Price Hikes Expose the Truth: Who Is Swimming Naked and Who Has Cards to Play

This round of price hikes is like suddenly revealing the hole cards in a poker game. For the past two years, new energy vehicle manufacturers have been gambling—betting they could hold out until the profitability turning point, betting competitors would fall first, and betting battery costs would drop. Now, battery costs haven't dropped much, subsidies are tapering off, and capital markets have tightened their purse strings; not a single company can continue "losing money to make noise." Consequently, from HarmonyOS Smart Mobility to Tesla, from Li Auto to NIO, there has been a collective price adjustment. This isn't a signal of industry recovery, but rather a marker that the elimination race has entered its final stage.