The Chinese auto market, which is "rolling up to fly", is accelerating the strategic shift of giants.
Recently, General Motors CEO Mary Barra (Mary Barra) proposed in an exclusive interview with BloombergIn order to reverse the decline in sales and profits, GM will focus on "premiumization" in China.
Earlier, at a conference, Mary Bora said that while GM still has a place in the increasingly competitive Chinese market, it must reverse its downward trend in China. "When you look at the Chinese market, you'll see that it's very different from five years ago. Mary Bora said she would reassess GM's China business"It's a market that we want to be properly involved in, and I think it's more premium. ”
This means that GM will focus more on its premium strategy in the Chinese market. In fact, this is also a new strategy for luxury brands and giants such as GM and Toyota in China.
Kung Fu Auto believes that it has become the consensus of multinational giants and head independent brands to break the involution with "high-end" and replace the first-class war with value, so that users can get more value-added products and experiences.
Therefore, in 2024, the trend of "high-end" will become the inevitable choice of major car companies, especially joint venture car companies, and the most valuable products will become the new mainstream of consumption in the market, bringing users a higher sense of value.
Against this backdrop, General Motors CEO Mary Borla's latest stance has undoubtedly attracted much attention.
And Kung Fu Motors found after continuously tracking GM's joint venture in China, SAIC-GM, thatIn fact, as early as the Guangzhou Auto Show in November 2023, SAIC-GM took the lead in launching the "high-end" campaign, and a series of high-end moves kicked off one after another last year.
As we all know, in the new era of intelligent electrification, "high-end" relies more on technological innovation in the two fields of electrification and intelligence. As a leading joint venture, SAIC-GM has quietly completed the layout in these two major fields in 2023 and is fully empowering the "high-end" in 2024.
In an exclusive interview with Kung Fu Motors, Zhuang Jingxiong, general manager of SAIC-GM, released "Wang Fried".A series of new PHEV vehicles will be launched in 2024, among which the Chevrolet PHEV will be built into the strongest PHEV model in the joint venture. At the same time, on the eve of the Guangzhou Auto Show last year, SAIC-GM officially established a software and digital center, with more than 1,000 R&D personnel, which is the first joint venture.
Just recently, Kung Fu Motors found on the new car catalog of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology that the Chevrolet PHEV has been listed in the catalog and will be launched this year.
It can be seen that SAIC-GM's "high-end" technology and product reserves in the new era of intelligent electricity are already "ready" and ready to go in 2023. 2024 will be a new starting point for SAIC-GM's three major brands, from Chevrolet to Buick to Cadillac.
Zhuang Jingxiong emphasized last year: SAIC-GM's transformation has begun, and the next step is to quickly implement it. The "accumulation" of high-end in 2023 is undoubtedly the embodiment of the "rapid implementation" of SAIC-GM's transformation road, and it is also the confidence of GM's CEO to publicly state that he will focus on the "high-end market".
This is exactly what it is, be prepared for danger in times of peace, and be prepared when you think.
(1) The high-end of new energy continues to rise, and PHEVs will be "swept wildly".
In the new energy market, high-end is obviously inseparable from the blessing of PHEV technology in the minds of current demand-side users.
In fact, China's new energy vehicle market is increasingly showing a situation of "pure electric slowing down and plug-in hybrid acceleration". There are many joint venture car companies, all of which are brewing to take PHEV as another major direction of the new energy battlefield.
SAIC-GM's "action" came quite quickly.
During the Guangzhou Auto Show last year, Zhuang Jingxiong, general manager of SAIC-GM, revealed in an exclusive interview with Kung Fu Motors"SAIC-GM's technical roadmap including pure electric and plug-in electric vehicles, as well as the development layout of corresponding products have been completed." Zhuang Jingxiong also emphasized, ".PHEV products are already planned until 2027。We will fully consider it in the futureIn more products, plug-in hybrid technology will be carried out to the end!
And Kung Fu Motors also found out when investigating new car intelligence at the beginning of the year,Chevrolet is a "sharp spear" of SAIC-GM's attack on PHEV.
The new car declaration catalog from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ** shows,A five-seater mid-size plug-in hybrid SUV under the Chevrolet brand has been declared. It is understood that this new car, known as the "strongest PHEV in the joint venture", will be launched within the year.
On the other hand, Chevrolet's first all-electric SUV based on the Auton platform will also be unveiled at the same time, along with the highly anticipated GL8 PHEVSAIC-GM has made it clear that it wants to "roll up" the PHEV array.
Kung Fu believes that the arrival of Chevrolet's first PHEV model will give a new mission to the re-launch of this popular brand. The road to high-end will also bring a new way out for Chevrolet.
In addition, Zhuang Jingxiong also "and revealed" the new energy layout of SAIC-GM at the Guangzhou Auto Show. He revealed: "Our new energy layout, including the technical route of pure electric and plug-in, and the development layout of corresponding products, have been completed. In 2024, in addition to pure electric products, PHEV plug-in hybrid products will also be launched on the market, including the PHEV model of the Buick GL8. In 2025, we will further introduce more plug-in and pure electric products. ”
In the field of luxury cars, in 2024, the Cadillac iQ pure electric series product matrix will continue to accelerate the layout, the luxury rear-wheel drive fuel product family "Gasoline and Electric Tongzhi" will be renewed and upgraded, and all Cadillac models have built a family spectrum of "complementary oil and electricity, step by step". In the future, Cadillac will continue to make efforts to improve its brand, IQ pure electric products, fuel products, energy supplement service system, and product intelligent experience, covering the full-scene travel needs of luxury car users. In particular, Cadillac and Tesla have reached a cooperation on energy replenishment, which further improves the experience of luxury car users.
