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"In recent years, the price of cars has continued to rise. The average price in 2019 was 142,000 yuan, the average price in 2020 was 153,000 yuan, the average price this year was 179,000 yuan, and the average price in July was 182,000 yuan." On August 13, the latest data released by Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association, attracted attention. Some netizens have raised questions, the price war in the auto market has lasted for a year, but car prices are getting more expensive as they fall?

Recently, when the reporter of Daily Economic News visited several car stores, he was also told that the current discounts may be adjusted. "Take ES6 as an example. The current price discount policy for buying a car is 31,000 yuan. It may be adjusted by the end of August, and it should be adjusted to 21,000 yuan starting in September." An employee of a Weilai store in Beijing told reporters. In addition, the current discount policies of several brands such as Ideal and Leapmotor have also been adjusted.

Regarding the adjustment of discounts by many brands, Anyang, an automotive industry practitioner, told reporters that the sales of the automotive market follow a cyclical pattern. Relatively speaking, the discounts will shrink in the third quarter of each year, and it is expected that the discount policies will change during the peak sales season in the fourth quarter.

Many car companies adjust their preferential policies

"Last week, the ES6 car purchase discount was still 33,000 yuan, but this week it became 31,000 yuan." On August 12, the aforementioned NIO employee told reporters, "We understand that there may be a change in the (discount) policy on (August) 25, but the specific content is not clear yet." On August 11, NIO's 10,000 yuan cash car purchase discount policy had just been reduced.

On the same day, a salesperson at an Ideal store in Beijing also said: "At the beginning of the year, the old models were being cleared out and the discounts were relatively large. Now only the L6 model of the Ideal has a cash discount." The employee said that the discount of a 5,000 yuan deposit to offset a 10,000 yuan purchase price for this model is only a policy for orders placed before 24:00 on August 13.

According to incomplete statistics from reporters, Zhiji, Feifan, and Leapmotor have all adjusted their prices. Taking Leapmotor as an example, its publicized car purchase rights in August have also changed. For example, for the C10 model, if a deposit of 5,000 yuan is paid, the car purchase rights for this model in August include national subsidies, replacement, financial gifts, and optional gifts. In July, the car purchase rights for C10 include financial gifts, full-package gifts, replacement gifts, and additional purchase gifts. Some rights have been adjusted or cancelled.

However, the aforementioned Weilai employee told the reporter that the car sales policy discounts change every month. In the index season, they tend to offer cash discounts, while in the off-season, they tend to offer battery replacement coupons or car purchase gifts. The employee said: "From the perspective of the Beijing market, May, June and July belong to the license plate index season. When the index is down, there will be an increase in market sales."

In May, the reporter learned from a NIO store that car buyers at that time could enjoy a 5,000 yuan discount on the car, an official 10,000 yuan discount on replacement subsidies, a 10,000 yuan Beijing quota purchase discount, a special auto show discount of over 6,000 yuan on the car, and a bass plan that gave away 60 75-degree battery coupons or 100 100-degree battery free battery replacement coupons.

The "price war" may slow down in the second half of the year

In fact, in June 2024, the pricing strategy of some luxury and independent brands was still focused on "price reduction". In just two months, the pricing strategy of some car companies has changed to a callback of preferential policies.

Not long ago, the prices of many BBA (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi) models sold in China have been adjusted to varying degrees. Recently, when the reporter visited a BMW car sales store in Fengtai District, Beijing as a consumer, he learned that the current bare car price of the BMW 3 Series 325 long-axis sports version is about 244,000 yuan in installments. It is reported that the bare car price of this model was slightly lower than this price at the end of July.

The price and rights changes of the aforementioned automakers have attracted attention from many parties. Is the "price war" in the auto market going to stop temporarily?

"Compared to last year's policy, the current discount is still quite large." The aforementioned NIO employee told the reporter that although the current cash discount for car purchases has been reduced, there are subsidies in terms of battery swap coupons and points for car purchases. The employee said, "Last week (NIO) gave away 20 battery swap coupons for car purchases, and this week it gave away 36 battery swap coupons. The preferential policies are different."

The reporter also learned from the aforementioned BMW store that, taking the aforementioned BMW 3 Series 325 model as an example, the store salesperson told the reporter that the previous low-end version of this model was priced at around 300,000 yuan, and now with the Fengtai District car purchase subsidies, the price is about 280,000 yuan. The person said: "The current discount for BMW models is still relatively large."

In addition, the reporter also noticed that the preferential policies of Xiaomi, Avita, SAIC Volkswagen and other brands are either continued or increased. For example, SAIC Volkswagen announced in early August that the ID.3 smart version and ID.4 X smart version would be reduced by up to 60,000 yuan, and there would be a 5,088 yuan car computer gift.

Anyang told reporters: "If there are no major external policy factors, the price war (in the auto market) will last at least 3 to 5 years. Now each brand has to fight for life and death and determine the winner. The elimination round will start in 2023."

Cui Dongshu believes that the price war may slow down in the second half of 2024. After the fierce competition in the first half of the year, the market may gradually form a new price balance point. "The continued loss of each vehicle by car companies is not a long-term solution. After a round of price wars, car companies 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." Cui Dongshu said.

Daily Economic News