Dugo.
In the promotion of the new car D7, Roewe has taken great pains, not only cooperating with Chang'an 30,000 miles of light-chasing animation, let "Gao Shi" as the spokesperson, but also on Christmas Day, placed an advertisement on the Weibo platform, calling on the majority of netizens to participate in the "Roewe D7 splendid 30,000 miles" topic interaction.
In fact, the importance of the Roewe D7 car can be seen at the launch conference more than a month ago. At that time, Wang Xiaoqiu, president of SAIC Group, who had served as the general manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicle, also appeared at the scene to "sit" for the launch of the first new car of the Roewe D family. Wu Bing, general manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicle, said that Roewe started to win the future from D7, launched the correction and attack of the D strategy, and the lost Roewe will return to the track in 3 years.
It is not unreasonable to say that it is correct and lost, because for a long time before, Roewe was questioned about the slow change of products and the lack of technical competitiveness, and fell intoThe dilemma of "eating the old book". In the most glorious year of 2017, it once relied on an "Internet car" Roewe RX5, and its annual sales soared to 3850,000 units. However, in 2022, as the pillar product RX5 is declining, its sales have slipped to 2610,000 units. This year, the decline has not stopped, and the number of risks in the first 11 months is only 1390,000 units.
In just a few years, why has the glory of the big tree of SAIC no longer been famous?After learning the lesson, will D7 be able to bring Roewe back to the track?
Between ups and downs
We were the frontrunners in the fuel era, and now we're back on the track. At the press conference of Roewe D7, Wu Bing said so, unwilling and full of ambition.
And that's exactly what happened. Back to 7 years ago, before the new car-making forces disrupted the situation, the Roewe brand launched a milestone product - Roewe RX5, which quickly came to the forefront of its own brand by virtue of the trend-setting "Internet car" label created together with Ali.
In July of that year, the Roewe RX5 was unveiled in Yunqi Town, Hangzhou. As the pioneer of the Internet car, its price range is 9980,000 yuan 18680,000 yuan, which was a "dark horse" in the market at that time. Whether it is from the quality of exterior decoration and interior, or from the perspective of vehicle power economy, it reflects the highest level of SAIC at that time.
Therefore, the Roewe RX5 exploded as soon as it was launched. Listed for two months, first2.50,000 vehicles rolled off the assembly line at SAIC's Lingang base, and it is said that the "popularity" of the Roewe RX5 at that time made SAIC Motor's passenger car production capacity reach the upper limit. Wang Xiaoqiu, then general manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicle Company, once commented: "On average, orders for a Roewe RX5 are generated every 2 minutes. ”
Since then, the Roewe RX5 has become the main model of Roewe with an average monthly sales of 20,000 units, and has repeatedly ranked among the top 10 in the SUV sales list, breaking the monopoly of the joint venture brand in the SUV market. According to 2017 data, the cumulative sales of the Roewe RX5 that year were nearly 240,000 units, and the sales volume exceeded 20,000 units for five consecutive months in one year.
The success of the Roewe RX5 has also allowed SAIC Roewe to enter the ranks of mainstream passenger car brands. In 2017, SAIC Roewe's annual sales reached 3850,000 units, and the following year it exceeded 460,000 units. At that time, SAIC Roewe wrote in a press release: "Driven by the hot sales of the Roewe RX series, SAIC Roewe has become one of the fastest-growing car brands. ”
However, glory comes and goes as quickly as it comes. With more and more competitors, the so-calledAs soon as the novelty of the "Internet car" passed, the pillar product Roewe RX5 became gradually declining.
Since 2019, SAIC Roewe's sales have continued to decline, with about 450,000 units in 2019, but sales have fallen to 43 in 2020 and 2021, respectively60,000 and 3760,000 units. Last year, SAIC Roewe's annual cumulative sales were only 2610,000 units, down nearly half from 2019.
In this way, entering 2023, Roewe still seems to have no signs of improvement. Sina Motors' data on the number of new car compulsory insurance as a statistical caliber show that this yearFrom January to November, the number of risks on the Roewe brand was only 1390,000 units. According to Chedi data, in the past six months, the cumulative sales of Roewe are only 650,000 units.
Looking back on the ups and downs of the past 7 years, Roewe seems to be a high-spirited teenager who has been drained of his spirit and gradually lost his brilliance. Instead, new forces such as "Wei Xiaoli", and even Zhiji and Feifan, who are also under the wing of SAIC, have a sense of existence than it.
Behind the Laggards
In most people's impressions, Roewe is a cost-effective brand, but in fact, at the beginning, Roewe was positioned as an international mid-to-high-end independent brand.
It originated from a British car manufacturer founded in 1878, Rover, which was once the Queen's exclusive royal car, and its reputation was on a par with Bentley and Rolls-Royce, but it changed hands many times after its downfall. In June 2004, SAIC Motor signed an agreement of intent with Rover, which was on the verge of being in danger, to acquire all the intellectual property rights and technology platform of Rover75. Later, in 2006, based on the core technology of ROVER75, a new independent brand "Roewe" was launched.
It's just that Roewe's mid-to-high-end road at the beginning was not smooth. Although the first car Roewe 750 inherited the design and technology of the Rover British sedan, but more than 200,000 yuan ** or tested the acceptance of consumers, launched in March 2007, by the end of the year the cumulative sales of only 170,000 units.
Based on this, Roewe began to think about changing the route, launched an impact on the market above the 100,000 yuan level and below the 200,000 yuan level, and launched the Roewe 550, which is positioned as a "digital intelligent high-performance intermediate car". Then continue to explore, in 2010 on the market Roewe 350, directly lowered the starting price to less than 100,000 yuan.
