Finance Link April 22 (Reporter Zhang Yipeng) - After the "re-listing" of ZhiJie S7, its competition with Xiaomi's SU7 has been brought to the forefront, gradually escalating into a showdown between Huawei and Xiaomi in the cross-border car-making arena.
"Yes, there is such a (subsidy policy regarding Xiaomi)." Facing inquiries from Finance Link reporters about the authenticity of rumors that "holding a Xiaomi SU7 order can get an additional discount of 5000 yuan," on April 22, many salespersons at Huawei stores couldn't wait to introduce the current targeted policies for ZhiJie S7. "If you have paid the 5000 yuan deposit for Xiaomi SU7 but ultimately choose to purchase ZhiJie S7, we can directly deduct 5000 yuan from the purchase price. At the same time, we also have a 10,000 yuan subsidy policy for Beijing license plates, all of which are limited-time offers."
According to the salesperson, the process for the "conversion" subsidy is very simple, requiring only a screenshot of the consumer's Xiaomi SU7 official order.
Regarding terminal operations, a Huawei spokesperson responded: Currently, we are not aware of this. Many consumers have visited stores for test drives over the past few weekends, and the ability for large-scale deliveries is also a focus of consumer attention.
The policy of reimbursing deposits for switching purchases from competing products is not new. In September last year, when the Wenjie New M7 was launched and quickly sold out, Huawei and Li Xiang, the founder of Ideal Motors, engaged in an online "debate." Meanwhile, there were also rumors offline that "switching from Ideal to New Wenjie M7 would allow reimbursement of the deposit paid to Ideal."
It is widely believed in the industry that the "re-listing" of ZhiJie S7 is its last chance. Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue personally endorsed it, and mid-to-high-end models received a direct reduction of 20,000 yuan... Both Huawei and Chery have spared no effort to "make up for lost ground and maximize the compensation for the previous losses due to insufficient production capacity." From the actual performance, ZhiJie S7 has lived up to expectations. Official data shows that during the first weekend after the "re-listing," over 2000 units were pre-ordered, and on April 18, Yu Chengdong announced that ZhiJie S7 is expected to deliver over 4500 units in April.
As a previous weak point, the "delivery cycle" has now become an advantage for ZhiJie S7 in competing with models like Xiaomi SU7. It is reported that the overall cycle from placing a deposit for ZhiJie S7 to delivery is around 2-4 weeks, and some ZhiJie S7 Max models have available stock for direct delivery. On the other hand, regarding the slow delivery issue of Xiaomi's SU7, Lei Jun responded during a live broadcast, stating that Xiaomi's SU7 has broken many records in the domestic auto industry, and the current demand is three to five times higher than expected. The Pro version was originally planned to start deliveries by the end of April, but it has already been delivered ahead of schedule.
On the eve of the 2024 Beijing Auto Show, the "price war" in the car market is intensifying. Following the 20,000 yuan price reduction for the entry-level Wenjie New M7 at the beginning of the month, Tesla and Ideal Motors have also announced official price reductions in the past two days.
"In terms of the pace of price reductions, the overall price reductions in 2023 were relatively balanced. However, the price reductions in February and March 2024 reached an extremely strong level, with 27 models reduced in February and 37 models in March, which is astonishing compared to history," said Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association. The price reduction trend in the first quarter of 2024 is relatively strong, and the number of 37 models in March is historically rare. "Independent brands and new forces are the main force behind the price reductions, while joint ventures have fewer price reductions. Following last year's trend, the price reductions will lead to continuous growth towards the end of the year, and we hope that consumers will have more confidence in releasing their consumption in the future."
