China’s carmakers cut supplier payment cycles amid Beijing’s price war crackdown

Major Chinese carmakers have cut their lengthy supplier payment cycles – previously used to offset costs and stay competitive in the country’s vast auto market – from nearly a year to less than 60 days, a government-backed industry consortium said, following heightened efforts from Beijing to police the cutthroat sector. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in a statement on Thursday that the 17 assemblers it recently investigated took an average of 54 days to pay their supply-chain vendors since June, with four of them taking less than 50 days to settle the payments. The association, which includes as members nearly every Chinese carmaker, did not release the names of the companies, but added that it would keep monitoring the payment status to ensure healthy growth of the automotive sector. The shorter payment cycle, down from about 300 days in the previous three years, resulted from Chinese authorities’ tighter oversight on price competition among the country’s 100-odd car companies last year, analysts said. Previously, Chinese carmakers frequently extended payment cycles to keep funds in reserve, which allowed them to continue their investments into research and development, as well as offset industry-wide price drops as manufacturers sought to gain an edge on their rivals. While this provided them a source of hidden, interest-free debt, it led to cash flow problems for suppliers of components – from batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) to car seats. “The results showed government intervention worked, as the automotive groups feared they could face severe punishment if they failed to operate in compliance with the authorities’ requirements,” said Chen Jinzhu, CEO of consultancy Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service. “Without delayed payments to suppliers, they will not have sufficient cash on hand to sustain discount wars.” On May 31, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology urged carmakers to pay suppliers punctually, adding that those who unreasonably slashed vehicle prices to vie for market share would be punished, though it did not detail the measures that Beijing would take. In June, more than a dozen Chinese carmakers, including BYD, the world’s largest EV builder, pledged to cut payment cycles to suppliers to 60 days. CAAM also said in the statement that carmakers were barred from using a reduction of payment time as an excuse for forcing their vendors to reduce prices of components. Mainland China is the world’s largest automotive and EV market, but domestic carmakers engaged in a vicious price competition from 2024 to 2025 as part of a broader battle for greater market share. Only a handful of the nearly 50 mainland-based EV builders, such as BYD and Tesla’s Shanghai-based Gigafactory, have been able to turn a profit amid the price wars. China’s output of vehicles – including buses, lorries and passenger cars – rose 10.5 per cent to 34.5 million units in 2025, according to CAAM. The country had an estimated total annual capacity of around 50 million units, Nick Lai, the head of Asia auto research at JPMorgan, told the South China Morning Post in October. Would-be car buyers were expecting automotive companies to offer steep discounts in 2026 due to softer government support, but strengthened government supervision may deter them from doing so, according to analysts. EV buyers, who were exempt from a 10 per cent purchase tax last year, are now subject to a 5 per cent tax as Beijing gradually phases out the tax incentive. In 2028, the purchase tax will return to the normal 10 per cent. In January, Deutsche Bank forecast mainland passenger car sales would fall 5 per cent in 2026, while UBS projected a 2 per cent decline.