The signal of the release of several big moves is obvious. Changan Ford wants to challenge the joint venture medium-sized SUV benchmark "TieHighlander". Since the launch of the 2.5L dual-engine version by the fourth generation Highlander, the main sales models have now become dual-engine versions. When the "running rivals" like Touran and Angkewei only have fuel vehicles to support the overall situation, Changan Ford naturally aimed the spear of Sharp L at the king and punched the "small short board" of Highlander with insufficient dual-engine power and exquisite interior.
Yes, Changan Ford played this card late, but it was not conservative. As soon as I came up, I typed "2.0T engine with large displacement and mixed fuel consumption of 6.3 1L", and even "the next hybrid" was the best feeling. After making two cards in a row, can Changan Ford in the transitional mixed era find its own opportunities in 2023?
"Non-destructive power" changes the "prejudice" of American fuel consumption
Let's talk about Ford's "lossless power" first. After the 2.0T engine is mixed, the realization form is also familiar to everyone. Start and low speed are pure electric modes, and the battery is charged when idling and braking. When extra power is needed, such as overtaking, entering hybrid when driving at high speed, or when driving violently, the system gives extra power "electric hybrid". Ford's HEV hybrid is not much different from other Japanese brands in principle.
But if Ford is equipped with Toyota's "hybrid", it is said that Ford has little research on hybrid technology. In fact, as early as 2004, Ford enjoyed a hybrid patent with Toyota and reached a technical exchange agreement with Toyota on technologies such as emission, NOX control and ignition system. But according to different brand tonality, Ford finally took a different road from Toyota. Ford's hybrid technology uses a set of planetary gears to couple the engine and generator, thus realizing power split at the power input end. Therefore, Ford's hybrid continues the brand's pursuit of power in fuel vehicles, and realizes the situation of power improvement, fuel consumption reduction and NVH improvement in the form of large-displacement engines and power diversion.
For example, the fifth-generation 2.0T EcoBoost turbocharged direct injection engine equipped by Sharp L has a maximum power of 202kW and a maximum torque of 405N·m ... Together with the intelligent electronic control mechanical four-wheel drive system, it solves the problem that many hybrid cars only have energy saving but no performance and handling. Therefore, Changan Ford first erased the image of "high fuel consumption" of its American cars in a "lossless power" way, which is exactly what domestic family consumers want and want.
Judging from the currently published parameters, the hybrid Sharp L is superior to the Highlander twin engine in size, wheelbase and total power. Even if the fuel consumption is compared under two different working conditions, Sharp L 6.3L/ 100km corresponds to a 2.0T engine, which is also very good. After all, the battery life has entered the 1000km club.
Furthermore, Changan Ford also announced this car with a length of 5 meters and a wheelbase close to 3 meters. The acceleration time of 100 kilometers is only 7. 1 sec. Although not every family has floor oil, "power is the money in the wallet", like a spiritual totem, has been engraved into the hearts of male users aged 30-40 who mainly buy medium-sized SUVs. As for the appearance configuration, interior texture, spatial layout and other aspects of the new car, the cherries experienced it very well on the spot, and the ST-Line version even had a sense of movement of "returning or being a teenager".
Sharp world carries Ford's ambition.
Does the top product of a car represent the explosion of the market? 10 years ago, there may have been an inevitable law, but in the current domestic auto market where the wind of involution is fierce, many models are "applauding and not calling for seats", and top products can only be one of the prerequisites for explosion. Moreover, Highlander is not "iron-beaten" because of the weak opponent's ability, but is created by the comprehensive long board of brand, word of mouth, space utilization rate and even value preservation rate in addition to product strength, which is also the core issue that Rui L can't avoid after listing.
Everyone who comes to buy Sharp has seen Highlander. I still remember that when I visited Changan Ford, the clerk talked about the tangled psychology of users choosing between Sharp and Highlander. In fact, the fuel consumption of Sharp for the 2.0T fuel version is only 8.6L/ 100km, and the insured amount of Sharp in 2022 (22,997 vehicles) is only a quarter of that of Highlander (87 108 vehicles).
Therefore, what really determines the sales performance of Sharp L after listing is not only how much this hybrid system is superior to its competitors, but the brand power that Changan Ford needs to strengthen. In the short term, Sharp L can divert the purchasing power of Highlander twin engines, remove the label of "American cars consume fuel" in the medium term, sharpen the label of "Ford hybrid", and consolidate Ford's image of "strong power, good quality and low fuel consumption" in the electric age for a long time. It can be said that Changan Ford has really high hopes for Sharp L ..
According to the official disclosure, in the future, Mondeo and explorers of Changan Ford will be equipped with this hybrid system of "large displacement engine+power split", so Ford has torn open the market segment of "large displacement mixed oil". It is true that it is not easy to quickly sharpen the label of "Ford Hybrid" before the domestic hybrid genre. After all, HEV has always been the Japanese market. Even though it seems insincere to see the Japanese sacrifice power and please the market with lower cost and better fuel consumption performance, it has formed a certain "inertia" in the market by virtue of word of mouth and share, especially high-end cars like Highlander and Camry.
When the auto market comes to the stock market, especially when the potential customers of medium-sized SUVs are mainly family consumers, their choices are often cautious, rational and even conservative. If Changan Ford wants to use Sharp L to update the market's impression of the brand, then the pricing of the mixed version of Sharp L should not only be reasonable, but also stick to the reputation of Highlander and Touran. However, there are also contradictions. If the premium of hybrid Sharp L is not too high, even if the new Mondeo "price for quantity" routine is adopted, it will not contribute much to the promotion of Ford brand in the short to medium term, and even affect the pricing of other hybrid models in the future. In the final analysis, it still depends on Changan Ford's current positioning, whether it has clear cognition and self-confidence, and it takes a generation of sharp L time to overturn the market's cognition that Changan Ford's model is slower to update and its quality is rougher than other joint venture brands.
Write it at the end
Americans have become urban scientists, and today's sharp edge is no longer a 3.5V6 "oil tiger", but what impression did Changan Ford's sharp edge give to the market after the birth of 20 14 countries? Maybe we haven't completely got rid of the stereotype of American cars. Nowadays, the edge of "turning on electricity" has jumped out of the box of power fuel consumption and wants to launch a delicate and intelligent attack on consumers' minds. But this tough battle is definitely not easy. Winning depends on the confidence of Changan Ford.
This article is from the author of Good Che Yi, 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.