It is not difficult to see that SAIC-GM's electrification transformation, from the Autonen platform to PHEV technology, is shifting from the previous "small steps" to the current comprehensive coverage and "big sprint".
It is with the strong blessing of new energy technology, especially PHEV technology, that SAIC-GM's "high-end" electric products will gain a steady stream of confidence and vitality.
(2) Intelligent and high-end, with a team of thousands of people focusing on software development
The advancement of the "high-end" of smart electric vehicles has always been a two-legged walk. In addition to the high-end of new energy, it is indispensable to have intelligent high-end.
In the new era of intelligent electronics, the mainstream automotive industry has become more and more aware that good technology does not equal good products, let alone good user experience. Only by transforming good technology into good products and good experience can we win the minds of users and continue to make efforts on the road of high-end.
In the field of intelligence, which has attracted much attention, SAIC-GM took the lead in "enlarging" in the field of joint venture car companies last year, fully empowering the high-end intelligent experience.
As early as the eve of last year's Guangzhou Auto Show, SAIC-GM officially established a software and digitalization center.
According to Kung Fu Motors, it is understoodThe center is the first of its kind in the joint venture. He is responsible for projects such as the new generation of VCS intelligent cockpit system, the new generation of Super Cruise super assisted driving system, and the OTA remote upgrade of the in-vehicle interconnection system.
With the rollout of SAIC-GM's R&D plan, it is expected that by 2025, SAIC-GM's total investment in new technologies for electrification and intelligent networking will reach 70 billion yuan.
More notably,The center also has a team of nearly 1,000 people, the team size is second to none in the joint venture, and far ahead of many new forces.
If it is said that in the era of fuel vehicles, SAIC-GM Pan-Asia Technology Center is the benchmark for joint venture research and development, then, in the era of intelligence, the significance of SAIC-GM software and digital center will be no less than "rebuilding a new Pan-Asia".
This is also bound to provide a strong impetus for the "advancement" of the intelligent experience of SAIC-GM's models and the "high-end" of the intelligent experience for users.
(3) "High-end" has already planted the "seeds".
In fact, "premiumization" is not a "proposition" in China's auto market, but a model that various brands have been tirelessly pursuing in the past 20 years.
As early as the era of fuel vehicles, from the beginning, SAIC-GM was the practitioner and beneficiary of "high-end". From Buick's "Shuangjun" to Chevrolet's SUV strategy, and then to the luxury brand Cadillac, SAIC-GM has always brought users the highest sense of value in its class of products, as well as the brand's high-end image.
The market practice in the past years has also proved that SAIC-GM's efforts on the road of high-end products have received good market returns. For example, the Buick Evia series continues to be popular, and the GL8 continues to be the top seller in the MPV market in 2023 with a terminal sales of 118,906 units, withstanding the challenge of its rivals. Cadillac has achieved the second "three-car launch" since entering the Chinese market in one go, and the product matrix has been comprehensively renewed, helping the brand's sales to be stable and far-reaching by virtue of the product strategy of "sharing oil and electricity".
In 2023, Buick's brand renewal has also entered a critical period. By focusing on high-end and advanced intelligent electronics, a new Buick with heat, temperature and depth has achieved a "two-way rush" with users. The Buick Century Guo Pei co-branded high-end edition, which is limited to only 5 units in the world, once again sublimates the luxury experience of MPV. Buick Century has been the top seller of large luxury MPVs of more than 500,000 yuan for many months. With the continuous expansion of the high-end product lineup, Buick's overall product structure has been continuously optimized, and the sales quality has been continuously improved.
This "premiumization" trend will be further enhanced in 2024. In January, SAIC-GM's terminal sales were also further optimizing its products to bring users high-end choices. Taking the above brand data as an example, the proportion of high-end products such as "Shuangjun" and GL8 in the Buick brand has further increased, while the proportion of low-end models such as Valeant has decreased.
What's more worth mentioning is that Kung Fu Motors learned that SAIC-GM pays more attention to "quality" rather than "quantity", increases the launch of high-end models with high returns, reduces the proportion of low-income models, and no longer blindly fights the best war. In fact, this is the pursuit of high-quality development, and it is also a feasible way to increase profitability, which is in line with the concept of profitability in China advocated by General Motors CEO Mary Bora.
It can be said that although SAIC-GM has encountered certain market challenges, it has accumulated in the high-end market for many yearsIt will help SAIC-GM to operate "high-end" in the era of intelligent electricity and forge a stronger system force.
(4) Kung Fu shooting
In the face of the current fierce "involution" of the automobile industry, many people in the industry have shouted that the development of the automobile industry cannot be deprived of healthy sustainability. "High-end" has become an inevitable choice.
In this regard, Zhuang Jingxiong, general manager of SAIC-GM, said something meaningful:"If a company can't achieve long-term profitability, it will definitely be lifeless, and at the same time, it will be irresponsible to consumers. ”
For a leading car company, in the era of intelligence, to maintain a healthy system and have a strong "hematopoietic" ability, it must be "high-end".
Zhuang Jingxiong and Mary Bora's attitude can be described as "different paths to the same end".
Only by fighting unprepared battles can we be invincible. Starting from a series of external actions at the 2023 Guangzhou Auto Show, SAIC-GM's "high-end" strategy in the era of intelligent electricity has set sail.
After Mary Bora's public statement this time,SAIC-GM's "high-end" can't be hidden!