Standing at the starting point of 2024 and looking back at 2023 behind us, words such as "* war" and "involution" should be the best adjectives for the previous year.
In addition to the unprecedentedly fierce competition in new energy, the living space of traditional joint venture brands has also been continuously squeezed, and the momentum of new forces to break through is becoming more and more fierce, and the traditional luxury car market has also been affected.
According to statistics, in the past three years, the market share of 40 to 500,000 yuan has been concentrated in the hands of joint venture brands, and the total market share of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi has been above 75%, and in the higher-end market, this situation is more obvious.
However, in 2023, a series of independent brands such as Weilai, Ideal, AITO Wenjie, and Yangwang will release their own high-end models, and their ** will basically go to more than 500,000, and they will gain good market popularity as soon as they are unveiled. This seems to tell the outside world that domestic brands will also sit at the table of the luxury market, and the competition in the luxury car market will only become more fierce in the future.
But in this context, the SAIC Audi brand, which has been born for 3 years, will still usher in its own glorious moment in 2023:
From January to December 2023, the year-on-year growth of the luxury market slowed down, and SAIC Audi's cumulative sales growth rate exceeded 377 year-on-year8%；Among them, the cumulative sales of the Audi A7L reached 20,239 units, ranking first in the 700,000 frameless medium and large luxury sedan segment, an increase of more than 500% compared with 2022, and the year-on-year growth rate ranked first among models in the same class.
In December 2023, Audi A7L sales reached a new level, with monthly sales reaching 6,000 units. Under the leadership of the Audi A7L, the total annual sales of all SAIC Audi models exceeded the 30,000 mark.
As the saying goes, when the tide goes out, you don't know who is swimming naked, and when the luxury brand C-class car is stuck in the quagmire of slow growth, SAIC Audi A7L has risen strongly and successfully led the new track of the luxury car market.
Best-in-class product value
Behind the continuous sales of the A7L is SAIC Audi's accurate insight into the consumer needs of domestic luxury brands.
With the gradual deepening of domestic consumption and youth, the diversified and personalized needs of young consumer groups will become more and more significant, and this generation of consumers is more assertive and willing to try new ones.
SAIC Audi has fully considered market factors and launched products that closely follow consumer needs.
Take A7L, for example. Positioned as a C+-class luxury performance flagship, the A7L is the first flagship model of SAIC Audi after its establishment. It not only inherits the luxury genes of the Audi brand, but also perfectly combines aesthetics, leading technology and international quality, and on this basis, gives the Chinese market the concept of car manufacturing and actual use needs, making SAIC Audi A7L inherently powerful.
Frameless electric suction doors, double-layer laminated glass, laser headlights, front and rear five-link plus air suspension, four-wheel omnidirectional rotation, aluminum alloy four-door and two covers, 6-piston brake calipers, LiDAR driving assistance, B&O audio, 21-inch RS wheels, as well as a ferocious powertrain and Quattro four-wheel drive. Each configuration can be taken out individually, let alone integrated into a single car.
In the same price segment, the technology and configuration of SAIC Audi A7L are undoubtedly the most advanced.
Compared with the "compromise" of other competitors, the Audi A7L uses the collision of reason and emotion to pay attention to the driving and riding experience that Chinese users care about very much. It is a unique version of itself in the familiar Audi brand, and even in the familiar luxury cars, full of personality and at the same time very appropriate in all aspects. In a way, the Audi A7L is more in line with many people's views on luxury sedans in today's era: stylish, not pompous; Strength, not showmanship; Feelings, not old-fashioned, quality-oriented, advancing with the times.
Based on the insight into the individual needs of young users, SAIC Audi will also launch the Audi A7L mid-term facelift and special edition models in early 2024. **The model has evolved again in terms of intelligence and design, while inheriting the century-old Audi enterprising spirit and product heritage, it will bring users a higher level of enjoyment with personalized configuration and interior and exterior design.
Luxurious and symmetrical service value
Although in the name of a luxury brand, SAIC Audi has been more than just a luxury brand since its birth, and it is more accurate to define it as a "new luxury force".
Unlike previous luxury brands, SAIC Audi entered the market with a new retail model from the beginning, with OEMs as operators and dealers as service providers, and consumers are not only consumers, but also co-creators who can participate in brand development and even product settings.
For example, SAIC Audi Enterprising Exchange breaks through the traditional form of automobile showrooms, integrates brand culture into leisure life and social interaction, makes car life an extension of life, and creates a sense of pleasure and belonging for users.
In fact, including the enterprising exchange, SAIC Audi's channel system is divided into three dimensions, the first is to represent the brand image, followed by the city of Audi, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Beijing. The most widely covered is the Audi urban store, which is composed of a network structure composed of three types of first-class inspections, which has become the basis for SAIC Audi's sales to rise.
In the past three years, SAIC Audi has begun to take shape in terms of ecosystem building, sales and network building. At present, SAIC Audi has nearly 160 stores in 81 cities across the country, covering most of the luxury car market, including all first-tier cities, more than 80% of second-tier cities and high-potential third- and fourth-tier cities. There are also nearly 30 offline stores in the process of construction. In the future, users can not only go to the urban store located in the bustling business district to experience the charm of SAIC Audi's high-tech luxury, but also enjoy high-quality brand experience, model delivery and other services in the user center.
In addition, in response to the growing demand of new energy vehicle users, in order to provide users with a better energy replenishment experience, as of the end of 2023, SAIC Audi has launched a total of 480,000+ public charging terminals, and 8w+ preferred charging terminals; At present, there are 258 brand charging stations and a total of 606 charging spaces, covering 69 cities across the country.
Facing 2024, SAIC Audi will continue to spare no effort to accelerate the pace of product implementation and channel layout, systematically improve the service experience, and continue to meet users' unremitting pursuit of personalized and high-quality products.
Under the premise of continuous innovation in brand value and product services, SAIC Audi's achievements in 2023 are just inevitable. Especially at the moment when the new energy wave continues to hit, when all kinds of changes are completed, the attitude of SAIC Audi's brand is still luxurious, and it is more in line with the needs of the times.