BYD Launches Qin Plus Model Starting $11,000, Intensifying Price War in China

BEIJING, February 20 (TMTPost)-- China’s top electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Co. Ltd, is intensifying the price war with new models directly vying with gas-powered vehicles for the affordable auto segment.

Credit：BYD

BYD unveiled two versions of the Qin Plus Honor Edition starting at RMB798,000 (US$11,000). As the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), the DM-i version of the Qin Plus Honor Edition has five variants with a price range between RMB798,000 to RMB125,800. The version has a zero to 100km/h acceleration time of 7.3 seconds, and a fuel consumption of 3.8L/ 100km. It offers a comprehensive cruising range of 1245 km. The full-electric version, or EV version, also has five variants, priced between RMB109,800 and RMB139,800. Backed by an electric motor with up to 134 hp (100 kW) and 132 lb-ft (180 Nm) max torque, the EV version is equipped with either a 48 kWh or 57.6 kWh battery pack for up to 261 mi (420 km) and 316 mi (510 km) CLTC range, respectively.

Compared with previous edition, the starting price of the latest Qin Plus Honor Edition is RMB20,000 cheaper.And the new edition not only shares all the features with the previous version but has two new features. In terms of starting price, the new edition first brought DM-i version costs less than RMB80,000 and the EV version first competes with vehicles at the price tag under RMB100,000.

Thanks to BYD's scale effect and full industrial chain advantages, the price of BYD's PHEV can be lower than that of the same level of gas vehicles, saidLi Yunfei, general manager of BYD Group's brand and public relations department. Li noted that BYD’s move, in the meantime, will completely open the curtain on the decisive battle with fuel vehicles. "Who will buy fuel vehicles next?" Li asked.

A couple of Chinese automakers followed suit after BYD’s major launches. SAIC-GM-Wuling, a joint venture between SAIC Motor, General Motors, and Guangxi Auto, announced that it cut the price for its advanced version of the Wuling Xingguang PHEV model with CTLC electric range of 150km by RMB6,000, down from RMB105,800 to RMB99,800. Following the adjustment, the model also costs less than RMB100,000. "One word, follow!" Zhou Jing, deputy general manager of the brand business department of SAIC-GM-Wuling, said on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo.

Changan Nevo, the EV line under Chang’an Automobile Co., Ltd., took similar actions immediately. The starting prices of the Q05 and A05 models were both lowered to RMB73,900. Neta Auto also offered a price reduction campaign, which resulted in a new competitor of vehicles under RMB100,000. The Neta X model now starts at RMB99,800 after a reduction of RMB22,000.

Unlike previous price promotions, the new round of price war started with PHEV models, and the main focus of the battle field is the segment less than RMB100,000, which is typically dominated by joint venture fuel car manufacturers, Chinese digital newspaper The Paper pointed out. It cited many industry insiders that PHEV models, including range-extended models, will see a sales explosion in 2024 since the market share of PHEV and range-extended models has increased very strongly in January.