Many Audi 4S store sales consultants vaguely felt that they might not be far from changing jobs in the latter part of March.

All because Huawei HarmonyOS Intelligent Drive applied the same competitive strategy as BYD, thus further escalating the price war over luxury cars. After facing a price war that has lasted for more than three years, traditional automakers have found a solution in limited-time fixed pricing, with more and more luxury cars following suit. However, the current reason for the obvious new pressure felt by many 4S stores is whether, after already having a limited-time fixed price, there will be no more room for price reductions?

In the afternoon of March 20, Yu Chengdong, relying on the second half of the launch event, completed Huawei's redemption for the 2025 new product launch event. A total of 4 new car models were mentioned, including the Wenjie M5 Ultra, Wenjie M8, Wenjie M9, and the extended-range version of Xiangjie S9. There are three common points among these models: first, they all have the status of luxury cars and are not cheap; second, the new models have all undergone significant upgrades compared to the old models; third, there are obvious articles on pricing, especially for the extended-range version of Xiangjie S9, Yu Chengdong described the pre-sale price as aggressive after stumbling over his words.

Price war effectively begins, no one can choose not to follow suit

"We have 70,000 pre-order orders in hand, and our internal estimate is a 40% conversion rate," this is the message we received from within HarmonyOS Intelligent Drive.

In other words, the upcoming Wenjie M8 is very likely to exceed 10,000 units in its first month of sales. And its price is not cheap, with a pre-sale price ranging from 368,000 yuan to 458,000 yuan. On the one hand, it aims to snatch potential customers from Ideal L8 and L9, and on the other hand, it directly targets those who want to buy BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC, and Audi Q5L.

With an extremely high hit rate, Huawei's current killing power in the luxury car sector is evident. But after this launch event, this killing power will become even greater, even surpassing the uproar recently caused by Lei Jun with the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, because the price reduction is indeed as aggressive as Yu Chengdong said.

Currently, the highest-selling SUV priced above 450,000 yuan is the Wenjie M9, with the pure electric Ultra 100kWh 5-seat version adjusted from 569,800 yuan to 549,800 yuan, a maximum price reduction of 20,000 yuan, and the extended-range version seeing a maximum price reduction of 10,000 yuan.

However, the price reduction is not achieved by reducing configuration but by significantly increasing it. The number of LiDAR sensors has increased from 1 to 4, the control system has been replaced with a better Turing chassis, the rear projection has been upgraded, the thermal efficiency of the range extender has been improved, fuel consumption per 100 kilometers has dropped to 6.9L, and the 42kWh battery pack has been canceled and upgraded to 52kWh. Moreover, in a few more months, Huawei's latest ADS4 intelligent driving system will also be pushed for updates on the new Wenjie M9.

The same applies to the Wenjie M5, which targets the niche market. It has added body colors, interior colors, upgraded queen seats, wireless charging, and upgraded intelligent driving hardware to 192-line LiDAR and 4D millimeter-wave radar, but its price has decreased. The price range of the 2024 model is 249,800-279,800 yuan, while the newly launched 2025 model is priced at 229,800-249,800 yuan.

The most damaging is undoubtedly the pre-sale of the extended-range version of the Xiangjie S9, with a price of 318,000 yuan causing an uproar at the launch event. Generally speaking, there is often a price difference of 10,000-30,000 yuan between the extended-range and pure electric versions of the same car series. Within the Huawei HarmonyOS Intelligent Drive system, the price difference between the pure electric and extended-range versions of the Wenjie M5 Ultra rear-wheel-drive version is 10,000 yuan, and the price difference between the pure electric and extended-range versions of the Wenjie M9 is 30,000 yuan. For relatively weaker brands, the price difference is actually smaller, such as the Zero Run C01 and Zero Run C10 models, where the price difference between pure electric and extended-range versions is only 3,000 yuan.

However, the price difference between the extended-range version of the Xiangjie S9 and its pure electric version exceeds 80,000 yuan. The entry-level guidance price of the Xiangjie S9 pure electric vehicle is 399,800 yuan, while the pre-sale price of the extended-range version is only 318,000 yuan. Moreover, the new car is also upgraded, with the same million-pixel headlights as the Wenjie M9, four LiDAR sensors, and a brand-new range extender system.

As a result, on the day of the launch event, Audi A6L, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and BMW 5 Series all felt the pressure. The Audi A6L with quattro all-wheel drive has a starting guide price of 479,900 yuan, with a minimum terminal price of around 330,000 yuan in Beijing. The starting price of the BMW 5 Series 525Li Luxury package is 340,000 yuan, and the starting terminal price of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is 310,000 yuan.

In other words, the aggressiveness mentioned by Yu Chengdong is indeed extremely damaging. The official market price is often lower than the pre-sale price, which means that even with the full-featured Qiankun Intelligent Driving ADS, the actual purchase price is lower than that of the Audi A6L and BMW 5 Series, but outperforms them in intelligence and acceleration.

Looking at the specific battle report data, the Wenjie M9 received over 10,000 orders within 2 hours, and the number of customers viewing the Xiangjie S9 within HarmonyOS Intelligent Drive surged over the weekend from the 22nd to the 23rd. Looking at the purchase details, upgrading from the old Wenjie M9 to the new one is estimated to cost only 50,000 yuan in the same configuration purchase app. This group of Huawei loyal fans will not even consider other brands and will follow up just like electronic products.

With the precedent of the Wenjie M9, first-tier luxury brands' mainstay fuel vehicles in the same segment actually have no other choice but to find a way to follow suit.

