1. In 2023, the first adjustment of domestic oil prices will rise.
According to the domestic refined oil price adjustment rules, a new round of refined oil retail price limit adjustment window will open at 24: 00 on January 3, 2023. As of December 27th, on the 6th working day, with reference to the crude oil change rate of 4.87%, it is predicted that gasoline and diesel will be raised by 275 yuan/ton, and after conversion, it will be raised by 0.21-0.24 yuan/liter. At present, the 4 cents that fell only last week has increased by half. According to this calculation, it will cost about 10.5-12 yuan to fill a tank with a capacity of 50L.
The date of price adjustment (24: 00 on January 3) is getting closer and closer, and downward adjustment is impossible. Oil prices will usher in the "first price increase" in 2023, and riders can refuel in advance.
2. Will there be a price hike for mainstream car companies early next year?
In order to seize the last wave of policy dividends, a group of new energy vehicle companies launched an unprecedented limited-time insured promotion war when the "state subsidy" entered the countdown. According to incomplete statistics, since November, more than 20 car companies have successively introduced time-limited insurance policies: some car companies have adopted the method of "locking orders before the year, paying a deposit and enjoying state subsidies in 2022", while others have played a combination boxing scheme of "insurance within the year+price increase after the year". Among them, BYD, which has completed the annual sales target of 1.5 million vehicles ahead of schedule, took the lead in launching the "first shot" of price increase.
In the price increase statements of various car companies, "the subsidy policy for the purchase of new energy vehicles will be terminated on December 31, 2022, and the countries that have licensed vehicles will no longer give subsidies" and "the prices of major raw materials such as batteries continue to rise sharply" are two essential reasons. In recent years, the continuous high sales of new energy vehicles directly boosted the growth of lithium battery loading. However, the explosive growth of terminal demand has caused the price of lithium material, which is an important raw material for vehicle power batteries, to soar. From the low price of 41,000 yuan/ton in June 2020 to the high price of 537,500 yuan/ton on October 18, 2022, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate rose by more than 12 times, up by more than 8 times compared with the beginning of last year.
According to the analysis of Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Association, the net profit rate of lithium mine business of leading enterprises is around 70% this year, and the profit rate of power battery enterprises is around 8%, but the profit rate of vehicle enterprises is only around 5%. Obviously, the rising prices of raw materials have directly squeezed the profits of car companies. Therefore, in the context of the withdrawal of "state subsidy", I am afraid that more new energy vehicle companies will join the price increase camp in 2023.
3. Weimar Automobile was applied for freezing property.
Weimar Automobile, once one of the "Four Little Dragons", a new force to build cars, is living in the dilemma of "lack of money". From the aggravation of losses to internal salary reduction, from the power lock-up storm to the decline in sales, coupled with the IPO being blocked and patent compensation … Weimar Automobile was particularly cold this winter, but unfortunately it did not stop there.
Recently, Anji Zhixing Logistics Co., Ltd. and Weimar New Energy Automobile Sales (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Weimar Automobile Technology Group Co., Ltd. made public the non-litigation preservation review ruling. According to the documents, the applicant Anji Zhixing Logistics Company requested the court to seal up and freeze the property of the respondent Weimar Company and Weimar Company worth 76.52 million yuan. The court held that Anji Zhixing Logistics Company’s application was in compliance with the law and was ruled to be executed.
However, it is noteworthy that Weimar Automotive Technology (Sichuan) Co., Ltd. has recently undergone a number of industrial and commercial changes, with its registered capital increased from 170 million yuan to 520 million yuan, its legal representative, executive director and manager changed from Freeman Shen to Wei Wei, and Mianyang Anzhou Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. became the new shareholder of the company. I wonder if the blessing of the state-owned party will bring a new situation to Weimar Automobile?
4. Or introduce new models, and expose the product planning of GAC Toyota.
On December 21st, the fifth plant of GAC Toyota New Energy Vehicle was officially put into operation, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles. Then on December 26th, GAC Toyota officially reached the milestone of annual output of 1 million units. A few days ago, some domestic media exposed the production plan of the fifth factory. The 200,000 new cars in the new factory are all new energy products. In addition to the confirmed pure electric medium-sized SUV bZ4X, there will be brand-new SUVs and MPV models.
