The delivery of the new energy market in January staged a black start, Lixiang grew against the trend, and the zero-run fell sharply
On February 1, major new energy car companies announced their delivery volume in January this year. Affected by multiple factors such as the Spring Festival holiday, Tesla’s price cuts, and the cancellation of state subsidies, there was a black door. Most car companies compared with last year. Deliveries fell sharply in January. Of course, there is also a thriving existence, that is, Lixiang Automobile, which not only sold more than 10,000, but also increased by 23.4% year-on-year.
Previously, some people in the industry had told “E-Car Exchange” that the pressure in the first quarter of this year would be relatively high, and now looking at the new energy market in January, it encountered Waterloo. In addition, as traditional car companies continue to increase their stake in the new energy market, it can be expected that the new energy market will encounter a larger-scale reshuffle this year.
Ideal car is thriving, zero running has fallen sharply
On the whole, among the leading brands “Wei Xiaoli”, Weilai and Xiaopeng fell by double digits year-on-year, while Ideal is the only one, with year-on-year growth. The delivery volume of Jikr Automobile and Lantu Automobile in January also fell, while the delivery of Leap Motor in January fell sharply, down 85.91% year-on-year.
In terms of sales data, NIO delivered 8,506 vehicles in January, a year-on-year decrease of 11.87%. Among them, the deliveries of the second-generation technology platforms ET7, ES7 and ET5 accounted for 85.6% of the total deliveries of the month. As of January 31, 2023, Weilai’s cumulative vehicle delivery volume reached 298,100 vehicles.
After Xiaopeng Motors experienced a short-term delivery increase, its delivery volume in January was close to “half”, with a total of 5,218 new cars delivered, a year-on-year decrease of 59.63%, of which G9 delivered 2,249 vehicles. Faced with such achievements, Xiaopeng has started a series of adjustments, including poaching Wang Fengying and Yi Han, and at the same time, the new facelifted P7 will be unveiled soon.
According to the Cyrus announcement, the sales volume of new energy vehicles in January was 4,885, a year-on-year increase of 38.78%, of which the sales volume of Cyrus vehicles was 4,490, a year-on-year increase of 445.57%. However, the situation of Leap Motors is more serious. After a year-on-year increase, the delivery of the first year took a sharp turn for the worse. In January, only 1,139 vehicles were delivered, a year-on-year decline of 85.91%. Nezha Automobile delivered 6,016 units in January, a year-on-year decrease of 45.4%.
Among the new energy brands of traditional car companies, Jikr delivered 3,116 vehicles in January, a year-on-year decrease of 11.7%, which was mainly affected by the upgrade of the factory production line. Lantu Automobile delivered 1,548 new cars in January, a slight decrease of 0.3% year-on-year. The electrified smart performed well. In January this year, 3,170 Phantom #1 units were delivered in China. Since the start of delivery at the end of September last year, the number of new cars delivered in the Chinese market has exceeded 10,000, reaching 12,382 units. Aian delivered 10,206 new cars in January, a year-on-year decrease of 36.3%.
The opening of the new year has cast a shadow over the prospect of this year’s new energy market, and the market competition in the future will be more intense. At present, most new energy car companies adopt direct sales, and will face pressure on orders in the future, and price reduction and promotion are inevitable.
Existing car price cuts and promotions have gradually become the mainstream
Tesla, the leading car company, launched the first price cut. On January 6, Tesla China launched a new round of price cuts. The price of the standard version of the Model 3 produced by the Shanghai factory dropped from 265,900 yuan to 229,990 yuan. 10,000 yuan, a drop of as much as 36,000 yuan, and Model Y also dropped from 289,000 yuan to 259,900 yuan. As soon as the news of the price cut came out, while triggering car owners’ rights protection, it also put pressure on major domestic new energy car companies.
After Tesla’s official downgrade, it’s just when the industry is predicting which company will follow up. On January 13, AITO adjusted the prices of several models, becoming the first brand to follow up after Tesla’s price reduction. On January 17, Xiaopeng Motors announced that starting from 14:00 on the same day, it will start the new year’s new price system for G3i, P5 and P7. ten thousand yuan.\
On February 1, GAC Aian stated that it will hit the sales target of 500,000 vehicles in 2023. In response to the wave of price cuts, GAC Aian launched a limited-time delivery incentive of 5,000 yuan per vehicle, as well as 3-year zero interest, low down payment and limited-time financial subsidies, etc., becoming the first brand to conduct public promotions in February.
The core reason why major brands have followed up on price cuts is that orders have been greatly reduced, especially direct-operated enterprises are under greater pressure. Since there is no support from distributors, enterprises and factories must continue to receive new orders from users if they want to maintain normal operation. When the order is insufficient, the operation of the factory will be greatly affected, which in turn will affect the supply chain.
Judging from the delivery volume of major new energy car companies in January, the effect of price cuts and promotions has not yet appeared. If more orders cannot be brought in, follow-up sales of existing cars will become the mainstream, and market competition will become more intense. It also puts forward higher requirements for the operation of enterprises.
Of course, the price reduction and promotion of existing cars is good for users, and the price is more favorable at the same time as choosing a different car. At the same time, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate is constantly falling, and the cost pressure of enterprises is expected to be alleviated to a certain extent!
