Entering May, the tide of car price increases is still spreading.
"Starting from May 10, the starting price of each version of the WEIO ES8, ES6, EC6 models will be raised by 10,000 yuan, and there will also be a certain price increase in the price of battery rental services and battery packs." This is the first price increase this year, because all kinds of raw materials for cars are rising, and the cost of cars is constantly increasing. On May 9, a salesperson of Weilai Automobile told the "Daily Economic News" reporter.
According to the reporter's incomplete statistics, since the beginning of this year, there have been more than 20 car companies that have announced price increases, involving nearly 50 models, from new energy vehicles to fuel vehicles. It is understood that although some car companies have not officially announced price increases, they have been "eager to try". On May 8, the reporter learned from a car company practitioner: "Considering the rising price of raw materials, we are also prepared to increase prices, and we are still in discussion." ”
The tide of car price increases in May has not stopped
In addition to Weilai, a number of car companies began to announce price increases in May.
On May 1, Extreme Kr 001 announced that the price and car purchase rights were adjusted, and the price of the model increased by 20,500 yuan; the price of the Lynk & Co PHEV car series rose by 2,000 yuan to 4,000 yuan; the Roewe RX5 eMAX PHEV, Ei5, and i6MAX EV increased by 2,000 yuan; the price of Feifan ER6 and MARVEL R increased by 3,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan; and the Price of Ford Mustang Mach-E increased by 7,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan from May 5.
Before May, many car companies have raised prices. For example, the price increase of some Models of Mercedes-Benz is 3,000 yuan to 121,000 yuan; the price and configuration of BMW 3 Series, X3, X4, 4 Series and Z4 are adjusted, and the price increases range from 1,600 yuan to 11,000 yuan; the price of some models of Weipai's coffee series will be raised by 5,000 yuan to 12,000 yuan; and the price increase of Xiaopeng Motors' models is 19,000 to 38,000 yuan.
Image source: Per reporter Duan Siyao photographed (data map)
Interestingly, even after the price increase of multiple waves of models, there are still many consumers in the terminal market who are facing the situation of "when to pick up the car". "I waited for the car for nearly half a year, or there were consumers in the middle who cancelled the order, and I 'cut in line' the car mentioned." A car owner of BYD Qin told reporters.
The sales staff of a Mercedes-Benz 4S store in Beijing told reporters that the current car pick-up cycle is as little as two or three months, and as much as half a year. According to the sales staff of the Mercedes-Benz 4S store, the waiting cycle of the entire automotive industry has become longer, and the reason behind it is on the one hand because of the shortage of chips, on the other hand, because of the lack of auto parts caused by the epidemic and logistics obstruction. It is also for this reason that Euler Black Cat, White Cat, and Changan Ben E-Star have suspended accepting orders.
According to the data of the Association of Passenger Vehicles, the retail sales of narrow passenger cars in April are expected to be 1.100 million units, down 31.9% year-on-year. Some industry analysts believe that the continuous decline in the car market and the supply chain shortage caused by the epidemic may trigger a new round of price increases in the car market.
In fact, the reporter learned that more and more car companies are brewing price increases. "More and more car companies have begun to raise prices. This year's car purchase discount for fuel vehicles will be further compressed, and now is the best time to buy a car, and the cost of buying a car in the next few months is likely to rise further. A car salesperson at FAW-Volkswagen told reporters.
The price of raw materials for vehicles has risen across the board
From new energy vehicles to fuel vehicles, from luxury brands to independent brands, behind the price increase of nearly 50 models is the current rising cost of automobile manufacturing.
Specifically, "soaring raw material prices" is the main reason for the current prices of car companies. The reporter combed and found that the price of palladium metal used in automotive catalytic converters rose 30 times in five years. Since March this year, the price of palladium metal has risen by more than 5%. In addition, automotive materials such as lithium hydroxide, nickel, cobalt, and aluminum are also rising. Among them, the price of lithium hydroxide has risen by 148.25% this 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.
Tire companies such as Zhongce Rubber, Bridgestone, German Horse Brand, Zhengxin Tire, Goodyear, Guizhou Tire, and Fengshen Tire also announced price increases in May. Among them, the price increase of Goodyear truck and bus tires in May was 7.5%.
However, the increase in the price of automobiles is not caused by unilateral factors such as the rise in raw material prices, and the recent epidemic in Shanghai has also brought certain challenges to the cost control of domestic car companies, for example, the logistics and transportation costs in the epidemic are also increasing. Zhang Xiang, dean of the New Energy Vehicle Technology Research Institute of Jiangxi New Energy Technology Vocational College, told reporters: "In the past, automobile logistics was transported from one factory to another by truck, which was a 'door-to-door' service. However, during the epidemic, car logistics out of Shanghai may have to exchange goods at two transfer stations, or use trailers to pull the trailer away. In this process, the driver and the goods must do sanitize, nucleic acid, antigen testing and other work. Logistics costs during the pandemic are about ten times what is usual. ”
In addition, the supply tension brought about by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has also become another "black swan" event that squeezes the cost of car companies, and the rise in international energy and commodity prices has affected domestic iron ore, coke, iron ore, coke prices have risen, which has gradually increased the cost of steel companies. Due to the supply cut in Ukraine, the price of neon gas, the raw material for semiconductor manufacturing, has doubled, and the current situation in Russia and Ukraine is still unclear, and the supply of neon gas will continue to remain tight.
Car companies are facing high cost pressures
In fact, in the past, price increases were rare in car companies, especially traditional car companies. Traditional car companies often digest high cost pressure through cost control and other means, or adopt dealers' rebate models, promotional policies, inventory adjustments and other ways to adjust the price of models.
But at present, car companies are facing huge cost pressures. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Joint Association, believes that the price of raw materials has risen more than expected, and the shortage of chips has also caused the current model supply to be insufficient, and the cost of automobile manufacturing has increased under the impetus of multiple factors.
"If a single raw material rises slightly, it is still within the bearable range of car companies, but the simultaneous rise of multiple raw materials will lead to a significant increase in the cost of bicycle manufacturing, and this pressure cannot be digested by car companies." Especially in recent years, automotive products have been greatly improved in intelligent networking and technology configuration, and a lot of R&D investment and cost growth are needed behind them. The above-mentioned car company practitioners said.
"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 also said helplessly on social media.
Image source: Weibo screenshot
Some industry analysts believe that the automotive industry chain is very complex, involving all aspects, and the product price is not only related to the car company itself, but also reflects the current situation of the entire automotive industry chain. This wave of price increases will help the entire automotive industry chain to tide over the period of operational pressure, and also contribute to the long-term and stable development of the market.
Reporter | Huang Xinxu
Editor| Pei Jianru He Xiaotao Du Bo
Proofreading | Cheng Peng
| the original article of the daily economic news nbdnews |
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