If you observe the domestic car market for a long time, it is not difficult to find an intriguing phenomenon: the price range of 150000 to 200000 yuan is becoming a fortress that pure electric cars find difficult to overcome.

By 2026, this price range has already entered a white hot internal competition. Car companies are taking turns playing the marketing card, competing for the "first electric car for young people" track. The former 300000 level configurations such as 800V high-voltage fast charging, LiDAR, and 700km ultra long range continue to be deployed in this range. Hardware stacking is becoming increasingly generous, but pure electric cars still struggle to establish a foothold here, as if falling into an invisible market black hole.

Consumers at this price point are also the most rational group in the entire market, extremely sensitive to cost-effectiveness, quality price ratio, and product price ratio. Downward adjustment of 30000 to 50000 yuan will result in a cliff like reduction in vehicle configuration; The budget has increased to 250000 yuan, and most of the new expenses have been converted into brand premiums, which consumers are unwilling to pay for.

Under the combination of multiple factors, the competition intensity at this price point is unparalleled in the market. The car buyers are pursuing zero shortcomings, zero anxiety, and all-round adaptability, while pure electric cars happen to have concentrated shortcomings and are surrounded by enemies in this budget range, and the dilemma becomes apparent.

1、 Track truth: In the 150000 to 200000 yuan sedan market, the winner is still the gasoline car

First, let's take a look at a set of market realities: in the 150000 to 200000 yuan sedan market, the main driving force for sustained volume growth is still fuel powered models. The "Yakai Maipa" camp consisting of Camry, Accord, Sagitar, Magotan, and Passat firmly occupies the basic market, relying on significant terminal discounts to maintain monthly sales of around 10000 units. Although it is no longer the peak of the fuel era, the basic market is stable.

On the other hand, compared to pure electric cars of the same price range, the situation is much quieter. Large sized pure electric coupes such as Fengyun A9L, Platinum Intelligence 7, Han EV, and Xiaopeng P7+have all entered the venue. Among them, the relatively outstanding Xiaopeng P7+had a monthly sales peak of only around 4000 units, and its sales in July fell to 2731 units; The Platinum 7, which Toyota had high hopes for, is a typical case. In its first month of launch, it sold 4637 units, but then continued to decline. In the third month, sales fell to 1757 units, and in July, it slightly rebounded to 2108 units, breaking out of a "peak upon launch" curve and failing to break free from the industry's "three-month curse".

Many brands have recognized the trend and have chosen to strategically abandon pure electric sedan projects. In March of this year, Honda officially halted the R&D and mass production plan for the Honda 0 Saloon pure electric sedan on the North American 0 Series platform, cutting all three models and making a one-time provision of approximately 2.5 trillion yen in asset losses.

Not only does the range of 150000 to 200000 yuan extend upwards, but pure electric cars priced above 200000 yuan are also under heavy pressure: NIO ET5+ET5T has a monthly sales volume of only over 2000 units, while the Zhijie S7 and the old Xiaopeng P7 have always struggled to break through the bottleneck of scale.

Of course, there are two benchmark exceptions on the track: Xiaomi SU7 and Tesla Model 3. But the industry has formed a consensus that the success of both relies more on brand beliefs and does not have universal replicability. Tesla relies on its first mover advantage to shape the global science and technology label. Xiaomi firmly locks in young Internet users with its Rice noodles basic plate and Renchejia ecology, and isolates latecomers with deep user barriers. However, there are still boundaries to faith. The peak monthly sales of Model 3 exceeded 20000 units and are now stable around 15000 units, with growth momentum continuing to slow down.

The Tengshi Z9GT is another type of sample, relying on extreme personalized positioning to establish a foothold in the 300000 yuan price range. However, the upcoming Tengshi Z9S, priced at an estimated 250000 to 300000 yuan, is highly likely to hit a similar market black hole again.

A vague industry conclusion is gradually becoming clear: under the wave of new energy, more opportunities are left for pure electric SUVs; Pure electric sedans and medium to large-sized pure electric coupes are continuously facing structural market bottlenecks.

Even luxury brands with a century of accumulation are not immune. Mercedes Benz plans to launch the pure electric C-Class and BMW's replacement i3 in the second half of the year, with generally conservative internal sales expectations. The Mercedes Benz CLA L has stable monthly sales of 4000 units in Europe, which can directly compete with the Model 3. However, it has entered the domestic market with monthly sales of less than 100 units. Domestic consumers with a budget of 250000 yuan prefer to compare with independent brand pure electric sedans such as Xiaomi SU7 and Jike 007, while unpopular joint venture pure electric sedans are difficult to enter the purchase list.

