BMW China Withdraws from Price War, Other Brands Follow Suit
TapTechNews July 17th news, recently, BMW China withdrew from the price war and will start from July to stabilize prices by reducing sales volume to ease the operating pressure on stores.
According to the interview by Hongxing Capital Bureau, many brands such as Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, and Volvo have also all decided to adjust the terminal policy from July, reduce the intensity of terminal discounts, or no longer further reduce prices.
It is worth noting that some dealers including Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Audi said that they have not received the official notice of price adjustment from the brand side, but will adjust dynamically according to the market situation and hold a positive attitude towards 'educing quantity and stabilizing price'.
A Mercedes-Benz dealer told Hongxing Capital Bureau, 'We have not received the notice of changes in the terminal price. Currently, there is no sign of recovery.' An Audi dealer also said, 'There is no change in the current discount, but the market situation is very chaotic, and it is hard to say what the situation will be in a week.'
The price reduction seems not to have brought about an increase in sales for luxury brands, and continuous large-scale price reduction will inevitably cause huge losses to the brand value of luxury cars. According to the sales data released by the BMW Group, in the first half of this year, BMW's global deliveries reached 1.0965 million units, an increase of 2.3% year-on-year, but the sales volume in the Chinese market showed a decline, which was 375,900 units (including the MINI brand), a decrease of 4.2% year-on-year.
TapTechNews noticed that at the 2024 China Automobile Forum, Wang Qing, deputy director of the Market Economy Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, also judged that the price war will ease somewhat in the second half of the year. Executives of car companies such as Geely, Chery, and JAC Motors also called for staying away from involution and the price war and taking the path of brand improvement.