On March 1, major car companies successively disclosed their sales figures for February. Domestic NEV sales declined month-on-month due to factors such as the Spring Festival holiday. Just ask the world, Ideal, Aian sells over 10,000 a month.

Despite poor sales, the launch of new models accelerated, and the “price war” continued to heat up.

Sales stalled collectively in February

Affected by factors such as the Spring Festival holiday, sales of new car builders collectively stalled in February. Ideal cars alone delivered more than 20,000 units, while NIO, Xiaopeng, Nezha, and Zero Sports cars failed to break 10,000. Among them, Zero Sports Auto and Xiaopeng Motor saw the biggest month-on-month decline, falling 46.5% and 44.9% respectively.

Specifically, AITO delivered 21,142 new cars in February, ranking first in the New Force delivery volume list, down 35.9% from the previous month. Of these, the new Wenjie M7 delivered 18,479 vehicles. AITO delivered less than 4,000 vehicles in the same period last year. Currently, orders for the M9 have exceeded 50,000 units.

Ideal Auto is in second place in the delivery volume list. 2,051 new cars were delivered in February, down 35% from the previous month. However, there was only a difference of 891 units between AITO and Ideal Auto in February, which is a further reduction compared to January.

It is worth mentioning that the rise in the Quanjie series of models also boosted Cyrus's sales performance. In February, Cyrus NEV sales reached 30,300 units, an increase of 360.04% over the previous year.

GAC Aian surpassed 10,000 units, with sales volume of about 16,700 units in the same month, but there were year-on-month declines, including a 33.2% month-on-month decline.

NIO Auto delivered 8,132 vehicles in February, down 33.1% year on year and 19.1% month on month. According to reports, its annual sales target is 230,000 units, but NIO announced last year that there will be no new models in 2024, only facelifted models, and NIO's 2024 series models will soon begin delivery.

Extreme Krypton Auto and Rantu Auto failed to break 10,000. Despite year-on-year growth, there was a 40% or even 50% month-on-month decline. Extreme Krypton delivered 7,510 vehicles in February, up 37.6% year on year, down 40.1% month on month; Rantu Motor delivered 3,182 new cars, up 187.4% year on year, but down 54.8% month on month.

Zero Sports delivered 6,566 vehicles in February, up 105.3% year on year and down 46.5% month on month. According to official data, the Zero Run C10 has more than 45,000 orders.

Furthermore, Nacha Motor delivered 6085 vehicles in February, down 39.6% year on year, down 39.3% from the previous month, and slipped out of 10,000 vehicles once again after returning to the 10,000 car club in January; Xiaopeng Motor delivered 4,545 vehicles, once again bottoming out of new forces, down 44.9% from month to month.

Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the China Passenger Federation, predicts that February sales will be at an absolute peak within the year.

Accelerate the launch of new models

Competition in the NEV market is intensifying. Against this backdrop, car companies are launching new products to enrich market supply.

On March 1, Ideal Auto held a spring press conference to officially launch Home Technology's flagship MPV, Ideal MEGA. In addition, Ideal Auto also released three 2024 Ideal L series models.

On March 1, delivery of NIO's 2024 series models began. Performance upgrades for 2024 models include the central computing platform ADAM integrating the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 smart cockpit chip.

On February 29, BYD announced the official launch of Song Plus Honor Edition and SEAL DM-i Honor Edition. BYD launched a number of new models. The starting price was lower than the previous model, and it called out the slogan “electricity is lower than fuel”, which sparked a buzz in the market.

BYD said that while the price of the Honor model launched this time has been lowered, the model configuration and product power have been significantly improved, adding new powerful members to the “lower electricity than fuel” competitive pattern and accelerating the process of new energy conversion in various market segments.

A number of car companies announced price cuts

After the Spring Festival, BYD took the lead in launching the “first shot” of the NEV price war in the Year of the Dragon. Subsequently, Changan Qiyuan, Nacha Auto, and SAIC-GM-Wuling's new energy brands followed suit to cut prices.

According to Red Star News, as of March 1, in addition to BYD, eight car companies have announced price cuts or limited-time offers, up to 47,000 yuan, and the highest value of other benefits is about 40,000 yuan.

