Another wave of price reductions for new energy vehicles is coming? At least 10 automotive brands officially announce price reductions and promotions, traditional | price wars | automotive brands

Entering the second half of the year, "price reduction" remains an unavoidable topic in the automotive market.

On August 11th, the new car making force, Jike Automobile, officially announced a direct price reduction of 30000 to 37000 yuan for the Jike 001 model, with a starting price of 269000 yuan. This price will continue until the end of this year.

In March of this year, a price war dominated by gasoline vehicles swept through the automotive market, bringing considerable pressure to the automotive industry. After a brief rest, there have been signs of price cuts for new energy vehicles in recent times. According to incomplete statistics by a reporter from Pengpai News, since August, 10 brands including Jike, NIO, Lingpao, and Nezha have officially announced promotional activities.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) predicts that the phenomenon of car market promotions will continue to exist, and it is not ruled out that some car companies may engage in countercyclical increased promotions.

10 brands have announced price reductions since August

In early July this year, SAIC Volkswagen lowered the price of its benchmark pure electric model ID series, with discounts ranging from 20000 yuan to 40000 yuan for ID.4 X, ID.6, and other models. ID.3 also showed its lowest selling price in history, with all configuration models dropping by 43000 yuan and bare car prices dropping to 119900 yuan.

In late July, FAW Volkswagen also announced a significant price reduction for the ID series, with the ID.4 CROZZ model dropping as much as 46000 yuan. At the same time, it also added multiple discounts such as exchange subsidies and interest free loans.

However, due to the poor sales of the Volkswagen ID series for a long time, many industry insiders believe that this is just Volkswagen as a manufacturer to clear inventory and promote sales.

After entering August, more and more car companies have seen price loosening, and a new wave of price reductions is showing signs of resurgence.

On August 1st, a new force in the automotive industry, Zero Run Motors, launched the "Double C Frontier, Zero Run Summer Price" campaign, with discounts ranging from 10000 to 20000 yuan for promotional models. Among them, the 2023 Zero Run C01 717 Intelligent Edition, which had the highest price reduction, was reduced by 20000 yuan, equivalent to a 10% discount.

Nezha Auto, also a new force in car making, also launched the "Qixi Price Setting" activity. The official announced that the price of its 2022 Nezha S models would be reduced by 30000 yuan, with the lowest price falling to 159800 yuan.

NIO Motors has placed discounts on the energy supplement end. On August 1st, NIO announced the launch of an August limited time car purchase discount policy. Users who pay a deposit to purchase NIO's new car can receive 30 battery swapping experience coupons after picking up the car. At the same time, the price of home charging stations will be adjusted, with a maximum reduction of 2700 yuan.

Not only are new forces in car manufacturing, but traditional car brands have also announced promotional activities.

On August 1st, Changan Ford announced that it would officially take over the operation of Ford Electric Horse in the Chinese market. At the same time, it announced that all Ford Electric Horse owners would upgrade to Qualcomm's third-generation Snapdragon cockpit platform for free, and launch the "Six New Year Welcome Gifts", including a reduction of 40000 yuan, an exchange subsidy of 8000 yuan, and an additional purchase gift of 4000 yuan.

Chery New Energy officially launched the "Juhui August, Hi Buy Summer" campaign, with new energy models such as Little Ant, Infinite Pro, and QQ Ice Cream reducing prices by up to 10000 yuan.

On August 3, the MG Grand Prix under SAIC announced the launch of a limited time discount activity themed "Rocket with a good price and a hundred million yuan for shopping". We offer a maximum discount of 26000 yuan for our three models, MG5 Scorpio, third-generation MG6 PRO, and MG ONE, and offer lifetime free basic maintenance as a gift.

The Haval Xiaolong series, a new energy brand under the Great Wall brand, has launched the "818 Limited Time E-commerce Welfare Season" event. Users can enjoy a cash expansion gift of 2000 yuan to 8000 yuan when placing an order, and can also receive up to 12000 yuan in vouchers for 99 yuan from August 5th to August 26th.

