The 3.0T Toyota GR Supra was parallel-imported to the mainland and sold for RMB 8.9 million. For this money, you could buy a BMW M3 at the end of last year. Comparatively, the Supra is really expensive, right? Therefore, as soon as the news came out that Toyota launched the 2.0T Supra, social media went into overdrive. The dimensionality of the car has been reduced from a 3.0T straight six to a 2.0T straight four, but it doesn't matter. As long as the price is in place, this is not a problem. So how much should a 2.0T car cost? Can it be cut in half to the 3.0T? In order to make a reliable guess, I checked a lot of information on parallel imports, and suddenly found that the problem is not that simple?

In order to solidify my conjecture, the first step is to find out how the 800,000 to 900,000 yuan for the 3.0T came from. First of all, the starting price of the 3.0T Supra in the United States is US$49,990, which is less than 350,000 yuan based on the exchange rate at the time of writing (as for the price at which parallel import companies buy cars, there is no way to know) . There is a huge difference between 350,000 yuan and 800,000 yuan. Is the whole price difference made by "unscrupulous" car dealers? Don't worry, second, as law-abiding citizens, we should all pay taxes according to the law. The comprehensive tax rate for imported models is well documented. For the 3.0T Supra, based on the displacement, the comprehensive tax rate is 51.59. If you calculate it, the tax is about 180,000, which is 530,000 when combined with the car price.

Parallel imported vehicles still need to obtain China’s 3C certification. Parallel import pilot companies can pay out of their own pockets to send vehicles for inspection, including durability and emissions testing, which costs about three to five million. For models with large import volumes, the cost is shared and it is worthwhile. However, for a niche car like Supra, so few people buy it that it is obviously not worthwhile to go through 3C certification. What to do? For parallel imports, there is also a gray channel for foreign businessmen to bring their own.

Foreign businessmen bring their own. It is easy to understand from the name. It means that foreign-funded enterprises have quotas to import new/used cars. These vehicles do not require 3C certification and can be on the road even if the VIN code does not meet the national standard. Originally, the policy was to provide preferential treatment to foreign businessmen in the early stages of reform and opening up. Later, the purpose was not pure, and it gradually evolved into a tradable indicator in the market, specializing in the import of cars with questionable VINs or niche cars. Now a target is said to be one to two hundred thousand. You see, if you add up a few items, including customs clearance, transportation, insurance, etc., it will cost 800,000 to 900,000 yuan, and the car dealers will be very excited.

Okay, based on this logic, let’s calculate the price of the parallel-imported 2.0T Supra. The public price in North America is estimated at US$40,000, about 280,000 yuan; the 2.0T comprehensive tax rate is 40.42, just over 110,000, which is 400,000 less than the car price. Including "foreign businessmen bringing their own" and other expenses, 600,000 won't be lost. 600,000, wouldn’t it be nice to buy a BMW M2?

If the method is more social, for example, forming a group with 6D, gathering potential car owners across the country, making an order of three to five hundred, and asking car dealers to do a wave of 3C certification, this will not affect the price of the car. Has it dropped to 400,000? Under the siege of National VI emission standards, this road is temporarily blocked. To conduct the National VI emission test, the manufacturer needs to provide OBD certification and PVE test documents (this is not required under the National V standard). In order to maintain the sales channels of imported cars in 4S stores, these documents are not provided by the manufacturer at will. (Furthermore, China VIB is the most stringent emission regulation in the world. Even if you are given the documents, you may not be able to pass it). Not to mention the Supra, depending on the tone of parallel car dealers, under the National VI standards, the entire parallel imported car business is extremely difficult to do.

After all calculations, the only hope for an affordable Supra is for Toyota to import the GR series to mainland China. BMW's two powertrains for the Supra are both National VI B, so there are no technical obstacles. The only obstacle is their business expectations for niche cars. After Mr. Toyoda returned, he always said he would make better cars. If Supra is that "better car", why not let Chinese consumers experience it?

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.