Neta raised the prices of all its models on January 4, but two days later Tesla sharply lowered the prices of the Model 3 and Model Y in China.
(Image credit: Nea)
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers are not seeing a wave of price cuts after Tesla's latest reduction, but a growing number of players are offering incentives to consumers.
Neta Auto, the EV brand owned by Hozon Auto, announced today that consumers can now pay an RMB 5,000 ($740) deposit for its flagship sedan, the Neta S, and those deposits can be used as RMB 20,000 when the final payment is made.
Neta is offering the incentive with a current expiration date of February 28th, and the two highest-priced versions of the Neta S with LiDARs are not eligible for this benefit.
The Neta S officially launched in China on July 31, 2022, and is the company's first model to be used to target the premium market. The model now has a starting price range of RMB 202,800 to RMB 341,800, after a price increase a month ago.
Previously Neta had been targeting the lower end of the market, with the other two models on sale -- Neta V and Neta U -- starting at RMB 83,900 and RMB 135,800 respectively.
The Neta S delivered 1,517 units in January, with cumulative deliveries since deliveries began in late November standing at 3,722 units, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.
Neta delivered 6,016 vehicles in January, down 45.35 percent from 11,009 in the same month last year and down 22.82 percent from 7,795 in December, according to data released on February 1.
Neta becomes the latest to offer consumers incentives to buy its cars, as a large number of local car companies face more pressure at a time of economic weakness following Tesla's price cut.
On January 4, Neta raised the prices of all models on sale as China's purchase subsidies for new energy vehicles (NEVs) were withdrawn at the end of 2022.
Two days later, however, Tesla sharply cut the prices of all its China-made models on January 6, its second price cut in three months.
Local media outlet The Paper quoted Zhang Xiang, a researcher at the Jiangxi New Energy Technology Institute, as saying in a January 6 report that other car companies will follow Tesla's move, especially for vehicles in the RMB 200,000-300,000 price range.
On January 13, Huawei-backed AITO announced price cuts on two of its models, the M5 and M7, becoming the first local car brand to follow Tesla.
On January 17, Xpeng lowered the prices of all its models except the flagship SUV G9, with price cuts ranging from RMB 20,000 to 36,000.
Earlier today, Nio released its official purchase incentives package, including subsidies for the purchase of its NT 1.0 platform models, additional discounts for stock vehicles, and small cash discounts for the purchase of NT 2.0 platform models.
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