Mercedes-Benz Group has cut the prices of some electric car models in China, joining a list of automakers that have followed Tesla’s price cut last month, in the latest sign of slowing demand in the world’s largest EV market.
The starter prices for the EQE model, the EQS model and its luxury edition — the AMG EQS 53 model — sold in China will be reduced by Rmb50,000 ($7,000), Rmb204,600 and Rmb198,600, respectively, the German carmaker said.
“We aim to flexibly adjust operational strategies in response to shifting market demands,” the company said in a statement.
Mercedes-Benz is faced with intensifying competition from local rivals in the process of electric and digital transformation, Hubertus Troska, Daimler’s China chief, told the China International Import Expo earlier this month, state media reported.
In October, Tesla cut prices for its Model 3 and Model Y sedans in China. Days after Tesla’s move, Ford Motor’s EV arm and Aito, a Huawei-backed EV brand, followed suit.
Analysts warned of a price war in the country’s increasingly crowded EV sector.
“This price-cut strategy would generate overall negative sentiment,” Citigroup analyst Jeff Chung wrote in a research note, citing stalling EV sales growth due to economic headwinds and zero-Covid controls in China.
Chung added that Tesla’s move would also put pressure on other high-end electric carmakers including XPeng, Volkswagen and BYD.
China’s sales of new energy vehicles, including pure electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen-powered models, jumped 81.7 per cent year-on-year to 714,000 units in October, the slowest pace of growth since April, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
