The delivery period is prolonged, the discount on car purchases is reduced, and some models need to increase the price of the car——

Why is the prospective car owner "difficult to pick up the car"?

  With the Spring Festival approaching, many families want to buy a new car for the New Year.

However, after the model has been selected and the funds and procedures are in place, consumers in many places have found it difficult to pick up the car.

The delivery time is delayed again and again, the price is increased or the configuration is reduced to pick up the car, and the discount margin is reduced... It adds to the troubles for prospective car owners.

  What are the reasons behind the "difficulty in picking up the car"?

When can I get relief?

How to open up the industrial chain and supply chain, so that the automobile consumer market will become prosperous in production and sales in the new year?

This reporter conducted an interview.

  Easy to book, hard to pick up

  "I didn't expect it to be so difficult to pick up a car now!" Beijing car owner Qin Yinsheng had signed a car purchase contract for a high-end brand new energy car before New Year's Day, but the car could not be driven.

"The salesperson told me that if you buy a car in December, you must wait until the end of the year to pick up the car. If you want to get the priority of picking up the car, you need to add tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan for different models. Driving a new car during the Chinese New Year is not expected. up."

  It’s easy to order a car, it’s difficult to pick up a car, and if you don’t want to wait for more, you have to increase the price – many consumers feel obvious.

  Some have to bear higher car purchase costs.

Some car owners have complained that in the past few years, the car has generally reduced prices and more discounts. Now, because it is difficult to pick up the car, the dealers not only have no discounts, but the slightly more popular models will increase the price.

  Some have postponed their car purchase plans.

Ms. Zhou, the owner of the Beijing car, has been driving her car for more than 10 years and plans to change to a new car recently.

"The age of the old car is long, and there have been many minor problems for more than a year. I want to buy an imported car. After the family has selected the model, they went to the 4S store to ask, and said that if they want to pre-empt the car, they have to increase the price, and after the price increase You also have to queue up among the car buyers who have increased the price, and there is no guarantee that you will be able to pick up the car soon." She simply gave up the idea of ​​changing the car, "Let's talk about it when the car is normal."

  The reporter visited the 4S stores of many auto brands in Beijing and found that "it is difficult to pick up a car" to varying degrees. Among them, high-end brands of new energy vehicles, new high-end models of some brands, and SUVs are relatively in short supply, and they often need to wait or increase the price. Buy.

A staff member of a 4S store in Chaoyang District, Beijing told reporters, "If you want to buy a car, you can't even mention the car. The fastest time for each model is 8 to 12 weeks. See more and buy less." Consumers think that dealers are not good enough, and even suspect that they are engaging in "hunger marketing", but dealers generally report that they are not satisfied with the current car, which not only affects consumers, but also affects car companies and dealerships. business revenue.

  Industry insiders pointed out that the end of the year and the beginning of the year are usually the peak season for car purchases. However, due to factors such as the recent "difficulty in picking up cars" and the weakening of dealers' promotion efforts, the performance of auto consumption is generally average. According to data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, the auto consumption index in December 2021 is 71.4, of which the store entry sub-index was 81.3, a slight increase from the previous month; the demand sub-index and purchase sub-index dropped to 78.6 and 82.7 respectively.

  Chip shortages, logistical delays

  What are the blocking points that make it difficult for consumers to pick up a car?

  Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said in an interview with this reporter that since the second half of 2021, the global supply of chips has been tight, and the prices of key raw materials for new energy batteries such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium have risen sharply. The main reasons for the poor supply chain in the market and the prolonged delivery cycle.

  A staff member of a 4S store of a new energy vehicle brand told reporters that in the past year, the shortage of chips and insufficient supply of power batteries have been restricting the progress of new car pickup.

"Although the problem of 'core shortage' has been significantly improved recently, the production capacity of other parts and components has been greatly affected by the increase in raw material prices and the international epidemic, which has added variables to the car booking cycle. In addition, as the Chinese New Year is approaching, there are more consumers who want to pick up their cars as soon as possible. The problem of difficulty for consumers to pick up a car is more prominent.”

  "In addition to 'lack of cores', the price of shipping has fluctuated dramatically in the past year, the cost of shipping is high, and containers are 'hard to find', etc., which also have a negative impact on the import and export of complete vehicles and parts." Xu Haidong said that in the impact of the epidemic However, logistics problems such as rising global shipping prices and container shortages have further extended the delivery cycle of new vehicles.

