When the starting price of Honda Accord dropped by 130000 yuan and the limited time price of Cadillac XT5 dropped by up to 134000 yuan, joint venture car companies launched a counterattack against new energy with a "fixed price".
When the Toyota Camry comes standard with L2 level assisted driving across the entire lineup, and the Buick LaCrosse entry-level version is equipped with a 30 inch 6K curved screen, joint venture car companies use "stacking materials" to alleviate anxiety during the transition period.

The above measures are like a dose of adrenaline, which has led to a trend of multiple car models returning to peak sales.

But behind the excitement lies the collective "self rescue" of joint venture car companies under the impact of new energy and intelligence waves. Whether they can turn danger into safety still needs to be questioned.
In 2013, Tesla opened its first direct operated store in China, offering a nationwide unified price model for offline experience and online ordering, gradually making domestic users resistant to "dealer tricks".

Afterwards, domestic new forces quickly followed suit and then spread to some new energy vehicle models of domestic and joint venture brands.
However, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the penetration rate of mainstream joint venture brands in new energy is currently hovering at 5%. Fuel vehicles are still the sales pillar of joint venture brands, and their sales model is mainly based on traditional dealers.

The contradiction arises from this, and domestic users have long been accustomed to the "national unified price" car buying method, putting joint venture brands in an awkward dilemma.

It is necessary to maintain brand tone, compete for market share, and reduce car buying tactics, ultimately making the "fixed price" model a balance beam for joint venture car companies. This strategy not only ends the price chaos of traditional 4S stores, but also weakens the cost-effectiveness advantage of new energy vehicles.
However, it is difficult for joint venture car companies to keep up with the level of competition in the same class of new energy solely based on "fixed prices". For example, BYD's gross profit margin exceeds 20%, and with its strong advantages in scale and self-developed capabilities, it has absolute price control ability. The "fixed price" model of joint venture car companies is more of a passive response, which is difficult to support long-term competitiveness.

For example, the BYD Qin L has lowered the price of mid size cars to the 100000 yuan level, which has forced many joint venture cars that were originally priced at 200000 yuan to constantly break through the bottom line.
And in order to attract customers, joint venture car companies have to fill up the configuration.
When cutting-edge technologies such as intelligent cabins and intelligent driving are widely adopted by new forces, the engine and chassis technology of joint venture brands seem insignificant in the minds of young users, and even many cars are criticized as products of the last century.

Therefore, intelligence has become a key upgrade focus for joint venture brands, whether it is new energy or fuel vehicles. Not only do they stack popular elements such as "refrigerators, televisions, and sofas", but they also enhance their intelligent driving capabilities by adding multiple sensors.

These seemingly radical configuration strategies are also passive defenses against the intelligent offensive of domestic brands, which has led to some achievements being just "face saving projects".
The author has previously experienced a certain Japanese new energy vehicle model. Although its central control screen size is not small, the car's infotainment system freezes and takes several seconds to respond each time, which greatly affects the driving experience. Previously, the car infotainment system of a certain German luxury brand frequently crashed, causing large-scale complaints from users.

In addition, the author has experienced the automatic parking function of a traditional luxury brand. Although there are more than 20 sensors such as cameras and radars, the reverse time is long, the parking space cannot be recognized, and even the acceleration during reverse is far less efficient and safe than operating it ourselves.
Recently, joint venture car companies have made frequent moves to enter the field of advanced intelligent driving, with new cars being equipped with features such as LiDAR.

However, having these hardware does not mean everything is fine. The ultimate experience of advanced intelligent driving is closely related to computing power, algorithms, data, etc. As for the landing effect, it is still unknown.

The intergenerational gap in the transformation of joint venture car companies towards electrification and intelligence has not been solved through the use of stacked configurations, and this inverted phenomenon of "increasing quantity and decreasing price" has accelerated the collapse of their premium ability.
Whether it is a fixed price or a pile of configurations, they are essentially forced defenses for joint venture car companies in competition. To truly turn the tide, comprehensive adjustments must be made in terms of intelligent ecology, dealer network, and other aspects.
Although joint venture brands have launched multiple new energy vehicles, there is still a gap compared to top players such as BYD and Tesla in terms of batteries, three electric systems, and intelligence.

So the top priority must be to increase research and development efforts, with the key being to establish a local R&D team and develop technologies that meet the needs of Chinese users.
Leading companies such as Hyundai and General Motors have already taken action, and in the future, their smart cabin and driving solutions created in the domestic market will also feed back to their global market, providing support for promoting global intelligent transformation.

At the same time, the "fixed price" model has already torn apart the cracks in the channel reform of car companies. In the future, it is necessary to further optimize the dealer network, such as promoting the transformation of 4S stores into service centers and establishing long-term profit models such as software upgrades and battery swapping.