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Cailianshe News, July 30 (Reporter Xu Hao)The price war in the auto market, which was stabilizing, ushered in a new round of price war near the end of the month.BYDUnderEquation LeopardThe brand's official price has been slashed. On the evening of July 29, Fangchengbao announced the brand's first anniversary renewal strategy.Leopard 5The prices of all products in the series have been reduced by RMB 50,000 to RMB 239,800-302,800.

The first model of the Fangchengbao Leopard, the Leopard 5, was launched in November last year. It is positioned as a hardcore off-road SUV and is equipped with BYD's latest technologies such as the hybrid technology platform (DMO) and CTC battery chassis integration, with a comprehensive range of over 1,200 kilometers. As BYD's professional personalized brand for the mid-to-high-end market, Fangchengbao carries BYD's expectations for exploring the new energy off-road market. "In addition to electrification and intelligence, cars will also usher in an era of personalization. Fangchengbao uses technology to open up a personalized off-road journey." BYD Group Chairman Wang Chuanfu once positioned the Fangchengbao brand in this way.

However, compared with BYD Dynasty and Ocean brand new products that have been popular in the market as soon as they were launched, Leopard 5's performance has always been relatively mild. From January to June this year, the cumulative sales of Leopard 5 were 18,283 units, and the sales in the past three months were less than 3,000 units.Great Wall Motors, itstankThe brand’s cumulative sales this year have reached 116,000 vehicles.

Since the beginning of this year, the "price war" in the automobile market has intensified. According to statistics from Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, 136 models have been reduced in price in the first five months of 2024, and the scale of price reduction has exceeded 90% of the whole year of 2023, surpassing the total scale of price reduction in 2022. Until July, luxury car companies represented by BBA began to adjust prices. Many industry insiders judged that this round of "price war" may gradually "die down". However, this time the Leopard 5 drastically reduced its price by 50,000 yuan, which sparked the war again. After the price reduction is completed, the Leopard 5 will cut intoTank 300With a price range of 5.4%, the "square box SUV" market is bound to usher in another fierce battle.

"The official price adjustment of Fangchengbao is obviously intended to further expand the terminal channels while 'trading price for volume'." Industry insiders believe that Fangchengbao, which previously adopted a direct sales model, adjusted its channel model in June this year, adding a dealer model on the basis of direct sales. "The price adjustment is conducive to enhancing dealer confidence."

At present, Fangchengbao's first batch of investment promotion channels are planned to cover about 22 provinces, 4 municipalities and 5 autonomous regions, almost covering the whole country. Its purpose is to gain more market share by expanding the dealer network on a large scale.

In addition, compared with the more comprehensive product lineup of the Tank brand, the slow pace of Fangchengbao's new product launches has also been questioned by the industry. Facing the doubts, Fangchengbao's general manager Xiong Tianbo once said, "Fangchengbao is a little slow in product launches. The reason why we are not in a hurry to launch Leopard 8 is to better connect the rhythm and make consumers' car pick-up and experience smoother."

According to the plan, Fangcheng Bao will launch another medium-to-large hard-core SUV model, Bao 8, in the third quarter of this year to enrich its electric off-road products. At the same time, according to the "2+X" product plan, Fangcheng Bao will also launch sports cars and other models.

"The Chinese auto industry is experiencing a world of difference. On one hand, annual production and sales have exceeded 30 million vehicles, setting a record high, while on the other hand, 4S stores are withdrawing from the network on a large scale, with an average of 2,000 stores closing down each year. This is also the pain of price wars and industrial transformation, but the speed is still unacceptable to many investors." Cui Dongshu believes that after a round of price wars, automakers may re-evaluate their pricing strategies and seek a more stable profit model. At present, the fastest way to reduce inventory is to reduce production and stabilize the system. "After fierce competition in the first half of the year, the market may gradually form a new price balance point. The national promotion fee policy of exchanging old cars for new ones has a good pulling effect on the auto market. If the policy of deducting personal income tax from car purchases is implemented in the future, it should have a better effect."