Lacklustre sales at the end of 2025 will bode ill for the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) domestic market this year, reports the South China Morning Post, with low-priced carmakers under pressure to offer further price cuts amid an adjusted trade-in subsidy mechanism.
A bleak outlook could also prompt authorities to rein in a discount war as few assemblers are able to post profits.
“As deliveries failed to live up to expectations, all major players would have to slash prices of their vehicles to reduce their inventories at the beginning of 2026,” said Zhao Zhen, a sales director at Shanghai dealer Wan Zhuo Auto. “Competition is getting fiercer this year because of weaker demand for new cars.”