(Yicai Global) March 27 — Nearly two months after micro-electric vehicle giant Wuling Hongguang slashed prices, the electric car brand of Chinese carmaker Chery said it will cut the price of a number of small electric vehicles by as much as 10 percent.

Chery New Energy said in the pricing notice released today that a total of 12 models, all small electric vehicles, will see prices cut from CNY4,000 to CNY9,000 (USD581 to USD1,308).

The Wuhu-based company said the reductions were due to the global price correction of new energy raw materials, as well as the improvement in the automaker’s cost controls and supply chain management capabilities.

On Jan. 31, Wuling Hongguang announced that as of the end of this month, the starting price of the Hongguang MiniEV would be adjusted to CNY29,800 (USD4,330), a discount of CNY3,000.

Since the beginning of this year, affected by the slowdown in new energy vehicle demand and soaring production capacity, the price correction in the new energy industry chain has also led to a decline in the cost of power batteries, which accounts for 30 percent to half the cost of an NEV.

The price of battery-grade lithium carbonate has fallen below CNY300,000 per ton, from a high of CNY600,000 in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a recent report by China Post Securities.

Take the Chery QQ Ice Cream with a power of about 10 kilowatt hours as an example. The battery cost has fallen by about CNY2,000 due to the recent decline in the cost of lithium carbonate.

In addition, Chery New Energy’s price cut may also be based on market considerations. Last year, its sales surged 113 percent from a year earlier to 232,000 units. Among them, Chery QQ Ice Cream and Little Ant were the top models with sales of 97,000 and 94,000, respectively, a year-on-year jump of 661 percent and 22.5 percent.

But according to data from the China Passenger Car Association, Chery New Energy sold 13,000 vehicles in the first two months of this year, a 58 percent slide over the previous year. Among them, QQ Ice Cream sales in the first two months were only 5,870 units, slumping over 64 percent annually.

Editor: Shi Yi