In 2023, Chinese SUVs have set off a climax of hard-core off-road products.
From the millions of looking up to the U8, down to tens of thousands of Wuling Yueye, as well as shortcuts and tanks, they have integrated the "square box" shape of hard-core off-road into their own product design, and even BYD has created a brand focusing on hard-core off-road - Equation Leopard.
No one can be tempted by a box-boxed hardcore off-roader? If there is, then give him another one.
Even Xiaomi, who has just set foot in the car-making industry, has also spread rumors that the ecological chain brand Zhimi is about to start the road of car manufacturing, and it is speculated that the first model of Zhimi is a hard-core off-road vehicle, and the styling style will take the square box appearance of the current mainstream hard-core SUV, hoping to create products with hard-core off-road thinking.
The gray line of the grass snake is thousands of miles away. The popular trend of hard-core off-road will not dissipate in 2024, and in the new energy era, this category is no longer a simple imitation and renewal, behind which there are more undercurrents of industry changes and consumption concepts, which are indeed worth exploring.
According to the data of the Passenger Association, in 2023, thanks to the significant increase of independent brands in the new energy market and export markets, the cumulative market share of independent brands will be 52%, an increase of 4% compared with the same period last year6 percentage points.
In contrast, in 2023, the market share of Japanese brands will decline more severely, reaching 26 percentage points, leaving only 17% of the market share, and the market share of American brands shrank further, falling to 8%.
Under the pressure of new energy and fuel vehicles, how to seek new growth drivers in 2024 has become the primary issue for international brands.
As a result, many international brands have focused on the hardcore off-road segment.
For more than 100 years, the hard-core off-road should be the two most popular models for men on a par with racing cars.
The first stage of the off-road vehicle is the era when everything looks like Willis Jeep. In the years after the end of World War II, the world's off-road vehicles have continued to be developed in such a configuration - short axle, two-door, convertible, narrow tires.
Since then, driven by Jeep, Land Rover, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and even Toyota have developed their own hard-core off-road vehicle series, such as Range Rover, Ford Bronco, Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Land Cruiser, etc.
However, with the rise of urban SUVs, hard-core off-road ushered in a cold wave period, and eventually transformed into a very subdivided category of brands, and even withdrew from the market.
In 2024, many hardcore off-roaders will be refreshed or even made a comeback.
On January 29, the Ford Blancco was officially unveiled. The new model is positioned as a mid-size SUV with a non-load-bearing body structure.
In addition, the all-new FAW Toyota Prado will be pre-sold and opened on February 29, 2024, and will be launched on April 25 at the Beijing Auto Show, and will be officially launched on July 16.
It is worth mentioning that the Mercedes-Benz G-Class has become the focus of Mercedes-Benz's electrification transformation: in addition to the replacement of the power system, the current prototype retains the design of the G-Class in both the exterior and the interior. Even, Mercedes-Benz will launch a small G-class, positioning itself as an entry-level model, further seizing the potential of the hard-core off-road market.
We can see that when there is no roll, niche models have embarked on the road of renewal and resurrection, and many car companies are trying to meet the increasingly diversified needs of users through changes in product forms. In other words, to please China's increasingly discerning users, using the most scarce models to arouse the desire for wildness in users' hearts.
When Porsche began to sell at a discount, could the Prado, which had just been recalled, and the bronco, which had just been resurrected, really inject new vitality into the declining brand sales?
There is such a possibility. Historical feelings, the addition of the brand, is still the biggest competitiveness of these models, 30-500,000 yuan is still the best range for these models to enter the market, perfectly avoiding the product range of tanks, looking up and other brands, and can also quickly undertake the market gap left by the Wrangler, and the BYD Formula Leopard brand has just been established, and has not yet formed a sniper trend.
In 2024, when about 400,000 Prado, Bronco, and about 600,000 small G are placed in front of you, maybe everyone will be tempted, right?
Talking about the popularity of hard-core off-road models, it must not be able to bypass the category theory.
Wang Fengying, president of Xpeng Motors, is a great advocate of the theory of focused positioning, and he once quoted an important criterion in the "Theory of War" in his public speech, "When absolute superiority cannot be obtained, the only way is to obtain relative superiority by concentrating forces." She believes that the automotive industry can also "focus on a part of the resources and penetrate a category." ”
Great Wall Motors was also a beneficiary of the category theory in the past few years. The Tank brand grew from a series of the Wey brand to an independent brand.
Niche models become Volkswagen brands, this is the magic of category theory, and it is also a new way to solve the "idea exhaustion" of product managers.
When urban SUVs continue to erode and even subvert hard-core off-road, at the critical juncture of fuel vehicles turning to new energy vehicles, hard-core off-road has faintly become a new driving force for SUV growth. Perhaps, just as fashion is also a kind of reincarnation, models also have the law of reincarnation and fashion.
I think that such a law is also indispensable to the promotion of the square box design, this wild and exposed design, in any era will be unforgettable.
At the same time, when SUVs and sedans fall into the dilemma of micro-innovation, the change of vehicle form will become a new stimulus, such as hard-core off-road, cross, station wagon, etc., and even I personally believe that the outbreak of MPV products is also a new battlefield that sedans and SUVs are forced to open up after involution.
In 2024, Chinese brands will usher in a new product boom in the hardcore off-road market.
Deep Blue Automobile released the G318, which is positioned as a "new hard-core technology", which is different from the traditional fuel-powered hard-core off-road rugged style. At the same time, the Leopard 3 model, which is positioned more close to the people, will also be launched, and Wuling Yue will also launch a five-door model. In addition, the existing hard-core off-road models of Formula Leopard, Jietu and Chery ICAR will usher in a period of product growth.
Compared with the return of international brand hard-core off-road products, Chinese brand hard-core off-road products have evolved into a new attempt in product form, grafting the perfect carrier of new energy power, and cleverly avoiding the technical limitations of traditional hard-core off-road products such as engines, gearboxes, and differentials.
The most important thing is that for enlightened Chinese car users, the hard-core off-road product shape reduces the cost of explaining to the outside world for their own purchase of new energy vehicle products.
In 2024, Chinese brands are destined to become bigger and stronger in the hardcore off-road segment.
In 2024, the hard-core off-road market segment is not destined to be a boiled frog-like stock market, and it is likely to create an incremental increase in the market. In this process, international brands and Chinese brands will quickly find their own market positions, occupy and stick to their own positions, and accumulate their own fans.
When the two sides form an offensive and defensive balance, the hard-core off-road will inevitably involution, resulting in competition and tilting between different ** intervals. Visually, a similar trend will occur in 2025.
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