Financial Services Association, April 24 (Reporter Zou Juntao) Following auto finance companies, commercial banks are also following up on implementing new car loan regulations.

This morning, Tesla announced “new products, new benefits” on its official Weibo, and launched a zero down payment plan for the Model 3 and Model Y models. Among them, the Model Y model can also have 0 interest.

A Financial Services Association reporter noticed that Tesla's partner financial institutions that officially announced a zero down payment loan plan include China Merchants Bank, Ping An Bank, and WeBank.

On the afternoon of April 24, the Financial Services Association reporter verified through Tesla customer service and partner bank staff that it is indeed possible to get 0 down payment car loans for some Tesla models. Among them, partner banks said that in addition to Tesla, they are also cooperating with other car brands such as NIO and Ideal for 0 down payment car loans for new cars.

Tesla and partner banks have confirmed the launch of a “zero down payment” car loan program for new cars

On the morning of April 24, Tesla posted a poster on Weibo saying that during the period from April 4 (inclusive) to June 30 (inclusive), customers who purchased the new current model and model models of the designated Model Y currently sold on the official website's current car page did not include custom cars, test drives or other licensed vehicles, and picked up the car according to the delivery and payment conditions in the order. Customers who met and qualified to apply for a loan can apply for a zero down payment loan plan or zero interest loan plan.

According to information, since April of this year, Tesla has launched car purchase promotions several times, but mostly through interest concessions and price cuts. At the beginning of April this year, Tesla introduced “3 year 0 interest” and “official replacement 5 year 0 interest” loan benefits; at the same time, it announced free selection of Starry Sky Grey car paint with an original price of 12,000 yuan. In late April, Tesla made global price adjustments, and China simultaneously adjusted the prices of the S3XY series by 14,000 yuan.

Judging from public information, this is the first time Tesla has launched a zero down payment car purchase plan for a new car. In response, the Financial Services Association reporter specifically called Tesla's official customer service to seek evidence. The other party said that currently consumers can choose to use the new 0 down payment car loan plan when purchasing the Model 3 and Model Y models. Currently, partner banks include China Merchants Bank, Ping An Bank, and WeBank.

However, “after choosing the 0 down payment plan, you cannot enjoy 0 interest”. The customer service staff said that for Model Y models, consumers can only choose between 0 down payment and 0 interest. If you choose the 0 down payment plan, you will need to pay certain loan interest and fees, with an annualized rate of about 1.4%.

According to a poster posted by Tesla, if the 0 interest plan is selected, taking the Model Y model, which starts at 249,900 yuan, as an example, consumers will need to pay a down payment of 79,900 yuan to buy a car. According to the reporter's estimate, this down payment ratio is about 30% of the total car purchase price.

In addition, the Financial Services Association reporter also consulted cooperating banks officially announced with Tesla. China Merchants Bank staff responded that the details were unclear and suggested consulting partner car companies; WeBank staff responded that they are currently cooperating with Tesla on car loans, but whether there is a zero down payment is possible, subject to the information published by the partner car company.

The relevant staff of Ping An Bank directly responded, and indeed cooperated with Tesla to launch a zero down payment car loan plan. The staff member also said that not only Tesla, but also currently cooperating with other NEV manufacturers such as NIO and Ideal to launch a zero-down payment car loan program.

In addition, Ping An Bank is also cooperating with a number of traditional power car brands on a zero down payment car loan program, but for specific brands and models, the staff suggested that the reporter try consulting the staff of the car brand they like.

Why are commercial banks “low-key” following up on new car loan regulations? Experts answer questions

On April 3 of this year, the People's Bank of China and the China General Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration jointly issued the “Notice on Adjusting Policies Related to Auto Loans” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”), which clarifies that financial institutions independently determine the maximum loan disbursement ratio for private use of traditional power vehicles and private new energy vehicles based on the borrower's credit status and ability to repay on the premise that they comply with the law and that risks are manageable.

According to industry insiders, the “Notice” abolishes the maximum loan issuance ratio, which means that financial institutions can make 0 down payments when applying for car loans for consumers.

In the middle of this month, a Financial Services Association reporter noticed that a number of auto finance companies, including FAW Auto Gold, etc., began intensively announcing the launch of “0 down payment” financial products, becoming the first financial institutions to follow up on the implementation of the new car loan regulations. At the same time, a number of car brands have also recently publicly promoted the purchase of cars with a zero down payment.

It is worth noting that unlike auto finance companies and car brand manufacturers that are following up on the new car loan regulations in a high-profile manner, in contrast, commercial banks appear to be quite “low-key” in this regard.

On the afternoon of April 24, Yu Fenghui, an economist and new finance expert, told the Financial Federation that this may be due to a combination of factors such as different marketing strategies, risk appetite, partnerships, and customer acquisition channels.

He said that automobile manufacturers and auto finance companies directly face end consumers, and their marketing strategies often focus on attracting the attention of potential car buyers and stimulating consumers' desire to buy cars through various preferential policies (such as “zero down payment”), thereby promoting sales performance. This type of promotion has a direct driving effect on improving brand image, market share, and short-term sales, so manufacturers and auto finance companies will actively use various channels to vigorously promote.

Yu Fenghui believes that banks, as financial service providers, have a broad and diverse core business, including but not limited to personal credit, corporate financing, investment and financial management, credit cards, etc. When it comes to car loan business, banks will regard it as one of many product lines. The promotion usually focuses on overall financial brands and comprehensive financial services, rather than a single preferential car loan policy. In particular, under the cooperative model, banks will prefer to rely more on the brand influence and sales networks of automobile manufacturers to attract customers, while focusing on internal risk control, approval processes, and service connections, and external publicity is relatively low-key.

Su Xiaorui, a senior researcher at Suxi Zhi Research, said in an interview with a reporter from the Financial Association that in the automotive consumer finance market, automobile manufacturers and auto finance companies usually have a stronger voice than commercial banks.

She believes that consumers who want to buy a car usually first have an initial intention to buy a car, and then they are guided to become automobile consumer finance customers through dedicated online car purchase websites or offline car purchase store scenarios such as automobile manufacturers and auto finance companies.

According to Su Xiaorui's analysis, banks are relatively low-key. On the one hand, it is because they are relatively far from consumers in the entire chain from generating car purchase intentions to selecting cars to forming car spending plans; on the other hand, it is also due to the fact that many banking institutions have “taken the lead” in financial marketing and promotion, financial consumer protection, etc. in recent years, and may tend to adopt a more low-key and cautious attitude when starting a new business.