At the beginning of the new year, the bmw fell out of wang bang! The chinese official declared that, as of 1 january 2026, the recommended retail price for the lower flag of 31 main vehicles had been reduced by more than 10 per cent for 24 vehicles, 20 per cent for 5 vehicles, and 301,000 yuan for bmw i 7 m70l, equivalent to the price of a bmw 3. Specific cost reduction models and reductions can be found in the table below。
In terms of this model, the highest drop was in i7 m70l, from 1899,000 yuan to 1598,000 yuan, and in the amount of 301,000 yuan, representing a decrease of about 16 per cent; the highest was in the case of bmw ix1 edrive25l, from 2999,000 yuan to 228,000 yuan, and in the case of 719,000 yuan, representing a decrease of about 24 per cent。
A review of the entire price adjustment list shows that most of the drops were in imported vehicles, pure electric vehicles and high-performance vehicles, with the sharp drops in models such as i7 and x6 and the most significant reduction in the price of the flagship pure sedan i7 m70l. Domestic vehicle types have also been partially reduced, by close to or above 20 per cent for vehicles such as x1, ix1, x2, and by four sedan vehicles, with a reduction of $5. 19 million for a 225l m sports kit, or 19. 97 per cent。
The bmw's price adjustment was the strongest and most extensive drop in china in more than 30 years. It needs to be noted, however, that the current price adjustment is only for “recommended retail prices”, or is the final sales price determined by the distributor。
In addition, bmw officially responded to this offer, calling it a “value escalation” of some products rather than a “price war”. But markets do not lie and sales are visible. According to publicly available data, bmw brands sold a total of 528,000 new cars in the country between january and november 2025, a decline of about 14. 7 per cent over the previous year and a struggle in market performance。
This trend is not a bmw family, and the german troika faces the same dilemma. In the first 11 months of 2025, mercedes sold 518,000 vehicles in the country, a decline of 18. 7 per cent over the same period, while audi sold 518,000 in the country, a decrease of 13. 3 per cent over the same period. The “troika” both experienced a double-digit decline。
China’s autonomous brands, with their rapid rise in the areas of new energy vehicles and smart driving, and a shift in domestic consumer perceptions, have led to the emergence of an increasing number of autonomous brand models, such as mi-yu7, m7/m8/m9, esp8, pk9x, idea i8, and others。
In 2026, competition in the industry remained tight, while the medium- and low-end markets of less than $200,000 had developed a strong pattern, so that all motorists would be able to hit the high end. Zero running, intelligence has been able to solve the anxiety through the big battery increment program; chinese, peng, continues to add smart driving to build better-run smart cars; ideal deep-tilled family lanes; and power exchange to build a moat..
Every car company is trying to open up new growth routes in the high-end car market, and it is foreseeable that 2026 will be another year of “the fairy fight”, and we will see how traditional luxurious brands can cope。
