The "price war" has escalated again! The joint venture brand has joined the "melee", and there are models with a maximum discount of 65,000
Reporter: Li Xing Intern reporter: Miao Shiyu Editor: Pei Jianru
After BYD launched the "first shot" of the price war in the auto market after the Spring Festival in the Year of the Dragon, many car companies chose to follow up and announced that some of their models would be sold at reduced prices.
On February 19, BYD announced the launch of the 79,800 yuan Qin PLUS DM-i Glory Edition and Destroyer 05 Glory Edition models, and the new car was launched at a price lower than that of the same level of fuel vehicles, fully impacting the A-class family car market. On the same day, Wuling Automobile, Nezha Automobile, Changan Qiyuan and other car companies followed up, and the "smell of gunpowder" in the auto market became stronger.
Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Association, believes that the "price war" is a necessary means to clear the market. Competition in the industry is intensifying, and if car companies want to seize more share in the market, they need to expand sales through price reduction sales to obtain better development opportunities. "2024 is a critical year for new energy vehicle companies to gain a firm foothold, and the competition is destined to be very fierce. Cui Dongshu told the "Daily Economic News" reporter.
Self-owned brands started a price scuffle
After BYD shouted the slogan of "electricity is lower than oil" after two plug-in hybrid models with a price of "7" prefix, Wuling Motors also announced that the glory price of Wuling Starlight 150km advanced version is 99,800 yuan, which is 6,000 yuan lower than the listing price of 105,800 yuan. Zhou Yu, deputy general manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling Brand Division, said: "One word, follow!"
Image source: Sina Weibo (@周金开)
Subsequently, on February 20, Wuling Motors once again announced that Wuling Binguo would join the "war", with a maximum subsidy of 8,000 yuan. In an interview with reporters, the relevant person in charge of SAIC-GM-Wuling explained that the price reduction is essentially to provide consumers with better products and services, not to reduce prices for the sake of price reduction.
Nezha Automobile also announced a few days ago that many of its main models have been reduced in price, of which Nezha X has a maximum price drop of 22,000 yuan, with a starting price of 99,800 yuan, and Nezha AYA and Nezha S have reduced their prices by 8,000 yuan and 5,000 yuan. "We also took the initiative to open the 'roll'. Daniel Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Nezha Automobile, said.
In an interview with reporters, the relevant staff of Nezha Automobile also said that the price reduction of Nezha Automobile is mainly to boost consumer confidence and make consumers the ultimate beneficiaries.
Chang'an Qiyuan followed up with the price reduction, which also played the slogan of "electricity is lower than oil", and lowered the starting price of Changan Qiyuan A05 to 78,900 yuan, which was 11,000 yuan lower than the guide price.
In Cui Dongshu's view, whether it is BYD or a number of car companies that follow up with price cuts, the purpose of their price reductions is to maximize sales and seize more market share. "The price competition of electric vehicles is the embodiment of full market competition in the field of new technologies, which is the gospel of consumers and a competitive weapon for China's electric vehicles to the world. Cui Dongshu thinks.
Up to now, new energy vehicles are still in the stage of high investment, and there are very few car companies that have achieved profitability. "Most new energy vehicle companies, especially those focusing on domestic sales, have not yet achieved profitability. A few days ago, Xin Guobin, a member of the party group and vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at a press conference of the State Council Information Office.
Li Yunfei, general manager of BYD's brand and public relations department, said that thanks to the large-scale effect and the advantages of the whole industry chain, the price of BYD's plug-in hybrid models can be lower than that of fuel vehicles of the same level.
Image source: Sina Weibo (@不会武功的武功李云飞)
Cui Dongshu believes that with the decline in lithium carbonate prices, the cost of building cars has decreased. At the same time, with the rapid development of the new energy vehicle market, the scale effect has gradually formed, which makes new energy vehicles have more profit margins. Scale determines the cost and the survival of the enterprise, in the case of the majority of manufacturers give priority to the share, the further intensification of price competition is inevitable.
Hua Chuang Securities Research Report said that because the price of joint venture cars and electric vehicles is still not at the end, and the space is relatively large, it is expected that the auto market will continue the price pressure in 2023 in 2024.
The joint venture brand followed the drop, and the maximum discount for some models was 65,000 yuan
Under the "scuffle" of independent brands, joint venture brands also "can't sit still".
On February 19, SAIC-GM's Buick brand announced that it would offer price reductions or replacement subsidies for some models for a limited time, with a maximum discount of 65,000 yuan for a limited time, with a deadline of the end of this month. Among them, the new generation of Buick LaCrosse, Valeant Pro, and Envision Plus models have a preferential range of 35,000 ~ 65,000 yuan.
Image source: Sina Weibo (@别克)
In addition, Beijing Hyundai also released a poster saying that the new Elantra starts at 75,800 yuan, and oil is "stronger" than electricity. At present, the guide price of Beijing Hyundai Elantra models on sale is 99,800 ~ 149,800 yuan. If the starting price of "75,800 yuan" claimed on the poster is true, it is equivalent to a price reduction of more than 20,000 yuan for Beijing Hyundai Elantra. However, on February 21, a relevant person from Beijing Hyundai told reporters, "(The content of the poster) is not our official event, and we have not posted it."
In the eyes of the outside world, the joint venture brand joining this round of price war may be a last resort in the context of declining sales. Judging from the sales data in January 2024, the sales volume of some joint venture brands has a significant month-on-month downward trend. For example, SAIC-GM sold about 36,000 units in January this year, down 34.55% from the same period last year (about 55,000 units) and down more than 60% from December 2023.
According to the January sales data released by the China Passenger Car Association, the retail sales of mainstream joint venture brands were about 670,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 43%, while the retail sales of domestic brands were about 1.12 million units, a year-on-year increase of 77% and a month-on-month decrease of 10%.
Judging from the sales data, there is a large gap between independent brands and joint venture brands. For joint venture brands, on the one hand, there is a price war one after another, and on the other hand, sales urgently need to be further boosted. How to fight the battle at the beginning of 2024 is a test of the coping ability of the joint venture brand and the wisdom of the manager.
National Business Daily