Overwhelmed by the price of luxury cars

After nearly half a year of crazy price cuts, luxury car dealers have become overwhelmed, and in the last month of the third quarter, terminal prices in the luxury car segment have seen a rebound, which has caused many betting customers to drop prices again. accident.

Dealers and manufacturers are in a chilly state, and BMW, Audi and other OEMs faced the unfavorable situation of dealers' losses and threw out plans to save the market. Under the combined effect of new vehicle bombing and adjustment of marketing strategies, the luxury car market finally turned around in September. However, from the overall performance of the auto market, it is still too early to pick up.

Discounts shrink

Mr. Li, who is preparing to change the car, discovered that the Audi A8L 50 TFSI quattro comfort version he had fancy three months ago could offer a discount of RMB 160,000. However, the sales consultant of the 4S store told him yesterday that he can only buy less than 8 yuan. Ten thousand yuan.

The reporter learned from Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Northeast China that the actual price of the German luxury car, which began to drastically drop in price six months ago, has now risen somewhat more than it did a few months ago and the preferential price is shrinking.

The BMW 5 Series that was able to offer 100,000 yuan last month, as the old model gradually sold out, the new car supply is tight, the current market price has risen, in the Changchun area, in addition to used car replacement can enjoy 10,000 yuan gift package, no other Offers.

The prices of Audi's high-end models A6L, A8L, and Q5 are currently very strong. There is no concession for the 4S stores Audi A6L in Beijing.

Mercedes-Benz, which led the decline in February of this year, has seen a rebound in retail prices in the Hangzhou market. Among them, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class has regained 3,000 yuan and the E-Class discount has decreased by more than 50,000 yuan.

The reduction in discount rates for luxury car dealers is a good opportunity for recovery in the mid-to-high-end car market, which is suffering from price depression. A dealer who operates the FAW-Volkswagen brand at the Beichen Yayuncun Automobile Trading Market (hereinafter referred to as the “North Asian Auto Market”) told reporters that due to the impact of luxury car prices, the stores’ Matang and CC had to follow a loss to sell their cars. "The pressure this month is a bit smaller. On the one hand, inventory has been reduced. On the other hand, luxury cars have started to increase prices, and mid- to high-class cars can be firmer."

According to survey data from the North Asian auto market, in the mid-to-high-end car market, the increase in the discounted models from 60% at the beginning of August to 40% at the beginning of September, and the decrease in the discounted models from 20% to 40. %.

“This year's mid-to-high-end car has a higher discount rate than the same period of last year, but the preferential phase of retractable movements is relatively frequent. There are many mid-to-high-class vehicles and many businesses, and prices are under intense competition from senior vehicles. Dealers use price concessions. The price, quantity, and profit of the three are difficult to adjust.” Yan Jinghui, deputy general manager of the North Asian Automobile Market, analyzed that the continuous blasting of the marketing price war has caused consumer excitement and miscalculation, eventually led to holdings of money, volume and price fell.

“Everybody has gradually discovered that price reduction promotion has become a vicious circle. Currently, the prices of most models on the market have bottomed out. There is basically no room for reduction. Under the pressure of inventory, dealers eager to sell cars are trying their best.” - Volkswagen dealers say.

In September, major auto dealers with physical and mental fatigue suspended the “defence” banner with practical actions, and this trend became apparent in August. The person in charge of the North Asia Motor City Business Center predicted in August that dealers would no longer be able to sustain current low-price loss sales after consecutive losses in sales, and the price increase is expected to increase significantly.

A market survey in the North Asian auto market showed that the auto prices increase in Beijing in August showed a significant increase, with the index at 19.03, the highest monthly price inflation index this year – in the past 7 months, the index has basically reached 12 Something left and right.

Car market swing

The price war that lasted for half a year in the terminal market had long attracted the attention of OEMs. As early as three months ago, Bo Shi, General Manager of FAW-VW Audi Sales Division, said in an interview with this newspaper that there were profits from individual dealers in certain regions. There has been a decline in the rate, but this is an individual case. "We have tracked these situations. We have a more comprehensive solution, rather than focusing solely on one (bailout) measure."

For areas where individual markets have been declining sharply, Audi has adopted a categorical approach rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. “We will adopt targeted and diversified solutions and measures to support and help our distributor partners to achieve better development in this environment, including some support measures, training measures, process assistance and training. Etc." said the thin stone.

Dai Lei, senior vice president of marketing for BMW Brilliance Automotive Co., Ltd., also said in an interview with this newspaper that the entire network of BMW Brilliance BMW is healthy, so most dealers do not lose money. However, if sales in some cities really drop, such as Ordos, or the GDP growth of some cities has dropped, Brilliance may slightly adjust. For example, in Beijing, where Beijing is a city with restrictions on purchases, BMW advocates making a fuss about stocks and helps dealers sell used cars to foreign countries, freeing up license plates and driving new car sales.

Although the OEM’s sales efforts to distributors have not decreased, it turns out that after the two parties jointly dredge the market channels, the inventory pressure on distributors has been reduced. According to a survey conducted by the North Asian auto market, dealer inventory pressure began to improve after entering August, and the percentage of dealers who believe that the inventory cycle is too long has dropped from 54.43% in July to 39.34%.

Yan Jinghui believes that the continuous price war led to Mercedes, BMW and other mainstream luxury brands, some of the main models of car prices higher than the market guide price, manufacturers subsidies are weak, dealers lose money to sell cars have broken the bottom line, unable to enter the car so that the supply of non-car sources The lack of normality is an important reason for the retreat of some models.

However, industry insiders also believe that the rise in the price of luxury cars does not mean that the overall automobile market has entered the upstream channel since then. Affected by external factors, Japanese brands may fall into a dilemma of a new round of sales decline, and there is no effective stimulus policy for auto brands.