news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

recently, multiple media reported that various bmw stores have seen price reductions of varying magnitudes on various models, with the biggest price cuts being electric vehicles, including ix1, i3, ix3, i7, etc., with price reductions ranging from 100,000 yuan to 300,000 yuan. no wait.

regarding whether it intends to return to the price war, bmw officially responded that it has not made any adjustments to the recommended retail price in the near future. in other words, this is more like a strategic compromise and adjustment made by authorized dealers based on market conditions.

in this regard, the outside world has also raised questions: from its proud withdrawal from the price war to rumors of its return to the price war, in less than three months, has bmw hit the bullseye with this boomerang or been forced to miss it?

withdrawing from the price war, bmw hits cotton hard

entering the second half of this year, bmw took the lead in saying "no" to price wars and implemented a "volume reduction and price guarantee" strategy to cope with store losses caused by price wars. first, after the annual wholesale sales task was reduced by 15% in june, it was further reduced by 15% in july, the rebate threshold was lowered, and financial penetration and secret procurement assessments were cancelled.

bmw's purpose is also very clear. on the one hand, it can give dealers more relaxed sales tasks to reduce the operating pressure of dealers; on the other hand, it can reduce the loss of reputation as much as possible and stabilize the luxury brand value established in the hearts of consumers.

bmw's aggressive move has attracted responses from other joint venture brands. there are rumors that after bmw proposed to withdraw from the price war, mercedes-benz and audi also followed suit. there is also news that many car companies, including volkswagen, toyota, honda, and volvo, have decided to adjust their terminal policies and reduce terminal discounts starting from july, that is, they will no longer participate in price wars.

it was originally thought that bmw's move to withdraw from the price war would trigger a chain reaction in the entire automobile market. the result is that each car company is still going its own way, and prices must be reduced when they should.

regardless of whether bmw has officially authorized dealers to cut prices, the return to price war ultimately affects final sales and has a huge impact.

comparing mercedes-benz and audi, bmw was indeed shut out in the past august. mercedes-benz sold 49,000 units in a single month, basically the same as last month; audi sold 47,900 units in a single month, a slight increase from the previous month; only bmw rarely ranked at the bottom, reaching 34,800 units, a sharp drop in both year-on-year and month-on-month sales, almost halved. .

you know, the timeline has even been stretched forward in the first half of this year, and bmw has always been the leader in the "bba" sales competition. the risk of falling behind this time has also put bmw in a dilemma, hesitating between maintaining value or maintaining sales. this also explains why bmw clearly does not care about price, but due to the current situation, it has to pass the "pot" to the dealers.

on the one hand, bmw's repeated price jumps have made consumers choose to wait and see, and the car buying experience has become increasingly conservative; on the other hand, fuel vehicles have failed to hold their existing positions, and electric vehicles have not been able to really stimulate sales. big flag.

in addition to the irreconcilability caused by its own factors, the entire automotive environment has also added fuel to bmw's fire. at the recent 2024 china automotive product quality performance research (aqr) results release and award ceremony, in view of the characteristics of the current chinese auto market, bao jiacheng, deputy director of the automotive market division of the ministry of information and industrial development of the national information center, particularly pointed out that in the face of insufficient demand despite the decline in consumer confidence, my country's passenger car market showed a relatively stable sales trend in the first eight months of this year.

the reason why china's passenger car market remains stable largely relies on policy subsidies, manufacturer price cuts and other means to stimulate the automobile consumer market.

when the entire chinese auto market is shrouded in an atmosphere of declining consumer demand and prevailing price wars, bmw's choice to withdraw from the price war at this time is obviously inappropriate and runs counter to the current market context.

bba's dilemma, break the situation first and break the price?

in fact, the contradictions and confusions that bmw is currently experiencing are a microcosm of the phenomenon that permeates the entire multinational company. the matthew effect in china's auto market is becoming more prominent, exacerbating the reshuffle of the entire industry.

according to statistics from the china association of automobile manufacturers, the sales volume of chinese brand passenger cars in august this year reached 1.46 million units, a year-on-year increase of 13%, and the market share reached 66.9%, an increase of 10.1 percentage points from the same period last year. from january to august, the cumulative sales of chinese brand passenger cars were 10.213 million units, a year-on-year increase of 20.4%, and the market share reached 53.2%, an increase of 9 percentage points.

in contrast, the cumulative sales and market share of joint venture brand passenger cars have declined to varying degrees. among them, german brands accounted for 15.4%, down 3.3 percentage points from the same period last year, american brands accounted for 11.5%, down 3 percentage points year-on-year, and japanese brands accounted for 6.9%, down 2.4 percentage points year-on-year.

when it comes to luxury brands, bba's advantages are also facing challenges. li auto released its latest weekly sales (9.16-9.22). the top five on the list are tesla, li auto, audi, mercedes-benz, and bmw.

faced with the rapid changes in the chinese automobile market, not only the joint venture brands are unable to sustain, but even the myth created by bba in the luxury automobile market is also being shattered.

based on this, how can the joint venture break through and return to the top? at the beginning of this year, xu changming, a senior economist at the national information center, reminded that joint venture brands must make major changes to continue to make a difference in the chinese market.

he made four suggestions: in the short term, we must dare to sacrifice profits to maintain share; we must define cars sold in china according to the needs of chinese consumers; we must strengthen local research and development in china and make full use of china’s resources in electrification and intelligence ( cooperation, shareholding, acquisition); adhere to the dual-line strategy of oil and electricity (volkswagen, toyota, honda, and bba must adhere to it).

of course, this does not mean that bmw, or even the entire bba, has collapsed. as a traditional car manufacturer that has lasted for nearly a century, its own luxury car market remains stable, and its brand premium capability is still online, whether looking globally or domestically.

it's just that for bmw, it's not difficult to stabilize value, but it's difficult to stabilize sales.