Chinese EV Firms Accelerate Production and Promotions as Pandemic Controls Ease

With the recent easing of stringent COVID-19 control policies across China and increased support for struggling enterprises, many domestic automakers have sped up the resumption of production and kickstarted fresh marketing campaigns in pursuit of their sales targets.

According to Seashell Finance, Tesla said that business activities in China are gradually returning to normal. In December, the US firm’s plan to open many new stores was progressing in an orderly manner, and test drives were also carried out smoothly. The national tour of its Model S Plaid and Model X Plaid also continued. In Beijing, Tesla is expected to open two or three brand-new experience stores and arrange pop-up shops in popular business districts before the end of the year.

In order to promote the stability of production, BAIC’s off-road vehicle subsidiary has made careful arrangements for night shift production times, shift exchanging time, rest time, meals and other necessities. Double-shift operation has been started on the car body production line, ensuring that 110 units can be delivered in one day, and it is estimated that more than 3,000 units will be delivered in December.

In Chongqing, one of China’s first cities to be hit with the recent wave of COVID cases, car companies have now begun to run at full speed again. Changan Automobile and its suppliers are promoting the resumption of work and production in an orderly manner, and claim to have basically recovered to a pre-pandemic state. Avatr said that it adopted a closed-loop mode when the pandemic was serious in the city to achieve continuous and stable production, and now the new policies will make its job easier.

In Guangzhou, GAC Aion is pursuing various tasks, including the official construction of a battery factory, the release of new models, preparing for Guangzhou Auto Show and opening a store in Shanghai.

Taking advantage of the “Double Twelve Shopping Festival,” some car companies have started preferential promotions. For example, Geely and thousands of dealers across the country jointly launched promotions for group buying. Lynk & Co, Dongfeng Citroen, and Leapmotor are taking advantage of online e-commerce platforms. Some car companies have extended their promotion cycle throughout December.

According to the analysis of Great Wall Securities, the end of a purchase tax halving policy for fuel-based vehicles in December is coming soon, and the demand for car purchases before the Spring Festival will commence, so the auto market is expected to achieve a slight recovery in December. In addition, as subsidies for NEVs in China come to an end, many car companies expect consumers to place orders in advance, which will further boost sales.

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The Guangzhou Auto Show, originally scheduled for November 18-27, will resume from December 30 to January 8 of next year. GAC, Tesla and other car companies have indicated that they will participate in this show. In fact, since 2022, affected by the pandemic, the Beijing Auto Show and Chongqing Auto Show have both been postponed. Although the Chengdu Auto Show successfully opened at the end of August, it was abruptly called to a halt due to spiking COVID cases after just four days.

The resumption of the Guangzhou Auto Show is good news for car companies, because the efficiency of using auto shows to release new cars and display technology is much higher than that of organizing activities alone. At the same time, the show spans the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, which will release the pressure of new car releases and sales of car companies next year.