In the January-September period, China saw 195 models with price cuts, surpassing the 150 models in the whole of 2023, and significantly higher than the 95 models in 2022.

Price wars have been one of the hot topics in China's auto industry for the past two years, and the latest figures show how intense they have been this year.

In the January-September 2024 period, a total of 195 models in China's passenger car market had their prices cut, surpassing the 150 models in the whole of 2023 and significantly higher than the 95 models in 2022, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said.

The price cuts occurred mainly in new energy vehicle (NEV) models including battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), while price cuts for traditional gasoline vehicles also increased, Cui said in a WeChat post yesterday.

In China, NEVs include BEVs, PHEVs, and fuel cell vehicles. Extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) are a type of PHEVs, while hybrid vehicles that cannot be recharged, including HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles), are not counted as NEVs.

In the January-September period, a total of 69 BEV models had their prices reduced by an average of RMB 23,000 ($3,220), or 13.5 percent, according to Cui.

For conventional PHEVs, 29 models saw price cuts, averaging RMB 24,000, or 13.7 percent.

In the January-September period, 13 EREV models saw price cuts, averaging RMB 14,000, or 7.6 percent.

During this period, there were 13 price reductions for other hybrid models, with an average price reduction of RMB 15,000,or 8.4 percent.

For conventional gasoline vehicles, there were 71 models with price reductions from January to September, with an average price reduction of RMB 15,000, or 9.3 percent.

In terms of the seasonal distribution of price cuts, 2023 was generally balanced, according to Cui.

In 2024, both March and April saw very intense price reductions, with 53 and 43 models respectively, according to Cui.
The number of models with price cuts in February-April amounted to 120, Cui said, adding that in July-September the number dropped to 81, reflecting a temporary calming of the wave of price cuts.

In the past few years, China's passenger car market has typically offered promotions at the end of each year that were about 4 percentage points higher than in the same period of the previous year, Cui noted.

In 2024, on the other hand, the price wars continued with promotions as high as 7 percentage points more for NEV models and evolved into price cuts, Cui said.

The fierce price wars have hit traditional auto dealers hard, with the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) saying last month that in January-August, the price wars have resulted in a cumulative loss of RMB 138 billion in new vehicle retail sales.

($1 = RMB 7.1444)

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