Geely launched the 2024 Spring Car Festival. During March, there is a limited-time discount of 2 billion yuan, a cash discount of up to 47,000 yuan, an interest-free loan of up to 100,000 yuan, and a replacement subsidy of up to 10,000 yuan.

The SAIC Volkswagen Touron family launched a limited-time promotion. The 2024 Touron 380TSI four-wheel drive Zunzong Deluxe Edition is 279,900 yuan for a limited time, and the 2024 Touron X 380TSI four-wheel drive Zunzong Deluxe Edition is 265,000 yuan for a limited time. At the same time, Touron Family 2.0T models can enjoy a 2,000 yuan cash voucher or a 3-year worry-free maintenance package.

Feifan F7 launched a March limited-time car purchase discount policy. The price of the Feifan F7 Advanced Edition, Advanced Pro Edition, Long Term Pro Edition, and Performance Pro Edition was reduced by 25,000-30,000 yuan, as well as free upgrade comfort packages, free lifetime use of the RISING PILOT full-integrated advanced intelligent driving system software package worth 30,000 yuan, and financial and traffic benefits.

Changan Qiyuan announced that the Qiyuan Q05 125 km long-range model will be on sale starting at 96,900 yuan. Previously, the starting price was 131,900 yuan. Changan Automobile (000625.SZ) announced on the same day that the Changan Lumin mini electric vehicle will receive a maximum discount of 12,000 yuan, and all models can enjoy a zero interest financial discount.

The Chery Group announced the launch of the “10 billion subsidy replacement season” campaign, covering the four major brands Chery, Starway, Jietu, and iCar, with trade-in subsidy up to 40,000 yuan. In addition, some models have also launched limited-time discounts, with a maximum comprehensive discount margin of 19,000 yuan.

Zhiji LS6 launched the “Spring Limited Time Car Purchase Benefit”. From now until March 31, you can enjoy a “cash discount+additional purchase gift+luxury bonus”, with a maximum value of 57,800 yuan.

Hyundai ix35 Musa launched a limited-time discount, starting at 99,800, and the starting price was reduced by 22,000 yuan.

Tesla launched a limited-time car purchase policy on March 1, with a maximum discount of 34,600 yuan: a limited-time insurance subsidy of 8,000 yuan for current Model3/Y cars; limited-time designated car paint benefits for all Model3/Y models, saving up to 10,000 yuan; and a limited-time low-interest financial policy for current Model3/Y rear-drive cars, with an annual rate as low as 1.99%.

Where is the NEV market headed

According to the CITIC Securities Research Report, mainstream car companies continue to launch new models with high-quality models to enhance industry sentiment, and the upward trend in the industry is clear. The country adheres to a steady growth policy, and indicators related to the automobile industry are improving, and BYD's sales are expected to reach new highs. New energy vehicles around the world continue to grow, and at present, it is recommended to seize the opportunity to seize high-quality standards in the global electrification supply chain.

According to the Fangzheng Securities Research Report, sales of new energy passenger vehicles will continue to grow in 2024, and leading car companies will contribute the main increase. The first half of the year focused on space & pattern. The vehicle side focused on opportunities to expand the Huawei industry chain, including Cyrus, JAC, Changan, Xiaopeng, etc. Components focused on emerging industrial technologies with a penetration rate of 0 to 1, in the early stages (within 10%), and with a clear room for imagination, including autonomous driving, smart cockpit, 800V, and active safety. In the second half of the year, the proposed strategy focuses on the resilience of Tesla's industrial chain. Furthermore, throughout the year, we are optimistic about undervalued, highly deterministic, and under-catalyzed automakers.

According to the Dongguan Securities Research Report, the second half of electric vehicles has arrived, and the development of intelligent connectivity has entered the fast track. Since 2023, there have been frequent policies for intelligent connected vehicles, which are expected to catalyze the development and implementation of advanced intelligent driving in China. Intelligent driving covers collaboration in many fields, and the industrial chain has ushered in rapid development. As pilot work for L3 and L4 autonomous driving is gradually carried out domestically, Tesla FSD with advanced intelligent assisted driving is expected to accelerate its entry into the Chinese market.

edit/emily