BYD’s automotive brand Fengcheetah announced on the evening of July 29 that the price for its model “Leopard 5” has been reduced by 50,000 yuan (RMB) with a new price range of 239,800 to 302,800 yuan. Currently, “Leopard 5” is the only model under Fengcheetah available for sale.
According to a report by “The Economic Observer” on July 30, in late July, several Fengcheetah direct sales stores informed journalists that significant price reductions and promotional activities would be launched by the end of the month. A sales representative mentioned, “Leopard 5 had average sales in the first half of the year, so senior executives at BYD conducted a price adjustment after inspecting the stores.”
In June this year, Fengcheetah announced the addition of a dealership joining channel model. Currently, the initial plan for the first batch of recruitment channels by Fengcheetah covers 22 provinces, 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government, and 5 autonomous regions.
At the time, Li Yanwei, an expert from the China Automobile Dealers Association, believed that “the overall sales volume of Fengcheetah is not significant, with high product prices. Correspondingly, there are few cities in the consumer market capable of consuming Fengcheetah products. Without products with high turnover, the risk of investing in and establishing dealerships will be higher.”
According to “Securities Times,” Fengcheetah is a professional and personalized brand under BYD targeting the mid-to-high-end market.
On August 16 last year, the Fengcheetah brand was officially launched, with Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and CEO of BYD, stating that BYD would bring unprecedented professional and personalized car experiences to global users through Fengcheetah. Together with users, they would embark on a “greater revolution” in new energy vehicles, making cars unique personalized “exclusive items” for everyone.
It is introduced that Fengcheetah integrates BYD’s cutting-edge professional technology, forward-looking concepts, and a vertically integrated supply chain system across the entire industry. Wang Chuanfu’s expectation for Fengcheetah is “new energy + endless possibilities.”
On November 9 last year, “Leopard 5” was officially launched with an initial guide price ranging from 289,800 to 352,800 yuan.
“Leopard 5” had poor sales. As of the end of June, in the seven months since its launch, Fengcheetah’s brand accumulated sales of nearly 24,000 vehicles. It is worth noting that since April, sales have not exceeded 3,000 vehicles for three consecutive months.
Since last year, the Chinese automobile market has seen rounds of pricing battles.
In the first half of 2024, the price war in the automotive industry was intense. According to Cui Dongshu, the Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association, in the first five months of 2024, 136 car models have reduced prices, surpassing 90% of the total price reduction in 2023 and exceeding the overall scale of price reductions in 2022.