In the first half of the new year, Tesla has "cut prices" twice in a row, will the car price war in 2024 be more fierce?
On January 12, Tesla's official website in China was updated to reduce the prices of the Model 3 and Model Y again. According to the official website, Tesla has adjusted the price of the rear-wheel drive version and long-range version of the Model 3/Y, ranging from 6,500 yuan to 15,500 yuan. After the adjustment, the starting price of the Model 3 is CNY 245,900 and the Model Y is CNY 258,900.
Previously, on January 1, Tesla officially announced the launch of Model 3 rear-drive cash car insurance subsidies and low-interest financial policies, with a total preferential range of up to 22,000 yuan.
On the one hand, Tesla is cutting prices, and on the other hand, domestic cars are hitting the high-end market. M9, Ideal MEGA, Denza D9, Yangwang U8...... The prices of these models have entered the range of luxury cars, so much so that there is a joke on the Internet that says: "If you don't work hard, you can only buy BBA." ”
Tesla's price "double drop" in the New Year
At the beginning of the new year of 2024, Tesla China has launched two limited-time benefits: first, the launch of a limited-time existing car insurance subsidy, within 1 month to order the Model 3 rear-wheel drive version of the existing car and pick up the car, you can enjoy an insurance subsidy of 6,000 yuan, and second, the launch of the new year's limited-time low-interest financial policy, the purchase of all S3XY models and pick up the car during the event period, the annual rate is as low as 1.99%.
The above benefits can be used together, taking the Model 3 rear-wheel drive version of the current car as an example, consumers can enjoy a time-limited insurance subsidy of 6,000 yuan when they order and pick up the car in January, and can save more than 16,000 yuan in low-interest discounts, which is converted into more than 22,000 yuan in car purchase benefits.
On January 12, Tesla slashed prices for the Model 3 and Model Y models, specifically: the new Model 3 rear-wheel drive version was reduced by 15,500 yuan, with a starting price of 261,400 yuan to 245,900 yuan, and the Model 3 long-range refreshed version was reduced by 11,500 yuan, with a starting price of 297,400 yuan to 285,900 yuan; The price of the rear-wheel drive version of the Y was reduced by 7,500 yuan, from 266,400 yuan to 258,900 yuan, and the price of the Model Y long-range version was reduced by 6,500 yuan, from 306,400 yuan to 299,900 yuan.
It is understood that after this price adjustment, the new version of the Model 3 and Model Y ushered in the lowest price in the history of the domestic market. At the same time, on a global scale, Tesla's price in the Chinese market is also highly competitive, taking the Model Y rear-wheel drive version as an example, the starting price of 258,900 yuan in the Chinese market is more than 100,000 yuan cheaper than that in Germany, France, Canada and other markets.
Behind the price reduction is the reduction of Tesla's single car cost. Tesla said in its financial report for the third quarter of 2023 that it will be able to cope with the adverse impact of price decline by reducing costs in the future, and the company's cost of selling a single vehicle in the third quarter will drop to 37,500 US dollars (about 268,600 yuan), and the unit cost is expected to continue to decline with the continuous upgrading of the new factory.
On the other hand, the price reduction is also driven by the pressure on Tesla's sales in the Chinese market. In 2023, Tesla will produce a total of about 1.85 million electric vehicles and deliver about 1.81 million electric vehicles worldwide, a year-on-year increase of about 35% and 38%, respectively. Despite the strong growth of automobile sales, in comparison, BYD Auto's annual sales in 2023 will reach 3.0244 million units, a year-on-year increase of 62.3%, and Li Auto will deliver a total of 376,000 units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 182.2%.
Minsheng Securities Research Report said that in 2023, the Model 3 and Model Y in the Chinese market will undergo multiple price adjustments, and with the decline in the cost of battery raw materials, Tesla is expected to further reduce the price of vehicles in 2024 to maintain the competitiveness of products in the market. Discounted prices and Tesla's new models are expected to boost sales in 2024, which are expected to reach 2.17 million units in 2024.
Domestic automobiles hit the high-end market
2024 is a year for the continuation of the price war in the automotive industry, and it is also an important year for domestic cars to hit the high-end market.
On December 28, 2023, Xiaomi held a Xiaomi automotive technology conference. Lei Jun, founder and chairman of Xiaomi Group, said that the Xiaomi SU7 "is indeed a bit expensive, but it will be expensive for a reason". Subsequently, Lei Jun said on Weibo that Xiaomi Auto "has no opponent within 500,000 yuan".
On December 26, 2023, Huawei held the Wenjie M9 and Huawei Winter All-Scenario Launch Conference. Yu Chengdong, Executive Director of Huawei, CEO of the Device BG, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Huawei's Intelligent Vehicle Solution BU, said that the M9 is "the best SUV within 10 million yuan". In terms of specific prices, the price of the M9 extended range Max version is 469,800 yuan, the price of the extended range Ultra version is 529,800 yuan, the price of the M9 pure electric Max version is 509,800 yuan, and the price of the pure electric Ultra version is 569,800 yuan.
Li Auto said that the ideal flagship MPV model MEGA will be officially released on March 1, 2024, and it will be delivered immediately after release. It is understood that the price of the ideal MEGA is expected to be within 600,000 yuan.
According to the official WeChat public account of Yangwang Automobile, following the Yangwang U8, Yangwang U7 is also about to debut, positioned as a "million-level new energy flagship car".
It can be seen that there are more and more domestic new energy vehicles priced at more than 400,000 yuan. Pacific Securities Research Report believes that if the future consumption downgrade, high-end cars will not be affected much, the future of customized high-end car sales will also increase, and the profit is considerable, if car companies can occupy the high-end car brand, can also launch explosive cars.
The successive advent of domestic high-end models has also made many people sigh that "domestic cars are getting more and more expensive, and they can only buy BBA if they don't work hard". In fact, it is not contradictory for domestic cars to hit the high-end and participate in the price war, and many brands are launching high-end models while reducing prices and discounts to impact sales.
Taking Wenjie as an example, from January 1 to January 31, 2024, consumers who purchase the designated models of the new M7 will enjoy up to 40,000 yuan of car purchase rights, including: free interior and exterior matching rights with a maximum value of 12,000 yuan, 3,000 yuan of Spring Festival red envelopes, and different values of rights and interests to deduct ADS smart driving bags and technology comfort bags. At the same time, if you place a M9 before 24 o'clock on February 26, 2024, you can enjoy an optional right worth 10,000 yuan.
In fact, many luxury brands have also been affected by the car price war. According to the China Automobile Dealers Association, in November 2023, the comprehensive promotion of luxury cars was 19.3%, a year-on-year increase of 4.5 percentage points, reaching a record high.
The Federation of Passenger Cars believes that in the past two years, new cars have obviously moved towards high-end, with fewer new A00-class models being launched, showing obvious signs of upgrading to A0-class models, and more high-end models above B-level. Among them, due to the premium advantage of high-end models, the price is higher, which can carry more investment in new configurations and new technologies, enhance the brand image of the enterprise, form a high-flying marketing flashpoint, and make it easier to achieve the balance of investment income of new cars, which is conducive to the sustainable improvement of enterprise technology, and lays the foundation for gradually promoting the overall product competitiveness of the enterprise through large-scale effect in the later stage.
Editor-in-charge: Wan Jianyi
Proofreading: Wang Chaoquan
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