Nio will reduce discounts by RMB 3,000 for the ET5 and ET5 Touring and RMB 5,000 for the ES6 and EC6 on July 22, according to local media.

Nio (NYSE: NIO) will reportedly scale back its car purchase incentives next week, following German luxury carmakers' moves in exiting the price war.

The electric vehicle (EV) maker will increase the actual selling prices of some of its models on July 22, with the ET5 and ET5 Touring going up by RMB 3,000 ($413), and the ES6 and EC6 going up by RMB 5,000, local automotive media outlet Auto Home said in a report today.

The report cited a screenshot circulating on the Internet that showed the move was to improve gross margins, though discounts of up to RMB 28,000 are still available for ordering Nio vehicles at the moment.

Asked about this, two Nio staffers confirmed the information, saying that the company will reduce the discounts on July 22 and that the figures mentioned in the screenshot are accurate, but denied that this is a price hike, Auto Home said.

Under Nio's previous purchase offers for July, customers ordering the ET5 and ET5 Touring can get a discount of RMB 24,000, while for the ES6 and EC6 it's RMB 28,000, the report said.

After July 22, the discount will be reduced to RMB 21,000 for the ET5 and ET5 Touring and RMB 23,000 for the ES6 and EC6, according to the report.

Discounts for other Nio models remain unchanged, including RMB 20,000 off the ET7, RMB 28,000 off both the EC7 and ES8, and RMB 60,000 off the ES7, the report said.

For show cars of these models, customers can enjoy additional discounts ranging from RMB 6,000 to RMB 32,000, according to the report.

The purchase discounts offered by Nio are receding, but the range isn't huge compared to the overall selling prices and available offers, Auto Home's report said.
Nio had previously typically announced its car purchase offers for the month on the first day of each month, but in reality, may have actually offered much larger discounts.

For example, the company's latest official purchase policy, which was released on July 1, mentioned that customers who pay a deposit in July will be entitled to up to RMB 28,000 in optional discounts, and one year's free use of NOP+ (Navigate on Pilot Plus). This is basically the same as the entitlement in June.

Over the past two months, the price war in China's auto market has eased significantly, and deliveries by a number of car companies have recovered.

Nio delivered 21,209 vehicles in June, surpassing its previous record of 20,544 vehicles in May for its second consecutive record month.

Recently, several media reports claimed that BMW withdrew from the price war in the Chinese auto market, making the topic a hot discussion.

BMW has withdrawn from the price war in the Chinese auto market, with price increases of at least RMB 30,000 across its entire model lineup, the Securities Times said in a report yesterday.

Separately, according to Cailian, Mercedes-Benz and Audi are following BMW's move.

($1 = RMB 7.2550)

German luxury brands back away from China's auto market price war