BMW Follows Tesla in Raising Prices in China, Citing Tariffs宝马涨价
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German carmaker BMW said it will raise the prices of two U.S.-made crossover sport-utility vehicles in China to cope with the additional cost of tariffs on U.S. car imports into the world’s biggest auto market.
In a move due to take effect on Monday, BMW said in a statement over the weekend that it will increase maker-suggested retail prices of the popular, relatively high-margin X5 and X6 SUV models by 4 percent to 7 percent.
The rates of increase suggest that BMW is willing to absorb much of the higher costs stemming from bringing the SUVs to China from its factory in South Carolina, underscoring the fierce competition among luxury car brands in China.
BMW’s move comes after China imposed new tariffs earlier this month on about $34 billion of U.S. imports, from soybeans and cars to lobsters, as part of a widening trade row.
Beijing, which this year cut tariffs on all automobiles imported into China, slapped an additional 25 percent levy on U.S.-made cars as of July 6. As a result, China now levies a 40 percent import duty on all cars imported from the United States.
BMW imports X4, X5 and X6 crossover SUV models from the United States for sale in China where demand for SUVs has been booming. Last year, the German automaker shipped more than 100,000 vehicles from the United States to China.
The company made no reference to pricing of its X4 model.
BMW’s decision to absorb much of the impact of the higher tariffs echoes an earlier move by U.S. carmaker Ford Motor Co, which said it would not increase its prices for now in an effort to sustain its business momentum.
China-based car dealers said that German rival Mercedes Benz, operated by Daimler AG, moderately raised the price in mid-July of its GLE, a sporty midsize SUV produced in the state of Alabama, in China.
Daimler’s chief executive Dieter Zetsche said last Thursday the car maker was looking at ways to mitigate the impact of the trade war. This would include a review of whether to shift some U.S. production to China.
Daimler also said last week its 2018 pre-tax profits would fall from last year because the new Chinese import tariffs would hurt sales of Mercedes-Benz SUVs.
宝马两款美产SUV在中国涨价 最高达7%
近日德国汽车制造商宝马公司下发通知函称，将在华提高部分X5和X6 车型指导零售价约4-7%；目前，宝马汽车官网已做出相应价格调整。
宝马表示从北京时间7月30日起对中国市场的两款美国产进口车型宝马X5和宝马X6进行加价，以应对中美贸易战带来的额外关税成本。其对中国市场比较畅销、且利润率较高的宝马X5和宝马X6的涨价幅度在4%至7%之间。
此次涨价的幅度说明宝马愿意承担大部分关税增加带来的成本，也突出了豪华车品牌在中国面临的激烈竞争。目前，宝马将美国产宝马X4，X5和X6出口至中国市场，但是此次调价并没有涉及宝马X4。据悉，宝马去年从美国出口10万辆新车至中国市场。
7月1日起，我国对进口汽车降低关税，从原来的25%降到15%。7月6日，我国宣布对包括汽车在内、原产美国价值约3，400万美元的商品加征25%的关税。因此，现在从美国进口的整车关税为40%。宝马发言人在声明中表示，“虽然宝马支持自由贸易，但是也需要对市场变化做出回应。”
此前，福特汽车曾表示，为了维持业务的增长，暂时不会提高产品价格。外媒指出，有中国经销商透露，奔驰于7月中旬对旗下GLE进行了小幅涨价，该车型产于美国阿拉巴马州。7月26日，戴姆勒首席执行官蔡澈表示，该公司正在寻求降低关税影响的方法，可能会考虑将其在美国的部分生产工作转移至中国。上周，戴姆勒表示，因中国新关税政策会影响到奔驰SUV的销量，因此下调了2018整年的税前利润预期。
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