With the arrival of the traditional "Golden September and Silver October" sales peak season, automakers are stepping up their efforts to boost sales.
On September 25th, BYD officially launched several new models of the second-generation Qin PLUS. At the same time, BYD announced a "National Day Gift Price" promotion: multiple versions saw price reductions of 10,000 yuan, with the second-generation Qin PLUS DM-i 55km Leading Edition starting at 69,800 yuan.
Since August, numerous automakers have launched new models. According to data released by the Passenger Car Market Information Joint Committee of the China Automobile Dealers Association (CPCA), more than ten new models have been released almost every week since August.
Among them, there are many models with direct price reductions or limited-time discounts.
On September 1, Tesla announced a price reduction of 10,000 yuan for the long-range rear-wheel drive version of Model 3, less than a month after the model was launched on the market; less than a day later, Xiaomi Auto announced limited-time car purchase benefits in September, and Xpeng Motors also announced the launch of a "5-year 0 interest" financial policy; new models from automakers such as NIO and Li Auto directly "increased features and reduced prices."
September and October are traditionally the peak sales season for the auto market. The latest manufacturer survey data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows that leading manufacturers, which account for nearly 80% of total sales, have generally set higher September retail sales targets, with both year-on-year and month-on-month increases.
In addition to seasonal influences, another important influencing factor that needs to be pointed out is the upcoming decline in purchase tax on new energy vehicles.
According to the "Announcement on the Extension and Optimization of the Vehicle Purchase Tax Exemption Policy for New Energy Vehicles" published in 2023, this year is the last year for the exemption of vehicle purchase tax for new energy vehicles. In 2026 and 2027, the vehicle purchase tax for new energy vehicles will be reduced by half, and the tax reduction for each new energy passenger vehicle will not exceed 15,000 yuan.
Taking the Xiaopeng P7, which has an official price of 219,800 yuan, as an example, it will be exempt from purchase tax in 2025, but in 2026, buyers of this model will have to pay a purchase tax of nearly 10,000 yuan.
In addition, many car companies sell "pre-sale cars", and consumers must purchase cars several weeks in advance to catch up with the purchase tax rebates in 2025. This has also made a number of car companies rush to line up to release new cars and introduce preferential policies.
With comprehensive policy support and the release of peak season demand, the China Passenger Car Association predicts that the size of the narrow passenger car retail market in September will reach about 2.15 million vehicles, a month-on-month increase of 6.5% and a year-on-year increase of 2%. Among them, the retail volume of new energy vehicles is expected to be around 1.25 million, and the penetration rate is expected to climb to 58.1%, setting a new historical high.
