The barriers formed by traditional vehicle companies around crude oil technology and industrial ecology are being broken down one by one under the impact of new technologies. Differentiated competition through intelligent electrification has become a new choice for local brands in China. This time, can they seize the opportunity?

Text/Autobots? Sharla Cheung

China brand once again launched an impact on high-end.

After the revival of FAW's high-end independent brand Hongqi is in full swing and the C+ luxury car Hongqi H9 goes offline, the Chinese name and Logo of Dongfeng's brand-new high-end electric brand will also be released in a few days.

Not long ago, Changan Weilai New Energy Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. experienced industrial and commercial changes, and its registered capital increased from 98 million yuan to 188 million yuan, an increase of 92%. It is reported that Changan Weilai will rely on Changan R&D system to launch high-end brand new energy vehicles.

not only the three central enterprises, but also local state-owned enterprises are planning. SAIC has been exposed that it is planning a brand-new high-end brand M. Jianghuai Automobile was also exposed to build a high-end brand of new energy ... Earlier, BAIC Group had taken the lead in launching the ARCFOX brand.

they all have the same feature: they focus on new energy to break the high-end brand, and most of them are concentrated in state-owned enterprises. This is in line with China's national strategy of automobile industry transformation and upgrading. When the automobile industry enters a new stage of high-quality development led by intelligence, the barriers formed by traditional automobile enterprises around crude oil technology and industrial ecology are being broken down one by one under the impact of new technologies.

Differentiated competition through intelligent electrification has become a new choice for local brands in China. This time, can they seize the opportunity?

why do you want to keep going up?

the market is the best catalyst. Since April this year, the situation of the automobile industry has improved because of the rapid recovery of commercial vehicles and luxury cars, but the market share of China brands began to decline sharply in April.

the Matthew effect of the market is getting worse. While the market share of China brands declined, the market share of German and Japanese brands increased in the first half of the year.

when the data came out in may, autobot predicted that 34.1% would not be the lowest market share of China brands.

The latest data released by the Association proves this point. In June, the share of independent brands shrank to 32%, hitting a new low in recent years. Independent brands of traditional cars and new energy vehicles are in danger. For China brands, only by "surviving" can they survive the competition.

of course, continuing the trend in May, the brand performance of Head China is still excellent. In June this year, head brands such as Geely and Changan, which are in the first camp of China brands, have achieved good results, and the fully revived Hongqi brand has achieved strong growth.

at the same time, joint venture and luxury have achieved a strong recovery. In June, the retail sales of luxury cars increased by 27% year-on-year and 9% quarter-on-quarter, and the market share reached a record high of 14.9%. Among them, BMW Brilliance and Beijing Benz increased by 49% and 2% respectively, and rose to the 11th and 12th high places in the sales ranking of car companies.

the performance of luxury brands in the new energy market is also worthy of attention. Driven by high-end new energy vehicles represented by Tesla, new energy passenger cars increased by 2.1% in June.

The data shows that in June, Tesla sold 14,954 vehicles, up 35% from the previous month. Model? Sales volume is second only to BMW 3 Series, ranking second. In addition to Tesla, Weilai also sold 9,47 vehicles in June, and the recognition and acceptance of high-end new energy vehicles are constantly improving.

this is due to the demand for high-end redemption of consumption upgrade and the downward exploration of the promotion discount price of luxury models, and the price advantage brought by it quickly leads the market segment to pick up. This makes the road of China brand upward more urgent.

To achieve high-end automobile brands in China, on the one hand, the strength should really reach the "high-end" level, and users should take the initiative to choose; On the other hand, it is the promotion of consumption upgrading, and consumers have the economic ability to consume high-end products.

at present, these two conditions are basically met. More than a decade ago, the initial stage of China brand coincided with the first wave of consumption surge of the automobile industry into the family, and the automobile market was in an unprecedented blowout stage, and China brand occupied the low-end entry-level market.

with the continuous improvement of the technical quality of China brands and the increasing consumption power of China automobile market, most consumers pay more and more attention to comfort, brand power and product quality when buying cars, and the "upward" of independent brands also meets the needs of market development.

Especially in the current era of stock competition, luxury cars cut prices and squeeze the market share of joint venture brands, and the ultimate pressure falls on China brands.

In the increasingly fierce market competition, the guarantee of brand and product competitiveness allows consumers to actively choose products with big brands and stronger technical strength.

