The price war among car companies is crazy! Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and BYD join the battle group, is it to clear the inventory or to make a real profit?

　　With Dongfeng Motor's sharp price cuts in Hubei Province, it became an instant hit, and the promotional activities and price reduction information of major car companies came overwhelming.

　　Recently, Dongfeng Honda, Dongfeng Fengshen, Dongfeng Nissan, Lantu, Dongfeng Peugeot, Dongfeng Citroen, Dongfeng Fukang and other seven auto brands under Dongfeng launched limited-time price reduction activities in Hubei.

　　Just as netizens said, "There are no inappropriate products, only inappropriate prices." Dongfeng Citroen C6, whose bare car price has dropped from 210,000 yuan to 120,000 yuan, has turned into a star from no one cares about it.

A large number of consumers rushed to buy, causing Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen 4S stores to persuade customers to place orders. Other car brands and their dealers are also unable to sit still.

　　Recently, many joint venture brands and self-owned brands of FAW, Dongfeng, SAIC, and Changan have directly announced price cuts, or offered unprecedented discounts from dealers. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Great Wall, Geely, BYD, etc. have also participated Among them, according to the incomplete statistics of The Paper, there are no less than 40 car brands that are cutting prices.

　　On the evening of March 9th, BYD Auto officially announced that from March 10th to March 31st, 2023, a special limited-time marketing campaign will be launched. If you place an order for the Song PLUS car series, you can enjoy 88 yuan to deduct 6888 yuan for the purchase of the car. You can enjoy 88 yuan to deduct 8888 yuan for the car purchase.

This move is equivalent to a direct price reduction of 6,800 yuan and 8,800 yuan for the two popular models.

The traditional car brands are in chaos, and the decline starts at 10,000 yuan

　　After Dongfeng Motor's Hubei sales exploded, some car brands chose to fight price wars in Dongfeng Motor's "old nest".

　　SAIC-GM Buick has also joined the subsidy army of the Hubei provincial government. Buick’s government-enterprise joint subsidy discount is up to 70,000 yuan. Its Regal, LaCrosse, Envision Plus, Envision S, Angke Qi and other models all enjoy subsidies qualifications.

In addition, Buick also launched 499 yuan full commercial insurance and other subsidy benefits.

　　SAIC Roewe also launched a government-enterprise joint subsidy in Hubei Province, with a maximum subsidy of 50,000 yuan, covering several main models such as the Roewe i5, Roewe RX5, and Roewe RX8.

　　SAIC Volkswagen also launched a special subsidy for the Hubei region, covering nearly ten models including Huiang, Passat, and ID.6. After the subsidy, the comprehensive discount ranges from 25,000 to 70,000 yuan.

　　SAIC-GM Chevrolet announced a nationwide subsidy campaign for all models, with discounts as high as 70,000 yuan. Best-selling models including Malibao and Cruze also have a reduction ranging from 25,000 to 50,000 yuan.

　　While fuel vehicles are the mainstay, electric vehicles are also included in this frenzy of price cuts.

In addition to Volkswagen’s subsidy for ID.6, Mustang Mach-E, Ford’s pure electric brand, announced that all models on sale will be cleared and the price will be reduced by 40,000 yuan. The promotion will last until April 30. The price ranges from 209,900 to 329,900 yuan.

　　In fact, before Dongfeng Motor's price cuts stabbed the hornet's nest, FAW had already launched a subsidy activity of 150 million yuan.

　　Starting from March 1, China FAW has launched the "Flag Benefit Jilin - 100 million yuan time-limited subsidy for the people" campaign for consumers in Jilin Province.

The subsidy covers all self-owned and joint venture brands of passenger cars and light trucks under China FAW, including Hongqi, Jiefang, Bestune, FAW-Volkswagen, FAW Audi, FAW Toyota, Jetta, etc.

The total subsidy is 150 million yuan, and the maximum amount of bicycle subsidy is 37,000 yuan.

　　At the same time, at the Qingdao International Auto Show, which opened on March 1, all major auto brands launched vigorous promotional activities, such as Audi A4L with a maximum discount of 72,000 yuan, Mercedes-Benz C-Class with a maximum discount of 63,000 yuan, Buick, Volkswagen , FAW Toyota, GAC Honda, Beijing Hyundai, Kia and many other car companies have also offered discounts of tens of thousands of yuan for some models.

Car companies "turn the table", the core is publicity

　　Facing the overwhelming price reduction posters, some car company insiders analyzed to The Paper reporter, "This is for publicity, and the effect is more direct than spending tens of millions of dollars on an advertisement, and there is Dongfeng who takes the lead in playing cards that do not follow common sense. , so we are not afraid of affecting the so-called brand image, let’s turn the table together.”

