Mercedes and Xiaomi Show the Cost of the Price War

Aggressive EV discounting is squeezing margins, forcing inventory cuts, and shifting competition from badge power to cost discipline and mix management.

• •Mercedes’ price cuts look like inventory triage, not just launch pricing.
• •Xiaomi’s rising deliveries came with lower EV gross margin and weaker mix.
• •Discounting is spreading from China into Europe and other Western markets.
• •Winning now depends on trim discipline, stock turns, and supplier cost-downs.
• •Low-cost platforms and bundled features are resetting EV value benchmarks.