This newspaper (chinatimesnet.CN) reporters Liu Kai and Yu Jianping report from Hangzhou.
In the first 11 months of 2023, the overall sales volume of the domestic B-segment sedan market was 27450,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 157%, of which the cumulative sales of B-class pure electric sedans were 62780,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 654%, accounting for 9% of the new energy vehicle market2%。
It is precisely because the B-class car market has a good growth space that the competition in this market has been relatively fierce, and due to the rapid development of new energy vehicles, the competition for the new energy B-class car market is becoming increasingly severe.
Following the Geely Galaxy L7 and Geely Galaxy L6, on January 5, Geely's new model E8, a mid-to-high-end new energy series, was officially launched and delivered simultaneously. This also means that Geely Galaxy is attacking the B-segment sedan market.
Disrupting the B-segment car market
With the rapid development of the automobile industry, more and more automobile brands and products appear in the eyes of consumers. However, today's B-class sedan market is still the territory of fuel vehicles, and its main sales models have maintained a good reputation and market share for a long time. According to the data, in November 2023, in the B-class sedan rankings, the monthly sales of Camry, Passat, Magotan and Accord will exceed 10,000 units, and Camry will even reach nearly 20,000 units.
However, with the fierce competition in various market segments, the growth space to be tapped in the B-class car market has begun to appear. And with the rapid development of China's new energy vehicle industry in recent years, this has also made many enterprises see the outlet.
Compared with the stock of two or three hundred million fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles have not yet been scaled. As the scale rises, the cost of new energy vehicles will become more and more competitive. Geely should grasp the best value in mainstream products, and Galaxy E8 should be replaced by existing fuel vehicles. Geely Automobile Group CEO Gan Jiayue said.
According to Ganjiayue, Geely Galaxy E8 is aimed at the B-class pure electric car market, and the price is 1 lower than the pre-sale220,000 yuan. Therefore, in the eyes of the industry, the Galaxy E8 values the huge potential of this market segment, and the advantage is greater than that of the benchmark model BYD Han EV, Model 3 and Xpeng P7. This also makes some ** think that Geely will fight a "** war" at the beginning of the year, relying on price reductions to compete for share. In this regard, Fan Junyi, general manager of Geely Automobile Sales Company, said that Geely Automobile does not fight the best war, but hopes to improve product strength through value and safety.
In fact, if you want to stand out among the many joint venture brands of B-class sedans, you need to have stronger product power and higher quality. The "China Times" reporter learned that the Galaxy E8 is based on the vast architecture of the Sea, positioning pure electric medium and large sedans, with a length of more than 5 meters and a wheelbase of more than 29 meters. At the same time, the Galaxy E8 is also equipped with an 8K high-definition 45-inch integrated large screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip, satellite communication system, etc. In terms of power, the Galaxy E8 has two models, 400V and 800V. Galaxy E8 four-wheel drive performance version as an 800V four-wheel drive pure electric car, dual motor power of 475kW, zero hundred acceleration only 349 seconds. This version also has 800V fast flash charging, which can last up to 180km in 5 minutes.
Fan Jun said that the Galaxy E8 should not only subvert the mainstream B-class pure electric car, but also replace the fuel car of the same level.
The reporter noticed that on December 27, the same Geely Krypton 007 was launched, the car is a full 800V high-voltage platform, also equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip, based on the vast architecture. So, will it have an impact on the sales of ZEEKR 007 after the Galaxy is launched? In this regard, Ganjiayue said that the positioning of the two is completely different. ZEEKR is positioned as a luxury high-end, and the Geely Galaxy series is the mainstream public. Gan Jiayue said: "Geely Galaxy E8 is not an Internet celebrity car, but should be a word-of-mouth car and conscience car in the hearts of the people. ”
With the launch of the E8, the product matrix of the Geely Galaxy series has become more abundant, and now there are three models, L7, L6 and E8, which have initially formed a sedan + SUV and electric hybrid + pure electric matrix. As the first pure electric sedan in the Galaxy series, the Galaxy E8 will also shoulder the important task of helping Geely's new energy sales growth. Geely Galaxy E8 has entered this market segment with high cost performance, which has formed a dimensionality reduction blow to foreign-funded fuel vehicles, or will become a popular model in the B-class car market. Xu Jiaping, an auto analyst, told the China Times.
Transforming to the "new", Geely has entered the "Galactic Era".
In addition to the Galaxy E8, Geely Galaxy's L6 and L7 are also favored by consumers. According to the data, the cumulative sales of the Geely Galaxy series have reached 83,497 units in the seven months since it was launched. Up to now, Geely Galaxy has sold more than 10,000 vehicles per month for six consecutive months. In addition, Geely Galaxy also built 650 stores from June to December. That's a remarkable start for a set that was born in February 2023.
With the blessing of the Galaxy series, Geely Automobile has also achieved cumulative sales of more than 1.68 million units in 2023, exceeding the annual KPI. Among them, the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles were 487461, a year-on-year increase of more than 48%; In December, the sales volume of new energy vehicles was 60,447 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of about 36%. From the data, it can be seen that Geely Group's new energy layout has taken shape, which is also inseparable from its technological development.
In terms of battery technology, Geely will successively release the world's first mass-produced 800V lithium iron phosphate ultra-fast charging "golden brick battery" in 2023, a new generation of V3 charging technology with the highest single-gun charging power in the world, a new generation of Thor electric hybrid technology, Aegis battery safety system and other leading technology applications.
In terms of intelligent cockpit, Geely has released mobile phone car interconnection solutions such as Galaxy N OS and Lynk Flyme Auto, which are currently applied to Geely Galaxy series, Lynk & Co and other models. At the same time, Geely's self-developed China's first automotive-grade 7nm cockpit chip "Dragon Eagle No. 1" has been mass-produced and launched in brands such as Lynk & Co and Ruilan.
As early as 2006, Geely established a new energy vehicle research institute, and in November 2021, Geely released its 2025 strategy, and now Geely has made in-depth layouts in many fields, such as operating systems, intelligent cockpits, on-board chips, autonomous driving, vehicle networking, low-orbit satellites, intelligent computing centers, etc.
In 2024, Geely will also launch a new pure electric architecture, AI intelligent cockpit, urban commuting NOA, satellite and other intelligent technologies. Ganjiayue said that the current cockpit operating system is far from the needs of consumers. "Therefore, the product styling, cockpit experience, and self-driving fields will be hotter next year. However, no matter how consumer trends change, Geely puts safety first. ”
In 2024, Geely has set a sales target of 1.9 million units, of which new energy sales will increase by more than 66%. Obviously, this sales target needs to be supported by more new energy products. Ganjiayue revealed that in addition to Galaxy L7, Galaxy L6, and Galaxy E8, Geely Galaxy will launch more blockbuster new products in the next two years. With the launch of more new energy products, Geely's "fuel vehicle + new energy" "two-legged" layout will go further.
Editor-in-charge: Li Yanan Editor-in-chief: Yu Jianping.