"7-year low-interest plan? We completely stopped it on April 30th," a staff member at a Beijing new energy vehicle brand service center confirmed. Around the same time, sales outlets for multiple new energy brands in Shanghai and Shenzhen provided identical responses. In Chengdu, a sales consultant at a new energy vehicle experience center expressed uncertainty to a potential customer's inquiry: "We were notified that the latest we can process applications is April 30th; it could be suspended anytime after that."

The final day of April 2026 marked a clear "deadline" for a wave of auto finance promotions, characterized by ultra-long terms and ultra-low interest rates that began early in the year, with this trend reaching a synchronized conclusion across the country. Based on on-the-ground visits and telephone interviews conducted in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Chengdu, sales personnel from foreign brands, joint ventures, and domestic new automakers uniformly signaled the same development: the 7-year low-interest auto loan, once a core promotional tool for strong sales starts, is rapidly receding industry-wide.

A salesperson at a Shanghai new energy brand experience store explained the difference between the old and new plans: "The main promotions now are 5-year interest-free and 5-year ultra-low interest plans. The ultra-low interest rate is 0.5%, which is lower than the previous 7-year plan's 0.7%. Overall, it works out to be more cost-effective." This comparison reveals that sales tactics have quickly adapted alongside the shift in financial products. This represents a collective reassessment and a measured pullback by the auto finance chain following a period of intense promotional activity.

It was noted that although promotional materials for "7-year low-interest" plans were still visible in some showrooms and live streams, this wave of financial "leverage"-fueled promotions, defined by extended terms and minimal rates, is reaching an anticipated turning point. This shift is driven by the dual forces of risk reassessment by Financial Institutions and a broader regulatory emphasis on prudence.

By late April, while promotional enthusiasm in auto showrooms remained high, the certainty and term length of financial offers had already "shrunk." Confirmation from visits in Chengdu indicates this change is not an isolated case but a synchronized adjustment involving multiple funding sources.

"'7-year low-interest'? That plan was uniformly cancelled by our manufacturer. The main focus now is the '5-free-2' plan," a salesperson for a domestic new automaker brand confirmed. He even calculated on the spot to illustrate the shift in "benefits": "Actually, looking at the total cost, the previous '7-year low-interest' plan wasn't necessarily the best deal. Its annualized rate was about 2%. The new 5-year plan offers zero interest for the first 2 years and interest for the last 3 years, with an annualized rate around 3%. Not only is the capital commitment period shorter by 2 years, but the total interest cost is also lower than the 7-year plan."

Another new energy vehicle salesperson in Chengdu stated: "To my knowledge, the '7-year low-interest' plan was only available until the end of April. It can't be done starting May; it's been completely halted."

Staff at a Beijing new energy brand service center explicitly stated that the 7-year low-interest financial plan "was already stopped at the end of April," and they are currently implementing a 5-year ultra-low interest plan.

A salesperson at a Shanghai new energy brand experience store reported that the 7-year plan was recently cancelled, with current options being the 5-year interest-free and 5-year ultra-low interest plans. He further explained that the two plans differ in down payment requirements, with the 5-year interest-free option requiring a slightly higher down payment. Notably, the staff member specifically calculated and emphasized that the new 5-year ultra-low interest plan's fee rate is only 0.5%, lower than the previous 7-year plan's 0.7% rate, stating it is "more cost-effective overall." This comparison shows that sales pitches have rapidly adjusted with the product switch.

In Shenzhen, staff at a brand 4S store also confirmed that the 7-year plan ended on April 30th, transitioning to a 5-year low-interest plan from May 1st. The staff added a key piece of information, stating the adjustment was made "due to requirements from relevant authorities, and all automakers have stopped the 7-year low-interest plans."

In summary, information gathered from multiple locations corroborates that the promotion of 7-year low-interest auto loans has been halted nationwide, with the industry synchronously shifting towards auto loan products primarily based on 5-year terms.

The intensity of the previous round of competition among automakers is still visible in residual data. As revealed by the joint venture brand salesperson, the annualized rates for the most prominent 7-year products previously on the market showed significant variation. "For instance, some individual brands could offer rates close to 1%. That's not just 'low-interest'; it's almost 'zero-interest' financing, which was extremely attractive to consumers. However, similar plans from most brands still had actual annualized rates above 3%." This extreme disparity, on one hand, demonstrated the aggressive stance of leading brands using financial tools to capture market share, and on the other hand, signaled that such unsustainable models would be the first affected if funding costs or policy environments changed.

More critical dynamics emerged from the funding side, involving banks and auto finance companies. Information obtained from multiple sales channels indicates that even before automakers set a clear window, some joint-stock banks and financing lease companies had gradually suspended accepting new applications for 7-year auto loans since late April. "The risk control departments at Financial Institutions moved faster; they tightened up first," an industry insider familiar with the situation remarked. This suggests that the April 30th date functioned more as a final deadline set by automakers for processing existing orders and clearing channels, rather than the absolute starting point for the funding cutoff. The "final day" urgency in showrooms is a concrete manifestation of this top-down pressure.

