BEIJING, February 12, 2026 – China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on February 12 issued the Compliance Guidelines on Pricing Conduct in the Automotive Industry to further regulate pricing behavior and promote the healthy and orderly development of the automotive market.
According to the authority, the guidelines were released to implement decisions and arrangements of the Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council aimed at addressing “involution-style” competition.
SAMR stated that the automotive industry is a key pillar of the national economy, with a long industrial chain and broad coverage, closely linked to consumers’ daily lives. It noted that the sector currently faces issues such as failure to clearly mark prices as required and price fraud, which harm the interests of consumers and operators, disrupt fair competition and are not conducive to high-quality development.
The guidelines are designed to clarify behavioral boundaries, unify regulatory standards and guide automobile manufacturers and sellers to operate in compliance with the law, fostering a market order characterized by quality-based pricing and sound competition.
The document contains five chapters and 28 articles, covering five main aspects.
First, it sets out general principles and requirements, specifying the purpose, legal basis and scope of application of the guidelines, establishing basic principles for pricing conduct and encouraging industry associations to strengthen self-discipline and promote price compliance within the sector.
Second, it refines compliance requirements for automobile manufacturers, setting out pricing rules across the entire production chain, from complete vehicles to components, and from pricing strategies to sales conduct. It provides for full-process price management, strengthens constraints on fair pricing, regulates promotional and pricing practices and calls for the lawful crackdown on improper pricing behavior.
Third, it clarifies pricing conduct requirements for automobile sales enterprises, focusing on new vehicle sales and addressing prominent issues such as failure to clearly mark prices and false promotions. It also provides for the establishment of a risk warning mechanism and encourages platforms to issue dual business and consumer risk alerts regarding significantly low-price conduct.
Fourth, it guides enterprises to strengthen internal compliance systems, encouraging manufacturers and sellers to establish internal price compliance management mechanisms covering six areas: price decision-making, sales contract management, internal supervision, emergency price response, risk prevention and control and price compliance training, in order to achieve full-process control of pricing conduct.
Finally, the guidelines include supplementary provisions, highlighting the role of industry associations and guiding them to formulate detailed implementation measures in accordance with the document.
SAMR said the issuance of the guidelines aims to further standardize pricing conduct in the automotive sector and support the orderly and high-quality development of the market.
Source: https://www.samr.gov.cn/xw/zj/art/2026/art_dc150a0f1d854817a17f3e6bb50c2dee.html
