Competition in mainland China’s budget electric vehicle (EV) segment is likely to intensify as consumers seek value for money, according to dealers and analysts.
With at least a dozen intelligent EVs under 150,000 yuan (US$20,864) – from BYD to Leapmotor – qualifying for up to 20,000 yuan in subsidies, consumers are spoiled for choice. At the same time, a fierce price war is pulling in budget-conscious buyers.
“Consumption downgrade has spread to the car market as consumers are increasingly shunning expensive models,” said Zhao Zhen, a sales director at Shanghai-based dealer Wan Zhuo Auto. “But leading Chinese carmakers are able to churn out high-performance EVs at about half the prices of Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y.”
Conventional and battery-powered cars priced between 100,000 yuan and 150,000 yuan accounted for a third of overall sales, or about 7 million units, on the mainland last year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Among the bestselling models, Xpeng’s Mona M03, which starts from 119,800 yuan, has been siphoning off sales of Tesla’s Model 3 priced from 235,500 yuan to 339,500 yuan.