　　In fact, there are many people in the industry who think that most of the car companies’ price cuts are to bring the original discounts to the surface. Take Dongfeng, which took the lead in price cuts this time, as an example. Because Dongfeng Citroen Versailles is a new popular model, there is no discount. In Hubei Province, where the price war is in full swing, the Versailles model is not included in the price reduction.

　　Another example is the news of "Mercedes-Benz's price reduction of 110,000 yuan" flooding the major social platforms in the past two days. However, The Paper learned from dealers in Shanghai and Beijing that there were no such big discounts in the store, and one of the salespersons even Expressing "impossible", he said that even though many models in the store have a discount of about 50,000 yuan, they need to register in the store, buy insurance, renew the insurance, etc. The landing price of the vehicle is "cheaper but limited" than before.

　　The decline of BMW, which is also a mainstream luxury car brand, in online rumors is even more exaggerated. The guide price of BMW i3 is 353,900 to 413,900. I understand that the bare car price of this model in the Shanghai store is as low as 250,000 yuan, and it is also necessary to apply for loans and insurance in the store.

In addition, it is worth noting that the BMW i3 is not recognized by the market due to the "oil-to-electricity" change. The dealer has been selling it at a bare car price of about 25% off since the end of last year. The recent 100,000 yuan drop is not the same as before. There is a huge disparity.

　　In response to Dongfeng's big price cut that has attracted much attention this time, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Passenger Passenger Association, commented that its core role is the current publicity effect, "Because objectively speaking, if there is no particularly strong publicity, or there is no special If there is an eye-catching promotion, consumers may not pay enough attention, and the enthusiasm for promoting consumption cannot be effectively released."

　　He believes that this activity has a demonstration effect, and it will radiate to surrounding areas in the short term, forming a diffusion effect on the surrounding area. "It has achieved such a large degree of attention, and it has been proved to be effective, and other provinces are likely to follow suit." At the same time, he In particular, the radiation effect of the event is that the models that the attracted consumers will eventually buy may not be promotional models.

　　Sales figures also prove the enormous appeal of such promotions.

According to news from the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, Dongfeng Honda’s 25 franchised stores in Hubei Province reached a total of 1,469 orders in five days, with an average of 294 vehicles per day, an increase of 359% from February.

The major 4S stores of Dongfeng Passenger Vehicles also reached orders for 275 vehicles, an increase of 186.5% compared with February.

The average daily order volume of Shenlong Automobile has increased by 984%, and the sales volume has increased significantly.

This year's auto market "opened the door black", price wars became the main theme

　　With the participation of more and more auto companies, the "price war" that was originally hidden in the dark has become the main tone of this year's auto market.

　　According to data from the Passenger Federation, the retail sales of China's passenger car market in February this year were 1.389 million units, a year-on-year increase of 10.3% and a month-on-month increase of 7.4%.

According to the Federation of Passengers Travel Association, this is actually based on the growth of the low base effect. The same period last year coincided with the Spring Festival, and sales were already low. In January this year, sales were extremely sluggish due to reasons such as the Spring Festival holiday and policy retreat.

　　Data show that from January to February this year, the cumulative sales of passenger vehicles were 2.678 million, a year-on-year decrease of 19.8%.

Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Federation of Passenger Passengers, also bluntly stated that this year did not have the expected "good start".

　　According to changes in the relationship between supply and demand, price reduction is a choice that car companies or dealers have to make.

In fact, since the beginning of this year, the daily discounts of various car brands have been much higher than in previous years. It is not uncommon for dealers to see 30% off Audi and Cadillac.

On the one hand, consumers are holding money to buy due to the economic situation. On the other hand, last year’s policy of halving the purchase tax of fuel vehicles and the new energy state subsidy policy have driven early consumption, resulting in shrinking sales in the early days of policy withdrawal.

　　Zhang Xiang, dean of the New Energy Vehicle Technology Research Institute of Jiangxi New Energy Technology Vocational College, told The Paper that price cuts are undoubtedly a recent trend. "The auto industry has overcapacity, and many car companies sell less than 10,000 vehicles. There is no way to maintain the production line. Therefore, in order to maintain the operation of the factory, it is necessary to reduce prices to increase orders. This is a common method used by second- and third-tier car companies and some small car companies. Because if a car company shuts down for a long time, the supply chain will also be slow. A slow break means business failure."

　　In addition, starting from July 1 this year, the national standard sixth phase B emission standard known as "the most stringent emission standard in the world" began to be fully implemented. Under this pressure, auto companies need to clear out the inventory that does not meet the standard .

　　In addition, more and more people in the industry have suggested that car companies blindly follow the trend and cut prices, which may bring about the result of "killing one thousand enemies and self-defeating eight hundred".

　　Zhang Xiang analyzed, "From the consumer's point of view, most of the products of the current car companies that have reduced prices are concentrated at around 150,000 yuan, and they are all economical models. For rigid needs, consumers definitely want to fully enjoy the benefits, the cheaper the better, so the more the price is reduced, the more they wait and see, which is a common psychology.”