VW and BMW join price war in China

Volkswagen and BMW have reduced prices for their EVs in China significantly. This comes after a number of carmakers have started offering their electric cars for less to increase sales and reduce inventory in the country.

The Volkwagen joint ventures FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen are lowering the prices of its ID. models in China by as much as 40,000 yuan ($5,796). In the case of the latter, costs of the ID.4 X, ID.6 X and ID.3 were slashed by as much as 30,000 yuan ($4,350), but customers can allegedly receive other benefits worth up to 10,000 yuan ($1,449) at the dealerships, Chinese media outlet CnEVPost reports.

The reason is simple: sales are down. FAW-Volkswagen reportedly sold 9,572 units less in January-February compared to last year. That is a drop of 8.3 per cent.

In both cases, the offer is available for a limited time only, though the end date has yet to be communicated.

BMW is making prices spiral down even further, taking off 100,000 yuan (equivalent to about $14,500) of the selling price of its i3. The carmaker reportedly struggled to sell its all-electric car in China. Even before this official price cut, BMW dealers there offered an electric version of the 3 series sedan that has nothing in common with the i3 sold in Europe, for up to 30 per cent below the list price.

VW and BMW are the latest manufacturers to apparently react to the wave of price cuts initiated by Tesla in January, when the Model Y prices dropped between 29,000 and 48,000 yuan, depending on the drive option. Among others, Xpeng had followed suit in China, as did Nissan, Ford and Toyota.

cnevpost.com (VW), cnevpost.com (BMW)