In recent years, traditional luxury car brands have been impacted by the high-end transformation of domestic new energy vehicles, facing unprecedented challenges with declining sales and prices leading to compressed profit margins. Many traditional luxury car brands will update their flagship models, with current models offering discounts of over 100,000 yuan (13820$) due to the urgent need to boost sales in the middle of the year. With huge price concessions and shining logos, can they compete with domestic new energy vehicles? The all-new BMW X3: How to compete with the ideal, the boundary? Known as the “second in command on the road,” the BMW X3 has gained increasing recognition in China over the years. The all-new BMW X3 is expected to debut overseas in the first half of the year, with a market launch in North America in October and introduction to the Chinese market next year. Spy photos of the all-new X3 have already been captured in China, with the new model still based on the CLAR platform and offering gasoline, diesel, plug-in hybrid, and high-performance versions, providing consumers with more powertrain options.
Combining spy photos and leaked renderings, the all-new BMW X3 retains family traits, with a more powerful front end featuring sharper lines and angles, replacing the current model’s rounded elements for a stronger visual impact; the interior will adopt BMW’s family design style, equipped with dual screens, AR-HUD, and the latest infotainment system for a more tech-savvy and intelligent experience.
Currently, the sales of the current BMW X3 remain stable, with monthly sales maintaining at 10,000 units, thanks to its good overall product strength and BMW’s brand influence. The market price is around 110,000 yuan (15210$) nationwide, with some areas even higher, and the price of mid-range models does not exceed 400,000 yuan (55290$) after landing. In terms of positioning and price, BMW X3 faces significant competition not only from traditional rivals Mercedes GLC and Audi Q5L, but also from new car makers such as Ideal L8, L9, WM7, WM9, and NIO SUV, which have greatly impacted BMW X3.
Big-name BMW X3 sees a significant price drop, a victory for bargain hunters. Excellent handling genes have always been a strong selling point, especially for consumers who prioritize family comfort and intelligent features when choosing a car. The post-discount BMW X3 still holds a competitive edge in terms of pricing for those who prefer the classic blue and white logo. New Audi A4L: Family design, interior needs improvement Spy photos of the new FAW Audi A4L have been circulating, with the car expected to be officially unveiled soon after completing welding assembly last December. The car retains its iconic hexagonal grille with a central strip for license plate placement and horizontal strips on either side of the brand logo for a wider visual effect.
From the side, the new generation of the domestic Audi A4L appears to have a more elongated body design. It is also equipped with a semi-closed door handle design and double five-spoke wheels. The rear of the car will feature a dual exhaust layout. The interior will reference the overseas models, with a large central control screen and a new electronic gear lever design that looks very exquisite.
Currently, nationwide Audi A4L cash discounts are generally over 100,000 yuan (13820$), with the highest reaching 130,000 yuan (17970$). The overall price is around 250,000 yuan (34560$).
Although Audi has stabilized sales by significantly reducing prices, the current model’s interior design concept does not meet the demand of young consumers for driving technology, which has become a major factor limiting its competitiveness, and there are also many quality complaints.
If you can overlook the interior and quality issues, the price drop of the Audi A4L is very attractive for a luxury midsize car. The value for money after the price drop is very good. Whether to buy the Audi A4L depends on personal needs and preferences. Of course, at this price, there are also many choices in the new energy vehicle market such as Tesla Model 3, Xpeng P7, Xiaomi SU7, BYD Han, etc., which have advantages in interior design, materials, intelligent performance, and configuration. The all-new Mercedes-Benz GLE: Not yet locally produced, the significance of the update is limited Recently, the media exposed that the Mercedes-Benz GLE has started a new round of road testing overseas. This is the second mid-term facelift for the Mercedes-Benz GLE, and it may also be a test mule for the all-new generation of the Mercedes-Benz GLE! In terms of details, the new car will continue the signature AMG waterfall grille design and adjust the headlight style. The interior may adopt a new steering wheel and independent digital instrument panel.
The new model will not have major changes in power. The high-end model will be equipped with a combination of 3.0T + 48V motor, while the low-end model will have a combination of 2.0T + 48V motor. It will match with 9G-TRONIC automatic transmission, and come with 4MATIC all-wheel drive system. It will also offer a plug-in hybrid version as an option. After the launch of the domestically produced BMW X5, the survival space of the Mercedes-Benz GLE has been squeezed. In the new energy vehicle market, including the Ideal L9, WENJIE M9 and other new forces in the flagship SUV segment, have also captured some of the market share of the Mercedes-Benz GLE.
Currently, there is a significant difference in discounts for Mercedes-Benz GLE across the country, with market discounts ranging from 5-15 million yuan, depending mainly on the local popularity and economic level of the vehicle.
The localization of the Mercedes-Benz GLE has always been a mystery, making it unable to compete with the domestically produced BMW X5 in terms of cost and price. Now, under the impact of the high-end transformation of domestic new energy vehicles, the competitiveness of the Mercedes-Benz GLE has been further weakened, disrupting the product cycle arrangement. The so-called mid-term facelift or complete redesign is actually not very meaningful. If localization had been put on the agenda earlier, perhaps the situation could have been maintained in the short term. New Cadillac XT5: No match for “refrigerator TV” As the best-selling SUV in the Cadillac family, the all-new XT5 is expected to be officially released this month. The new car unsurprisingly adopts the diamond-cut design language, with a shield-shaped large-mouthed front grille that appears flatter, and a dot-matrix smoked black mesh filling inside, with a new split-type headlight unit introduced by a chrome strip above.
In terms of interior, the most prominent feature is the latest 33-inch 9K curved dual screen of the family, with a significant increase in technology. The center console has a rich layout and uses electronic gear shifting. According to the information declared by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the new XT5 will continue to be equipped with a 2.0T engine, with a maximum power of 174 kilowatts and a peak torque of 350 Nm, providing optional two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive models, the 48V mild hybrid system and 9AT gearbox should not be left behind.
As the all-new Cadillac XT5 is about to be launched, the terminal market has increased discounts on the current XT5 to make way for the new car. Currently, the current XT5 generally has discounts of over 110,000 yuan (15210$), with a guide price of 352,700 to 452,700 yuan (62580$). The entry-level two-wheel drive fashion model starts at just over 240,000 yuan (33180$), with an overall landing price of around 300,000 yuan (41470$).
The current model faces competition from new energy vehicles such as Tesla Model Y, WM Motor M7, Li Auto L7, NIO ES6, etc.
Cadillac has always been a cost-effective choice for luxury brands, but due to issues such as mediocre performance in intelligence and slow electrification transformation, the discounts on its fuel vehicles are getting bigger. The all-new Cadillac XT5 may still use this tactic to attract users. In general market conditions, luxury cars are facing pressure to “trade price for volume.” In the past, consumers were grateful for discounts of three to five thousand, but now, discounts of up to one hundred thousand are needed to persuade them to buy. The change in supply and demand relationship of luxury brands has led to a decrease in profit margins. Will you choose a domestically produced new energy vehicle with more comprehensive product capabilities, or a cheaper luxury car? Let’s discuss in the comments section!