BMW slashes the price of its China-made electric SUV by $ 10,000

BEIJING – German automaker BMW has cut prices for its all-electric iX3 SUV in China, bringing the car closer to vehicles from Tesla and Chinese start-ups like Nio.

BMW’s website reported that on Thursday, the recommended retail price for the iX3 will start at 399,900 yuan ($ 61,713).

That’s a drop of 70,100 yuan – or about $ 10,800 and 15% cheaper – from the initial price of 470,000 yuan announced in September.

“For its size, the iX3 would be in direct competition with the Tesla Y and NIO ES6 models which both have significantly lower starting prices than the iX3 before this coupe, so BMW must have seen the softness in demand. for the iX3 at this price. Said Tu Le, founder of Beijing-based consulting firm Sino Auto Insights. “At the end of the day, it wasn’t competitive.”

BMW reduced the price of a high-end version of the iX3 by the same amount of 70,100 yuan, to a new price of 439,900 yuan, from 510,000 yuan. A representative for the company did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

The price drop follows Tesla’s 30% cut of its Chinese-made Model Y earlier this year to 339,900 yuan, from 488,000 yuan, according to Chinese media.

By way of comparison, Chinese electric car start-up Nio’s ES6 sells for 358,000 yuan to 468,000 yuan.

BMW is making the iX3 in China as part of a joint venture with Brilliance Auto. The Chinese-made car is expected to be the first the joint venture will export to other countries, according to the German automaker.

Global automakers are increasingly looking to China to launch their latest electric cars. The country is the largest automotive market in the world and the government has supported the electric vehicle market with subsidies and the deployment of battery charging infrastructure.

Sales of new energy vehicles, which include both plug-in hybrid cars and pure electric cars, are expected to rise 40 percent this year to 1.8 million, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Sales of new energy vehicles last year rose 10.9% to 1.367 million vehicles despite an overall decline in car sales and the coronavirus pandemic, the association said.