At a time when the new energy truck market is booming, a fierce "price war" is quietly kicking off.
Recently, when the reporter visited the market, it was found that the price of new energy trucks has a significant downward trend, and there are even signs of the same price of oil and electricity. So, what kind of market logic is hidden behind this phenomenon?
01
The downward trend in prices is obvious, and dealers are under pressure
On July 23, the reporter came to the five-link commercial vehicle city in Daxing District, Beijing, where many new energy truck sales stores gathered. In the communication with a number of dealers, the reporter deeply felt the pressure and challenges brought to them by the "price war" in the new energy truck market.
"Since the beginning of this year, the price of new energy trucks has continued to fall, and the decline is staggering, which has directly led to a significant reduction in the overall profit of our store." Liu Shaowei, a truck dealer in Beijing, said helplessly, "We had hoped that new energy trucks could develop steadily in the market by virtue of the advantages of environmental protection and energy saving, but we didn't expect the 'price war' to come so quickly and far beyond expectations." At present, the price reduction of new energy trucks of mainstream brands in the market is generally between 10% and 20%, and some models even exceed 30%. ”
"Taking pure electric heavy trucks as an example, the price of models equipped with 280kWh batteries last year was 600,000~700,000 yuan, but now it has dropped to about 400,000 yuan; The price drop of the 420kWh high-power heavy-duty truck model launched by a brand is even more exaggerated, and has been as low as 500,000 yuan. Although such a large price reduction has successfully attracted the attention of many customers who originally planned to buy fuel trucks, it also makes dealers face a difficult choice of whether to follow the trend and reduce prices to maintain competitiveness. Liu Shaowei further said.
"In recent months, the price of pure electric heavy trucks has indeed been declining. A few years ago, the price of a 6×4 new energy tractor equipped with a 350kWh battery remained at 550,000 yuan, but today it has fallen to about 430,000 yuan. In just a few months, the drop was more than 100,000 yuan. Beijing heavy truck dealer Zhang Yu told reporters that now the competition between brands is far more than price competition, in order to attract customers, dealers have launched customized financial solutions, such as providing a certain amount of interest-free loans, manufacturers zero down payment and zero guarantee and other preferential policies, and strive to stand out in the fierce market competition.
In fact, not only pure electric heavy trucks, but also the "price war" in the new energy logistics vehicle market (light trucks) is also intensifying. Judging from the price of new models released by various car companies, the price reduction can be described as "simple and crude", and the price of some small and micro trucks even fell below the 70,000 yuan mark.
"The impact of the 'price war' on each market segment is different, in the more competitive new energy micro truck market, the price reduction is relatively large, the price in June fell by 30% compared with January, and the selling price fell by 30,000 ~ 35,000 yuan." Zhang Xuewen, a light truck dealer in Beijing, said, "Based on our current inventory situation, if these dozens of inventory cars are sold at the current price, each of them will face a loss of tens of thousands of yuan." However, if the price is not reduced, the funds will not be able to be withdrawn, and the follow-up operation will be more difficult. ”
Zhang's predicament is not unique. During the visit, the reporter learned that many dealers are facing the problem of overstocking and tight funds. In order to clear the inventory as quickly as possible, some dealers even go to the point of selling their vehicles below cost.
"In addition to the price factor, the uncertainty of market demand is also a major challenge for us. Although new energy trucks have many advantages, in some areas, problems such as imperfect charging facilities and range anxiety still restrict their promotion and application. Gao Jinhua, a light truck dealer in Beijing, said.
02
Cost reduction and fierce competition in the market are the main reasons
So, what is the reason for such a large-scale "price war" in the new energy truck market? In interviews, dealers generally attributed it to the dual role of cost reduction and market competition.
With the continuous progress of new energy vehicle technology, the cost of core components such as batteries, motors, and electronic control systems continues to decline. At the same time, the expansion of production scale, the gradual improvement of the industrial chain and the continuous optimization of the supply chain have further reduced the production cost of vehicles. "Now the energy density of the battery equipped with new energy trucks is increasing, while its cost is showing a downward trend, which creates conditions for the price reduction of new energy trucks." Liu Shaowei analyzed.
"Especially in the first half of 2024, the prices of soft-pack ternary power batteries, prismatic ternary power batteries and prismatic lithium iron phosphate batteries will decrease by 17.5%, 23.1% and 31.9%, respectively. This trend has had a profound impact on truck manufacturers and has led to price reductions in response to market changes. Zhang Yu added.
