Comparison of Chinese and Foreign Automobile Prices

The high price of Chinese cars has always been criticized, but what is the actual situation? Recently, Gasgoo.com has selected several models that are sold in China, the United States, Japan, and Europe to compare manufacturer guidance prices (MSRP).

Table: Prices of some models in different countries (units are ten thousand yuan)

Note: Since there are differences in the taxation methods of different countries, and there may be differences in the generation and configuration of the same vehicle in different countries, the price comparison in this article is a fundamental analysis.

Based on the comparison of the prices of the four different models in China, the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom based on the above table, we can probably draw the following conclusions:

First, the price of domestic small cars and compact cars is not as high as that of the mature car market. Even the price of some models is lower than that of mature markets. This is related to the low threshold of this market segment and the fierce competition.

For example, the Yaris produced by GAC Toyota belongs to the A00 class car, and its starting price of up to 87,000 yuan is considered by many people in the industry as one of the reasons for its sluggish sales. Because there are many local competitors in this segment of the market, and the price of the products they launched is much lower than 80,000 yuan. For example, the prices of Chery QQ, Changan Benben, BYD F0, and Geely Panda are all about 30,000 yuan.

However, through the comparison of the selling prices in different countries' markets, we have found that the price of Yaris in the country is “not high”. The price of Yaris in the United States and the United Kingdom is higher than that of China, and its Japanese starting price is only 4,000 yuan less than China. This shows that for Toyota, Yaris' manufacturing costs in China have been controlled to a certain limit, but to compete with local competitors, there is still a need for greater breakthroughs in localization and marketing strategies.

The Fox domestic production of Changan Ford, which belongs to the A0 class, has a lower selling price than the United States and the United Kingdom. However, Fox's Japan price is lower than the Chinese market.

Second, the prices of domestic high-end cars and luxury cars are still significantly higher than the mature car market. We expect that this situation will not change much in the short term.

For example, the starting price of the new generation of Passat produced by Shanghai Volkswagen in China is RMB 218,800, which is higher than the Passat’s import price of US$ 181,000 in the United States and the import price of 199,900,000 in the United Kingdom; while Beijing’s Mercedes-Benz produces E The domestic starting price of a sedan is even higher than that of the United States and the United Kingdom by about 150,000 yuan. The main reasons for this include:

1. The domestic mid-to-high-end car market is a seller's market, and consumer demand is strong, and the market has no incentive to reduce prices.

2. Although there are quite a number of competitors in the mid-to-high-end car market, there are very few local players with cost advantages. Competition is limited to the competition among several major international companies, and the overall cost of mid- to high-class cars has not fallen. However, as more and more international car companies increase the intensity of mid-to-high-end vehicles, such as the new Passat, PSA Peugeot Citroën 508, the eighth generation Sonata and the Kia K5, we expect this to be available in the first half of 2010. The competition in a market segment will tend to be hot and there will be room for price decline in the future. However, the magnitude will not be too high. The competition focus of mid-to-high-end vehicles will focus on service and configuration upgrades.

3. The low level of local procurement and production is also one of the reasons for the high selling prices of some mid-to-high-end cars and luxury cars. Among these are the objective factors that China's spare parts supply base is still relatively weak, and the factors that the international auto companies are not willing to consider because of considerations such as brand image.