Fight for technology, fight for configuration, fight for price and fight for word of mouth. After the epidemic lasted for three years, the brands of car companies that have been holding back all the time have poured out, making the whole industry instantly explode like a pot, which is very lively.
This kind of excitement was reflected in this year's Shanghai Auto Show.
Although the enthusiasm of the consumer has not been fully activated, it is obvious that the automobile enterprises have put on the posture of "rolling up their sleeves and cheering". This auto show. Really? Achieved an "unprecedented grand occasion"!
It is reported that Shanghai Auto Show attracted more than 65,438+0,000 exhibitors with a total exhibition area of over 360,000 square meters. During April 18 and 19, * * held 15 1 press conference, and the first media day received more than 12000 people, setting a new record.
Indeed, the three-year epidemic has greatly hindered the normal communication between the global automobile industry and personnel. In the past three years, although the automobile market in China has experienced ups and downs, its overall performance has been stable, especially the continuous progress of new energy and intelligent technology, which has put great pressure on joint venture vehicles in terms of market share, pricing power, communication volume and word of mouth.
The balance of power was broken.
New energy submersible fuel vehicle
Since three years ago, new energy vehicles have gradually replaced fuel vehicles and become the most concerned C product at every auto show, and this year's Shanghai Auto Show is no exception. ? According to statistics, among more than 0/000 exhibitors at this auto show/KLOC-0, new energy-related brands accounted for more than 80%, and among hundreds of new cars on display, new energy vehicles also accounted for nearly 70%.
Indeed, although the sales volume of new energy vehicles is still lower than that of fuel vehicles, it is already the absolute protagonist in terms of sound volume and growth rate. According to the data of the Federation, from 20 19 to 2022, the domestic market share of new energy vehicles was 4.9%, 5.8%, 14.8% and 27.6% respectively, and further increased to 34.3% in March this year, and the market growth rate far exceeded that of traditional fuel vehicles.
Among them, China brand has played the biggest role. In March, the penetration rate of China brand new energy vehicles was as high as 54.7%, while the mainstream joint venture was only 5.3%.
Ultra-high market penetration also allows independent brands to master pricing power and discourse power. For example, when BYD and Fan Fei offered extremely amazing new car prices, SAIC-GM had to set the starting price of Buick E5 at 208,900 yuan lower than that of Angkewei, which was the same as that of Toyota bZ3 at169,800 yuan. It can be seen that the banner of "the same price of oil and electricity" played by independent brands is now being accepted by joint ventures.
On the other hand, at this auto show, booth C is a new energy vehicle, regardless of its own brand, joint venture brand or even imported car brand. However, autonomy has the upper hand, whether it is the flow of people at the scene or the number of new cars released.
BYD Song L, Destroyer 07, Geely Galaxy L7,08EM-P, Extreme Krypton X, Haval Snapdragon MAX, Weipai Blue Mountain, Tank 400 Hi4-T, Ai 'an Hyper, Deep Blue S7, even Euler's good cat GT, Ballet Cat, etc., are all more popular than Volkswagen ID.7, Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, Lexus LM500h, Honda e:N and so on.
Gu Huinan, general manager of Guangzhou Automobile Aian, said that 2023 is a year of elimination and a turning point, and it is an opportunity period for polarization and scissors difference of new energy vehicle enterprises.
It is conceivable that this year's new energy vehicle market will be as lively as the Shanghai Auto Show.
"Car-making School" Return to "Capital School"
The "mouth gun" ability that was mastered by new forces in the past is now learned by the executives of traditional car companies. Before the auto show, executives of traditional car companies and new forces began frequent "mutual communication".
Here, Wang Chuanfu, president of BYD, made a high-profile bombardment that "autonomous driving is nonsense", while Yu Chengdong of Huawei responded that "Daxie should not crack down on innovation"; After Li Xiang declared that the ideal L9 was "the best SUV of 5 million yuan", Wei brand called Blue Mountain "even better than the best SUV of 5 million yuan", and Liu, CEO of tank brand, was even more direct: "Blue Mountain is the vanguard of the all-round counterattack from the' car-making faction' to the' capital faction'.
More directly, it comes from Volvo, which has always been low-key. On the eve of April 16 Shanghai Auto Show, Qin Peiji, President of Volvo Greater China Sales Company, made a statement to a group of new power brands at the China launch of the brand-new pure electric flagship SUV EX90: "We learned the new power club in three years. We will, and the new forces will not learn in ten years. " "Why do some cars claim to be the smartest but still can't stop?" Similar remarks not only exploded the circle of friends of the day, but also subverted our inherent impression of this Nordic luxury brand.
