Luxury fuel vehicles prices continue to plummet in mainland China. According to dealer quotes in Beijing, the top-end Audi A3 can be purchased for around 160,000 yuan, the Mercedes-Benz C260L for about 260,000 yuan, and the BMW 5 series for approximately 280,000 yuan. The sales volumes of these three major brands in China have seen significant decreases in the first half of the year.
In Beijing, an Audi salesperson mentioned that the Audi A3 Prestige model with the Luxury Selection package has a suggested price of 209,900 yuan, but with discounts, the bare car price is around 140,000 yuan and full payment would amount to about 160,000 yuan.
The sporty version of the Mercedes-Benz C260L has a suggested price of 324,600 yuan, but a dealership in Beijing is offering it for about 260,000 yuan for full payment.
A sales manager at a BMW dealership in Beijing stated that the base model 525Li has a suggested price of 368,000 yuan, but with installment payments, the price can drop to around 280,000 yuan.
In response to these developments, some netizens expressed their surprise at being able to purchase a BMW 5 series for 280,000 yuan, something they couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. On the other hand, some individuals mentioned that with the same budget, they could opt for higher-configured new energy vehicles from other brands.
According to recent reports by First Financial, in the first half of this year, the sales volumes of BBA (BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz) in China were approximately 262,000, 232,000, and 210,000 vehicles respectively, marking a year-on-year decrease of 19.3% to 28.3%.
Wang Yu, a sales manager at a BMW 4S shop in Beijing, mentioned that their dealership used to sell over 100 vehicles per month, but the current sales have dropped by half from their peak. Since 2025, several traditional luxury car 4S shops in China have closed down or shifted to selling other brands.
An expert from the China Automobile Dealers Association, Li Yanwei, noted that in the first half of the year, the sales of vehicles priced between 300,000 and 400,000 yuan in China decreased by 96,800 vehicles compared to the previous year, with Audi A6, BMW 5 series, and Mercedes-Benz GLC sales declining by 19,400, 12,200, and 10,600 vehicles respectively.
As demand for luxury cars weakens, overall consumption growth in China remains subdued. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China shows that the total retail sales of consumer goods in the first seven months of this year increased by 1.2% year-on-year, with retail sales of automobiles above quota decreasing by 13.2%, reaching a 17% drop in July.
A previous report by the Associated Press highlighted that the long-standing downturn in the Chinese real estate market has led many consumers to be reluctant to purchase big-ticket items like cars. Claire Yuan, the head of Chinese auto enterprise ratings at S&P Global, stated that the slowdown in economic growth is a significant contributor to the weakened demand for high-end vehicles. Gong Min, the head of automotive industry research at UBS China, mentioned that affluent consumers are increasingly hesitant to publicly display their wealth.