Many car companies actively choose to take detours for safety. The Aion RAY 7, which was previously listed in the declaration catalog of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, is a heavyweight new car for the brand's 10th anniversary. Its architecture is the same as the Haobo GT, and the initial estimated price by the outside world was in the range of 150000 to 200000 yuan. But there have been internal reports of adjusting pricing and lowering it to 120000 to 150000 yuan, with the core goal of actively avoiding the price black hole of pure electric cars.

2、 Multiple dilemmas intertwine, making it difficult for pure electric cars to break through

The continuous cooling of pure electric cars on the 150000 to 200000 yuan track is the result of the combined effects of user demand, competitive landscape, cost structure, and product physical limitations.

Firstly, user profiles determine underlying demand conflicts. The vast majority of buyers in this price range choose one car to cover all household scenarios, which is the only car for families. It not only needs to commute to the city, but also needs to cope with long-distance travel during holidays. The inherent pain points of pure electricity, such as range fluctuations and charging waiting, will be infinitely amplified. Combined with the adjustment of the new energy purchase tax policy, the green card dividend in restricted cities has weakened, and the driving force for users in second - and third tier cities to choose electric vehicles has further decreased.

Secondly, the competition on the track will be surrounded in all directions. Strong diversion of orders for plug-in hybrid and extended range sedans in the same price range: Han DM-i, Lynk&Co 07 EM-P, Deep Blue SL03 extended range, Qin L DM-i without range anxiety; On the other hand, joint venture B-class fuel powered cars continue to experience price reductions; Pure electric SUVs such as the Aion S MAX, Yuan PLUS, and Platinum 3X have also captured a large number of potential customers. Multiple forces are working together to squeeze the living space of pure electric cars.

Thirdly, the cost of batteries is squeezing the upper limit of product configurations. The cost of pure electric car batteries accounts for 35% -45% of the total vehicle cost. It is extremely difficult to equip the price range of 180000 yuan with an 800V platform, advanced intelligent driving, wire controlled chassis, and ample space at the same time. In contrast, plug-in hybrid models have smaller battery capacities, allowing for more budget investment in chassis, interior, and intelligent configurations, resulting in a more attractive product appearance.

Meanwhile, the anxiety of residual value continues to hinder placing orders. Cost conscious household consumers attach great importance to the residual value of vehicles, and many potential buyers are concerned about the insufficient supply of maintenance parts for obscure pure electric models in the later stage, severe losses from three-year resale, and a strong wait-and-see attitude.

Compared to external competition, deeper constraints come from the body structure itself.

The battery pack is laid flat on the chassis, with a height of about 12cm, and directly raises the floor inside the car. The height of the sedan itself is lower than that of an SUV, and in order to maintain a smooth and sleek design, it is impossible to continuously raise the overall height of the car. Therefore, the thickness of the seat cushion can only be compressed in exchange for headroom.

The actual test data can intuitively confirm that the seat height of Audi A6L is about 38cm, which is close to the ergonomic comfort standard of 40-45cm; And a number of pure electric sedans in the same class, such as Model 3, Extreme Krypton 007, Galaxy E8, NIO ET5, etc., generally have seat cushion heights below 35cm, forming the commonly known "small bench sitting posture".

To achieve the same level of passenger comfort as traditional fuel powered cars, pure electric cars need to extend their wheelbase by 100-150mm in exchange for extra legroom. This creates a vicious cycle: lengthening the wheelbase → increasing the size of the vehicle → installing larger batteries to ensure range → the battery further encroaches on vertical space. When consumers actually test drive, it is easy to perceive the difference in riding experience and ultimately hesitate to give up.

3、 Industry transformation: The traditional sedan paradigm is being redefined

The "price black hole" of pure electric cars reflects a profound transformation: the changes brought by new energy are not only the iteration of the industrial chain and manufacturing structure, but also the comprehensive reshaping of public aesthetics, car purchasing needs, and automotive product forms. The once stable 56E and Yakai Maipa traditional sedan standards are being overturned.

The boundaries between traditional sedans, SUVs, and MPVs are becoming increasingly blurred, while hunting gear, crossover tank trucks, and sleek crossover models are rapidly emerging. In this transformation, sticking to the traditional three box pure electric sedan route will naturally bear greater market pressure.

For the entire industry, category iteration may not necessarily be a bad thing, as competition forces car companies to explore more product forms. For many manufacturers, it may be necessary to let go of their inherent obsession with selling pure electric cars and re plan their product layout in response to changes in market demand.