On March 3rd, two more car companies made a big move.
On March 3rd, GAC Aion official Weibo announced that the AION Y Plus Star Edition model was officially launched, with a price of 99800 yuan.
Meanwhile, Xiaopeng Motors announced that by March 31, 2024, all models of Xiaopeng G6 will have a limited time discount of 20000 yuan, and the discounted price will start at 189900 yuan.
On March 1st, Tesla's official Weibo account announced that the current limited time insurance subsidy for the Model 3/Y rear wheel drive version is 8000 yuan, with benefits; The Model 3/Y series of current vehicles have designated paint benefits for a limited time, with a maximum saving of 10000 yuan; The current model 3/Y rear wheel drive version has a limited time and low interest financial policy, with an annual fee rate as low as 1.99%. The maximum cost savings for the model Y are about 16600 yuan. Tesla's official Weibo account stated that by the end of March, if you choose Model 3/Y, you can enjoy a maximum discount of 34600 yuan.
At the beginning of the new year, the price war between car brands has once again begun. On February 19th, BYD announced that the starting prices for two new models, the Qin PLUS Honor Edition and the Destroyer 05 Honor Edition, are both 79800 yuan. Among them, the Qin PLUS DM-i Honor Edition is 20000 yuan cheaper than the previous Champion Edition.
On the same day, multiple car brands including Wuling, Changan Automobile, Nezha Automobile, Beijing Hyundai, SAIC General Motors, and Buick successively announced price reductions for multiple models. In the following days, the "price reduction trend" continued to ferment. Changan Mazda, Cadillac, Jike and other brands have all announced relevant car purchase discounts.
Why did BYD choose to lower the starting price of the brand's "Qin" new product to "7" when one stone stirred up thousands of waves? How will this affect BYD's brand image? Why would it cause a series of chain reactions within the industry? Regarding this, the Brand Value Research Institute interviewed Professor Chen Ming, Director of the Marketing Department at the School of Business Administration of South China University of Technology, and renowned brand expert and founding partner of Zhansheng Communication, Pang Rui.
Chen Ming believes that as a leading brand in the new energy vehicle industry, BYD needs to quickly seize the opportunity in the face of emerging markets with huge consumption potential. As market participants continue to increase, the industry needs to reshuffle to establish a new competitive landscape, and this price war is bound to be a protracted one.
Pang Rui stated that BYD, which currently has mid to high end brands, has a sufficiently diversified user base, and the price reduction of a single model is unlikely to have a significant impact on its overall brand.
"This price war is bound to be a protracted one, competing for a company's product strength, production capacity, and technological reserves, and of course, relying more on the company's control over the entire supply chain." Chen Ming believes that "this is a strategic action that requires the entire industry to be highly vigilant and responsive. For other car companies, if they do not follow up in a timely manner, they may lose valuable strategic opportunities and even face the risk of being eliminated."
"The 2024 model of the Ideal L series will be delivered in March this year, mainly as a discount for the 2023 model, with a price reduction range of 33000 to 35000 yuan," said a salesperson at a Beijing based Ideal Auto dealership. Taking the Ideal L7 as an example, the starting price is 286800 yuan, dropping below 300000 yuan for the first time.
A salesperson at a Xiaopeng Auto dealership in Beijing also said, "The 2024 P7i 550 Pro from Xiaopeng has a cash discount of 15000 yuan and a replacement subsidy of 12000 yuan. The 2023 P7i 610 Pengyi Performance Edition has a cash discount of 50000 yuan and can also enjoy a limited time and low interest financial solution."