More accurately, "Warns again".*
From The South China Morning Post, June 3:
‘Full of gunpowder’: new price wars among China carmakers mask hidden dangers, Beijing warns
A barrage of official condemnation over ‘involuted’ auto sector comes after major industry players offered big discounts amid overcapacity concerns
....MUCH MOREBeijing has amplified its warnings over cutthroat price wars among carmakers as deflationary pressure persists in the world’s second-largest economy, and economists say a reflation is likely to remain elusive.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), party mouthpieces and a carmaker association aired concerns at the weekend over recent discounts offered by manufacturers, while collectively deeming price wars a threat to product quality and the long-term development of the industry.
“Uncontrolled price wars among businesses are a classic example of ‘involutionary’ competition. They hinder companies’ sustained investment in research and development, ultimately affecting product quality, performance and service levels,” the MIIT was quoted as saying on Saturday by the state-run Xinhua.
“There are no winners in price wars, and certainly no future.”
“Involution”, or , refers to excessive competition for limited resources or opportunities. The ministry also vowed to step up governance over such competition in the industry.
Echoing the ministry’s call, People’s Daily admonished the industry in a commentary on Sunday, describing the domestic carmaking sector as being in a “sub-healthy” state, pointing to its shrinking profit margin in the face of industrial overcapacity.
“The industry is caught in a dilemma of ‘more production, more losses’ and seeing revenue growth without a corresponding rise in profit,” the piece said while warning that “the price war is full of gunpowder and has many deep-seated, hidden dangers”.
The automobile industry’s profit margin dipped to 4.1 per cent in the first four months of this year – down from 4.3 per cent across 2024, according to figures from the China Automobile Dealers Association, a semi-official organisation.
The level is lagging overall downstream industries, which saw a 5.6 per cent margin rate from January to April.
The fresh calls to combat involution came just over a week after Chinese carmakers started offering big discounts.
BYD, the leading electric vehicle manufacturer in China, announced on May 23 that it would offer discounts – some in excess of 30 per cent – on 22 of its models until the end of June, leading other firms to follow suit....
*Over the weekend we saw this from Reuters:
China urges halt to auto industry's bruising price wars