Per reporter: Duan Siyao Per reporter Per reporter: Pei Jianru
Affected by the epidemic, during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger, the number of local New Year's Festivals increased, and the sales shops of many automobile brands were also quite lively.
"During the Chinese New Year this year, our store is not closed, the traffic in the store is more than usual on weekends, and there are three car owners who have booked on the first day of the first month of the new month alone." The sales staff of a Xiaopeng Automobile Experience Center in Beijing told the "Daily Economic News" reporter.
Image source: Photo by reporter Duan Siyao
A Hongqi brand salesman also said that his store opened a display area in the mall during the Spring Festival this year, and the number of people who came to see and order cars increased significantly.
However, compared with the high-traffic area of the Spring Festival such as the shopping mall, the atmosphere of the relatively remote car 4S shop is much colder. "Our shop has been open for business since the third year of the first year, but there are very few people who come to the store to see and test the car, and the transaction volume is also small." The sales staff of a Toyota 4S store of a certain automobile in Beijing said.
Through the visit, the reporter found that most car brands launched a number of preferential activities for the Spring Festival car purchase. For example, Xiaopeng Automobile launched a points and gift activity for all models. However, there are not many models that have launched cash discounts, and even new energy vehicles have raised their prices due to subsidy declines.
"Fancy" snatchers
Generally speaking, the month of spring festival and the month after the spring festival is the off-season for car sales. On the one hand, many potential consumers are busy returning home or traveling during the Spring Festival holiday, on the other hand, the sales tasks of 4S stores in the previous year have been completed, and there are usually no targeted preferential activities during the Spring Festival. However, as more and more people choose to celebrate the New Year on the spot, the enthusiasm for buying cars during the Spring Festival has been further catalyzed. In order to capture this part of the crowd, major car brands also launched corresponding activities during the Spring Festival to "fancy" customers.
For example, the reporter saw in the above-mentioned Beijing Automobile Toyota 4S store that consumers who bought new Corolla, Ruifang, Asiatic Lion and other models in the store could enjoy 2,000 yuan of beauty coupons, as well as a replacement subsidy of up to 10,000 yuan. Hongqi brand has also launched special programs in financial loan subsidies and replacement subsidies. FAW-Volkswagen launched free inspection and vehicle condition assessment and cooling system during the Spring Festival, free cleaning of throttle valves, and battery replacement for insufficient key batteries.
During the visit, the reporter found that in order to attract more people, more and more car brands chose to open temporary display areas in shopping malls during the Spring Festival. The reporter saw in a shopping mall in Tongzhou District, Beijing, in addition to the "resident brands" of shopping malls such as Xiaopeng Automobile and Weilai Automobile, including Volvo, Hongqi, BYD and other brands also stationed in the mall. "This exhibition area is temporarily built by us, mainly considering that the traffic of shopping malls during the Spring Festival is relatively large, and the transaction volume is OK from the current point of view." A Volvo brand salesperson said.
The reporter noted that the preferential activities launched by most car brands are not limited to the Spring Festival holiday, and some brands have extended the preferential policies to February 28. The sales staff of the above-mentioned Toyota 4S store in Beijing admitted to reporters: "In previous years, after the Spring Festival, it was the off-season, and extending the activity time can attract some people to the store to see the car after the festival to increase the traffic and transaction volume in the store." ”
There is no significant change in the cash concession margin
Although major car brands are trying to "grab customers" during this year's Spring Festival, there are not many models with cash discounts. "During the Spring Festival, there are mainly some preferential activities in subsidies and maintenance, and the range of cash concessions has not changed much compared with years ago." According to the sales staff of the above-mentioned Toyota 4S store of a certain automobile in Beijing, the highest preferential margin for hot models such as Corolla and Asia Dragon is 20,000 yuan, which is almost the same as a few years ago.
Similarly, the sales staff of a Dongfeng Honda 4S store in Beijing also told reporters: "The Popular Models such as Civic only have a cash discount of 5,000 yuan, the impact of chip shortage is still there, coupled with the rise in raw material prices, the prices have been relatively firm in recent months, and there are many uncertainties in the time of pick-up, so the Spring Festival has not launched a special price reduction promotion model." ”
Affected by the shortage of chips, the current inventory of most auto brand dealers is tight, which in turn leads to the contraction of terminal cash concessions. "In the past year, the preferential margins have not been large, mainly affected by the 'lack of core'." The sales staff of a Geely Automobile 4S store in Beijing said.
However, the reporter noted that the current shortage of chips in the car market has been alleviated, and the waiting time for picking up the car is shortening. "The waiting time for UNI-T has been shortened by about two weeks compared to when the 'lack of core' is serious, and now it is about a month or so to pick up the car." A salesperson at a Changan Automobile 4S store in Shanghai said.
However, from the current point of view, most of the hot models of automobile brands are still mainly order-based sales. The sales staff of a Dongfeng Honda 4S store in Beijing said: "There are no existing cars in our store, such as Civic, CR-V and other models, and can only accept orders, and now the next booking is expected to mention the car in March this year." ”
Some new energy models are brewing price increases
There are also new energy vehicles with strong terminal prices. During the visit, the reporter found that most of the new energy vehicles did not launch special preferential activities during the Spring Festival, and even quietly brewed price increases.
"Now the whole series of good cats is still selling at the official price, and it is expected to raise the price in March this year, up about 5,000 yuan." The sales staff of an Euler brand 4S store in Beijing told reporters.
In fact, with the introduction of new energy subsidy policies in 2022, more and more auto brands have officially announced price increases. On February 7, according to the official website of Wuling Automobile, the entire Wuling NanoEV series rose by 3,000 yuan. Prior to this, including BYD and Xiaopeng Automobile, it has clearly raised the price of its models.
However, in order to cope with the decline of the national subsidy, Xiaopeng Automobile, FAW-Volkswagen, Weilai Automobile, etc. have introduced price insurance policies. For example, FAW-Volkswagen announced that it will "complete the purchase of a car on February 28, 2022, and still enjoy the 2021 new energy national supplement".
A sales staff of a Weilai Automobile Experience Center in Beijing said: "Weilai Automobile will not raise the price in 2022 due to the decline of subsidies, and it is expected that the price will be raised by about 10,000 yuan after the official withdrawal of the national supplement in 2023." ”
Judging from the sales volume in January 2022, the impact of subsidy decline on the sales of new energy vehicles is not large, and the January sales of new energy vehicle brands such as GAC Aean, Xiaopeng, Ideal, and Nezha have exceeded 10,000 units.
Huaan Securities analyst Chen Xiao believes that new energy vehicles show their resilience and trend in the traditional off-season of automobiles before and after the Spring Festival, on the one hand, gradually eliminating the market's concerns about orders and deliveries in the new year, on the other hand, it can also show that the price increase in the upper reaches of lithium batteries has a limited impact on the demand for vehicles, and the impact of subsidies on the new energy vehicle market is gradually fading.
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