New electric vehicle startups are closing in on established players as the luxury aura of BMW, Benz, and Audi fades.

In September 2025, the Chinese automotive market witnessed a historic turning point. Data from the Passenger Car Association showed that the penetration rate of new energy vehicles climbed to 58.1%, a significant increase of 8.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

From maintaining a penetration rate of over 50% for six consecutive months to breaking through the 58% mark, this figure not only refreshed the historical record but also marked that new energy vehicles have surpassed traditional fuel - powered vehicles and officially become the mainstream in the market.

The fuel - powered vehicle market is under severe impact, with luxury brands bearing the brunt.

According to data from the Passenger Car Association, in the first eight months of 2025, the promotion discounts of luxury fuel - powered vehicles generally exceeded 25%, while the promotion efforts of new energy vehicles during the same period only remained at around 10.7%, and the price gap continued to widen.

Combined with the peak sales season effect of "Golden September and Silver October", the terminal discounts were further upgraded. Tech Planet learned from sales representatives of Mercedes - Benz, BMW, and Audi that the naked car price of the Mercedes - Benz E300L, with a guide price of nearly 500,000 yuan, dropped below 350,000 yuan. BMW offered a 30% discount on the 3 Series, and the prices of many Audi models dropped to the range of 250,000 yuan. The once - high - end pricing barriers seem to be loosening across the board.

Under the impact of new energy vehicles, the brand myth of BBA (Mercedes - Benz, BMW, Audi) is fading. They are no longer the absolute definers of the high - end market and have degraded from the "status totems" in the fuel - powered vehicle era to the pursuers in the new energy track.

The prices of BBA have already hit rock - bottom

After the National Day holiday began, the Chinese automotive market entered a crucial promotion period for the third - quarter sales sprint.

Against the backdrop of the new energy vehicle penetration rate exceeding 58%, the traditional fuel - powered vehicle camp, especially the BBA brands that have long adhered to high - end pricing, also joined the National Day promotion campaign. However, the terminal discounts continued to increase, and the prices of some models were already approaching the bottom.

Audi, as one of the BBA members, has a representative terminal promotion strategy. Multiple Audi salespeople told Tech Planet that the promotions during the National Day mainly consisted of direct rebates from the manufacturers, and dealers would offer additional benefits on top of that, with the overall intensity slightly higher than usual.

"Compared with normal times, some models can get an additional discount of a thousand yuan during the National Day, or there are some benefits such as free maintenance and interest - free loans," said a salesperson. Taking the Audi Q5L as an example, with an original price of 379,800 yuan, the starting price during the National Day dropped to 260,000 yuan. "The comprehensive discount can reach 110,000 yuan."

As for other popular models, Audi A3, Audi A4L, etc., also offered discount plans. A quote from an Audi salesperson showed that after the discount, the naked car price of the entry - level Audi A3, with a guide price of 165,900 yuan, dropped to around 120,000 yuan.

BMW and Mercedes - Benz also introduced their National Day promotion strategies. On the BMW side, salespeople said that during the National Day, a combined package of "cash discount + financial interest subsidy" was launched for popular fuel - powered models. Mercedes - Benz sales representatives said that in addition to cash discounts, they focused more on the superposition of benefits. Besides direct price cuts, they also provided some customized services for consumers, such as free maintenance packages.

However, the large - scale promotions of BBA are not exclusive to the National Day holiday.

The above - mentioned Audi salesperson said: "This year, fuel - powered vehicles have almost always had discounts. September and October are crucial periods for car companies to boost their third - quarter and fourth - quarter sales. The discount intensity may vary slightly each month, but the overall change is not significant."

It is worth noting that after multiple rounds of price wars, the current selling prices of fuel - powered vehicles have reached a stage where further significant price cuts are difficult. Another FAW - Audi salesperson said bluntly: "After years of price wars, the current car selling prices have dropped to rock - bottom, and it is unlikely that the brand will offer an additional discount of tens of thousands of yuan on this basis."

