According to an official announcement, China will roll out stricter measures to regulate the pricing practices of automobile manufacturers, including a strict ban on price surcharges beyond the marked price and a clear prohibition on misleading pricing, among others.
The State Administration for Market Regulation of China (SAMR) issued an announcement on Friday (December 12) stating that to regulate price conduct in the automotive industry, it has formulated the Guidelines for Compliance of Price Conduct in the Automotive Industry (Draft for Comment) (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines) and is soliciting public opinions on the document.

Comprehensive reports from the National Business Daily and The Paper noted that SAMR pointed out that in recent years, with the rapid development of the automobile market, especially the new energy vehicle market, new business models have kept emerging and price-related behaviors have become increasingly complex. In practice, irregular price marking, price fraud, price collusion, irrational competition and other improper practices exist in the automobile production and sales sector, which have seriously disrupted the market order, infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and operators, and hindered the high-quality development of the automotive industry.

As introduced, the Guidelines consist of 5 chapters and 28 articles, which put forward detailed specifications for the pricing behaviors of automobile manufacturers and clarify price compliance requirements for all links ranging from complete vehicles and auto parts production to pricing strategies and sales activities.

The main contents include: strictly distinguishing between the prices of automotive products and sales service fees, with a strict ban on charging extra fees beyond the marked price; explicitly prohibiting misleading pricing, false price comparisons, failure to fulfill price commitments and other such behaviors; strictly forbidding practices like charging fees without providing corresponding services, double charging, and passing on fees to consumers; it also clarifies that except for legally reducing prices to dispose of overstocked goods, automobile sales enterprises that set actual selling prices below the purchase cost for the purpose of eliminating competitors or monopolizing the market will face major legal risks.

In an interpretation of the Guidelines published on its official website on Friday, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) stated that based on laws and regulations such as the Price Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Price-related Illegal Acts, the Guidelines provide clear, specific and comprehensive guidance and reminders for automobile production and sales enterprises. These guidelines help enterprises avoid crossing legal red lines through specific business activities, thus effectively enabling them to evade potential legal and regulatory risks and promoting law-abiding and compliant operations at the source.

According to an official announcement, China will roll out stricter measures to regulate the pricing practices of automobile manufacturers, including a strict ban on price surcharges beyond the marked price and a clear prohibition on misleading pricing, among others.
The State Administration for Market Regulation of China (SAMR) issued an announcement on Friday (December 12) stating that to regulate price conduct in the automotive industry, it has formulated the Guidelines for Compliance of Price Conduct in the Automotive Industry (Draft for Comment) (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines) and is soliciting public opinions on the document.

Comprehensive reports from the National Business Daily and The Paper noted that SAMR pointed out that in recent years, with the rapid development of the automobile market, especially the new energy vehicle market, new business models have kept emerging and price-related behaviors have become increasingly complex. In practice, irregular price marking, price fraud, price collusion, irrational competition and other improper practices exist in the automobile production and sales sector, which have seriously disrupted the market order, infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and operators, and hindered the high-quality development of the automotive industry.

As introduced, the Guidelines consist of 5 chapters and 28 articles, which put forward detailed specifications for the pricing behaviors of automobile manufacturers and clarify price compliance requirements for all links ranging from complete vehicles and auto parts production to pricing strategies and sales activities.

The main contents include: strictly distinguishing between the prices of automotive products and sales service fees, with a strict ban on charging extra fees beyond the marked price; explicitly prohibiting misleading pricing, false price comparisons, failure to fulfill price commitments and other such behaviors; strictly forbidding practices like charging fees without providing corresponding services, double charging, and passing on fees to consumers; it also clarifies that except for legally reducing prices to dispose of overstocked goods, automobile sales enterprises that set actual selling prices below the purchase cost for the purpose of eliminating competitors or monopolizing the market will face major legal risks.

In an interpretation of the Guidelines published on its official website on Friday, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) stated that based on laws and regulations such as the Price Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Price-related Illegal Acts, the Guidelines provide clear, specific and comprehensive guidance and reminders for automobile production and sales enterprises. These guidelines help enterprises avoid crossing legal red lines through specific business activities, thus effectively enabling them to evade potential legal and regulatory risks and promoting law-abiding and compliant operations at the source.