Recently, a reporter from China Securities Journal visited several 4S stores of new energy vehicles in Chengdu, Guangzhou and other places. Under the expectation of price increase of automobile enterprises, the sales of new energy vehicles were booming in March. The exhibition vehicles were sold short in a 4S store of BAIC new energy in Chengdu.
New energy vehicle enterprises have both joys and sorrows. On the one hand, they are facing a steady stream of production orders. On the other hand, they are facing problems such as rising raw material prices, chip shortage, unstable supply chain and so on. Under multiple pressures, new energy vehicle enterprises are actively responding by reducing costs and stabilizing the supply chain.
new energy vehicle sales hot
Although there is already a Nissan car at home, Song Tao of Xiangyang, Hubei Province bought another new energy vehicle in March. He chose Byd Company Limited(002594) song. “I just changed my room. The parking space in the community is equipped with charging piles, which is convenient for charging. I charge the car every day when I go home. The endurance of more than 100 kilometers is enough for me to commute in Xiangyang City.” Speaking of the new car, Song Tao was very satisfied.
In the context of rising oil prices, the cost performance of new energy vehicles is prominent. In a Chang’an new energy 4S store in Chengdu, the exhibition hall was empty, and the exhibition car was just sold in March. The salesperson of the store told reporters: “last year, our store sold an average of more than 100 new energy vehicles a month, and more than 200 in March this year. The reason for the sharp increase in sales in March is that customers have to place orders before the price rise. Due to factors such as the rise in the price of raw materials, the manufacturer’s production has been unable to meet the sales. Now when placing an order, it takes three months to pick up the goods. Some customers can’t wait, so they directly bought the exhibition car.”
On March 31, Chang’an New Energy announced that it would adjust the price of the colorful national version of Benben e-star, and the official guide price of this model would be increased by 4000 yuan from 0:00 on April 1.
Not only Chang’an new energy, but Tesla, Byd Company Limited(002594) , ideal automobile and Weilai have all raised the price of their new energy vehicles from thousands of yuan to tens of thousands of Yuan recently.
As a new energy vehicle for cross-border cooperation between Chongqing Sokon Industry Group Stock Co.Ltd(601127) and Huawei, AITO will face a price increase in May. In an AITO 4S store in Chengdu, the salesperson told the China Securities Journal: “the price of this model will increase by about 10000 yuan next month. Now place an order and enjoy the price before the price increase when you pick up the car.”
According to the data released by China Automobile Association on April 11, in mid March 2022, the production and sales of Shanxi Guoxin Energy Corporation Limited(600617) vehicles reached 465000 and 484000 respectively, with a month on month increase of 25.4% and 43.9%, a year-on-year increase of 1.1 times and a market share of 21.7%.
multiple pressure plus
At present, new energy vehicle enterprises are under multiple pressures, such as rising raw material prices, chip shortage, unstable supply chain and so on. Looking forward to the future of new energy vehicles, industry insiders believe that there is the possibility of continuing to raise prices.
In the price increase letters issued by new energy vehicle enterprises, they all mentioned the sharp rise in the price of raw materials. Ideal CEO Li Xiang recently wrote on his microblog that the rise in battery costs in the second quarter was “very outrageous”.
Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings Co.Ltd(300226) released data show that on April 13, the average price of battery grade lithium carbonate was 495000 yuan / ton, while the price of battery grade lithium carbonate at the beginning of 2021 was only about 50000 yuan / ton.
Bank Of China Limited(601988) Research Institute researcher Wang Meiting said: “The battery cost of new energy vehicles accounts for 40% – 50% of the whole vehicle cost. Since last year, the prices of lithium carbonate, lithium hexafluorophosphate and cobalt in the upper reaches of the battery have increased several times. Coupled with the high PPI, the prices of iron and steel, nonferrous metals and other prices have increased by different ranges, and the prices of vehicle materials have also increased. The rise in the prices of raw materials has led to the rise in the prices of ternary lithium batteries and lithium iron phosphate batteries. Battery manufacturers represented by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) have increased their supply several times Therefore, downstream vehicle manufacturers also raise prices to transmit costs. “
In addition to the rise in the price of raw materials, the shortage of chips and the instability of the supply chain are also the problems encountered by auto enterprises Zeng Qinghong, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.Ltd(601238) chairman, said: “the chip affected 42000 cars in the first quarter.” Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.Ltd(601238) general manager Feng Xingya said: “some time ago, I went to parts enterprises to ask for parts and chips.”
On April 9, the official app of Weilai automobile released a statement on the recent production and delivery. Since March, due to the epidemic, the company’s supply chain partners in Jilin, Shanghai, Jiangsu and other places have stopped production one after another, which has not been restored yet. Affected by this, Weilai vehicle production has been suspended.
Looking forward to the future, Wang Meiting said: “from the perspective of future trend, the supply gap of lithium and cobalt ore has not converged due to the global shortage of commodities and the instability of supply chain, which will last for some time. The price of new energy vehicles may still rise.”
taking multiple measures to ensure production
In the face of industry challenges, auto enterprises actively respond by controlling costs, stabilizing the supply chain and expanding upstream.
As a large automobile group with the most complete supply chain in China, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.Ltd(601238) has advantages in stabilizing the supply chain and cost control. The company has taken various measures to actively digest the cost pressure caused by the rise of raw materials and try to minimize the impact of the rise of battery and chip prices on consumers. In addition, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.Ltd(601238) also strengthened the investment layout around the three directions of chip, intelligent networking and new energy, and promoted the industrial chain to supplement and strengthen the chain.
Byd Company Limited(002594) ‘s coping strategy is to stick to the “two legs” walking of pure electric and plug-in hybrid. “If pure electric vehicles focus on increasing the purchase demand, plug-in hybrid vehicles effectively solve the first purchase and replacement demand of more families, and form an obvious substitution effect on the huge stock of fuel vehicle market. Plug-in hybrid vehicles are an important path to achieve the goal of ‘double carbon’. The reform is relatively mild, which helps to stabilize the supply chain of the industrial chain and realize the smooth transition from fuel vehicles to pure electric vehicles.” Byd Company Limited(002594) president Wang Chuanfu said.
Wu Wei, an assistant professor at the school of management of Xiamen University, said: “under the background of ‘double carbon’, the substitution of new energy vehicles for fuel vehicles is a long-term trend. Combined with the high oil price this year, new energy vehicles are expected to continue the high growth in the first quarter of the year.”
