price cut
When the final payment is delivered, the car price is directly reduced by 8,000 yuan
reason
Some people think that it is to impact sales, and there are also speculations from the outside world to subsidize old car owners and make way for new models.
price drop
The price of raw materials has fallen, and the supply of automotive chips is still tight, which is difficult to appear in the short term
The price of two domestic Tesla models has been reduced in disguise?
A few days ago, Tesla (TSLA.US) China domestic post showed that all new, show cars and non-new domestically produced Model 3 and Model Y (not officially on the official website) delivered between September 16 and September 30. If you choose to buy Tesla in-store insurance, and the insurance types include compulsory traffic insurance and car damage insurance, you will receive an insurance subsidy of 8,000 yuan.
The subsidy method is to directly reduce the car price by 8,000 yuan when the final payment is delivered.
Subsequently, the relevant person in charge of Tesla China confirmed the news of the insurance subsidy of 8,000 yuan to the Red Star Capital Bureau.
Consumers who have tested a Tesla also said they have received a push from the salesperson.
In addition to this insurance subsidy, some areas also give 2,000-4,000 yuan of electricity subsidy, which can save up to 12,000 yuan.
It is understood that a number of new energy vehicle companies have recently launched terminal discounts, and prices of bulk commodities and chips have also been reduced.
As for the reason, an industry insider told the Red Star Capital Bureau that new energy car companies are giving terminal discounts to stimulate the sales of "used cars" and appease consumers because of the intensive release of new cars.
However, since it usually takes 2-3 months for raw materials to be transmitted downstream, the price of key lithium salts continues to be high, and the supply of automotive chips is still tight, it is difficult for new energy vehicles to see price cuts in the short term.
◆ Is the price cut in disguised form to impact sales? Tesla enters accelerated delivery period
Why did Tesla suddenly cut prices in disguise?
There is a view that this is to impact sales, and the production capacity increase of the Shanghai factory is sufficient to support it.
A Tesla salesperson wrote in this promotional copy, "in order to impact September deliveries."
According to data from the Passenger Federation, Tesla’s total sales in August reached 76,965 vehicles, of which 42,463 were exported and 34,502 were sold in the domestic market.
Model Y set a monthly sales record of 62,169 units in August, an increase of 295% month-on-month and a year-on-year increase of 261%.
From January to August this year, Tesla's Shanghai plant has completed the delivery of 399,939 vehicles, which is only more than 80,000 vehicles away from the 484,130 vehicles delivered in 2021.
In July, Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory completed the expansion, increasing its annual production capacity to 750,000 vehicles, which can provide about 20,000 vehicles per week.
With the support of huge production capacity, the delivery time of Tesla models has been greatly shortened.
This means that Tesla will enter an accelerated delivery period in the second half of the year.
The official website shows that the Model 3 rear-wheel drive version is priced at 279,900 yuan, the high-performance version is 367,900 yuan; the Model Y rear-wheel drive version is 316,900 yuan, the long-range version is 394,900 yuan, and the high-performance version is 417,900 yuan.
The lead time for the Model Y rear-wheel drive version is only 1-4 weeks.
Model 3 and other versions Model Y are 6-10 weeks or longer.
However, some Tesla salespersons said that there are currently a small number of existing models of Model 3 and Model Y with configuration.
◆ There are precedents for the industry to speculate that the end of the year or price cuts
There is also a view that after Tesla’s insurance subsidy activity, there will be an official price adjustment or a remodel, and this is precedent.
From June 11 to July 31 last year, Tesla launched an official car purchase discount. Domestic Tesla models delivered during this time period can enjoy "Tesla Cooperative Financial Institution/Financial Leasing Preferential Rate" or "Tesla". 7,000 yuan insurance subsidy for Latin American cooperation insurance institutions” (cannot be superimposed).
The former is a low-interest loan with a three-year loan interest of 6% and a five-year loan of 12%, which can save a maximum of about 22,000 yuan.
The latter requires that insurance must be purchased in the store, of which the third-party liability insurance must be more than 2 million yuan.
This has been speculated by the outside world to subsidize old car owners to make way for new models.
On July 8 last year, the standard battery life version of the Tesla Model Y was launched, priced at 276,000 yuan, a decrease of 71,900 yuan compared with the previous long-range version.
On July 30 last year, the price of the Tesla Model 3 standard battery life upgrade was reduced by 15,000 yuan, and the adjusted price was 235,900 yuan (this is the starting price after subsidies).
Tesla said that the price adjustment reflects the actual situation of cost fluctuations.
On Tesla's second-quarter earnings conference call this year, Musk said on the possibility of Tesla's price cuts, "I think inflation will come down by the end of the year, and hopefully at that time we can lower car prices a little bit." At the 2022 shareholder meeting in January, Musk once again stated that he may cut prices: "The price of commodities is falling, and my guess is that the peak of inflation has now been passed."
The increase in the annual production capacity of the Shanghai plant and the sharply shortened pickup cycle have also led the industry to predict that Tesla China will usher in a price cut around October.
Regarding the facelift, Tesla officials have refuted the rumor on August 23 that "Tesla is about to facelift" is a hype, and Chinese-made models currently have no plans to use any new models of batteries, including 4680 batteries.
◆ Will the price of new energy vehicles drop as the prices of raw materials and chips fall?
The price increase of new energy vehicles in the past two years is closely related to the rising prices of raw materials and chips.
On September 16, the mainstream domestic spot price of lithium hexafluorophosphate was 278,000 yuan/ton, and it climbed to 590,000 yuan/ton at the beginning of the year.
The price of nickel, the most important rare metal in ternary lithium batteries, continued to fall.
On September 16, the mainstream price of nickel in Shanghai was 195,840 yuan.
The March high reached 280,000 yuan.
The price of metal cobalt is also at a low level. On September 16, the average spot price of cobalt in the Yangtze River was 351,000 yuan/ton, while it was as high as 430,000 yuan/ton in June.
Prices of aluminium and copper, the bellwethers of manufacturing, also fell.
The main force of Shanghai aluminum dropped from 24,000 yuan in March to 18,900 yuan on September 16.
The main Shanghai copper fell to 62,800 yuan from 75,000 yuan in April.
However, the price of lithium salt once again stood at the 500,000 yuan mark.
On September 16, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate was 502,500 yuan / ton, and the price of lithium hydroxide exceeded 480,000 yuan / ton.
Since August, some chip prices have "avalanche", with a drop of 80%-90%.
According to industry insiders, it will take 2-3 months for commodity price changes to be transmitted downstream, and factors such as long-term associations must also be considered.
The price of the most critical lithium salt is firm in the short term, and the industry expects that lithium carbonate will remain at a high level this year, continuing to raise downstream costs, and car companies are still under pressure.
In addition, the supply of automotive chips is still tight, and the price cuts are mainly for chips in the consumer electronics sector.
"It is difficult for new energy vehicles to see price cuts in a short period of time."
But recently, many new energy vehicle companies have launched terminal discounts.
Some models including Xiaopeng Motors (09868.HK/XPEV.US), Ideal Motors (02015.HK/LI.US), and Weilai are all discounted.
However, this may also be related to the intensive listing of new cars.
The Xiaopeng G9 will be launched on September 21, the Ideal L9 has just been launched at the end of June, the L8 will be launched in November, and the Ideal ONE will be discontinued.
The NIO ES7 will be delivered at the end of August, the ET5 will be delivered at the end of September, and the pickup time of the ET7 will be as long as 7 months.
The above-mentioned industry insiders said, "These terminal discounts are intended to stimulate the sales of 'used cars' and appease consumer sentiment, and have little to do with cost."
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter Wu Danruo