In the era of fuel vehicles, as the troika of German luxury brands, BBA (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi) firmly sits on the top spot in the luxury car market and has the final right to interpret luxury.
In short, the average person can't afford it.
Buying a car is like falling in love, starting with face (brand value) and ending with life (driving experience), but the "goddess" is unattainable.
In order to allow young people to belong to a BBA car of their own and achieve "car equality", the entry-level version of the "34C" was born, 3 represents the BMW 3 Series, focusing on sports performance; 4 represents Audi A4L, emphasizing scientific and technological attributes; C stands for Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan, which pays attention to old age.
As the leader of the three giants of traditional luxury cars, these three cars have opened the mode of making money as picking up money as soon as they are introduced to the market, and the difference between them is only to pick up more and pick up less in the major markets around the world.
For quite some time, many people believe that the "34C" awesome will continue forever.
Princes and generals, Ning You planted.
Tesla took the lead in launching the first in the U.S. market, and has long ended the "34C" awesome, and now the Chinese auto market urgently needs a "Model 3" of its own, so that the story repeats itself.
"Ford probably couldn't have imagined that he would make cars from luxury to mass-market, and the local American car brand was defeated by the German BBA and reduced to a second-rate luxury brand, until the emergence of Tesla, this situation has changed.
If it competes with BBA, Tesla naturally has no chance of winning.
You fight yours, I fight mine, you have to firmly control the initiative in your own hands, Musk naturally knows how to do it.
The deep-rooted hierarchical order of BBA is based on the technology with the internal combustion engine as the core, and Tesla fully embraces the wave of electrification and intelligence, and exposes its foundation to the power battery to drive the motor, which greatly improves the power efficiency, and also eliminates the job bowl of the gearbox and liberates the interior space.
Taking 100 kilometers of acceleration as an example, in the era of fuel vehicles, 100 kilometers of acceleration within 5 seconds belongs to the top level of the car, only million-level luxury cars can enjoy this "speed and passion" brought by the "push back feeling", ordinary models can only watch from a distance and can not do anything.
The electric motor of the new energy vehicle has the characteristics of instantaneous response and high efficiency in various scenarios, and the acceleration of Tesla Model 3 to 100 kilometers is 56 seconds, as long as you add a little more money and choose the high-end performance version, you can experience the 3-second "push back feeling" that can only be enjoyed by million-level luxury supercars.
Of course, the power revolution is not enough to shake the BBA's fundamentals, their technical reserves are not bad, and there is no ambiguity in playing with electricity, and in 2021, Mercedes-Benz won the championship trophy of Formula E.
What really gave BBA a fatal blow was the electrification transformation accompanied by intelligent upgrades, and Tesla's central control screen directly beat BBA to the old era; The in-vehicle system is "indulged in silky smoothness", which is in stark contrast to BBA's constant downtime; In terms of high-end intelligent assisted driving, they are far behind, BBA has become an "old antique", and Tesla has evolved into a super new species.
Tesla's vehicle hardware is standard to support Autopilot and full self-driving capabilities, and related functions can be upgraded through OTA over-the-air to update software in real time to improve the travel experience.
Other people's luxury cars are getting older and older, but Tesla is often used and new.
The Model 3 is to Tesla what the iPhone 4 is to Apple, and as sales gain momentum, its brand value has also entered the hearts of consumers along with the car.
The "old antiques" who reacted slowly were beaten to a daze, and Tesla Model 3 was launched only two or three years ago, and the three BBA competitors BMW 3 Series, Audi A4L, and Mercedes-Benz C-class sedans were cut off.
In 2017, Tesla's Model 3 set off a trend of pure electric sedans: more than 180,000 orders were placed in 24 hours; 72 Hour Order Volume 2760,000; A week later, that number had jumped to 3250,000, in the same year, the annual sales of pure electric vehicles in China were 20550,000 units.
In 2019, it sold more than 160,000 units in the United States, becoming the champion in the midsize luxury car market in the United States that year. This means that Tesla has not only succeeded in 1v3 - Model 3, one car surpasses the three BBA competitors combined, but also replaces the German luxury car in the United States for decades.
With the popularity of the Model 3, the brand image of environmental protection, technology, and high-end has entered the hearts of consumers around the world. As of the second quarter of this year, Model 3 has become the world's first electric vehicle to sell more than 1 million units.
So the question is, will the story of Tesla Model 3 sweeping similar competitors in BBA be staged in China?