In addition, the intensification of market competition is also a factor that cannot be ignored. In recent years, more and more companies have poured into the field of new energy trucks, and the competition for market share has become increasingly fierce. In order to seize the market, major brands have adopted price reduction strategies to attract more customers. At the same time, traditional truck manufacturers are also continuing to increase investment in the field of new energy trucks, promoting the rapid expansion of production capacity. However, the growth rate of market demand has not kept pace with the pace of capacity expansion, and the situation of oversupply has forced enterprises to fight for limited market share through "price wars".
"In the current market environment, low-price competition has become an important strategy for many brands to attract customers. This is directly related to the current insufficient demand for road freight market, low freight rates, and the urgent need for users to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Zhao Zhanle, a new energy truck dealer, told reporters that the core goal of heavy trucks as means of production is to make a profit, and the primary condition for achieving this goal is to reduce input costs. Therefore, selling at a reduced price has naturally become one of the key means for enterprises to compete for market share and attract customers.
03
The same price of oil and electricity is an opportunity or a challenge
In the context of the continuous decline in the price of new energy trucks, the era of the same price of oil and electricity seems to be no longer far away. There are different views on this trend.
Some industry experts believe that the same price of oil and electricity will be an important opportunity for the large-scale promotion and application of new energy trucks. When the price of new energy trucks is comparable to or even lower than that of fuel trucks, its advantages such as energy saving, emission reduction, and low noise will become more prominent, which is expected to accelerate market popularization and promote the green transformation of the highway logistics industry.
For consumers, the realization of the same price of oil and electricity means that they will no longer be constrained by price factors when buying new energy trucks, and can choose according to their own needs, which undoubtedly lowers the threshold for consumers to buy new energy trucks.
However, there are also dealers who are concerned about this. "After the price of oil and electricity is the same, in the short term, dealers who hoard new energy trucks may suffer losses due to price differences, resulting in a serious shrinkage of assets, which is undoubtedly a heavy blow to them." Liu Shaowei said frankly.
"Once the price of oil and electricity is the same, customers' choices will be more diversified, and we need to work harder to improve service quality and product competitiveness in order to gain a firm foothold in the fierce market competition, which really requires us to make more efforts." Zhao Zhanle said.
In the face of the impact of the "price war" and the approach of the same price of oil and electricity, where should new energy truck dealers go?
"The market is constantly changing, and we have to adapt quickly and respond proactively to maintain profit margins by adjusting marketing strategies and reducing operating costs." Zhang Yu told reporters, "Recently, we have continued to increase our promotional efforts and launched a series of preferential policies for car purchases, such as extending the warranty period and providing free charging facilities, hoping to attract more customers." At the same time, we are also working hard to destock and reduce capital tie-up to deal with the risk of price fluctuations. ”
During the visit, the reporter found that some dealers have begun to seek transformation and upgrading, they no longer only rely on the sale of vehicles to obtain profits, but expand their business to after-sales service, leasing, finance and other fields, forming a diversified profit model. "We realize that it is difficult to support the normal operation of the company by simply selling vehicles, and only by providing all-round and one-stop services can we win the trust of customers and open up a broader profit space." Liu Shaowei said.
In addition, many dealers are also changing their sales model, from single product sales to integrated solution providers. "Now our store not only focuses on vehicle sales, but also provides customers with customized solutions, such as recommending suitable models according to customers' operational needs, planning the layout of charging facilities, etc. At the same time, we have built a comprehensive financial service platform to provide customers with financial support such as car purchase loans and financial leasing to reduce the pressure of customers to purchase cars. Zhang Xuewen said.
"Strengthening cooperation with manufacturers is also an important measure for dealers to deal with the 'price war'." Liu Shaowei further emphasized that by establishing closer cooperation with manufacturers, dealers can get more support and preferential policies, so as to work together to meet the challenges brought by market competition. At the same time, in view of the government's increasing support for the new energy vehicle industry, more favorable policies may be introduced in the future. Therefore, dealers should pay close attention to policy dynamics to ensure that they can capture and make full use of policy dividends in the first time to empower their own development.
Text: Sun Weichuan Yao Huifa Editor: Sun Weichuan Layout: Wang Kun
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