"Electricity is lower than oil. ”
This new slogan of BYD, a new energy leader in the automotive industry, resounded like a thunderclap.
After BYD fired the first shot, Wuling, Changan Qiyuan and Nezha also followed, and even fuel vehicles joined in.
With the debut of the Qin plus glory version, the car market immediately ushered in a new round of ** "fighting".
Wang Chuanfu, chairman and president of BYD, judged that China's new energy vehicles will enter a stage of oversupply, and the industry as a whole will enter the "knockout game".
In the face of the knockout round, **battle is the most conventional and bloody**.
And just like last year's champion version of "oil and electricity at the same price", the glory version of "electricity is lower than oil" These four words must also be the key words throughout the 2024 ** battle.
From the "Champion Edition" to the "Glory Edition", from "the same price of oil and electricity" to "electricity is lower than oil", BYD has led a wave of fire-like ** battles, and the plot trend is the same as last year, and the situation is more intense.
If we say, 2023 is the "champion era" of independent brands.
Then, 2024 has entered the "glory era" of Chinese brands.
(1) Who will become the tears of the times in the "Glory Era"?
Whether it is last year's "998" or this year's "798", Qin Plus's big price cut has brought huge attention to BYD, not only promoting its sales growth, but also bringing BYD a good brand voice.
In the off-season of the auto market, last year's ** battle left a deep impression on car buyers, and car companies that have paid tuition fees understand it even more.
"The success or failure of a year is often determined by the volume of a quarter. ”
This year, after BYD took the lead, other car companies immediately followed.
In less than 12 hours after the launch of the Qin PLUS Glory Edition, Wuling Starlight, LaCrosse, Envision Plus, Valeant Pro, Nezha X, Nezha AYA, Nezha S, Changan Qiyuan A05, and Changan Yidong PLUS have followed up BYD's price reduction strategy, with a decrease of 060,000-650,000.
The next day, Geely Emgrand L HIP officially launched the Dragon Edition, 8The starting price of 980,000 yuan is-for-tat with Qin plus.
For a time, the A-class new energy car market was stalemate.
On the surface, Geely, Nezha, Wuling and other brands followed BYD's price reduction strategy and tried to wrestle with Qin plus and Destroyer 05.
The outcome of the fierce battle is not yet known, but a series of price cuts threaten the fundamentals of the A-segment fuel vehicle market.
According to the data of the Passenger Association, although today's A-class car market has an annual sales share of 3 million, the market share of new energy vehicles is only 23%, which is the track with the smallest proportion of new energy among all types of models.
In other words, this market is a track dominated by traditional fuel vehicles, and it is also a huge space for new energy to attack.
Under the leadership of the BYD Qin PLUS Glory Edition, with the entry of a number of independent brands of new energy "price reduction", it has threatened the basic market of fuel vehicles, and it is likely to jointly carve up the market share of A-class fuel vehicles.
Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the Passenger Association, pointed out that with the rapid increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles, the scale of the traditional fuel vehicle market has gradually shrunk, and the contradiction between the huge traditional production capacity and the gradually shrinking fuel vehicle market has brought a more fierce battle.
For a long time, the low-end models represented by the A-class sedan market have been the main consumer groups in China's auto market.
When this group perceives the advantages of new energy vehicles more obviously, the penetration rate of domestic new energy will be further improved.
Another consequence is that domestic brands can capture more market share from joint venture brands.
(2) Behind the opening of the "glorious era" is the confidence to hold the "pricing power".
When an Honor Edition is launched, it can attract thousands of "Glory Editions" to follow suit.
Someone commented: "Even if you don't like BYD, you can wait for BYD's new model, because the price of the car you like may be reduced because of BYD, which is a good thing."
In Wang Chuanfu's words, this is the "pricing power" that BYD has.
In the current consumer environment, the entire market attaches great importance to "cost performance", you can save money for users, and you will naturally be able to stand on the "moral high ground", and then transform it into your own brand power.
Kung Fu Motors once heard from BYD insiders: "The parts and components of the brand's products are universal, and the higher the output, the lower the internal procurement will be." ”。
Behind the "pricing power", BYD, which has almost all core components independent research and development production capacity and scale advantages, naturally has a strong cost control ability.
In contrast, many car companies that lack independent industrial chains and scale advantages are in the loss stage, and they are unable to fight in round after round of disputes, especially the new energy business divisions of some new power car companies and traditional car companies.
In the increasingly fierce automobile market, only with scale can the industry have the right to speak and be trusted by users.
(3) Kung Fu shooting
The automobile market is ushering in a vigorous "era of glory", which is enough to make the entire car circle nervous.
7.The 980,000 yuan Qin plus Glory Edition is just the beginning, 9The 980,000 Dolphin Glory Edition has also arrived, and the Glory Edition of other models must be on the way.
At that time, it may be that the entire BYD series will reduce the price of the Glory Edition, which also means that a larger range of ** battles are still brewing.
Under the halo of "Glory Edition", no car company can be alone, how to maximize the benefits of price reduction, rather than passively participating in the war, will be a problem that every car company must think about seriously.
The best defense is offense.