Chinese carmakers to slow down new luxury EV releases due to weak demand: analysts
Analysts believe things will slow down next year in the luxury EV market due to weak demand and dwindling troves of cash
After the initial success of China’s electric vehicle (EV) makers in capturing share in the high-end market that was once dominated by BMW and Mercedes-Benz, analysts expect sales of premium models to slow down next year, owing to weak demand and dwindling troves of cash.
On Thursday, Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automotive, an EV venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz, launched the 2025 version of its D9, a luxury multipurpose vehicle (MPV), in Shenzhen.
The model, equipped with BYD’s BAS 3.0+ advanced driving assistance system, is available in five plug-in hybrid variants and three battery EV variants. It is priced from 339,800 yuan (US$46,555) to 469,800 yuan. Denza says it has sold more than 300,000 D9s since the model was launched in 2022.
But data from China’s leading automotive website, Autohome, showed that monthly D9 sales declined in July, August and September from a year earlier. BYD’s third-quarter earnings report showed that Denza’s overall sales fell by 14 per cent from the quarter before.
“I think automakers will slow down their launches of new premium models in 2025 and focus on upgrading their existing models,” said Phate Zhang, founder of Shanghai-based electric-car data provider CnEVPost.
“This market segment is not easy to expand. Coupled with the overall slowdown in the EV market, sales of high-end EV models have faced considerable challenges this year.”
The premium EV segment priced over 200,000 and 300,000 yuan has been a battleground for Chinese carmakers looking to upgrade their brand images and expand their customer bases.