This also reflects that in the face of the new energy impact, the price adjustment space in the fuel - powered vehicle market is very limited. The National Day promotions are mostly small - scale concessions on the existing low prices rather than large - scale price cuts.

Even though the discount intensity is considerable, the terminal popularity of the fuel - powered vehicle market has not met expectations.

Multiple BBA salespeople reported that the number of in - store customers during the National Day holiday did not show the expected increase at a promotion node. A BMW salesperson with many years of experience clearly stated that the number of in - store customers during the holiday was almost the same as on normal days. Moreover, the number of customers who actively called to inquire about vehicle discounts did not show a significant increase compared to September. The cold inquiry volume formed a sharp contrast with the large - scale discounts.

What's more noteworthy is that even when customers visit the store, their consumption decisions are extremely cautious. Most people will keep asking questions about the details of the display cars and even compare models of different brands on the spot, but few people make a decision to order a car on the same day.

New energy encirclement: The luxury aura of BBA is collapsing

The loosening of the price system of BBA fuel - powered vehicles is essentially an inevitable result of the new energy wave.

As the penetration rate exceeded 58.1%, the market has completely shifted towards electrification. The "value reconstruction" led by Chinese brands is comprehensively undermining the survival foundation of traditional luxury cars.

The explosive growth of domestic new energy vehicle models has become the most direct impact.

Recently, the sales list of new - force brands in September released by the China Automotive Technology and Research Center clearly demonstrated the strong momentum of the Chinese new energy vehicle camp: Leapmotor led the list with a monthly sales volume of 66,657 vehicles, a month - on - month increase of 16.8%. Hongmeng Smart Mobility ranked second with a delivery volume of 52,916 vehicles, among which the Wenjie brand contributed 40,619 vehicles. XPeng Motors ranked third with 41,581 vehicles, a month - on - month increase of 10.3%. Xiaomi Auto's monthly delivery volume was approaching 40,000 vehicles, and NIO also ranked among the top five with 34,749 vehicles.

It is not difficult to see from this sales list that Chinese new energy vehicle brands are no longer limited to "price wars". Instead, through technological innovation, ecological construction, and precise positioning, they have formed differentiated competitiveness in different market segments.

This competitiveness gap was further magnified during the National Day when BBA increased its promotion efforts. Even though traditional luxury brands increased their discount intensity, new energy brands still firmly held the initiative in the price war.

As of October 6, seven new energy brands, including Li Auto and XPeng, officially announced their National Day holiday promotion policies. From the specific strategies, the Chinese new energy vehicle brands' approaches were more targeted.

For example, Li Auto launched a combined package of "15,000 - yuan replacement subsidy + 1.99% annual financial interest rate". In addition, old customers could enjoy repurchase rights, hitting the core pain points of family users regarding "cost - effectiveness" and "vehicle - using costs".

XPeng offered a policy of "deposit deduction + points exchange". Moreover, customers who purchased cars during the National Day could enjoy 0 interest, 0 down payment for five years, and a maximum interest subsidy of 55,700 yuan, which met the needs of the target user group for personalized benefits.

This penetration into the traditional luxury car market can also be confirmed from the terminal sales scenarios. An offline salesperson of NIO told Tech Planet: "Among the customers who came to the store to inquire during the National Day, many originally intended to buy BBA cars. Most of them would actively propose to compare our models with brands like BMW and Mercedes - Benz. They would consider factors such as battery life, intelligent cockpit, and service rights and interests one by one before making a decision."

The change in terminal consumption preferences is behind the reshaping of the luxury car market segments by Chinese new energy vehicle brands. Nowadays, whether it is the new energy product lines of new - force car - making companies or traditional self - owned brands, they all use a combination of high - level intelligent driving, intelligent cockpits, and lower prices to continuously lower the threshold of each market segment where BBA is located.