Even with a limited-time fixed price, it's hard to withstand?

In fact, what is causing fear among 4S stores this time is not just the lower car prices. It's also about a slide in the presentation that wasn't emphasized much during the launch event. That is, new forces are also reorganizing the market in terms of service and after-sales details. Wenjie has played a new card in after-sales, such as offering lifetime warranty for paint repair and ensuring basic maintenance does not exceed 45 minutes, with a direct waiver if it exceeds.

The emergence of user services that did not exist in the fuel vehicle era means that the pressure on traditional luxury brands will be significantly greater. In fact, in terminal 4S stores, such new services can easily become a key factor for customers to pay if the price is reasonable. For example, a lifetime warranty for paint repair means that at least 20,000 yuan can be saved compared to traditional 4S stores, and a basic maintenance time of no more than 45 minutes solves the original industry pain point.

So, on the one hand, there is the dimensionality reduction strike of Chinese brands in terms of technology and intelligence, and on the other hand, Chinese brands are beginning to reorganize the order in terms of the overall system price from purchase to maintenance to use. Then, the situation facing traditional first-tier luxury brands is how to reduce prices, how to do so, and whether they can really continue to do so.

For example, the pressure Audi is facing today is considered by 4S stores to be unreducible. Moreover, consumers' purchasing habits have always been to buy when prices rise and not when they fall. If the underlying parts and components are really explored to bring down car prices, will it become more difficult to sell the more prices drop? This is currently a question that no one can give a definitive answer to.

The 2.0T Audi Q7 has indeed dropped to a limited-time fixed price of 459,900 yuan at the terminal. However, the purchase conditions are also very stringent. For example, if purchased in Beijing, the buyer must first have a vehicle available for scrapping, so that the 4S store can receive relevant subsidies. Secondly, cross-regional purchases are not supported, and if purchased in Beijing, the car can only be registered in Beijing, and the same applies to other cities. Additionally, a 5-year installment plan is mandatory. Although it cannot match the 3- or 5-year 0% interest installment plans of new forces like Tesla, it is good that early repayment can be made after the second year.

So, compared to this, there are more fluctuations in prices. On the one hand, Huawei HarmonyOS Intelligent Drive, including Ideal and NIO, inherently have lower prices, higher configurations, and more distinctive features. On the other hand, the "limited-time fixed price" magic weapon currently used by established automakers is also at a disadvantage due to purchase thresholds and other factors.

At the same time, regarding limited-time fixed pricing, there are more variables brought about by the "cat and mouse" game between automakers and 4S stores. As of now, more and more brands are following suit with limited-time fixed pricing in the fuel vehicle sector, with the all-new Cadillac XT5 dropping to 265,900-335,900 yuan, Nissan Sylphy introducing a True Heart version priced at 89,800 yuan, the Sylphy Classic Comfort version dropping to 69,800 yuan, FAW-Volkswagen Magotan dropping to a starting price of 149,800 yuan, and Buick Regal dropping to a starting price of 106,900 yuan.

Furthermore, after entering March, the all-new Cadillac CT5 dropped to a starting price of 215,900 yuan, the Lincoln Corsair dropped to a starting price of 188,800 yuan, and Chery introduced limited-time fixed pricing for all its fuel vehicles.

Indeed, limited-time fixed pricing has brought a significant traffic inlet, allowing fuel vehicles to adjust and even compete with new energy vehicles. However, the battle between 4S stores and OEMs will not cease unless 4S stores are not responsible for sales and automakers give 4S stores commissions for delivery. For example, Lincoln's limited-time fixed pricing is similar to Audi's, requiring a 5-year 0% interest plan. Similarly, in many other limited-time fixed pricing schemes, 4S stores often inform consumers.

"Car companies offer a fixed price for black car paint. If you want other colors, you have to pay extra."

"It's sold out, and the waiting time is long. You can consider higher-configured versions or opt for installment payments to get it faster."

Such statements have become common in the sales market, as more and more car companies are introducing limited-time fixed prices. However, there are still corresponding turning points and solutions. For example, if a car can't compete or sell, it simply won't be sold.

For instance, many independent brands have now adopted a "make-to-order" approach for many gasoline-powered vehicles that are on sale but not selling well, only producing and shipping quickly when there are orders. Therefore, for Audi A6L and Audi Q7, there is no urgency to sell against models like Wenjie M9 and Xiangjie S9 EREV versions.

The next step is to adjust their sales strategies. Taking Audi as an example again, the Audi A5L, which cooperates with Huawei and uses a new engine, can become a new sales and traffic driver. The same is true for BMW. Before the launch of the new generation, the one-step pricing of the all-new X3 has brought great stimulation. It is internally estimated that after the ramp-up is completed, sales will soon exceed 10,000 units. Mercedes-Benz is also the same. With the launch of the all-new CLA, models equipped with urban NOA will soon enter the Chinese market. These are all corresponding strategies.

Written at the end

Therefore, the practical significance of limited-time fixed pricing is actually diminishing. It depends on whether the car companies are truly offering a fixed price, or playing many tricks, or giving 4S stores room to operate.

As Huawei HarmonyOS Intelligent Drive and its four partners continue to push forward, as well as Shangjie, which cooperates with SAIC, its first model is expected to be launched in the third quarter. SAIC, which now wants to reverse its decline, is also expected to offer an aggressive price to create a best-seller.

Therefore, the limited-time fixed pricing of gasoline vehicles is actually not important. What matters is how much the cost reduction can achieve. After all, under the current trend, there are more and more origins that can trigger a new round of price wars.