File Photo/NBD

March 17 (NBD) -- SAIC Volkswagen on Thursday launched a promotion with a total subsidy of 3.7 billion yuan, offering up to 50,000 yuan in discounts on individual vehicles. The promotion, which runs until April 30, covers all models of the SAIC Volkswagen brand.

Specifically, customers enjoy a 50,000 yuan discount for the PHIDEON model and a 35,000 yuan discount for the 2023 Teramont, the new Teramont X and the 2023 Viloran models, and a 25,000 yuan discount for the 2023 Passat, the Passat PHEV models.

In addition, the ID family also joined the promotion with 2023 ID.6X and 2023 ID.4X 30,000 yuan and the 2023 ID.3 20,000 yuan lower.

The promotion is a response to national policies and also a reflection of the company's ability to quickly respond to changes in the terminal market, said an insider to NBD in an interview. 

With the joining of SAIC Volkswagen, the subsidy war triggered by the Dongfeng Group has become increasingly fierce. According to incomplete statistics, more than 30 automobile brands such as BBA, Buick, and BYD have participated in the price reduction through factory subsidies or dealer discounts.

For SAIC Volkswagen, the promotion is a reflection of sales pressure. It is noticed that SAIC Volkswagen's sales volume declined by double digits for two consecutive years (2020,2021). Although there was a recovery in 2022, the data for the first two months of 2023 was not optimistic. Data shows that the sales of SAIC Volkswagen was 72,000 and 73,000 in January and February of 2023 respectively, a year-on-year decrease of 44.87% and 19.1%.