AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)03/20 Report--

On March 20, a piece of price increase news from Tesla went viral on Weibo.

Tesla said internally in China that the price of Tesla's Model Y model will be increased by 5000 yuan from April 1, while the current official car insurance subsidy policy of 8000 yuan and a maximum of 10000 yuan of car paint relief policy will also expire on March 31, the Financial Associated Press reported. According to this calculation, including insurance subsidies, Tesla's actual price increase in the Chinese market is as high as 23000 yuan.

In response to the above news, as of press time, Tesla officials have not yet responded.

At present, Tesla Model Y has three models on sale, the price range is 25.89-363900 yuan, and the delivery cycle of the three models is 2-6 weeks. According to the official website, the current car purchase enjoys spring courtesy subsidies, including the cash Model Y rear wheel drive version of the current car, through the cooperative insurance institution to purchase the corresponding car insurance, can enjoy 8000 yuan insurance subsidy, need to be delivered before March 31; cash and the original Model Y cash car, the designated paid car paint is only 2000 yuan (the price difference is reduced before delivery), need to be delivered before March 31 Cash and the original Model Y rear wheel drive version can apply for annual rates as low as 1.99% (equivalent to an annualized rate of 3.65%, applicable to some banks), while others need to be delivered before March 31 when the annual rate is as low as 2.5% (from 4.58%).

It should be noted that the price increase is not just for the Chinese market. On March 15, the market reported that the prices of all Model Y models in Tesla's US market will also rise by 1000 US dollars on April 1. On March 16, it is also reported that Tesla will raise the price of Model Y in ‍ in some European countries from March 22, an increase of about 2000 euros.

Up to now, Tesla's global models on sale include Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X. among them, Model Y is Tesla's first domestic SUV model, which will be launched in 2021. In October 2023, Tesla's new Tesla Model Y launched three models with a price range of 263900-349900 yuan, including 263900 yuan for the rear wheel drive version, 299900 yuan for the long-lasting version and 349900 yuan for the high-performance version.

Model Y is currently Tesla's important source of sales in the Chinese market. In February's retail sales data, for example, Model Y sold 22537 vehicles, accounting for 74.77% of total retail sales (30141), while Model 3 sales were 7604, well below Model Y.

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Industry insiders pointed out that after entering 2024, Tesla high-frequency price adjustment may mean that it is facing greater growth pressure. Tesla had previously warned that car growth in 2024 would "probably be significantly lower" than in 2023. Wholesale sales figures show that Tesla's wholesale sales in China in February were 60365, down 15.5% from the previous month and 18.9% from a year earlier, the lowest level since December 2022. Of course, the main reason for the decline in sales may be related to the Spring Festival holiday.

As for why the domestic Model Y should rise by 5000 yuan? Industry insiders believe that this may be to promote the removal of inventory, so that users lock the order as soon as possible.

In contrast to the car market, since the beginning of the Spring Festival year of the Dragon, the domestic price war has been very fierce. BYD shouted the slogan "electricity is lower than oil" after the Spring Festival holiday, launched a number of cheaper "glory version" models, lowered the price to less than 100000, and adopted a price reduction strategy to further reduce the price space in the A0 market, which also made it impossible for other car companies to calm down, attracting a number of new energy and fuel car brands to follow suit. According to incomplete statistics, up to now, more than 15 car companies in the domestic car market have announced that they have reduced the prices of their models. The price adjustment models are mainly new energy pure electricity and hybrid models, with prices ranging from 100000 yuan to 200000 yuan. The highest drop is close to 15%, reaching 30, 000 yuan.

"Price for quantity" is one of the tried-and-tested means for car companies to seize market share. It is worth mentioning that "price for volume" will also have a huge impact on the profits of car companies. Take Tesla as an example. In the past 2023 and 2023, Tesla cut prices in the United States, Europe, China and other markets, a move that enhanced the competitiveness of Tesla models in the car market, but also led to a decline in Tesla's gross profit margin. According to the financial report, Tesla's annual operating income in 2023 was 96.77 billion US dollars, up 19 per cent from the same period last year. Net profit for the whole year was 14.997 billion US dollars, up 19 per cent from the same period last year. Tesla's gross profit margin in 2023 was 18.2 per cent, down 7.35 per cent from 2022. Among them, affected by the price war, Tesla's gross profit margin fell to 17.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023, the lowest level since 2019.

In response to Tesla's price increase, tonight, Xiaomi Group Chairman Lei Jun said: "Tesla is so awesome that I really admire it. In the current electric car market, the competition is so fierce that only Tesla dares to raise prices." At the same time, Lei Jun pointed out that many people are particularly concerned about the pricing of Xiaomi SU7, in pricing, Xiaomi SU7 does have some pressure, I hope you understand. But no matter what, it will make people think it's good value for money.

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