Jia Xuan, a reporter from China Economic Weekly, | Beijing reports
Affected by the epidemic and the economic and trade environment and other factors, since last year, the global chip production capacity has been tight. Since the beginning of this year, overseas epidemics, natural disasters, fires and other situations have continued, and the supply of some automotive chips has been significantly affected, and the output of many manufacturers has been insufficient, and even some factories have directly stopped work.
This year's "Golden Nine Silver Ten" car purchase golden season, the "lack of core" crisis affected the end consumers. Through the visit, the reporter of China Economic Weekly found that many automobile brands have reduced the terminal preferential margin and extended the delivery cycle. Some of the hot-selling models of exhibition cars and test drives have also been ordered and sold, and dealers even face the dilemma of not having cars to sell.
Car companies "lack of core" forced to reduce production, manufacturers have no cars to sell, in the store to put car molds
"I never expected that after waiting for an extra month, it would cost thousands of yuan to buy a car, and I didn't have a car yet." On October 9, at a 4S store of Great Wall Motor in Beijing, Zhang Feng sighed.
A month ago, he was ready to replace and upgrade his private car, and after several rounds of selection, he locked in a Great Wall SUV. At that time, the sales staff said that the model manufacturer had activities, could discount 7,000 yuan, and there happened to be a cash car in the store, and the car could be picked up by payment.
At that time, planning that it was about to arrive at the National Day, there would be promotional activities in previous years, Zhang Feng finally did not pay, and decided to wait and see. On the third day of his departure, the sales staff sent him a notice from the manufacturer - because of the "lack of core", the manufacturer urgently reduced the discount, and the car purchase discount was reduced from 7,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan.
There are not a few cases like Zhang Feng. Li Min also encountered the same situation. At the end of last year, she took a fancy to an Audi car that cost about 400,000 yuan. At that time, the various offers added up to nearly 60,000 yuan cheaper, which was equivalent to a 8.5% discount, but now there is not even a penny of discount. This is equivalent to a price increase of 60,000 yuan.
During the visit, the reporter found that many new cars are sold at the original price, and some popular models still need to be increased. There are reports that the price increase of Mercedes-Benz Big G, Alpha and other models is even as high as hundreds of thousands of yuan. This situation not only exists in imported high-end cars, but also spreads to joint venture cars and domestic car models.
The Tank 300 can be described as one of the popular models in domestic cars, and since its launch, sales have exceeded that of the Haval H9. A consumer who ordered the tank 300 told reporters that the actual delivery time of the car he ordered in August this year has been scheduled until February next year, and it will take 6 months to get the car.
A Staff member of the Great Wall 4S store told the "China Economic Weekly" reporter that due to the "lack of core" and the impact of transformation, there are currently 3 models of the company that have stopped production, and the new models in the later period are only mocha, macchiato, latte, etc.
On September 29, Ma Lin, senior director of corporate communications at WEILAI Automobile, posted on Weibo that there were no cars to sell in the showroom, so it had to be replaced by car models.
According to the China Automobile Dealers Association, affected by the shortage of chips, the current automobile market is basically in a state where supply determines demand, and market demand continues to delay. Channel inventories of joint ventures and luxury brand car manufacturers are at a low level, mainstream model resources are insufficient, and orders are delayed.
Car chips are also rising. According to media reports, the price of a Bosch ESP chip on the black market has recently reached 4,000 yuan, and its price is only 13 yuan per piece during normal supply.
According to the latest data from AutoForecast Solutions, a global automotive consulting agency, as of October 10, the cumulative production reduction in the global automotive market has reached 9.345 million units due to chip shortages, of which the Chinese market has reduced production by 13,000 vehicles, accounting for about 5.2%. It is predicted that the global automobile production reduction is still further expanding. This year, the cumulative reduction in production in the global automotive market will climb to 10.561 million units.
Manufacturers reduce the number of deliveries, consumers turn to used cars
Choosing a vehicle with a centerpiece, it takes several months to pick up the car, which is a huge blow to the enthusiasm of car buyers. Car buyers may switch to a model that does not have to wait.
In desperation, car companies have come up with various fancy measures to guide automobile consumption and alleviate the pressure caused by the "lack of core" production and production stoppage.
"Send you two radars and wait until the cargo notifies you to come over and upgrade." A salesperson instructed the owner. Recently, Ideal Auto launched a special delivery program of "delivery first and then reload radar". Users who were planning to pick up their cars in October and November, due to the lack of millimeter-wave radar chips, consumers can choose to deliver the 3-radar model in advance (1 forward + 2 angular millimeter-wave radars in the rear), or wait until December to deliver the 5-radar model directly.
Another car owner revealed to reporters that the car he bought was originally equipped with steering wheel electric boost, and the sales staff suggested, "First deliver and drive, manually break for a few months and then come back to upgrade."
In addition, there are car companies that introduce discounts to encourage consumers to buy stock models. Ford launches its latest measures in the U.S. market to offer customers who drop custom orders and buy stock vehicles at a $2,000 discount.
Faced with problems such as long waiting times and rising prices, some consumers have set their sights on second-hand cars with high value preservation. The market is becoming more and more popular, and the purchase price of some models even exceeds the purchase price.
"Used cars are more sought-after than new cars now, and the main reason is that you don't have to wait." Hu Yue, a second-hand car practitioner, told reporters that the overall sales volume in the store has risen recently compared with the same period in previous years. Among the many models, mid-to-high-end used cars that have been used for no more than 3 years and travel within 50,000 kilometers are the first choice of many consumers.
"I haven't rested all day and have been helping customers find cars. We are working with 4S stores to replace, now there is no new car, consumers can not complete the replacement, our hands of the second-hand car is even more difficult to find. Hu Yue said
There are reports that BMW and Mercedes-Benz official used car dealers are also trying their best to find a car.
According to bmw's officially certified used car leaflet, new cars licensed from January 1, 2020 to September 13, 2021, with a mileage of no more than 15,000 kilometers, and no accidents, no structural damage, no wading, can enjoy the purchase price after testing. Mercedes-Benz recycling is similar, except that the listing period is from January 1, 2020 to August 30, 2021.
(At the request of the interviewee, the interviewee is a pseudonym)
Editor-in-charge | Yang Lin
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