Why was a promotional tool receiving strong market response halted so abruptly? Essentially, this represents a necessary and timely "rebalancing" by Financial Institutions between business scale expansion and long-term risk control.

A senior banking analyst explained that 7-year auto loans, particularly "ultra-low-interest" products, carry a fundamentally different risk logic compared to traditional credit. First, there is the risk of asset-liability maturity mismatch. "Bank funding costs are variable, but once a low fixed rate is locked in for 7 years, the bank faces profit pressure if market rates rise in the future. In an environment of interest rate liberalization, such long-term fixed-rate loans passively extend the risk duration of the bank's balance sheet, which is detrimental to liquidity management."

Second, there is the risk of an "inversion" between the vehicle's residual value and the outstanding loan balance. The analyst further pointed out that cars are consumer goods with high depreciation rates. "After 7 years of use, a vehicle's market residual value may be far lower than the remaining loan balance. This risk is amplified in the current context of rapid technological iteration and frequent price fluctuations for electric vehicles, increasing the speed and uncertainty of depreciation. If a car owner's repayment ability declines, the potential loss for the Financial Institutions from default would be significantly higher compared to products with shorter terms, like 3-year loans."

Additionally, excessively宽松的金融条件 might distort genuine consumer demand and accumulate credit risk. "Ultra-long-term, ultra-low-interest loans essentially represent an overextension of future consumption capacity. They might attract customers who originally had insufficient purchasing power or were highly sensitive to monthly payments—a demographic with relatively weaker risk resilience." The analyst emphasized that from a macro-prudential perspective, regulators have always maintained a cautious stance towards consumer finance业务, aiming to prevent无序increases in household sector leverage in specific areas. This market-initiated tightening aligns with regulatory principles encouraging rational consumption and preventing financial risks, and can be seen as market participants anticipating and responding to regulatory signals.

Therefore, this adjustment can be interpreted as feedback from a "stress test" within the financial system. When automakers used significant interest subsidies to turn financial products into extensions of price wars, the funding providers—banks and lease companies—were the first to feel the chill of compressed profit margins and expanding risk exposure. Proactive strategic contraction is an inevitable outcome of market-based selection.

The withdrawal of 7-year low-interest loans will undoubtedly alter the competitive landscape of the auto market. In the short term, this may pressure sales volumes for segments heavily reliant on financial incentives, particularly for models or brands that positioned "low monthly payments" as a core selling point.

"Sales policies in May will definitely change, but it's expected that automakers won't completely abandon financial promotions as a lever," predicted the joint venture brand salesperson. "Possible directions include concentrating resources on shorter-term interest-free or low-interest plans, such as more aggressive 'short-term 0-interest' offers or more flexible '5-free-2' structures, coupled with increased direct cash discounts or benefit packages." This implies that financial promotions will shift from a single dimension of "long term, low monthly payment" to multi-dimensional combinations involving term, rate, down payment ratio, and cash incentives. This places higher demands on consumers' comparison skills and makes promotional strategies more complex.

In the long run, this may subtly shift the focus of competition in the auto industry. As the promotional effect of financial policies diminishes, fundamental "hard strengths"—such as product value-for-money, technological leadership, brand reputation, and after-sales service systems—are likely to re-emerge as core determinants of consumer choice. A senior industry analyst believes this could help the industry挤出浮躁的"financial泡沫," allowing competition to return to its essence. "Relying on unsustainable interest subsidies to maintain sales growth erodes automakers' financial health. The normalization and rationalization of financial tools benefit the entire industrial chain—automakers, dealers, and Financial Institutions—enabling more sustainable and stable operations."

From industry data, auto finance has become a significant growth driver for banks. For example, Ping An Bank's Q1 2026 report showed that as of end-March 2026, its auto finance loan balance was 307.253 billion yuan, with the personal new energy vehicle loan balance reaching 121.426 billion yuan, continuing to grow from the end of the previous year. Against the backdrop of rising new energy vehicle penetration, the importance of auto finance业务to bank balance sheets will only increase. Tightening 7-year products at this juncture represents necessary quality control for new business—a recalibration of the balance between scale and risk.

Looking back to 2025, regulatory authorities and banking associations in several regions had already initiated集中整治targeting the "high rebate" model in the auto market. Banking associations in Sichuan, Henan, Fujian, and other regions successively issued self-regulatory conventions for auto consumption finance业务, taking aim at the "high rebate" phenomenon. From the crackdown on "high rebates" to the tightening of "7-year low-interest" offers, regulators have maintained a cautious stance towards the high-leverage, long-term tendencies in auto finance业务.

As of the time of writing, no regulatory authorities have issued public formal documents regarding subsequent arrangements for 7-year auto loan products. Whether April 30th marks a full stop or merely a comma remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that Financial Institutions have already made their choice through risk control judgments, and the auto industry's credit-driven sales promotion model is entering a more prudent new phase.