Spring Festival Car Market Popularizes "Family Car Viewing" Multiple Financial Policies Ignite Family Car Buying Enthusiasm

“Parents think this car is safe, kids like the panoramic sunroof, but we care more about range and charging convenience.” On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, inside a car showroom at Taikoo Hui Mall on Nanjing West Road, Ms. Li’s family of five was enthusiastically discussing next to a new vehicle. Such scenes are not uncommon during this year’s Spring Festival holiday. As new energy vehicles become increasingly integrated into daily life, casually “looking at cars” while shopping or visiting relatives has become a new tradition for many families during the New Year.

Financial Policies Further Enhanced

“Tesla owners in Shanghai have a particularly high demand for returning home during the Spring Festival, with appointments for vehicle inspections fully booked before the holiday,” said Mr. Dang, a frontline Tesla staff member, in an interview. In response to long-distance travel during the Spring Festival travel rush, the brand has intensified service guarantees. Offline, vehicle inspections are provided for returning-home owners, focusing on core components like batteries and tires; online, 24-hour remote services are available to respond to sudden travel issues at any time.

On the sales side, Tesla has fully launched the “Spring Festival No Closure” mode, with at least seven staff members on duty at each store daily, meeting test drive and consultation needs. “Spring Festival isn’t a peak sales season, but every store still receives orders daily. Replacement customers account for 50%, new purchases 40%, and existing owners increasing their purchases 10%. Among the replacement group, ‘oil to electric’ conversions are the mainstream,” Mr. Dang explained. The newly launched “7-year low-interest” and “5-year zero-interest” financial plans are key to stimulating consumption. For example, the popular Model Y L in a super-low interest plan requires a down payment starting at 45,900 yuan, with an annual interest rate as low as 0.7%, a monthly payment of 3,661 yuan; the Model 3 rear-wheel drive version costs 2,368 yuan per month.

“We’ve partnered with banks to introduce ultra-low interest financial policies, combined with trade-in and free Shanghai license plate policies for new energy vehicles, creating multiple benefits. Among my clients, this round of policies has even attracted owners of high-end luxury sports cars to trade in,” Mr. Dang said. During the Spring Festival, Tesla also launched activities such as an 8,000 yuan insurance subsidy for designated models and a red envelope lottery for car orders.

Earlier this year, Shanghai announced a series of measures to promote high-quality service industry development and boost consumption, including enriching personal consumer finance services, optimizing auto loan processes, easing loan application conditions, and reasonably determining loan ratios, terms, and interest rates to inject strong momentum into the auto market. According to reports, besides Tesla, brands like NIO, Li Auto, and Xpeng have also introduced seven-year low-interest car purchase financial plans, becoming a core strategy in the new energy vehicle market during the Spring Festival.

No Longer Chasing “Fancy Configurations”

During the Spring Festival, many automakers also seized the opportunity of consumers having more online free time during the holiday, launching special online live car-buying sessions to create an immersive “cloud viewing, online ordering, real-time Q&A” experience.

At the live broadcast room launched by IM Motors on the second day of the Lunar New Year, sales staff explained the safety features, intelligent assisted driving systems, and range performance of the IM LS9, targeting core scenarios like family travel and long-distance return trips. They addressed consumers’ pain points for Spring Festival travel, providing real-time answers on financial plans, vehicle configurations, and after-sales support.

Many automakers said that the Spring Festival is a good time for family users to view and choose cars, shifting focus from “push sales” to “planting seeds” for the whole family, viewing the holiday as a key moment to lock in long-term interest from family customers. A salesperson noted that during the holiday, family visitors tend to have longer decision chains and more comprehensive considerations. “Overly aggressive sales tactics at this time can backfire; we prefer to spend time helping them experience the space and explaining policies.”

At the Great Wall Motors showroom in Duning International Plaza, Jing’an District, a couple with their parents experienced the Wey Wei Blue Mountain, a six-seater family SUV. The store also highlighted features like three-row spaciousness, child safety seat installation, and rear entertainment functions. Sales staff acted as “family travel consultants,” helping families calculate vehicle costs and financial plans.

Consumers’ car-buying decisions are quietly shifting from chasing “fancy configurations” to prioritizing “safety and stability.” The consumption of new energy vehicles is entering a new stage of rational development.

Many frontline staff openly stated that reliable quality, genuine range, and user-friendly intelligent driving are now the core standards for consumers when choosing a car. Industry insiders say that the return to rationality among consumers will push the industry to further focus on core product competitiveness. Only brands that uphold quality and accurately understand genuine user needs can stand firm in the market competition.

(Article source: Shangguan News)