Author: Liuda Hou

Yesterday’s hot show “Kuang Biao” (racing) just ended, but unexpectedly, the car industry started to “Kuang Biao” (crazy discount) again. At lunchtime, I was shocked to hear that “NIO has a maximum discount of 100,000 yuan on some models“. The food in my hand almost lost its taste, but according to past experience, I let the news fly for a while. Sure enough, NIO’s response came just after lunch. NIO said that the models that were discounted this time were mainly 2022 ES8, ES6, and EC6 models, and there are a small number of exhibition cars and inventory cars available for sale.

However, for the old models, NIO has indeed launched corresponding car purchasing policies. The super charging station also received NIO’s relevant information about adjusting sales policies, and we calculated whether it was indeed possible to buy NIO at a discount of 100,000 yuan. First, let’s take a look at the preferential plan given by NIO:

• The 2022 866 model can enjoy a 3-year interest-free car financing plan during the policy period;

• Depending on the inventory cycle, the 2022 ES8 in stock for 30-59 days can obtain a discount of 16,000 yuan, and if it has been in stock for more than 60 days, it can obtain a 24,000 yuan discount. For the 2022 ES6/EC6 with the same inventory cycle, discounts of 12,000 yuan or 18,000 yuan can be obtained;

• In the policy lock-in period (January 1st, 2023 – January 31st, 2023), users who purchase ES8/ES6/EC6 can still enjoy the subsidy standard of 2022, and users who purchase the 75kWh battery pack scheme can enjoy a discount of 11,340 yuan, and users who purchase the 100kWh battery pack scheme can enjoy a discount of 12,600 yuan;

• In addition, if you choose to equip the technology package when purchasing a car, you can also get a cash discount of 9,600 yuan, but please note that this discount does not include the Navigation Edition and Signature Edition.

In addition, according to the information provided by the salesperson, for customers who purchase the 2022 model 866 vehicle during the policy period and exchange their old car to purchase a NIO new car through a designated partner channel, they can also enjoy the NP selection pack gifted by the partner. If the NP full pack is selected, a commercial discount of 15,000 yuan can be obtained. If you are a user who has already selected the NP full pack, you can also enjoy the policy of the 2022 technology pack on top of it. Otherwise, it will not be enjoyed in conjunction with the 2022 technology pack policy.

If you purchase a 2022 NIO ES8 six-seat version with a 100 kWh battery pack, optional 21-inch carbon fiber alloy wheels, NOMI, NIO Pilot full pack, and so on, the pre-discount price is 6.369 million yuan. According to the above discount policy, the final price after the full calculation is approximately 5.757 million yuan. As for the rumored 100,000 yuan discount online, it is probably difficult to find stocks of over 120 days anywhere in the country. In addition, the preferential policy for the battery pack actually expires on January 31, 2023, and there are many restrictions to get the 100,000 yuan discount.

Although the discount is not as exaggerated as online, except for the 866 model, the 775 (ES7/ET7/ET5) models also have a certain degree of discount. As far as we know, among the 775 models, the inventory cars for ET7/ES7 stored for 30-59 days are discounted by 8,000 yuan, and ET5 is discounted by 6,000 yuan; inventory cars for ET7/ES7 stored for 60-89 days are discounted by 16,000 yuan, and ET5 is discounted by 12,000 yuan; inventory cars for ET7/ES7 stored for more than 90 days are discounted by 24,000 yuan, and ET5 is discounted by 18,000 yuan.

The price reductions at the beginning of the year are not only aimed at clearing inventory for the new NT2.0 platform models but also naturally reminded people of the impact of Tesla’s price reductions and the cancellation of national subsidies before the Chinese New Year. In the first week after the Spring Festival, sales from various companies came one after another, and NIO delivered 8,506 vehicles in January, including 2,190 SUVs and 6,316 sedans. NIO’s deliveries in January decreased by 11.87% compared to the same period last year. As of January 31, 2023, NIO has delivered a total of 298,062 vehicles.

NIO is not the only company to have lowered its prices. As early as January 13, Yu Chengdong announced that some models of the WENGE brand would have a large price reduction, ranging from 28,800 yuan to 30,000 yuan. However, from the January sales figures publicized by WENGE, only 4,475 vehicles were delivered, a decrease of 55.88% compared to the previous month, and the impact of the price reduction on delivery in January was minimal.

Following suit, on January 17, XPeng also announced a price reduction, with some models dropping by as much as 36,000 yuan. XPeng Motors stated that due to the delay of some deliveries during the Spring Festival period, a total of 5,218 vehicles were delivered in January, a significant decrease compared to the same period last year. XPeng’s delivery target this year is 200,000 vehicles, which is compared to the actual delivery of around 120,000 vehicles last year.

In addition, the new forces that have just released their sales figures have not had a great January, including NIO’s strongest competitor, Li Auto, whose sales have also declined to varying degrees.

(Picture source: China Passenger Car Association)According to the data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), from January 1st to 27th, the national retail sales of passenger cars reached 985,000, which is a 45% decrease compared with last year, and a 43% decrease from the same period last month. The retail sales of new energy passenger cars are 304,000, which is a 1% drop from last year and a 43% decline from last month. It can be seen that policies such as halving the purchase tax and new energy subsidies have expired, and the cautiousness of dealers, combined with the overproduction in the previous months, has had a certain inhibitory effect on the car market sales.

In addition, CPCA believes that the growth of new energy vehicle sales has reached a bottleneck stage. After the new energy policy is phased out in 2023, sales growth will be a daunting problem. The early price increase of new energy vehicle models, coupled with fewer orders and the price reduction of leading companies such as Tesla, has caused consumers to adopt a “wait-and-see” attitude, resulting in a significant decrease.

Apart from facing the price butcher Tesla, new forces in 2023 may also face an undeniable opponent, traditional petrol vehicles. Li Bin mentioned in an interview after NIO Day last year, “In 2023, NIO’s annual sales will still be some distance from the sales targets of BMW and Mercedes-Benz’s gasoline cars, but we have great confidence in exceeding Lexus’ gasoline car sales in 2022.” Against the backdrop of the suspension of national subsidies and price reductions by various companies, this statement sounds like new forces are already prepared, because when national subsidies are no longer available, it is time to put their true strength to the test, and the trend of price reductions may continue.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.