Recently, as major car companies have announced their sales volumes, the Passenger Association has also released the latest retail sales statistics. According to the data, the retail sales of the domestic narrow passenger car market reached 235 in December30,000 units, an increase of 8% year-on-year5%, up 131%。And in its sales composition, SUVs have undoubtedly become the largest segment, with monthly sales of 11570,000 units. It was followed by the sedan market, with monthly sales of 10950,000 units.
In terms of annual sales and December sales, the sedan market ultimately failed to surpass the SUV market to become the largest segment. But at the same time, we can also see the fierce competition behind the ups and downs of the sedan market. We still take the luxury car market as an example, which will continue to "reshuffle" in mid-2023. Under the impact of the new car-making forces, not to mention the second- and third-tier luxury brands whose positions are not stable enough, even the "German top three" in the first camp are difficult to stand alone. Is it self-insurance at a reduced price? Or do you want to push a new response? Every brand does things differently, and of course the results are mixed. Next, let's sort out the ranking of the luxury car market in December.
The first in line is indeed one of the members of the "56e". However, it is neither the Mercedes-Benz E-class, which is very popular on the Internet, nor the very powerful BMW 5 Series, but the Audi A6L, which has always been low-key. According to the data, the Audi A6L sold 21,411 units in December, successfully winning the sales championship. The reason for this is that the fundamental reason is the effect of exchanging price for quantity. At first, it was often said that such a drastic price cut for a luxury brand would hurt the brand. But now that the market has become so involuted, surviving first may be the first priority. Audi figured this out.
The other two old rivals of the Audi A6L are now all in the replacement stage. In particular, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, a new generation of products has been launched, and now it is in a gap period. Therefore, the achievement of selling 7,419 units with old inventory is also remarkable. On the other hand, the BMW 5 Series performed better, with sales of 13,083 units in December. However, it is reported that the new generation of the 5 Series will also be launched this year, so the competition between the "56e" may be more fierce after all the upgrades are completed. At that time, the Audi A6L can still beat two stronger old rivals by discounts, we will draw a question mark for the time being.
In the sales of luxury brands in mid-size cars, the top three German brands also occupy the first echelon. Mercedes-Benz C-Class is the leader, with sales of 19,418 units in December; The Audi A4L also came in second place with a large discount, with 14,432 units sold in December. Finally, there is the BMW 3 Series, with monthly sales of 11,396 units. However, there is one force that cannot be ignored, and that is the Cadillac CT5, whose monthly sales of 9,100 units are undoubtedly approaching the head. In addition, the CT5 has also just completed a facelift, and it is worth looking forward to whether it can break the "BBA" pattern in one fell swoop after the product power is improved.
Of course, in addition to the competitors of traditional fuel vehicles, the new forces can not be underestimated, according to the data in December, the sales of ZEEKR 001 reached 7980 units. This data has even surpassed the Mercedes-Benz E-Class in December. Although the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is currently a "special case", such a situation is not a good sign for traditional luxury brands. On the other hand, NIO ET5T also surpassed Volvo S90 in sales in December. Although the two are different levels, there is a significant overlap. In the future, there are also opponents such as Star Era ES and Lantu Chasing Light PHEV, which are already eyeing each other, and the pressure is not small.
However, traditional luxury brands are not without a way out, and SAIC Audi's A7L once again appeared to prove an eternal truth: there is no car that cannot be sold, only a price that cannot be sold. Throughout December, Audi A7L sales reached 6,281 units. This data may not be good for the "56E", but for the A7L, which has always sold less than 2,000 units per month, the result of a surge in sales of several thousand units is already a "good year".
In fact, we can also see that there are only two ways for traditional luxury brands to face the impact of new forces. The first is to achieve a level that can compete with China's new energy vehicles in the short term, and the second is to use brand advantages to reduce sales. From a practical point of view, perhaps only the second method is more realistic, do you think this is the truth?