(Yicai Global) May 17 -- Auto joint ventures including SAIC-GM and Beijing Hyundai have the cut prices of their 2023 models by as much as 30 percent in response to intense competition from Chinese carmakers.

The indicative price of the popular Buick Lacrosse 2023 is CNY180,000 (USD25,732), down nearly CNY40,000 (USD5,718) from last year, according to price information released by SAIC-GM this week.

“Regal and Lacrosse have been Buick’s two major products in the B-segment sedan market,” a product planning manager with an auto JV told Yicai Global. “It’s foreseeable that the guide price of the upcoming Buick Regal generation will also be reduced.”

As well as price cuts for fuel vehicles, SAIC-GM Buick’s first pure electric car, the Electra E5, went on the market at a lower price than rival products during the Shanghai Auto Show. The Electra E5 starts at CNY209,900.

In comparison, the starting price for the Xpeng G9, which has a similar size and is also a large five-seat sports utility vehicle, is about CNY300,000. The Tesla Model Y, which has a smaller wheelbase and size, starts at more than CNY260,000.

The guide prices for the Hyundai Sonata and Kia K5 have also declined greatly from last year, and new energy vehicles including the Nissan Ariya and Toyota bZ4X are priced much lower in the Chinese market than overseas, Yicai Global learned. The Toyota bZ4X 2023 sells for between CNY199,800 and CNY284,800 (USD28,500 and USD40,700) in China, versus USD44,529 to USD70,000 before tax in the United States.

There has also been an increase in the discounts offered by most JV brands.

Behind the dramatic price cuts, JV brands are facing increasing sales pressure in the Chinese market. In the first quarter, the market share for homegrown carmakers in China rose to 49.7 percent, while the market share for German and Japanese JVs continued to shrink, with several leading JVs seeing declines of more than 30 percent.

“With electric vehicle prices falling, JVs will face an even tougher situation in the future,” the product planning manager said. “There will be more cases of JVs cutting guide prices or offering larger retail discounts.

There will be a reshuffle among JV brands, the manager said, adding that some overseas carmakers may seek to pare their stakes in the JVs and choose asset-light business modeles in China to ensure better financial returns.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Tom Litting