Source | Yuan Auto

Back in January, Yuan Auto noted that BMW would need to pull off a remarkable feat to make the new-era iX3 a success in China (see: BMW's new electric vehicle gets snapped up like Xiaomi phones). True to form, at the Chengdu Auto Show, which kicked off on August 21, this seasoned German luxury automaker unveiled a launch strategy that even caught domestic newcomers off guard.

"The new-era BMW iX3 is priced at a unified national price starting from 269,900 yuan, with reservations now open."

Rather than hosting a pre-show "BMW Night" event or announcing a pre-sale price, BMW opted for a straightforward "unified national price" for its most anticipated new car of the year. The new-era iX3 has thus simply and directly unveiled its pricing. Based on the automaker's official reservation process, it appears there will still be a launch event for the new-era iX3 later, hinting that BMW may have additional sales policies up its sleeve.

The announcement of the new-era BMW iX3's starting price at 269,900 yuan immediately stirred the market, as it is the first model among the BBA (BMW, Benz, Audi) trio to reveal its pricing without any preamble upon launch.

Whether it's the Audi Q6L e-tron in 2025 or the Mercedes-Benz all-electric GLC this July, both brands prioritized launching high-end models first, keeping entry-level versions under wraps. Take the Audi Q6L e-tron, for instance: the model priced at 329,800 yuan and up was available for over half a year before the 269,800 yuan entry-level version was introduced. By then, however, attention and sales had already waned.

As for the Mercedes-Benz all-electric GLC, Yuan Auto is at a loss for words. (Mercedes-Benz, don't hold back the most attractively priced all-electric GLC until next year!)

In contrast, the new-era BMW iX3 cuts through the noise by directly announcing prices for the entire lineup, offering a refreshing sense of efficiency and directness.

It's worth noting that at this Chengdu Auto Show, another joint venture automaker, SAIC Volkswagen, also took a straightforward approach by announcing a limited-time Equity price (benefit price) starting from 89,900 yuan for the ID.ERA 5S. Keep in mind that the ID.ERA 5S is a plug-in hybrid sedan with dimensions comparable to the Passat and a combined fuel and electric range of up to 2,000 kilometers.

Clearly, joint venture automakers are entering a new phase of counterattack.

01

BMW, Taking an Unconventional Approach

Returning to BMW's decision to directly announce a unified national price for the new-era iX3, BMW PR informed Yuan Auto on August 21 that "this price will remain unchanged upon official launch." Announcing the launch price before holding a press conference deviates from the current mainstream approach to new car launches.

Nowadays, most new car launches follow a strategy of announcing a pre-sale price first, followed by an official launch.

The advantage is that automakers can better plan production capacity and adjust pricing based on pre-sale orders. However, the downside is that the market seems to have grown weary of this prolonged launch model, making it increasingly difficult to sustain hype for the new car from pre-sale to launch. Additionally, it gives potential competitors launching around the same time more time to respond.

A smaller number of new car launches opt for a straightforward approach, announcing the price and starting sales immediately. But only two types of automakers dare to do this: those with relatively low interest in the new car, making it unworthy of investing too many resources, and those with such high demand that they don't need to worry about sales as long as they don't make any major mistakes.

The new-era BMW iX3, however, seems to be exploring a launch strategy that combines the advantages of both approaches.

It's worth noting that before announcing the unified national price at this Chengdu Auto Show, the new-era BMW iX3 had already embarked on a national tour for nearly two months. This means that although there was no pre-sale price phase, BMW had already gauged the market response to this new car, especially the intentions of BMW brand enthusiasts. Therefore, the unified national price of 269,900 yuan was not a desperate gamble by BMW.

Now that the strategy's shortcomings have been addressed as much as possible, only advantages remain.

For the new-era BMW iX3, directly revealing a starting price of 269,900 yuan will make Mercedes-Benz and Audi's competing models in the same segment look less impressive. Especially the Mercedes-Benz all-electric GLC, which only launched a version priced at 339,800 yuan and up upon its July launch, with the entry-level version announcing a pre-sale price of 299,900 yuan.

Regardless of product strength, BMW at least feels like it's taking the lead among joint venture automakers and competing with domestic newcomers in terms of launch strategy.

02

Joint Ventures Still Searching: "Time is of the Essence"

If the new-era BMW iX3 only stands out in terms of launch strategy and its price disruption is on par with Audi's, then SAIC Volkswagen should be considered the most aggressive joint venture automaker at this Chengdu Auto Show and even for the year.

This aggressiveness is not limited to SAIC Volkswagen offering a limited-time Equity price (benefit price) starting from 89,900 yuan for the mid-size plug-in hybrid sedan ID.ERA 5S. It also includes showcasing two other new models, the ID.ERA 8X and ID.ERA 5X, on the same stage, making it the joint venture automaker with the most promising new energy product lineup currently.

Looking at the overall joint venture automaker landscape, as of now, only a few have been able to consistently achieve significant monthly sales in the new energy sector. Nissan and GAC Toyota, which both created 10,000-unit bestsellers last year, remain the benchmarks, while SAIC Volkswagen is one of this year's new dark horses.

However, unlike the two Japanese joint venture automakers, SAIC Volkswagen is taking a top-down pricing approach.

In April this year, SAIC Volkswagen launched the ID.ERA 9X, marking the beginning of a new phase in its electrification transformation. According to Tianyancha APP data, this large SUV, with a starting price of around 300,000 yuan, has delivered over 12,000 new cars in the four months since its launch. Although it only ranks eighth among all joint venture new energy vehicles in the past six months (February-July 2026), it is the only model in the 300,000 yuan price range.

In fact, among the top ten best-selling joint venture new energy vehicles, eight have starting prices in the "100,000 yuan range."

From this perspective, SAIC Volkswagen is the first joint venture automaker to gain recognition in the 300,000 yuan new energy vehicle market, which will be a unique advantage for models like the ID.ERA 5S and ID.ERA 5X in the 100,000-150,000 yuan range.

According to @Sun Shaojun 09, an industry data expert, from August 1 to 16, the new energy retail penetration rate has reached 63.6%, meaning that fewer than 4 out of every 10 vehicles sold at the retail level are gasoline cars. Against this backdrop, joint venture automakers that haven't found the right approach to electrification transformation are "running out of time." Instead of fumbling around blindly, they might be better off learning from SAIC Volkswagen, BMW, GAC Toyota, Nissan, and others.