BEIJING, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng (9868.HK), opens new tab priced the first model of its budget sub-brand MONA from $16,813 on Tuesday, wedging into the mainstream but highly competitive segment of the world’s largest auto market. The MONA M03 electric hatchback coupe is Xpeng’s most affordable model and will compete with other EVs priced in the 100,000-150,000 yuan ($14,035-$21,052) range, which accounts for a third of total car sales in China.
There will be two versions of the MONA M03: an entry-level one without advanced autonomous driving technology available from $16,813, and the M03 Max that uses Tesla-like technology and is priced from $21,866. Both are cheaper than the lowest priced Xpeng-branded EV, the P5 sedan, which is priced from $22,000. Deliveries of the M03 Max, “the only car with advanced autonomous driving at less than 200,000 yuan ($28,068)”, will start early next year, said He Xiaopeng, co-founder and CEO of XPeng Motors. He was speaking at a launch gala in Beijing that also celebrated the Guangzhou-based carmaker’s 10th anniversary.
The pricing on internationally-exported Chinese EVs is not meaningful to compare against. The CCP is aggressively subsidizing the production cost of the cars they export, which artificially reduces the cost. The only reason they’re doing that is because they are trying their level best to corner the market and push all other non-Mainland Chinese car manufacturers out of the EV business - or at least, to create an essentially unassailable level of market dominance.
Wait a decade and see how expensive their stuff is. I guarantee you it’ll be basically on par with everyone else at that point.
TL;DR the CCP is conducting overt trade warfare with their EV export subsidies in the interest of dominating the market, which is also why a lot of countries have banned their sale (especially if said countries have car industries themselves). This is generally considered a dick move in geopolitics.
We have already seen market dominance with solar panels from China over the past decade. While prices are still consistently trending downward. This decline can largely be attributed to the intense competition among numerous manufacturers in China.
The same logic can be applied to Chinese EV manufacturers.
In contrast, other countries typically at best have only have a couple of EV manufacturers, often receiving substantial government protection akin to a helicopter parent. This lack of competition keep prices higher.