BYD’s launch of lower-cost variants of its electric vehicles is forcing some other Chinese automakers to follow suit as they try to stay competitive in an increasingly fierce battle in the world’s biggest auto market. SAIC-GM-Wuling, a General Motors China joint venture, on Monday announced it would cut pricing on its Wuling Starlight higher-end version by RMB 6,000 ($833), lowering the price tag of the plug-in hybrid sedan from RMB 105,800 to RMB 99,800 ($13,862). Meanwhile, the starting price for the Qiyuan A05, a similar PHEV offering from state-owned automaker Changan Automobile, was slashed from nearly RMB 90,000 to RMB 73,900. The biggest cut of all so far comes with the Neta X, launched by Chinese EV startup Hozon, also known as Neta Auto, with pricing for the compact crossover dropped by RMB 20,000. The Zhejiang-based EV maker also introduced a new cheaper version with a price tag of RMB 99,800, some RMB 5,000 less than the existing variants. BYD on Monday rolled out a new version of its budget Qin car, bringing the price tag of the popular lineup down by 11% to RMB 79,800. [TechNode reporting, The Paper, in Chinese]
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