Cailian Press Auto Morning Express [June 3]
![Cailian Press Auto Morning Express [June 3]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.cls.cn%2Fimages%2F20250603%2Fpa1KD3yZkM.png&w=1920&q=75)
News Summary
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced it will intensify efforts to curb "involutionary" competition in the automotive industry, specifically targeting disorderly price wars to maintain a fair market environment and protect consumer interests. The MIIT encourages automakers to reduce costs through technological and management innovation, while improving product quality and service. May delivery data for Chinese NEV startups showed Leapmotor leading for the third consecutive month, Li Auto exceeding 40,000 units, Xpeng experiencing a month-over-month decline, and Nio maintaining around 20,000 units. Concurrently, new brands incubated by traditional automakers and ICT cross-industry ventures saw a collective surge in deliveries, with Harmony Intelligent Mobility achieving a new high and Xiaomi SU7 slated for mass production in July. Key automaker sales data for May: BYD sold 382,500 NEVs, with 89,000 units sold overseas; Geely Auto's passenger vehicle sales reached 235,208 units, with NEVs accounting for 59%; SAIC Group's NEV sales increased by 50.30% year-on-year; Chery Group sold 206,000 vehicles, with NEV sales up 47.7% and exports remaining China's top; Great Wall Motor sold 102,231 vehicles. The 3rd Future Auto Pioneer Conference discussed the industry's "involutionary" dilemma, emphasizing R&D investment, product differentiation, and overseas market expansion as crucial for overcoming challenges. Pony.ai partnered with Shenzhen Xihu Group to develop autonomous driving fleets in Shenzhen. Dongfeng Mengshi showcased its Mengshi M817 at the Greater Bay Area Auto Show, featuring Huawei's ADS 4 system and HarmonyOS 5 cockpit. Yangwang Auto exhibited several models, with initial deliveries of the Yangwang U7 imminent. Tesla's sales in France plummeted by 67% year-on-year in May, reaching a near three-year low.
Background
In 2025, China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market is experiencing unprecedented "involutionary" competition, particularly manifested in intense price wars. This phenomenon has led to significant pressure on corporate profits, with some companies even facing existential challenges. The Chinese government, especially the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), has previously expressed concerns about disorderly competition and supported industry associations' initiatives to maintain fair competition. The government's intervention aims to guide the industry away from pure price competition towards technological innovation and high-quality development, ensuring the long-term competitiveness of China's automotive industry in the global market. Policies like "trade-in" incentives are also in place to stimulate demand and alleviate market pressure.
In-Depth AI Insights
What are the deeper strategic objectives behind the Chinese government's crackdown on "involutionary" competition in the automotive sector? - Ostensibly, it's about maintaining market order and consumer rights, but at a deeper level, it aims to shift China's automotive industry from quantitative expansion to qualitative improvement. - It seeks to prevent technological stagnation and product homogenization caused by low-price competition, ensuring China's leading global position in new energy and intelligent vehicles. - It guides capital towards R&D and high-end manufacturing, rather than subsidies and marketing wars, laying the foundation for national strategies like "Made in China 2025." - It aims to stabilize the domestic market environment, creating favorable conditions for companies to "go global" and preventing the spread of vicious domestic competition to international markets. What does Tesla's 67% sales plunge in France signal for the global EV market landscape? - This indicates that even leading EV brands are not immune to intense market competition and shifts in consumer preferences. - Competition in the European market is intensifying with localized players, and Chinese brands are rapidly gaining market share with their cost-effectiveness and technological advantages, posing a direct threat to Tesla. - Tesla's strategic focus might be shifting from solely pursuing volume to maintaining profit margins and brand value, but it could risk further market share erosion. - This suggests the global EV market is entering a more "involutionary" phase, with regional markets exhibiting a more complex and diversified competitive landscape, rather than a single dominant player. Chinese automakers are seeing significant overseas sales growth, but what is the risk of "involutionary" competition spilling over abroad? - Chinese automakers going global is an inevitable trend to digest domestic overcapacity and seek new growth points, promising considerable incremental sales in the short term. - As Chinese brands gain market share overseas, pushback from local governments and traditional automakers is highly probable, potentially leading to trade barriers and anti-dumping investigations, replicating domestic "price wars" internationally. - In the long run, if Chinese automakers fail to build strong brand recognition, comprehensive service networks, and supply chain resilience overseas, a mere price advantage will be unsustainable, and "involutionary" competition could be replicated in international markets, eroding overall profit margins.