Compared with the new forces, the executives of traditional car companies have been immersed in the industry for a long time. Based on deep understanding and awe, they are generally low-key and cautious, and will not easily dictate to their peers or new technologies. However, in recent years, when Musk, Li Xiang, He, Yu Chengdong and others spoke. More and more occupied the C position of public opinion, and the "car maker" who has always been rational finally couldn't sit still. A few years ago, the "war of words" between "car makers" and "capitalists" broke out one after another, and this year's Shanghai Auto Show reached a small peak. It will rise higher and higher like waves in the future.
In all fairness, although the new forces once achieved good sales and attention with their bold and unconventional style, when the traditional "car-making faction" awakens, the speed of flying will make the new forces fall behind.
This can be seen from the growth rate of new energy vehicle sales of traditional car companies such as BYD, Ai 'an and Geely. At the Shanghai Auto Show, the new energy vehicles of these traditional car companies attracted as much traffic and topics as Weilai, Ideality and Tucki, and even surpassed them.
From "Acceptor" to "Exporter" of New Technology
Although the Shanghai Auto Show was labeled as "international" from the beginning, it has never been more "international" than this one. Foreign faces can be seen everywhere, making people feel like they are at an overseas auto show. The reason why these foreigners flock to China is that the automobile market has turned upside down.
In recent years, China automobile enterprises have made rapid progress in the fields of electrification, digitalization, intelligent cockpit, intelligent driving and other new technologies, and the great changes brought by them are being accepted and valued by multinational automobile giants.
10 in April, Kang Song Lin, Chairman of Mercedes-Benz (Ola K? Llenius) landed at Beijing Capital Airport and posted a selfie at the first time, with the text "OK is too OK to return to China"; On April 13, Audi CEO duesman appeared in the newly completed Audi China Building. On April 17, Gao Le, President and CEO of BMW Greater China, not only shouted "Home in China" at the "Creative Future Night", but also said that nearly half of the board members of BMW Group came to the scene.
It is not new for German tycoons to bet collectively on the China market, but it is rare for BBA leaders to appear at the same time. This time, they practiced the strategy of "being China in China" with practical actions, and went to the scene to learn about the development of smart electric vehicles in China.
In Hall 7. 1, the author witnessed that the popularity of BYD booth obviously overwhelmed the opposite BMW. Although the latter covers a larger area, it does not affect people flocking to BYD booth, especially foreign friends, because several products are the best sellers in China market at present.
Although the mini booth next to it also brought the latest electrified products, it would be difficult to attract more attention these days if it weren't for that box of ice cream.
This is a metaphor. In the past, foreign brands attracted everyone's attention by solid advanced technology and product strength, but now, this balance is being subverted.
In the past, China was an important market for multinational car companies to dump their products and earn profits. Now, it has become the core battlefield and experimental field of new energy and new technology. The sales share of new energy vehicles accounts for 60% of the world, occupying 3 seats in the top enterprise groups of new energy vehicles 10 and 6 seats in the top enterprises of power battery installed capacity 10. For such a strategic highland, multinational car companies must re-recognize and conduct in-depth research.
It is reported that in the past three years, the number of BMW R&D teams in China has tripled, and the digital transformation of Mercedes-Benz products is directly led by the R&D team in China.
Obviously, the position of the world's largest automobile consumption market for more than ten years and the position of the first place in the production and sales of new energy vehicles for eight consecutive years have enabled China's automobiles to grow sturdily, and also changed the China market from a "receiver" of new technologies to an "exporter". Here, those multinational car companies that can respond in time are likely to continue to win favor, while those companies that have not made changes will gradually be abandoned.
In fact, the strength of China automobile is not only reflected in China, but also plays an increasingly important role overseas. In 2022, China exported more than 3 million cars overseas, surpassing Germany and ranking second only to Japan. This is a milestone event. With the leading new energy technology and the most complete industrial chain advantage in the world, China Automobile has gradually established the ability and courage to fight with multinational brands, and the strategic counterattack has begun.
In the future, China brands will enter the global market, and it will be the main trend for multinational brands to deeply practice China.
This article comes from TopCar, the author of Easy Car, and the copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author for any form of reprint. The content only represents the author's point of view and has nothing to do with the car reform.