China’s EV price war to hot up as carmakers respond to BYD’s discounts and apply more pressure on petrol vehicle industry
- SAIC-GM-Wuling, Changan Automobile and Hozon New Energy Automobile have this week cut prices of budget models
- Development follows BYD’s move to offer an electric car priced below 100,000 yuan to take on best-selling petrol cars
Three carmakers, including a General Motor’s (GM) venture, have priced their electric vehicles (EVs) below the 100,000 yuan (US$13,894) threshold in China, firing the first salvo in a price war that could reshape the country’s automotive sector.
“It is a critical year for new-energy vehicle companies in 2024 because of harsh competition,” said Cui Dongshu, general secretary of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). “Most car assemblers are set to offer discounts and engage in price wars to retain market share.”
On Monday, SAIC-GM-Wuling marked down the price of its Xingguang hybrid sedan by 6,000 yuan to 99,800 yuan, Changan slashed the price of its Qiyuan Q05 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) by 12,000 yuan to 73,900 yuan while Hozon discounted its Neta X SUV by 22,000 yuan to 99,800 yuan.
These reductions followed a move by BYD last weekend to offer an electric car priced below 100,000 yuan to take on best-selling petrol cars, such as Volkswagen’s Lavida and Toyota’s Corolla.
“Lower battery costs have enabled electric car makers to adopt pricing strategies that enable them to compete with petrol car manufacturers,” said Zhao Zhen, a sales director with Shanghai-based dealer Wan Zhuo Auto.