For a long time in the past, as the leader of the three giants of traditional luxury cars, BBA's 34C has been entrenched in the high-end bridge car market for a long time, harvesting milk and honey, and has also become the "peak" that domestic independent car brands have to cross for their upward leap.
Needless to say, even if it is the core three major pieces, my country has done very well, Dongfeng brand new Mach 1The 5t hybrid engine stands with 4518% of the highest effective thermal efficiency, Changan's new generation of speed-wet dual-clutch transmission comprehensive transmission efficiency up to 96%, due to emission regulations, BBA's displacement, horsepower and even driving experience have long shrunk, but still does not prevent more rich Chinese from pouring into 4S stores, happy to mention 34C.
Mercedes-Benz's luxury and comfort, BMW's handling and sports attributes, and Audi's exquisite technology have become synonymous with each other, firmly occupying the minds of users, after all, BBA models are not only a means of transportation, but also a social prop to highlight identity, express personality, and obtain group identity.
It is not the car that the rich drive out, but the face.
Even so, it is difficult to change the deep-rooted traditional concept in people's hearts, in the past, driving a domestic car blind date will be rejected, high-end community security will not let in, and people will ignore you when talking about business.
For the entry-level luxury brand mid-size sedan, BBA's "34C" is a model that can never be bypassed. In the eyes of consumers, it has become an almost inherent perception.
The 34c days are simply not too good, making money is like picking up money.
There are interests, there are disputes, the more interests, the greater the disputes, and the high-end car market will inevitably become the focus of interest competition.
Entering the new energy era, there is no shortage of challengers trying to follow Tesla's Model 3 to sweep the BBA, BYD Han, Seal, Xpeng P7, Changan Deep Blue SL03, etc., have unveiled the rod, have entered the high-end car market, hoping to cut 34C under the horse, but the result is still very disappointing.
In the past year, on the sales list of high-end cars, there is currently no domestic competitor that can do 34C, even the Model 3 is not good, the only one to squeeze into the top 5 is Han DM, BYD is also the only brand in the high-end car market with annual sales of more than 100,000 units.
This is the reality, China's new car-making forces have already overshadowed each other in terms of volume, in fact, it has not reached the level of lifting the table, the high-end car market has always been a difficult position to overcome, and it is also the lowest new energy penetration rate in the main market segments, which also leads to the market as a whole is still dominated by traditional fuel vehicles.
On the one hand, the heavy battery pack is usually on the chassis, and the sedan chassis is naturally low, which can only compress the passenger compartment space, and on the other hand, the SUV is getting closer and closer to the sedan, which further encroaches on its market. **Model 3 is almost the same as Model Y, and the starting price is about a few thousand yuan.
At present, a number of car companies have launched a charge again, and the second-generation challenger has experienced qualitative improvement in terms of design, three-electric technology, and intelligent level.
Now, there are about three forces that are expected to have explosive products.
The new forces represented by ZEEKR take the replacement of technology as the differentiated competitive advantage of the brand, including creating a cost-effective "bucket car" from multiple levels such as intelligence and three-electric technology, representing the product ZEEKR 007, with a starting price of only 22490,000 yuan, only within 48 hours of pre-sale, the order for ZEEKR 007 exceeded 20,000 units;
The alliance faction represented by Huawei, Huawei's technical heritage + brand bonus, on behalf of the product Zhijie S7, has received more than 20,000 pre-sale orders in 20 days of pre-sale.
The Internet faction represented by Xiaomi, strong in the Internet ecology and fan attributes, the user's mind is strongly bound to the product, the competition is the product + brand combat ability, on behalf of the product SU7, according to Lei Jun's planning, the first year of sales of 100,000 vehicles, the next three years of cumulative delivery of 900,000 vehicles.
In the high-end market, the "bull's ear" BBA has already suffered a loss in the U.S. market, and will naturally not sit still, and is currently accelerating electrification and intelligence, such as BMW's pure electric products covering almost all major market segments, and the launch of BMW i5 has further consolidated BMW's position in the medium and large luxury car segment.
Judging from the development history of smart phones, the appearance and chain are very easy to be imitated and borrowed, and the new forces of car manufacturing have also been known as integration masters in the past, known as the car synthesized by business technology. In the increasingly homogenized mobile phone market, Apple relies on self-developed A-series chips, iOS systems, and creates an application ecosystem and high-end brand.