This situation is more obvious after the epidemic. Compared with joint venture brands, the biggest shortcoming of China brand is brand competitiveness. China brand must go head-on and firmly enhance its brand power. Mainstream China brands are trying to make up for their shortcomings. Whether Geely, Chang 'an or Great Wall, they are all strengthening their brand strategy and achieving brand advancement.

Empowering brands with new energy and intelligence has become a new choice for China brands.

why is it new energy?

In fact, the brand of China is not completely confined to state-owned enterprises by leveraging new energy. In May of this year, Geometry Automobile under Geely Group updated its brand development goal-to become an interesting pure electric brand on the Internet, and officially released the world's first technology travel idea * * * to enjoy the station "Geometry+",reshaping the logic of making cars.

in addition, in the domestic automobile market, the new car power is the main supplier of new energy products. Among them, a series of car companies, such as Weilai and Tucki, have gradually gained a foothold in the high-end market.

whether it is a traditional car company or a new force to build cars, why do they all bet on new energy sources with high-end brands? In Autobots, there are two reasons; First, it needs its own development, and second, it is based on policy guidance.

as we all know, the promotion of China brand's "high-end road" is not smooth. As early as around 28, China brands had concentrated on breaking through to the high end, and also launched many high-end models, but based on the limitations of technology and manufacturing level, they did not succeed.

Over the following years, China brand car companies have repeatedly attacked the "ceiling", but many failed. Until 217, GAC Chuanqi, which started in the middle and high end, launched large and medium-sized SUVs? GS8, as a medium-sized SUV, is priced at 163,8-259,8 yuan, which is a bold attempt for domestic brands. The price of the high-end version of GS8 is almost the same as that of Highlander. No matter from the brand or the product itself, Chuanqi GS8 has reached the peak of China brand.

unfortunately, in the last year or two, Chuanqi GS8, which once sold nearly 1, yuan a month, did not continue to sell well.

in the last year or two, great wall, Geely, Chery and other car companies began to find another way and achieved high-end "evolution". They may launch their high-end flagship models, or start a new stove to create their brand-new high-end brands. Geely's brand LECK, which was launched with the help of Volvo's technology and brand endorsement, and the new products of independent high-end brands such as Great Wall WEY and Qiruixingtu, have formed a certain product matrix, but only the Great Wall WEY brand and Geely's LECK have broken through the domestic "2," ceiling. Among them, the WEY brand market is no longer as hot as in the previous two years, and the decline is obvious compared with the peak period.

comparatively speaking, the independent development of several major state-owned car companies, such as Dongfeng and Chang' an, has been under the shackles of brand power, and has not achieved a breakthrough in high-end brands for many years.

Dongfeng Company has four China passenger car brands, and most of the products of Fengshen, Scenery, Fengxing and Qichen are concentrated in the low-end market. With the upgrading of consumption and the concentration of consumer demand to high-end products, this is one of the original intentions of Dongfeng Company to launch a brand-new high-end brand.

changan automobile promoted the brand upward with its products. changan ruicheng and CS95 were launched before, but the market response was not good. Zhu Huarong, Changan Automobile, said that what Changan Automobile has been pursuing is that the China brand can constantly break through, and where is the hope of breaking through? It's about young people.

In March this year, Changan Automobile launched a brand-new product series-UNI-T, hoping to communicate with younger consumers with a brand-new design language and a brand-new intelligent vehicle system, thus driving the brand up. This is the first step for Changan Automobile to move towards high-end.

both Dongfeng and Chang' an executives realize that in the traditional automobile field, there are not many chances to launch a brand-new brand. With the automobile industry entering the key node of transformation and upgrading, new energy vehicles have become a national strategy, and the road of self-improvement has also shifted to new energy.

With a letter from Zhu Yanfeng, Chairman and Party Secretary of Dongfeng Company, to Dongfeng H Division, H Division, which has been hidden for a long time, shows its true meaning.

As for its high-end positioning, You Zheng, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and deputy general manager of Dongfeng Company, who is in charge of Dongfeng H Division, said in an interview with the media that on the one hand, the launch of H brand is based on the demand of market consumption upgrading, on the other hand, only the middle and high-end market can undertake the carrier of new technologies of Dongfeng Motor in the future.

