Since 2015, the slogan of "new energy era" has echoed in the domestic auto market, but it is not until the end of 2021, with the continuous improvement of market penetration, new energy brands can really usher in a glimmer of victory. However, since the end of last year, almost all new energy brands, including Tesla, have announced price increase plans, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of yuan; and even some brands have raised prices many times in just one month, pouring cold water on the newly cultivated consumer enthusiasm.
Objectively speaking, whether from the perspective of rising battery costs or shrinking car purchase subsidies, the collective increase in the price of new energy products is excusable. However, how much the product rises and when the company adjusts the price contains the care of the enterprise for the needs of users. In the just-arrived May, a number of car companies announced the price adjustment policy, as to whether the price is reasonable, after reading everyone will have a number.
First of all, in the traditional camp, the price of plug-in hybrid models under the Lynk & Co brand, including Lynk & Co 01PHEV, 05 PHEV, 06 PHEV and 09 PHEV, increased by 0.2 million to 0.4 million yuan, and the adjustment was implemented from 00:00 on May 1; some models of ROEIC Roewe i6 MAX and Roewe Ei5 under saic Roewe rose by 0.3 million to 0.5 million yuan, and the adjustment was also implemented from 00:00 on the 1st of this month.
It is true that whether it is the plug-in hybrid model of the Lynk & Co brand or the pure electric model of SAIC Roewe, the highest increase of only 0.5 million yuan is not "excessive" at the moment when the increase is often more than 10,000; in addition, both announced the price increase plan in advance around April, leaving a buffer time of about a month for consumers.
Secondly, as an important part of the new energy era, the new power of car manufacturing also has its presence in this price increase. As a brother model that also has a "Huawei background", the price of the M5 four-wheel drive performance version and the four-wheel drive flagship version increased by 15,000 yuan and 12,000 yuan respectively, while the price of the Syris Smart SF5 two-wheel drive/ four-wheel drive increased by 20,000 yuan, and the price adjustment of both took effect from 00:00 on May 6.
Compared with Jinkang Cyris, Jihu Automobile has adjusted the price of the medium and high-end version of Alpha T/Alpha S, with an increase of 0.54 million yuan; while Tianji Auto is currently only selling one Tianji ME5, and the price of both configuration models has increased by 10,000 yuan, and the increase in the two is not much. In addition, the price adjustments of both were implemented from 00:00 on May 16, and from the announcement on April 30, consumers were also left with half a month of hesitation. It is not difficult to find that compared with the new forces of car manufacturing, traditional car companies are more cautious in the face of price increases; lower price increases and longer buffer periods will also show more conscience in the eyes of consumers.
In addition, the four versions of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which has just celebrated its first anniversary, rose by 0.7 million to 2.25 million yuan, and the price adjustment was implemented from May 5. As a 300,000-class medium-sized pure electric SUV, Ford Mustang Mach-E is difficult to avoid the market pressure brought by Tesla Model Y, but the genes of the coupe SUV and the blessing of Mustang feelings still give it a certain degree of competitiveness, and its future performance is worth waiting to see.
Conclusion: Is it inevitable that "price increases" and "sales declines" will be inevitable? Last month, BYD once again locked in the crown of the new energy brand in advance with the result of selling more than 100,000 units per month, which undoubtedly proves once again that the really powerful products, even if the price increases, are still not worried about selling. Therefore, behind the "price increase tide", in fact, the Matthew effect is further intensified, the strong occupy more markets, and it is expected to fully exert force after the market warms up; and the weak will be closer to the edge of the elimination cliff in the "forced price increase" market.