General Motors Co on Monday cut the starting price of the Cadillac Lyric in China by about 14%, joining Volkswagen in a new round of electric vehicle price cuts in a market where Global automakers are under pressure.
The Lyric, a luxury crossover based on GM’s Altium EV architecture, is now priced at 379,700 yuan ($52,466), up from 439,700 yuan ($60,784) earlier, according to GM’s China website.
GM also offered an additional rebate equivalent to about $2,500 for Lyrica buyers who put down a deposit in China before the end of August.
GM’s move comes just after Volkswagen cut prices of its EVs in China, where made-in-China EV brands are gaining market share and the market is facing intense price competition.
VW’s joint venture with state-owned automaker FAW on Friday announced discounts of between 8% and nearly 27% on its ID-series electric vehicles.
VW’s other joint venture with state-owned automaker SAIC offered discounts of more than $5,100 on the ID.3 hatchback, another VW EV, for a limited time. This kept its starting price lower than BYD’s Qin EV, one of the most popular models in China.
VW is China’s largest selling foreign automaker.
Since January, when Tesla cut prices in China, nearly two dozen automakers have cut their prices to stay competitive and spur demand.
China’s auto market, the world’s largest, is on track for an overall growth of around 3%, with the share of EVs and plug-ins growing rapidly. Consultancy AlixPartners estimates that this will be the first year that brands made in China occupy the top 50% of their home market.
Those changes have created intense competition over price and features, analysts say, driving up EV sales and threatening industry-wide profitability.
China’s auto association on Saturday withdrew a pledge made among 16 automakers including Tesla to avoid “abnormal pricing”, saying it would violate antitrust law.
GM CFO Paul Jacobson said last month that the Lyric represents an opportunity for the automaker in China. Industry data shows Cadillac sales in China were down about 8% last year.
The Lyriq, which starts at just $59,000 in the United States, has had a slow run since its launch last year.
GM sold 2,326 Lyrica in the United States in the first half of the year. It sold 918 cars in China in the first quarter, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, which is scheduled to announce first-half sales figures later this month.