Therefore, ZEEKR 007, Zhijie S7 and Xiaomi SU7 want to shake their basic disks, not only in terms of intelligence, such as intelligent cockpit, intelligent driving, intelligent networking, etc., but also need to cross the 34C and the brand power behind it, which is the core essence.
Bill Gates once said about the automotive industry, "If the automobile industry can develop like the Internet industry, then today, a car only costs 25 dollars, and a liter of gasoline can run 400 kilometers." ”
It seems to be cynical, but in fact, it shows the typical characteristics of the traditional fuel vehicle industry - the slow development of core technology, the high solidification of the first chain, and the tall and strict hierarchy.
In the era of fuel vehicles, BBA follows the logic of high-end product definition, which is inherited by the words and deeds of generations of automobile predecessors, has been widely recognized by global users, and has a deep mass base as support.
In the past, China's brand in the fuel vehicle market is difficult to go up, there are core technical reasons, the three major parts of traditional fuel vehicles - engine, gearbox and chassis "original sin", had to be controlled by others, the fundamental reason is that the global automotive industry is tall and strict hierarchy system, squeezing Chinese cars in the low-end position.
The "heart" of the car - the engine, how to improve the thermal efficiency and power of the internal combustion engine, there is a lot of know-how (technical know-how), in terms of engine thermal efficiency, every increase of more than 1%, can basically be regarded as a "new generation of engine".
Dongfeng brand new Mach 1The 5t hybrid engine stands with 45The highest effective thermal efficiency of 18% has become the first hybrid gasoline engine in China's automotive industry to exceed 45% in thermal efficiency certification, and China's engine technology is actually very good.
But the problem is that it is not enough to get the engine, but also to get the gearbox, in order to give full play to the power performance of the car, which not only depends very much on the experience of engineers, but also to break through layers of patent barriers, China and the United States are relatively weak in this regard, and the horsepower achievement rate is far less than BBA.
Of course, the chassis is also very important.
What's more, in fact, it is car tuning, only through the continuous adjustment and optimization of engineers, in order to achieve the best performance of the car, which requires the help of generations of automotive predecessors.
For a long time in the past, BBA has always been able to ensure the leadership of the power system and the superiority of the driving experience, handed over a high score in the driving performance of the car, and on this basis, continue to innovate and apply new technologies, leading the transformation of the entire automobile era, which is the ultimate meaning of their ability to define high-end luxury in the era of fuel vehicles.
In the new energy era, BBA obviously can no longer redefine the era, because in terms of electrification and intelligence, they have obviously lagged behind, however, only relying on the advantages of these two aspects, it is not enough to completely shake their position, after all, they are also catching up now, once they are given the opportunity to rise, it is really hard to say.
Looking back at Tesla's development path, we have to admire Musk's foresight, he is driven by a top-down brand strategy, which is divided into three steps:
The Roadster, an expensive and niche sports car, was built to gain a foothold in the high-end segment, and was favored by celebrities such as Hollywood stars and Silicon Valley executives to gain a foothold in the high-end market.
The second step is to create cheaper, mid-sales models such as the Model S and Model X
The third step is to create a more economical best-selling model Model 3 and Model Y
With the three-generation product positioning sinking in turn as the path, with electrification, intelligent differentiation competition, high vertical integration and integration, and gradually expand the user group, while maintaining the brand image of environmental protection, science and technology, and high-end.
On the other hand, China's auto market is basically a bottom-up brand upgrade strategy, and there is still a lot of way to go to get rid of people's prejudice against domestic cars.
Fortunately, there is no brand premium in BBA new energy vehicles, coupled with the fact that the medium and high market is enough volume, leaving them little strategic buffer time, and the degree of involution in the Chinese auto market, Musk has to say respect.
At present, BYD has made a good start, and the million-level luxury car - Yangwang U8 orders have already exceeded 30,000 units, and the era of BBA dominance of high-end luxury may become a thing of the past.
With the potential star models represented by ZEEKR 007, Zhijie S7 and Xiaomi SU7, the new energy penetration rate of mid-to-high-end sedans will be further improved, and there are not many good days left for 34C oil cars.
When 34C loses the dominance of domestic mid-to-high-end sedans, even if the BBA signboard rings again, it can only be smashed to the ground.
The time has entered 2024, and the decisive battle between the rebels and BBA will start in the mid-to-high-end sedan market.