In addition, some imported car production bases have been severely affected by the epidemic, production capacity has not been effectively restored, and the supply of corresponding models cannot keep up with demand.

According to incomplete statistics from relevant agencies, in 2021, the average pickup time of imported brand cars will be delayed to varying degrees, most of which will be delayed by more than 3 months than other years.

  In this context, some manufacturers and dealers have adopted the methods of raising the price of the car, reducing the discount or even lowering the configuration. Consumers "pay the bill" for this, and even play up anxiety, etc., so that consumers have unnecessary concerns about the future price of the car market. Nervous mood, more and more expecting to pick up the car as soon as possible, aggravating the contradiction between supply and demand.

Xu Haidong said that some mid-to-high-end brands, especially the dealers of imported brands, require consumers to "raise the price of the car", and some new energy car companies use financial subsidies as a gimmick for marketing promotion. These behaviors also lead to market disorder to a certain extent. The difficulty for consumers to pick up the car.

  “目前不少消费者的心态还属于‘追涨不追跌’。厂商越是提价,经销商越是渲染焦虑,消费者就越是急切。一些原本不急于购车、正在等待观望的消费者也入市抢购,造成供给与需求之间进一步脱节。”许海东说。

  供应正逐步改善

  尽管面临消费者提车难、原材料涨价、芯片短缺等短期问题,中国汽车市场长期总体向好局面没有变。

  工业和信息化部数据显示,2021年中国汽车产销分别完成2608.2万辆和2627.5万辆,同比分别增长3.4%和3.8%,结束了连续3年的下降趋势,为中国工业经济持续恢复发展贡献了重要力量。

  针对汽车芯片短缺的问题,工业和信息化部部长肖亚庆近日表示,将着力打通重点产品供给“堵点”“卡点”,集中力量解决汽车等领域芯片短缺问题,畅通关键零部件供应渠道。工信部明确,将全力以赴维护汽车工业平稳健康运行,加大力度推动新能源汽车和智能网联企业发展,提高产业链供应链稳定性和竞争力。国家发展改革委国民经济综合司司长袁达介绍,2021年全国集成电路产量较上年增长33.3%,汽车芯片供应正逐渐加大。业内人士认为,供应链“强筋健骨”,芯片产量稳步增长,将为新车交付提供坚强保障。

  去年以来,有关部门多次出台政策鼓励汽车消费。下一步,如何改善汽车供给,推动市场平稳运行和行业健康发展?

  一方面,要做好市场监管。许海东表示,部分车企不合理的营销和竞价策略不仅影响到消费者权益,也压缩了车企自身利润空间。“要切实维护市场秩序,加强对厂家和经销商的管理,防止个别从业者利用原材料短缺、政策环境变化等向消费者散布焦虑情绪、大搞‘加价提车’等行为,从而保障好消费者权益。”许海东说。

  On the other hand, to continue to stabilize and expand automobile consumption requires a "combination punch" of policy support.

Xu Haidong said that first of all, we should ensure supply and stable prices, ensure a smooth supply chain, and let consumers who want to buy a car go smoothly. At the same time, he encourages car companies to develop more models suitable for different consumer groups in China to attract potential consumers By.

In addition, continue to promote the management of automobile consumption from purchase management to use management, and effectively solve the problems faced by consumers in the process of use, such as difficulty in charging and parking, by introducing corresponding supporting measures to promote automobile consumption.

"In this way, consumers will be more willing to buy and use cars."

  In 2022, are the supply and demand ends of the auto market expected to enter an upward channel?

  The China Automobile Dealers Association believes that the recovery of China's auto market in 2021 will exceed expectations, conveying to the society the hope and confidence that the market has bottomed out and entered an upward channel.

With the continuous improvement of the supply of raw materials and the effective prevention and control of the domestic epidemic, the Chinese auto market will show a good momentum of recovery and development.

  "In the first half of 2022, the tight balance between supply and demand in the global chip market may continue for some time. In the second half of the year, as the production capacity of global chip companies recovers and the process of localization of chips accelerates, the problem of 'chip shortage' will be effectively alleviated. At the same time, , to see that there are still many consumers who are still waiting or waiting to pick up the car, this part of the demand that has been suppressed by the lack of supply will be released in the next few months. Overall, the prospect of both production and sales in the auto consumer market this year can be expected. ." Xu Haidong said.

  (Reporter Wang Wenzheng of this newspaper)