Reuters: China's electric vehicle price war spreads to the Thai market, second-tier brands face difficulties
Reuters, July 5 - The vicious competition in China's electric vehicle market is impacting its largest overseas market in Asia, Thailand. Second-tier brand NIO has failed to meet the local production quota set by the Thai government due to a sharp drop in sales, and has been collectively pursued by dealers for over 200 million THB (about 61.7 million USD) in debts. A Thai tax authority official confirmed that because NIO failed to fulfill its production commitments, the government has suspended the issuance of subsidies to it. Data shows that in 2023, NIO had a market share of 12% in Thailand, but new car registrations dropped by 48.5% in the first five months of this year, with its market share shrinking to 4%, while industry leader BYD continued to lead with a 49% share during the same period.
Thailand's local market competition continues to intensify due to economic weakness and price wars. KResearch, a research institution under Kasikornbank, pointed out that some Chinese brands have reduced prices by more than 20%, saying, "The price war has become the only means to stimulate consumption." Abhik Mukherjee, an analyst from the industry research institution Counterpoint, warned, "NIO's predicament exposes the vulnerability of second-tier Chinese electric vehicle brands in domestic and international markets, as the scale advantages of leading players are squeezing the survival space for small enterprises." Although the Thai government has extended the deadline for local production, dealer confidence has collapsed, with 18 stores jointly filing a lawsuit against NIO for拖欠 construction and after-sales payments, and owners have also frequently complained about service deficiencies on social media. The Thai Electric Vehicle Association emphasized that this is an individual case of a company, but industry analysts warn that China's excess capacity and spillover risks of price wars are reshaping the Southeast Asian market structure.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836797955791947/
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