The once - monopolized "brand myth" of BBA has been broken, and the traditional luxury pricing range they have long occupied has also collapsed. Against this background, BBA, which is trying to counter - attack the Chinese market with new models, is facing a key issue: how to maintain the core value of the "luxury label" and make consumers willing to pay for the brand premium when they no longer have an advantage in configuration and experience.

The new energy strategy cannot save BBA

In the era of traditional fuel - powered vehicles, the logos of BBA have long transcended the products themselves and become the core symbols of identity and status. Their brand premium is deeply bound to a century - old historical heritage and high - end cultural labels, which not only support their long - term high - pricing strategy but also contribute to the leading and substantial profit margins in the industry.

However, the global wave of new energy vehicles is rewriting the market pattern with a subversive force. The traditional advantages of BBA are starting to loosen across the board. They are facing multiple pressures in terms of average transaction price, market share, sales volume, and profit.

Data from the third - party market research company Jielanlu showed that in 2024, the average transaction price per vehicle of BBA all declined, indicating that the brand premium ability they have long relied on is weakening. Among them, the average transaction price per vehicle of Mercedes - Benz was 431,000 yuan, a 7.2% decrease compared to 2023. The average transaction prices per vehicle of BMW and Audi also dropped to 340,000 yuan and 297,000 yuan respectively, showing varying degrees of price decline.

Behind the decline in the average price is that the traditional logic of "brand = pricing power" in the new energy era has been completely broken.

The vehicle insurance data for the first half of 2025 further confirmed this trend: Chinese brands accounted for more than 80% of the new energy passenger vehicle market above 300,000 yuan. Brands such as BYD and Hongmeng Smart Mobility have even entered the million - yuan market, breaking the price ceiling of domestic cars.

While the pricing power is loosening, the sales performance of BBA has also declined. In the first half of 2025, their sales volume in China all suffered double - digit declines, and the decline covered their core sales periods. Among them, BMW delivered 317,900 new cars in China, a year - on - year decrease of 15.5%. Mercedes - Benz delivered 293,200 vehicles in China, a year - on - year decrease of 14%. Audi delivered approximately 287,600 vehicles in China, a year - on - year decrease of 10.2%.

Facing the dual dilemmas of declining sales volume and profit pressure, the transformation to new energy has become the key direction for BBA to reverse the decline. However, from the actual performance, their electrification transformation progress is significantly lagging behind and has failed to effectively offset the downward pressure on their traditional fuel - powered vehicle business.

In the first half of 2025, the sales volume of Mercedes - Benz's pure - electric vehicles was 87,300, a year - on - year decrease of 14%, accounting for only 8.1% of its total sales volume. Audi delivered 101,000 pure - electric vehicles. Although it achieved a 32% year - on - year increase, its sales volume accounted for only 12.9%. During the same period, BMW's new energy models had a cumulative delivery volume of 318,900, accounting for 26%. Against the background of the rapid growth of the new energy market, this performance failed to form sufficient competitiveness.

A Mercedes - Benz salesperson told Tech Planet that since this year, although the number of in - store inquiries about pure - electric models has increased compared to last year, the actual conversion rate of transactions has not improved. "Many customers will first ask about battery life and intelligent driving when they come in. Most customers will hesitate after comparing with new - force brands."

Currently, BBA is collectively lowering its profit expectations.

BMW expects that the pre - tax profit margin of its automotive business in 2025 will decrease by approximately 1.25% to 5% - 7%. Audi has lowered its annual operating profit margin expectation from 7% - 9% to 5% - 7%. Mercedes - Benz expects that the adjusted return on sales (ROS) will be lowered from 6% - 8% to 4% - 6%.

From the shrinking brand premium, declining sales volume, to the weak electrification transformation and lowered profit expectations, the dominance of BBA in the luxury car market is continuously collapsing. It may be just a matter of time before the once - "luxury three giants" gradually cede their market leadership.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Tech Planet" (ID: tech618), author: Ren Xueyun, published by 36Kr with authorization.