Unlike the sluggish market after the Spring Festival holiday in previous years, this year's auto market has been fast-forwarded.
On February 5, 2025, the first working day of the Year of the Snake, when most people were still enjoying the afterglow of the Spring Festival holiday, a promotion war had quietly started in the auto market. Many automakers released promotion policies for the post-Spring Festival market, with large discounts and wide ranges, which once again pushed the price war among automakers to a white-hot level.
On February 5, 2025, in the Qingdao section of the Shandong Pilot Free Trade Zone, workers were conducting inspections on new energy vehicles before they rolled off the production line in the factory workshop.
Tesla Model 3, as one of the leaders in the electric vehicle market, took the lead and launched multiple benefits, including a limited-time insurance subsidy of 8,000 yuan, a 5-year 0% interest financing plan, and special charging rights. This policy not only covers the rear-wheel drive version and long-range all-wheel drive version of Model 3, but also the high-performance version that was not previously included in the promotion. Tesla also set a relatively loose down payment threshold, starting at only 79,900 yuan, but the car must be picked up before February 28.
Then, Xiaopeng Motors launched the industry's only "five-year 0 interest 0 down payment" policy, covering multiple models such as X9, G9, P7i, G6, etc. Among them, the interest subsidy amount of Xiaopeng X9 can reach up to 57,000 yuan, while other models can also enjoy the discount of 0 down payment + 3 years of interest-free, with a maximum interest subsidy of 28,000 yuan.
Not wanting to lag behind, NIO launched a financial plan with a down payment of 20% and 0% interest for 5 years (except ET9), and added multiple benefits such as 10,000 yuan optional equipment fund, 48 free battery replacement coupons, and 5 years of free use of NOP+. The event will be held from February 1 to February 28.
Leapmotor and smart also launched promotional policies. Leapmotor's C series starts at 93,800 yuan after a limited-time subsidy, and the T03 enjoys more than 30,000 yuan in comprehensive benefits; smart Elf #5 has launched a limited-time guide price of 229,900 yuan, and superimposed with up to 35,000 yuan in cash discounts and financial interest subsidies.
Zhiji L6 has launched a limited-time, limited-quantity special offer, with the starting price reduced to 189,900 yuan.
In addition to new car companies, traditional car companies have also joined the price war with great force.
Following SAIC Volkswagen and SAIC GM, GAC Toyota's Wildlander and Fenglander also announced the implementation of a fixed price policy. After the implementation of the new policy, Fenglander and Wildlander will be uniformly reduced in price nationwide, with a maximum discount of 44,000 yuan. The promotion period is from February 5 to March 31. At the same time, it provides lifetime warranty services for the three core components.
In addition, Dongfeng Honda's Lingxi L, CR-V, Insignia and other models also provide multiple discounts including replacement subsidies and low-interest loans; Dongfeng Yipai's eπ007 and eπ008 launched limited-time discounts and multiple car purchase benefits.
It is worth noting that commercial vehicles have also joined the promotion trend. Wuling Commercial Vehicles has provided a policy of halving the purchase tax and providing a maximum comprehensive discount of 20,000 yuan for its truck family products, while red-label new energy models enjoy a gift package of up to 8,888 yuan, and can be superimposed with national/local subsidies.
The outbreak of this promotion wave is not the beginning of the price war in the auto market in 2025.
As early as January, more than 30 automakers, including independent brands, new forces and joint venture automakers, have competed for the market through price cuts, replacement subsidies, and bottom-line policies. For example, SAIC Volkswagen launched the New Year Goods Festival, with a maximum replacement subsidy of 12,000 yuan and a comprehensive discount of up to 60,000 yuan for models. The Weiran limited-time fixed price starts at 199,900 yuan, the Tuyue Xinrui starts at 79,900 yuan, and the Passat Pro starts at 189,900 yuan; FAW-Volkswagen limited-time preferential prices, up to 27,000 yuan direct reduction and 16,000 yuan trade-in subsidies.
At the same time, the promotional policies launched after the Spring Festival holiday of the Year of the Snake are mostly limited-time discounts, most of which end before February 28, aiming to stimulate consumption recovery in the post-holiday off-season.
However, as the price war continues to escalate, the profits of automakers will be further squeezed. And due to the overall market sales sluggish in January this year, inventory pressure has increased, and the "price war" in February is also expected.
The latest "China Automobile Dealer Inventory Alert Index Survey" VIA (Vehicle Inventory Alert Index) released by the China Automobile Dealers Association shows that the China automobile dealer inventory alert index was 62.3% in January 2025, an increase of 2.4 percentage points year-on-year and 12.1 percentage points month-on-month. The inventory warning index is above the boom-bust line, and the automobile distribution industry is in a recession.
On January 8, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and other departments jointly issued the "Notice on Increasing Efforts to Expand the Implementation of Large-Scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Trade-in Policies in 2025". With the support of the "two new" policies, the automobile market is expected to continue to pick up in the first quarter of 2025, but factors such as the Spring Festival holiday and policy wait-and-see sentiment still put some pressure on the current market.
Dealers are cautious about the market performance in the first quarter, with 26.6% of dealers expecting sales to drop slightly compared with the same period last year.
National statistics show that in 2024, the automobile industry's revenue was 10,647.0 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4%; costs were 9,330.1 billion yuan, an increase of 5%; profits were 462.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8%; and the automobile industry's profit margin was 4.3%.
Amid rounds of price wars, the production and sales volume of the automobile industry hit a new high in 2024, but the industry's profit margin has dropped from 5% in 2023 to 4.3%, and the repeated price wars in 2025 may further aggravate this situation.