UntilWith the launch of RX5 in 2016, Roewe not only tasted the sweetness of low-cost traffic, but also experienced the joy brought by the special concept of "Internet car", which also made Roewe go black on this road later. Following the Roewe RX5, SAIC Roewe has launched RX3, i6, RX8 and RX5 Plus, the new third-generation Roewe RX5 and other models under the banner of the Internet, all of which are cost-effective.
However, as the product line has become more and more abundant, consumers have also come back to appreciate it. The so-called "Internet car" is not a car with an intelligent operating system, that is, a smart car that is now common. When people have no me, it is naturally rare, and when everyone has it, what they fight for is the real brand power and technical power. But on both counts, Roewe has been questioned.
Although Roewe's Internet cars sold well in the early years, they were repeatedly questioned about their lack of core technology, and there were many complaints. "Rim Visibility" inquired about the car quality network and found that from 2017 to 2019, models such as Roewe RX5 and Roewe i6 often ranked in the top ten of the annual independent brand complaint list.
In addition, when the new energy wave swept away, Roewe also made the same mistake as when it first started: it failed to find the right position, which made it difficult for consumers to accept the product.
As early as 2012, Roewe launched its first new energy model, E50, positioned as "China's first new energy intermediate sedan", with a guide price of 23490,000 yuan. It's just that at that time, few people would pay for an electric car with a ** of more than 200,000 yuan. The available data is that in 2014, the sales of the Roewe E50 were only more than 400 units.
Then, Roewe launched "China's first new energy high-end sedan" E950, and the price range is as high as 26880,000 yuan 30The 880,000 yuan Roewe Marvel X did not end well. Even the sub-brand R, which carries the task of Roewe's high-end electrification layout, was later independent and renamed Feifan Automobile.
At present, Roewe sells slightly better in the field of new energy, Roewe EI5 and Roewe ERX5, but the data of Chedi shows that the sales of these two cars in the past year are 7108 and 6227 respectively, and they are both at the level of 150,000 yuan. It can be seen that over the years, Roewe has not only failed to enhance its brand value, but also lost its position as an independent "head player".
Back on the track?
Falling from the originator of the Internet car, Roewe was low for a long time. Fortunately, Roewe has always been a brand that knows how to be flexible, and this year it began to accelerate the pace of launching new cars, and also formed a new management team to try to "resurrect with full blood".
Wu Bing also realized that Roewe now lacks new energy explosive products, and pure electric and plug-in hybrid models must become the brand's main models in the future. Hence the plan:"In the next three years, we will launch at least 8 new energy vehicle products, including pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Now, we have seen this road clearly, and we will go all out in the next few years on the new energy vehicle track. ”
At the same time, he emphasized that SAIC Roewe's positioning is to provide cost-effective and high-quality cars for China's most mainstream people, and new energy vehicles will be the focus of Roewe's future product development.
Recognizing the direction of change, Roewe first launched the first product of the new sequence "D family" - Roewe D7. According to official information, the new car is positioned as a mid-to-high-end sedan, and two versions of the pure electric EV model and the plug-in hybrid DMH model will be launched, with a listing equity price of 14380,000 yuan 17080,000 yuan and 12180,000 yuan 14180,000 yuan.
Roewe announced that the new car will be"The space of B-class cars, the value of B-class cars, and the quality of A-class cars" entered the B-class car market, which is bound to promote the comprehensive upgrade of mid-to-high-end new energy family cars. Park Chunxu, chief marketing officer of SAIC Passenger Vehicle Company, directly said that he hoped that consumers would see the best value of the Roewe D7, and more importantly, the value of the D7.
We can also see that in promoting the new car D7, Roewe can be described as well-intentioned. First of all, it established a partnership with Chasing Light Animation, the producer of this year's popular animated film "Thirty Thousand Miles of Chang'an", to jointly promote Chinese culture in the future, and at the same time enabled "Gao Shi" as the spokesperson of Roewe D7 "Enterprising". Then he created the topic of "Roewe D7 Splendid 30,000 Miles" on the social ** platform to attract netizens to participate and create a sound.
At the launch conference more than a month ago, Wang Xiaoqiu, who had led SAIC Passenger Cars to the peak of sales, also personally sat on the scene, showing the importance of this car. It's just that, RoeweIt is not so easy for D7 to detonate the market like the RX5 of the year and lead Roewe back to its former glory.
Today's new energy market is already a "battle of dragons", even if the "firepower" is relatively weak in the B-class car market, there are more and more car companies in the accumulation of impact, the launch of products including Changan Deep Blue SL03, Krypton 007, Volkswagen ID7. Geely Galaxy E8, etc., each with its own highlights. RoeweIn order for D7 to occupy a favorable position in this market segment, it is not too dominant in terms of brand power.
In terms of the power of the car itself, the plug-in hybrid model D7 DMH is equipped with 1The plug-in hybrid system consisting of a 5-liter hybrid engine and drive motor has a CLTC range of 125 kmThe all-electric Roewe D7 EV is available in high and low power options, with a maximum drive motor of 155 kW for the high-power version and 145 kW for the low-power version. In terms of range, the car is matched with two capacities of "Rubik's Cube batteries", corresponding to CLTC comprehensive cruising range of 510 km and 610 km respectively. This is not outstanding among the current pile of competitors.
Although Roewe hopes that through products and experiences, the brand will return to its rightful position. Wu Bing, who has just been promoted to vice president of SAIC, also said that if he is given 3 years, he will lead the team to return to the main track and fight the new energy track, but can the transformation of Roewe keep up with Wu Bing's determination?
Author |Liu Yuanyuan.
* |Carvisibility
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Kunpeng Project