home appliances to go to the countryside, and promote the construction of supporting facilities such as charging piles (stations). Industry insiders said that the policy will promote the consumption of new energy vehicles to a new level.

While greeting a series of favorable policies, due to the continuous impact of the epidemic at home and abroad, the supply of chips and other parts has become a major problem plaguing the majority of car companies. Some high-end models or smart new energy vehicles often need to wait a long time before placing orders or receiving goods. Yu Boyuan said: "At present, the order cycle of some tight models of BYD has been extended to 3 months, and individual models can no longer be booked. However, the volume of automobile orders has not been affected by price increases and production restrictions, and we believe that as long as production can keep up, it can be sold. ”

Guo Yan, director of the China Automotive Strategic Development Research Center of Tianjin University, believes that although the shortage of chips and the rise in raw material prices have caused some impact on the production of new energy vehicles and pushed up their manufacturing costs, the current price increase of new energy vehicles is relatively rational and has not had a significant impact on sales, which indicates that the trend of continuous strengthening of the new energy vehicle market has been formed, and it is still in a period of rapid growth.

Li Wenlong, chief economist of Plaza Premium Digital Economy Research Institute, said that with the increasing maturity of a series of domestic automobile brands represented by new energy vehicles, the mainland automotive industry has broad prospects. It will not only gain the recognition of the majority of consumers in China, but also the advantages of further "going out" of Chinese manufacturing.