Frontline Investigation | Actual exploration of the joint venture brand terminal market: the price tends to be stable, and some salesmen bluntly said that "the price war can't be moved"

National Business Daily

2024-08-01 19:27Published on the official account of Sichuan Daily Economic News

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01 The terminal market price of the joint venture brand tends to be stable, and the sales staff bluntly said that "the price war cannot be stopped".

02After nearly 7 months of price war, joint venture car companies have not achieved the goal of increasing sales, and the sales decline of some companies has approached 50%.

03Due to the price war, the operating pressure of dealers has gradually increased, and the stable prices of some brands will help alleviate the pressure on performance.

04 In fact, consumer demand for cars is high in the current market conditions, and salespeople recommend that consumers with car needs buy cars as soon as possible.

05Experts predict that the automotive industry may adjust production capacity in the second half of the year, when prices may fluctuate.

The above content is generated by Tencent's hybrid model and is for reference only

Every reporter: Huang Xinxu Every editor: Sun Lei

"The price war can't be stopped, now it's just to maintain the status quo and stop cutting prices." A few days ago, a staff member of a joint venture brand dealer told the "Daily Economic News" reporter.

Before August, "brewing price increases" has become an important trend in the terminal market of joint venture brands. At that time, during the reporter's visit, many car salespeople expressed to the reporter that there may be a slight increase in the price of the model in August. However, in August, the reporter learned in the investigation that the price increase has not yet been implemented. A number of joint venture brand sales staff told reporters that "stability" is an important trend in the current car market price.

"The price increase can't go up much, the price reduction can't go down much, and now everyone doesn't want to fight the price war, and the market is relatively stable." A salesperson of GAC Toyota expressed this opinion to reporters.

In fact, after nearly seven months of price wars this year, joint venture automakers have not achieved their sales targets. In the first half of this year, the sales of many car companies have declined to varying degrees, and the sales decline of some companies has approached 50%.

The terminal price of joint venture vehicles has stabilized

A few days ago, a price increase notice of SAIC Volkswagen dealers was circulated on the Internet, and the dealer said that the store will increase the price of all models by 3000~10000 yuan on August 1 ~ August 11; From August 12, the price of the whole series rose by another 2,000 yuan. The 4S store also said that the above policy adjustment is a unified action for the whole city, and it is recommended that consumers make a decision as soon as possible. In response, SAIC Volkswagen responded that it had not received relevant notices.

"Actually, our terminal prices haven't changed much. At present, there will indeed be some news of price increases, which may also be to dispel consumers' wait-and-see mood. A salesperson at a SAIC Volkswagen 4S store in Shanghai said.

Image source: Photo by reporter Huang Xinxu

The Buick brand also remained stable in terms of terminal prices. A salesperson at a Buick 4S store in Shanghai said: "Today is the first day of August, and we have not yet received a notice about the price of the August model, and we are still selling according to the discount in July." ”

Taking the Buick E5 as an example, the standard endurance version of the model with a guide price of 203,900 yuan can still enjoy the same preferential price of more than 30,000 yuan as in July. As early as the reporter's visit in late July, the sales staff of the Buick 4S store said that there may be a price adjustment of 3,000 yuan in August. "Our judgment now is that the terminal price should not fluctuate too much, unless the dealer's inventory is almost cleared." The sales staff of the above-mentioned Buick 4S store revealed that the Buick E5 inventory in the store is currently relatively stable, and it is expected that there will not be much price change before the "Golden Nine".

"We did hear that the price of the car will go up later, but there is no change for the time being." A sales staff of a GAC Toyota in Shanghai also told reporters.

The above-mentioned salespeople all believe that now is the best time for consumers to buy a car. The sales staff of the above-mentioned SAIC Volkswagen 4S store believed: "The price war has been fought until now, and the discount has bottomed out. At present, the prices of many models are at the bottom of the 'U' trend. ”

"We advise consumers who have a need for a car to buy a car as soon as possible, because the automotive industry may adjust production capacity in the second half of the year, and the capacity adjustment will affect the price. Now many models have existing cars, and then the 'Golden Nine and Silver Ten' will begin, and the pick-up cycle of some models may change, and the price will also fluctuate somewhat. The above-mentioned GAC Toyota salesperson said.

Sales of most joint venture brands declined in the first half of the year

In fact, after half a year of "price war", the joint venture brand has failed in terms of sales volume and market share.

According to the data disclosed by the passenger association branch, in June this year, the retail sales of mainstream joint venture brands were 480,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 27% and a month-on-month decrease of 1%. Among them, the retail share of German brands was 18.6%, down 2.6 percentage points year-on-year, the retail share of Japanese brands was 14.3%, down 3.5 percentage points year-on-year, and the retail share of American brands was 6.3%, down 2.9 percentage points year-on-year.

Image source: Photo by reporter Huang Xinxu

In the first half of this year, the sales of most joint ventures in China showed a downward trend, and only SAIC Volkswagen, Yueda Kia, Changan Ford and other joint ventures maintained growth. Among them, in the first half of this year, SAIC Volkswagen sold a total of about 512,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 1.75%.

As a key link in the marketing chain, the operating pressure of dealers has gradually increased. Taking Guanghui Automobile as an example, the company said that under the price war, the competition pattern in the industry has intensified, and major car companies have fought price wars to seize market share, which has caused the company's new car sales scale and gross profit margin to decline compared with the same period last year. In the first quarter of 2024, Guanghui Automobile achieved operating income of 27.79 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.49%; The net profit attributable to the parent company was 70.94 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 86.61%. Guanghui Automobile expects that the net profit attributable to the parent company in the first half of 2024 will be a loss, with an estimated loss of 583 million yuan ~ 699 million yuan.

The above-mentioned Buick salesperson said: "The market competition is large, and dealers are fighting price wars in order to recoup funds. However, the more you sell, the more you lose, and the price war cannot be sustained. Now the prices of many brands are stable, which can relieve some performance pressure for us. ”

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