China’s EV Giants Clash at 2025 Chongqing Forum as Price War Turns Savage—Who Will Survive?
China’s leading EV makers ignite fierce public battles at the 2025 Chongqing Forum, exposing deep cracks amid brutal price wars.
- 3.9%: Q1 2025 Chinese auto sector profit margin—half the 2014 level
- 100+: Number of EV models slashed in price in May 2025
- 40%: EV penetration rate in China as of 2025
- 36%: Tesla’s year-on-year sales plunge in Europe, Q1 2025
The mood at the 2025 China Chongqing Auto Forum turned scorching as top automotive titans—BYD, Geely, and Great Wall Motor (GWM)—traded razor-sharp barbs, laying bare a brutal fragmentation in the world’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) market. With profit margins cratering and price-cutting reaching fever pitch, industry executives hurled not just accusations, but an entirely new playbook for survival.
EV leaders now face existential threats every single quarter.
BYD’s branding chief, Li Yunfei, landed a bombshell criticism, blasting nameless rivals for orchestrating misinformation campaigns and dirty marketing tricks designed to sabotage competitors. The attack marked a dramatic pivot from the call for unity by BYD’s Chairman, Wang Chuanfu, just two years earlier—a vision now shattered by public squabbling.
Victor Young, Geely’s Senior Vice President, fired back with stinging irony, accusing BYD of hypocrisy and calling for regulatory watchdogs, not sentimental speeches, to solve industry disputes. Other industry voices erupted in support. GAC Aion heralded Geely as a spokesperson for the sector, while Seres and Changan leaders sounded alarms about a future throttled by shrinking profits and innovation funds.
For the once-harmonious Chinese auto sector, the gloves are now off.
- BYD Official Site
- Geely Official Site
- Great Wall Motor
- Tesla
- Huawei
Why Are EV Executives Risking Open Conflict?
The answer: survival in a hyper-saturated market. As China’s EV penetration surges past 40%, the era of easy profits and state-backed growth is over. Companies slash sticker prices across more than 100 models just in May 2025, desperate to hang on to market share. Margins nosedive—Q1 2025 saw profits sliced to just 3.9%, down from nearly 9% a decade ago.
Even global heavyweights are bleeding. Tesla’s Q1 sales cratered by 36% in Europe, showing the price war’s shockwaves are global. Car buyers win on sticker price, but automakers watch the bottom line vanish.
How Are Brands Responding to the Brutal Competition?
At the forum, some leaders doubled down with fighting words, others called for state intervention. BYD claims it’s showing restraint by not openly naming adversaries but still urges Chinese regulators to investigate coordinated misinformation. Geely, meanwhile, calls out moral grandstanding, demanding legal regulation over emotional appeals.
Startup darlings like Xiaomi and tech giants like Huawei jump in, firing shots at competitors boasting single-hit product successes. On the other hand, Chery argues that tough competition will ultimately drive industry health—if brands focus on real innovation, like autonomous driving and solid-state batteries.
Q&A: What’s Next for the Chinese EV Industry?
Q: Is this price war sustainable?
No—the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers and the China Automobile Dealers Chamber of Commerce have both slammed below-cost selling and unrealistic sales targets as dangerous and unsustainable. Regulatory pushback is mounting.
Q: Who’s at risk?
Smaller players and those slow to innovate face the chopping block as scale-driven growth grinds to a halt. Even market leaders now grapple with the threat of razor-thin or negative profits.
Q: Will peace return to China’s car industry?
Experts say the age of unity is over—at least for now. With every executive out for survival, public confrontations and regulatory interventions are likely to intensify before profitability stabilizes.
How to Navigate the Turbulent 2025 EV Market
– Follow industry news from sources like Nikkei Asia and Bloomberg
– Watch for new government regulations and investigate their impact on pricing
– Track brand innovation—look for announcements on next-gen battery tech and EV software
– Compare pricing, incentives, and new model launches monthly
Stay Ahead: Don’t Miss a Beat in the EV Revolution
- Subscribe for weekly EV news updates—no hype, just facts
- Keep an eye on government policy shifts and market leaders’ moves
- Watch for fresh innovation, not just low prices
- Be ready for more shake-ups as the Chinese car industry reinvents itself
Only the most agile will survive this electrifying new era. Stay tuned and stay smart.
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