Euler Motors, also a subsidiary of Great Wall Motors, announced on August 4th that users who order and issue motor vehicle invoices in August can enjoy one year of free compulsory insurance. At the same time, they will offer a cash discount of 22000 yuan for the 2023 Euler Good Cat and 30000 yuan for the Lightning Cat.

In addition, some car companies also carry out small-scale promotions within specific regional areas. On August 2nd, Tesla announced that from August 1st to 31st, it will provide exclusive summer consumption benefits of 3000 yuan shopping cards for consumers in Pudong area, with a limit of 3000 people.

Industry expectation for a wave of price reductions for new energy vehicles to begin

Zhang Xiang, Dean of the New Energy Vehicle Technology Research Institute of Jiangxi New Energy Technology Vocational College, predicts that a new round of price war will definitely start in the second half of the year, and there may also be a fierce scene of price war in the first half of this year. But the difference is that the price war in the first half of the year was greatly affected by the new standard of National VI B; The reason for the price war in the second half of the year is, on the one hand, that market demand was overdrawn by last year's halving of fuel vehicle purchase tax policy and the price war in the first half of the year. Car companies need to drive demand through price reductions, and on the other hand, market competition is intensifying.

"The fundamental reason for this round of price reduction is that the development of China's automotive industry has undergone a qualitative change." Zhang Xiang told Pengpai News reporters, "The Chinese automotive market has become the world's largest automotive market for 13 consecutive years, and the world's largest new energy vehicle market for 8 consecutive years. In the first half of this year, China once again became the world's largest exporter of automobiles. However, compared with developed countries' automotive markets, the industry concentration in China is relatively low, with over 100 automotive companies."

He believes that in order for China's automotive industry to continue to grow and strengthen, it will inevitably face industrial upgrading, and increasing industry concentration is a necessary path. Top companies will inevitably increase market share through price reductions and eliminate small and medium-sized enterprises through economies of scale.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also has expectations for the recent price reduction behavior of car companies.

Regarding whether the promotional activities of car companies foreshadow the arrival of a "price war", Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, stated that the prices of traditional fuel vehicles are currently relatively stable, and there will be no new round of price war for traditional fuel vehicles in the second half of the year. Regarding new energy vehicles, he stated that they are currently a small-scale phased promotion and cannot prove to be the beginning of a new round of price war. However, it is currently difficult to make accurate judgments about the new energy vehicle market.

"The sustained and significant promotions in the first half of the year disrupted the normal price trend of the car market, and the overall level of terminal price promotions in July returned to normal," the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers believes. "However, with the weakening of peak and valley performance in different months of the year and the impact of the same period last year's base, considering comprehensive factors such as maintaining exposure, achieving annual targets, and forming sales potential for the second half of the year, it is expected that some segmented markets will continue to maintain normal promotions, and it is not ruled out that some car companies may experience countercyclical increased promotions."

From the trend over the years, August is the "appetizer" before the official launch of the "Golden September and Silver October" in the car market, and it is also the time for car companies to start promoting and warming up. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicts that before the start of the school season in August, there will be a stronger demand for a second car for families, such as buying a car to transport their children to and from school, which will continue to serve as the cornerstone to support the maintenance of the current size of the automotive market. Meanwhile, the current sustained high oil prices are conducive to the growth of new energy vehicles.

According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the retail sales of passenger cars in July 2023 were 1.775 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3% and a month on month decrease of 6.3%; Since the beginning of this year, the cumulative sales have reached 11.299 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 1.9%. Among them, the retail sales of new energy vehicles were 641000 units, a year-on-year increase of 31.9% and a month on month decrease of 3.6%; Since the beginning of this year, the cumulative sales have reached 3.725 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 36.3%. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicts that the total sales of passenger cars this year will be 21 million, and the sales of new energy passenger cars will be 8.5 million.