Dongfeng officials believe that the trend of lightweight, electrification, intelligence, networking and enjoyment of the automobile industry is unstoppable, and the automobile industry and the Internet will be highly integrated. Dongfeng Company aims to take the responsibility of "vanguard", strengthen the route of new energy vehicles, and strive to promote the transformation of traditional fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles. Division H is the undertaker, practitioner and pioneer of this task.

this shows the original intention of state-owned automobile brands to exert their strength in new energy sources and promote industrial transformation. As the first high-end electric brand of central enterprises, the H brand will be officially released in July this year, and the new car will be unveiled as soon as next year.

just four days after the announcement of H Division, SAIC Roewe officially released a brand-new R standard as the exclusive logo of Roewe's mid-to-high-end new energy vehicles, aiming at promoting brand transformation and upgrading. The brand-new electric vehicle brand to be launched by SAIC will appear in parallel with Roewe and MG.

judging from the high-end brand path that the above-mentioned enterprises are about to launch, they will have a higher chance of success by comprehensively considering the national new energy strategy, the upward trend of China brands, the market trend of high-end electric vehicles and consumer demand.

Possibility of a new path

In the traditional field, few independent brands have successfully knocked on the door of high-end brands, but after changing the runway, the new energy field provides more possibilities for high-end brands.

At the same time, China's automobile industry is also in a period of major adjustment due to the superposition of multiple factors such as the transformation and upgrading of consumption structure and the change driven by new technologies. With the rapid development of 5G, big data, artificial intelligence and other technologies, human society has ushered in a new round of scientific and technological revolution, which will reconstruct the automobile industry format, industrial layout and industrial structure, and also provide a broad space for China brand to move up.

a new era of automobile new energy in China has arrived. Taking electric vehicles as an example, with the upgrading of domestic consumption and the gradual improvement of marketization, consumers have higher requirements for pure electric vehicles in terms of cruising range, technology and brand.

The long-planned joint venture brand has come with dignity under the mature market cultivation and full competition. The localization of Tesla, which enjoys super-national treatment, has begun to harvest the market. When the automobile market in China enters the stock competition and demand upgrading at a high point, more mature technical products will be put into the market, and the high-end market of new energy will usher in a rising era.

This is the opportunity for China brand, and those enterprises with strong product strength and R&D strength will show their value because of the arrival of Tesla. With Guangzhou Automobile New Energy AION? S、AION? LX, for example, has become a high-end product and has the strength to compete with joint ventures.

in the eyes of the industry, new energy vehicles have the conditions of high-end models. Different from the traditional cars gradually climbing from the low-end market to the high-end market, new energy products generally start with high-end cars. Batteries and intelligent configuration are almost basic elements, and the high cost brought by new energy has to break through the price ceiling.

New energy vehicles accelerate quickly and quietly, and intelligent elements mean scientific and technological innovation, and a large number of forward-looking technologies are adopted, with new technologies leading to a certain extent.

in the field of traditional fuel vehicles, there are obvious shortcomings in China automobile industry, and it is difficult to break through the core technology. Different from the traditional technology, the "three electricity" technology of domestic new energy vehicles has achieved remarkable results. Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, it is not so difficult for self-owned brand high-end new energy vehicles to succeed. "New energy vehicles can be better combined with intelligent networking technology, which is more acceptable to consumers." Wu Songquan, chief expert of China Automotive Technology and Research Center Co., Ltd. said.

electrification+intelligence has become an important weight for China brand to leapfrog to the high end. Coupled with service experience and innovative business model, it is entirely possible for China brand to move towards high-end in the field of new energy vehicles.

the question is, who will pay for the high-end cars of China brand? If high technology is also a luxury and high-end, it will be a luxury recognized by a new generation of consumers.

he may be a B-class car owner who is worried about the traditional BBA, or a luxury car owner who wants a more passionate and scientific product to prove his taste. Of course, there are also young strugglers who look up at the starry sky and are eager for a luxury car to reward their talents and efforts, but they don't want to pay for just a logo.

With the coming of the critical period of the new round of technical competition for global automobile enterprises, Matthew effect will be further revealed, and the head enterprises will occupy a larger market. For China brand, this is the moment to strive for strength and technology, and it is also an opportunity to achieve brand upward.

A few days ago, China Ordnance Equipment Group, China FAW, Dongfeng Company, Changan Automobile and Nanjing Jiangning Economic Development Technology Co., Ltd. planned to build a super intelligent new energy technology platform within five years, focusing on research and development in three business areas: intelligent electric chassis, hydrogen fuel power and intelligent networked vehicles. This also provides technical support for the three central enterprises to achieve brand promotion through new energy. (Text/"Autobots"? Sharla Cheung, this article was originally published in the July 22 issue of China Automobile Industry magazine) Copyright statement This article is an exclusive original manuscript of Autobots Media, and the copyright belongs to Autobots Media.

This article comes from the author of Chejia, car home, and does not represent car home's standpoint.