According to Toyota’s recent product planning, the SUV model may be the Grand Highlander which will be launched in February next year. The MPV model is still mysterious, because there is no pure electric MPV product in Toyota’s planning. In addition, the sixth plant of GAC Toyota may also be planned, and it is expected to start construction in 2023 and officially put into production in 2025.
5. Land Rover Defender Special Edition sold 898,000, and 130 pre-sold 1.198 million.
2023 is the 75th anniversary of the Land Rover brand. To celebrate this milestone, Land Rover launched the legendary version of the 75th anniversary of Defender, and the prices of the two models were 898,000 yuan and 958,000 yuan respectively. This car continues the design of the ordinary version and introduces the iconic Grassmill green to commemorate the Land Rover Series I launched in 1948.
At the same time, the Guardian 130 also started the pre-sale, offering two models with optional extended light kit and off-road kit, with a pre-sale price of 1.198 million yuan. The new car can be regarded as an extended version of the 110, with a length of 5100mm and a wheelbase of 3022mm, and an eight-seat layout of 2+3+3 is adopted in the car. The power is equipped with a power combination of 3.0T six-cylinder double supercharged engine and +48V light mixing.
6. Starway Eta Ursae Majoris made its debut and started blind booking.
Star Road Eta Ursae Majoris officially appeared and opened a blind subscription, with a price range of 170,000-220,000 yuan. The new car is based on Starway M3X Mars Architecture 2.0, with a length of 4781mm and a wheelbase of 2815mm, and is positioned as a medium-sized SUV. In terms of appearance, the grid with borderless style, the through LED strip and the dot-matrix light groups in the fog lights on both sides increase the recognition of the whole vehicle. From the side of the car body, a sporty coupe SUV shape is adopted. A large number of horizontal lines are used at the rear of the car, and the penetrating taillights further stretch the visual width of the tail.
The interior design is simple and fashionable, equipped with a 24.6-inch curved dual screen, built-in Qualcomm 8155 intelligent cockpit chip and Horizon J3 driver-assisted chip, which supports functions such as WHUD, ARHUD and 50W mobile phone charging. The power is equipped with a 2.0T engine and matched with a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
7. Weilai will sell more than Lexus next year.
Li Bin, the founder and chairman of Weilai, said in an exclusive interview with the media in Weilai, 2022 that 2023 will be the year when the sales of the second-generation platform will be released, and three new cars will be released next year. It is expected that the overall sales potential of the second-generation platform will be seen in the fourth quarter of next year. The internal sales target for next year is to exceed the sales of Lexus fuel vehicles. Qin Lihong, president of Weilai, said that there was "little pressure" to achieve this goal.
The data shows that from January to November this year, Weilai Automobile delivered a total of 106,700 new cars. Lexus’s performance has declined this year, with a cumulative sales volume of 168,600 vehicles from January to November. There is a gap of more than 60,000 vehicles between them. Judging from the sales volume of 227,000 vehicles of Lexus in China in 2021, the sales volume of Weilai Automobile will reach 19,000 vehicles at least every month. Weilai has obvious advantages among competitors at the same level, and has attracted a large number of loyal fans. As for whether Li Bin’s statement that "the sales volume will definitely exceed the sales volume of Lexus fuel vehicles next year" can be achieved, we may wish to wait and see.
8. Two-door and four-seat layout, Geely Panda mini will be unveiled soon.
We learned from the official that Geely Panda mini will be unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show, which will open on December 30th. As a brand-new micro electric vehicle, the new car is small and cute, and it is more cute with a round headlight group. In terms of size, the length of the car is 3065mm, the wheelbase is 2015mm, and the layout of two doors and four seats is adopted. According to the application information, the car will be equipped with a 30kW motor and a lithium iron phosphate battery provided by Guoxuan Hi-Tech, with a pure electric cruising range of about 200 kilometers.
The market segment of mini pure trams has become another strategic goal of various car companies. As for whether Geely Panda Mini can be recognized by the market, it depends on whether it can match the price range accepted by consumers.
