Just now, Tesla's official Weibo account announced that the current limited time insurance subsidy for the Model 3/Y rear wheel drive version is 8000 yuan, with benefits; The Model 3/Y series of current vehicles have designated paint benefits for a limited time, with a maximum saving of 10000 yuan; The current model 3/Y rear wheel drive version has a limited time and low interest financial policy, with an annual fee rate as low as 1.99%. The maximum cost savings for the model Y are about 16600 yuan.
Tesla's official Weibo account stated that by the end of March, if you choose Model 3/Y, you can enjoy a maximum discount of 34600 yuan.
Tesla Official Weibo
On January 12th, Tesla announced on its official Weibo account that the price of the updated Tesla Model 3 rear wheel drive has been reduced by 15500 yuan from 259900 yuan to 245900 yuan; The price of the Model 3 Long Range Renewal has been reduced by 11500 yuan to 285900 yuan. However, at the same time, Tesla has also cancelled its previous insurance subsidy and 1.99% low interest loan plan for the Model 3.
Tesla Official Weibo
In the Chinese market, Tesla has repeatedly announced price reductions in the short term after introducing insurance subsidies and other preferential policies.
In September 2022, Tesla announced that for car owners who completed the pick-up process from September 16th to September 30th, Tesla will provide an insurance subsidy of 8000 yuan, which can be directly used to reduce the car price. Less than a month after the end of insurance subsidies, on October 24th, Tesla suddenly announced a price reduction for all domestic models, ranging from 14000 to 37000 yuan.
On January 1, 2023, Tesla launched a New Year's limited time benefit, which means that between January 1 and February 28, orders for Model 3 and Model Y delivered can enjoy a limited time delivery incentive of 6000 yuan; If you purchase the corresponding car insurance through Tesla's cooperative insurance agency, you can also enjoy an insurance subsidy of 4000 yuan.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated on October 18, 2023 during a Q3 earnings conference call that Tesla will continue to strive to lower the prices of its cars.
He said, "I am concerned about the high interest rate environment we are in. Car buyers are concerned about how much money they have to pay back each month. If interest rates remain high, or even higher, it will be much more difficult for people to buy cars."
"The importance of cost cannot be overemphasized... We must make our products more affordable so that people can afford them. Reducing the cost of Tesla cars is like a 'game of power, just a few cents'," he added.
Like Musk, Tesla's CFO and Chief Accounting Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, also emphasized that the company will "unwaveringly" pursue further cost reduction in 2024, which involves engineering and factory operations.
On February 8, 2024, the Joint Conference on Passenger Car Market Information released data showing that Tesla's sales in the Chinese market reached 71400 units in January this year, a year-on-year increase of 8%. Among them, the Model 3 delivered 29500 units, a year-on-year increase of 18%, becoming the champion of luxury sedan delivery in January; The Model Y delivered 41800 vehicles, becoming the champion of luxury vehicle delivery in January.
Tesla's 2023 financial report shows that its annual profit has declined for the first time since 2017, with a 40% drop in fourth quarter profits. Both revenue and earnings per share fell short of expectations, and its stock price plummeted by 5% after hours. In 2023, Tesla's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were $16.6 billion, a 13% decrease from $19.2 billion in 2022.
As of February 29th local time, Tesla (TSLA) reported $201.88, a decrease of 0.08%, with a market value of $642.95 billion.
BYD stirs up a "price war" among car companies in 2024
At the beginning of the new year, the price war between car brands has once again begun. On February 19th, BYD (002594. SZ, stock price of 193.7 yuan, market value of 563.9 billion yuan) announced that the starting prices of two new models, the Qin PLUS Honor Edition and the Destroyer 05 Honor Edition, are both 79800 yuan. Among them, the Qin PLUS DM-i Honor Edition is 20000 yuan cheaper than the previous Champion Edition.
On the same day, multiple car brands including Wuling, Changan Automobile, Nezha Automobile, Beijing Hyundai, SAIC General Motors, and Buick successively announced price reductions for multiple models. In the following days, the "price reduction trend" continued to ferment. Changan Mazda, Cadillac, Jike and other brands have all announced relevant car purchase discounts.
Why did BYD choose to lower the starting price of the brand's "Qin" new product to "7" when one stone stirred up thousands of waves? How will this affect BYD's brand image? Why would it cause a series of chain reactions within the industry? Regarding this, the Brand Value Research Institute interviewed Professor Chen Ming, Director of the Marketing Department at the School of Business Administration of South China University of Technology, and renowned brand expert and founding partner of Zhansheng Communication, Pang Rui.
Chen Ming believes that as a leading brand in the new energy vehicle industry, BYD needs to quickly seize the opportunity in the face of emerging markets with huge consumption potential. As market participants continue to increase, the industry needs to reshuffle to establish a new competitive landscape, and this price war is bound to be a protracted one.
Pang Rui stated that BYD, which currently has mid to high end brands, has a sufficiently diversified user base, and the price reduction of a single model is unlikely to have a significant impact on its overall brand.
"This price war is bound to be a protracted one, competing for a company's product strength, production capacity, and technological reserves, and of course, relying more on the company's control over the entire supply chain." Chen Ming believes that "this is a strategic action that requires the entire industry to be highly vigilant and responsive. For other car companies, if they do not follow up in a timely manner, they may lose valuable strategic opportunities and even face the risk of being eliminated."
Continue to lower prices, continue to roll up
With the rapid increase in market penetration rate of new energy vehicles and the decrease in battery and vehicle manufacturing costs, new energy vehicles have more profit margins, and terminal price reductions are not uncommon.
"The 2024 model of the Ideal L series will be delivered in March this year, mainly as a discount for the 2023 model, with a price reduction range of 33000 to 35000 yuan," said a salesperson at a Beijing based Ideal Auto dealership. Taking the Ideal L7 as an example, the starting price is 286800 yuan, dropping below 300000 yuan for the first time.
A salesperson at a Xiaopeng Auto dealership in Beijing also said, "The 2024 P7i 550 Pro from Xiaopeng has a cash discount of 15000 yuan and a replacement subsidy of 12000 yuan. The 2023 P7i 610 Pengyi Performance Edition has a cash discount of 50000 yuan and can also enjoy a limited time and low interest financial solution."
During the visit, the reporter found that although some new energy vehicle models do not have cash discounts, they will use more equity discounts to stabilize product prices. "The Alpha T5 does not have a cash discount, but it can have a purchase right worth up to 42000 yuan," a salesperson at a Beijing Jihu brand supermarket told reporters.
The slogans of "equal price for oil and electricity" and "lower electricity than fuel" promoted by new energy vehicle models have doubled the pressure on gasoline powered vehicles. "The price of new energy vehicles has been reduced, and we also need to follow suit. There is a lot of pressure," a salesperson at a Guangzhou Toyota 4S store in Beijing told reporters. Half a year ago, the price of the Highlander was still very strong. Now, the gasoline version has been reduced by 40000 yuan, and the dual engine version has been reduced by 35000 yuan.
A salesperson at a Toyota 4S dealership in Beijing also expressed a similar view to reporters: "The RAV4 Rongfang has a cash discount of 35000 yuan, and the Crown Land has a cash discount of 38000 yuan. There is not such a big discount before the Spring Festival, and this is a newly adjusted price. The pressure on the manufacturer in February is still quite high."
