According to preliminary statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, from August 1st to 31st, the retail sales of passenger cars reached 1.91 million units, including 1.015 million units in the new energy vehicle market, a year-on-year increase of 42% and a month on month increase of 16%. After the retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles broke 50% in July, it is expected to increase to about 53% in August, an increase of 2 percentage points from July.
Compared to the traditional off-season in August, with the arrival of the "Golden September and Silver October", many car companies are preparing to gain a larger market share. In this context, Caixin reporters visited sales terminals of multiple popular new energy vehicle models in early September.
The orders for MONA M03 are very popular now. If you book now, it will take two months to deliver. If you need a test drive, you need to make an appointment in advance. The recent test drive time is already fully booked, "a salesperson from Xiaopeng Motors told reporters on September 5th. On August 27th, the Xiaopeng MONA M03 was launched, offering three models with prices ranging from 119800 yuan to 155800 yuan; On August 30th, Xiaopeng MONA M03 completed the first batch of new car deliveries at the Chengdu Auto Show. It is reported that the Xiaopeng MONA M03 exceeded 30000 units within 48 hours of its launch.
At present, most users who choose this car value cost-effectiveness and the driving experience as a sports sedan. The MONA M03 standard version can achieve L2 level assisted driving, so the intelligent driving function is still relatively basic. If you want to reach the level of Xiaopeng XNGP, you need to choose the Max version, but you need to start delivery after the Spring Festival of 2025 The salesperson said.
Obviously, the MONA brand, which originated from the Didi car making project, focuses on cost-effectiveness. Xiaopeng Motors even puts intelligent driving experience in second place, hoping to achieve "price for quantity" through the MONA M03.
Based on our assessment of next year's market, Xiaopeng believes that competition in the automotive market will continue to intensify next year, "said Yang Guang, the head of Xiaopeng's MONA product series." We have set the price one step at a time this time and will not adjust it again. This way, we can not only face the intense competition next year, but also be more accountable to old car owners in the future
According to the prediction of He Xiaopeng, Chairman of Xiaopeng Motors, MONA's sales in the second half of this year will surpass Xiaomi SU7, which currently has an average monthly sales of over 10000.
Similar to He Xiaopeng's expectations for MONA, NIO Chairman Li Bin also placed his hopes for volume growth on NIO's second brand, Ledao, which will go public on September 19th this year. On August 15th, the first mass-produced car of Ledao L60 was launched, and the order situation exceeded expectations. The pre-sale price of this car is 219900 yuan, and there is still room for adjustment when it is officially launched. The supply chain of Ledao L60 is prepared to deliver 10000 units per month this year, and we hope to achieve monthly delivery of 20000 units next year, "Li Bin said during NIO's Q2 2024 financial report conference call.
On September 6th, the reporter saw at a Ledao brand sales store in Beijing that even though it was a weekday, there were still a continuous stream of consumers coming to the store to see the cars.
Now that the listing time has been confirmed, users can pay a 'small order' to lock in the delivery order and some benefits. A salesperson said that because the order volume is very good now, it is difficult to guarantee the specific delivery time.
The performance of two popular markets in the terminal market is a microcosm of the current new energy vehicle market - new energy vehicle companies are strengthening their competitiveness through clearer market positioning and pricing strategies to achieve "plundering" of the fuel vehicle market.
Meanwhile, the sustained favorable policies for new energy vehicles are also one of the important factors driving market growth. On July 25th, after the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance issued the "Several Measures to Strengthen Support for Large scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Trade in", the subsidy standard for purchasing new energy vehicles was increased from 10000 yuan to 20000 yuan. A series of policy measures, such as car purchase subsidies, exemption from purchase tax, and relaxation of restrictions on driving and purchasing, have created a favorable development environment for the new energy vehicle market from the national to local levels. During the visit to the market, many salespeople asked reporters whether it was necessary to replace fuel vehicles in order to obtain more subsidies.
With the continuous improvement of the future industrial chain, the continuous promotion of technological innovation, and the further strengthening of policy support, the new energy vehicle market will continue to maintain a high-speed development trend and make greater contributions to promoting the transformation and upgrading of China's automobile industry, "said Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Industry insiders generally hold an optimistic attitude towards the market and future trends in September, stating that "with the arrival of the 'Golden September and Silver October' sales peak season, the new energy vehicle market is expected to continue to maintain a high-speed growth trend