Tesla showroom (Tesla) displays logos and electric vehicles, including 3 and Y models, including in Chongqing, China on January 12, 2025.
Cheng Xin |Getty Images
Chinese electric car companies welcomed the Year of the Snake with a large number of consumer incentives after major automakers reported a decline in delivery early in the year.
Liz Lee, deputy director of Counterpoint Research, said the softness of China’s consumption indicators has raised concerns that automakers may not be able to sell their accumulated car inventory. “So during the Lunar New Year holiday… they just started (these) aggressive promotions. Let’s see it will continue.”
The Lunar New Year holiday is held in mainland China from January 28 to February 4 this year, ushering in the twelve Chinese zodiac signs of snake agriculture. In January, Beijing said it had issued 81 billion yuan ($1.12 billion) Supports electric vehiclesSmartphones and household appliances during extended holidays.
Wednesday, the official working day after the first festival, Tesla Announce RMB 8,000 Insurance subsidies and five-year interest financing plan for cheapest cars, Model 3. This reduces the overall price of the base version by nearly $1,100 0% of the financing plan. Customers with lower down payments will charge interest.
Tesla announced in January The same five-year interest-free plan new model y For China, delivery will begin in March. The U.S. automaker says its sales in China Set a record last yearbut warn Competitive pressure.
Chinese startups xpeng Wednesday Cancel the down payment It offers a five-year interest-free financing agreement for four models at the same time, and highlights it in the social media tag that it is the only automaker that offers zero down payments as well as 0% interest. Xpeng has abandoned one of the cars, the down payment for the G6 SUV in its December sales deal.
Neo Announced on February 1 Five-year, 0% interest plan In January, its total vehicle sales fell to 13,863 units a month, down from 31,138 last month.
The new promotion is progressing from the company’s three-year 0% interest rate loan program launched in January. competitor Li Che It was also announced in November Three-year 0% interest plan.
The latest incentives are “important” and are “a way to not drop prices,” said Stephen Dyer, partner and managing director of consulting firm Alixpartners. Dyer is also responsible for the company’s Asian automotive and industrial practices.
He warned that unlike North American consumers, Chinese consumers tend not to lower their car prices and would rather wait for further discounts.
Amid some seasonal pressures, several major Chinese electric vehicle companies reported sharp declines in domestic delivery in January and December. Even the biggest player, Bitfrom December in January, passenger car sales fell to 296,446 units in January. Analysts Predicting slow growth in the industry After a rapid expansion in the past few years.
“There’s a little shake now,” Dell said. “I won’t be surprised as the number continues to bear the pressure, and the shock this year is even greater.”
Challenging foreign brands
Slow down Enhance competition in the world’s largest automobile marketwhere local players cut prices and traditions Foreign brands struggle The adaptive country quickly transfers to new energy vehicles. The category includes the only battery and hybrid cars, now occupying More than half of the new passenger cars sold in China.
According to Counterpoint’s forecast, the share of new energy vehicles in China’s passenger car market may only grow – 86% by 2035.
Lee hopes more international brands will soon launch their own incentives for Chinese car buyers. But she expects the promotion to last only one or two months overall, and the ultimate survivor will become local brands.
Dell said 20 new energy license plates stopped operating in China last year, while 13 entered the market, resulting in a net decline of seven brands, noting that most new entrants and new participants closed were China-European-born companies . He hopes that “the American automakers may be the next one.”
The challenge is not only in China.
Ford won China $600 million Last year, it was announced on Wednesday that its regional head would now also lead the International Market Group. CEO Jim Farley said in a statement Global success “also requires leveraging our Chinese export business and successfully expanding actively in these markets with Chinese automakers.”