"I received three sales calls this afternoon, all inquiring about purchasing intentions after adjusting prices," Mr. Li, who was preparing to buy a car, told a reporter from Shell Finance on February 1st.
Lowering prices, cash discounts, and exchange subsidies, as the Spring Festival approaches, multiple new energy vehicle brands have launched the latest promotional policies to seize the opportunity of the peak consumption season before the holiday, in order to attract more potential consumers.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers stated that as the Spring Festival approaches, compared to the strong sales trend at the end of 2023, the heat of the car market has significantly cooled. Due to reaching the sales target at the end of December last year, some demand was overdrawn, but the trend of returning home and the demand for pre holiday car purchases still have a supportive effect on the sales of the car market.
Exchange price for quantity, ideal car reduces price by over 40000 yuan
"This week before the Chinese New Year, the sales volume has surged, and current cars have received more discounts than before." On February 3rd, a staff member of a Xiaopeng Automobile direct sales store in Beijing told a reporter from Beike Finance, "The official selling price of the Xiaopeng P7i 550 Pro is 223900 yuan. Currently, the store offers a cash discount of 10000 yuan, with an additional discount of 10000 yuan for the current car and a trade in subsidy of 12000 yuan. The discounted price is 191900 yuan. The official selling price of the P7i 702 Pro is 249900 yuan, with a discount of 212900 yuan for the current car. This is equivalent to the price of the original 550 kilometer range model, which can now be used to buy a 702 kilometer range model."
In the Ideal Auto store not far from Xiaopeng Auto's direct sales store, promotional posters were also displayed. According to the staff, after receiving a subsidy of 43000 yuan, the bare car price of the Ideal L7 Air has been reduced to within 300000 yuan. "You can pick up the car for 276800 yuan, and ordering a car before the New Year also includes free floor mats and trunk mats."
The staff told reporters that the above discounts were a price reduction measure taken by Ideal Automobile before the model iteration, and the L-series models currently participating in the price reduction are all from the 2023 model year. "Due to the approaching Spring Festival, the discounts have increased slightly."
To ensure sales, Ideal Automobile's "old rival" Wenjie has also increased its promotional efforts. The staff of Wenjie stated that when ordering a car before the Spring Festival, Wenjie M7 offers a discount of 3000 yuan for the Spring Festival "waiting for the car red envelope", 5000 yuan for insurance deduction, and 10000 yuan for replacement subsidy.
During the visit, a reporter from Beike Finance noticed that the number of customers entering Huawei stores was significantly higher than that of Ideal Automobile stores, and consumers showed greater interest in the new Wenjie M7 and Wenjie M9. In the Ideal Car Store, the models that have been consulted frequently are the Ideal L7 and Ideal L8.
"Recently, I've seen many brands offering discounts, so I came over with my family to learn more." Mr. Wang, who was showing his family cars, said in an interview with a reporter from Shell Finance on February 3rd.
At the beginning of 2024, Tesla took the lead in lowering prices by lowering the prices of the Model 3, Model Y rear wheel drive, and long range versions. After the price adjustment, Tesla's updated Model 3 and Model Y have reached the lowest price in the history of the domestic market. At the same time, if consumers apply for a 2.5% ultra-low loan interest before the end of March.
Subsequently, multiple new energy vehicle brands followed up. Both Ideal Automobile and NIO have adjusted the prices of their new models on the grounds that they are about to be launched. According to a staff member of a NIO directly operated store in Beijing, after the price adjustment, the NIO has a cash discount of 24000 yuan for all existing cars in the series. Online rumors suggest that the discount of 30000 yuan or more is for models with a longer inventory age. "Those cars are not particularly recommended because their condition may not be very good."
According to incomplete statistics, since January this year, over 10 new energy vehicle brands such as Tesla, Ideal Motors, Avita, and Euler have lowered their model prices or introduced limited time cash discounts to attract more potential consumers.
New energy vehicle companies submit their first month performance report and shuffle their sales rankings
"The current car market environment is like a word 'roll', either price or marketing," sighed Gan Jiayue, CEO of Geely Automobile Group, at Geely's first new car press conference in 2024.
Zhang Yongwei, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China Electric Vehicle Hundred People Association, also pointed out that "the competitive environment of enterprises will present more characteristics of internal competition. 2024 will definitely be a critical period for the industry's reshuffle and acceleration."
According to the performance report of domestic new energy vehicle companies for the first month of 2024, after experiencing a sales peak in December last year, 10 out of the 13 car companies that have already released data were under pressure on delivery volume in January this year, with a month on month decline. Xiaopeng Motors also experienced a decline of over 50%, while Aion, NIO, and Zhiji saw a month on month decline of over 40%.
However, compared to the same period last year, the above-mentioned car companies achieved a significant increase in delivery volume in the first month of this year. Among them, Wenjie delivered nearly 33000 new cars in January, a month on month increase of 34.8%, surpassing Ideal Automobile and Aion, and becoming the sales champion of domestic new force brands for the first time.
After breaking through the delivery threshold of 50000 vehicles, the delivery volume of Ideal Automobile in January has slightly declined, with approximately 31200 new vehicles delivered, a month on month decrease of 38.1%, but a year-on-year increase of 105.8%.
The four new energy vehicle companies, Jike, Lingpao, NIO, and Nezha, had similar delivery volumes last month, competing between 10000 and 20000 vehicles.
According to a research report by Ping An Securities, the growth rate of top new energy vehicle companies is under pressure in 2024, so the price war led by top new energy vehicle companies will continue, especially in the mainstream price range of 100000 to 200000 yuan. In addition, the decline in battery costs also provides space for car companies to lower prices.
For 2024, multiple new energy vehicle companies have announced their latest annual sales targets.
Lin Jinwen, Vice President of Jike Intelligent Technology, stated that Jike's new car delivery target for 2024 is 230000 units. According to data previously released by Jike, a total of approximately 118700 vehicles were delivered in 2023. This means that its delivery volume in 2024 may double.
Ideal Automobile will challenge the annual delivery of 800000 vehicles in 2024, and GAC Aion has also stated that it will challenge the annual sales target of 800000 vehicles in 2024.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) predicts that the sales of new energy vehicles in China will reach around 11.5 million units in 2024, an increase of approximately 21% compared to the annual sales of 9.495 million units in 2023. However, the sales target growth rate for the aforementioned brands in 2024 exceeds this level.
New Beijing News Shell Finance reporter Zhang Bing