EV sales going strong.

What future awaits the China's automotive industry in 2024?

Jan 12, 2024 18:41

Source:SMM

Recently, several automotive companies have announced their sales figures for December 2023, with a surge in new energy vehicles.

Recently, several automotive companies have announced their sales figures for December 2023, with a surge in new energy vehicles.

In December 2023, BYD reported sales of new energy vehicles reaching 341,000 units, up 235,000 YoY. The total sales volume for BYD in 2023 amounted to 3.0244 million units, up 62.3% YoY. GAC Group disclosed that their December 2023 vehicle sales volume amounted to 259,100 units, up 25.79% YoY. The total sales volume for the year stood at 2.505 million units, up 2.92% YoY. Notably, the annual sales of new energy vehicles within this figure were 549,600 units, up 77.55% YoY. SAIC Motor Corporation announced a total vehicle sales figure of 5.02 million units for the year 2023. Of these, new energy vehicles accounted for an annual sale of 1.123 million units, up 4.6% YoY, securing the second position among domestic automotive companies in terms of sales volume.

Every achievement garnered by the Chinese automotive industry is the result of the diligent work of its automotive professionals.

As Lei Jun, has stated, "We pay tribute to BYD, Geely, Changan, Great Wall, GAC, SAIC, Dongfeng, and FAW. We salute Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, Lincoln, Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, General Motors, and Ford. We extend our respects to Huawei, NIO, XPeng, Li Auto, Leapmotor, Nezha, as well as to emerging players like WM Motor, Skywell, and Aiways...“

Price War

Tesla's significant price reductions on the Model 3 and Model Y have triggered a price competition within the automotive industry in 2023. Following suit, GAC Aion swiftly reacted by cutting prices to boost sales volume.

Subsequently, traditional gasoline vehicle brands also began to substantially slash their prices, bringing the industry's competition to a climax. Dongfeng Citroën was at the forefront, implementing significant time-limited discounts, which compelled other traditional gasoline car brands to enter the fray. With limited market share available, the competition became incredibly fierce.

As the price of lithium carbonate plummeted from nearly 600,000 yuan/mt to the recent 100,000 yuan/mt, the cost of batteries has significantly decreased, approaching an all-time low. This has substantially reduced the production costs of new energy vehicles and provided strong support for the price competition.