On March 2, Leapmotor, known as the "butcher", launched a new mid-size SUV Leapmotor C10, adding another fire to the current auto market battle at an unprecedented low price.
In the current market environment of unprecedented "involution", there is no minimum for new cars, only lower, and car companies are scrambling to cut prices and trample on each other, even if the pricing of C10 creates a new lower limit in the market segment, it may not be able to harvest more sales, but will weaken the company's profitability that is not very strong. However, if you do not participate in the "involution" at this time, you may be kicked out of the table and lose the opportunity to play cards in the future. It can be said that it is really a helpless move for C10 to "roll" out of the new lower limit.
The price of the C10 is lower than that of the Song Plus Honor Edition.
Leapmotor has always been based on the competitive strategy of high configuration and low price, and the C10 launched this time is no exception. The 4 BEVs** range is 12880,000-16880,000 yuan, 3 extended-range models** range of 13580,000-16580,000 yuan. What level is this? Just compare it with BYD's similar competitor Song Plus Glory Edition, a leader in the field of new energy vehicles.
As shown in the picture above, BYD launched the Song PLUS Honor Edition on February 29, of which the DM-i version with a pure electric range of 110 kilometers is priced at 13980,000 and 14The DM-i version, which has a pure electric range of 980,000 yuan and a pure electric range of 150 kilometers, is priced at 15980,000 yuan and 16980,000 yuan. The pure electric range of the Leap C10 extended range version has reached 210 kilometers, and the power performance is also stronger, but it is 4000 yuan lower.
The same is true for the all-electric version. The starting price of the C10 with a range of 530 kilometers is a full 110,000 yuan, and the power is also stronger. Moreover, the C10 also has a pure electric model with a range of 410 kilometers, and the price is only 12880,000 yuan.
However, in terms of body size, Leap C10 is a medium-sized SUV with a body length, width and height of 4739 1900 1680mm and a wheelbase of 2825mm; The Song PLUS Glory Edition is a compact SUV with a body length, width and height of 4775 1890 1660 1670mmm and a wheelbase of 2765mm. In other words, a mid-size SUV is even lower than a compact SUV, which is really a new lower limit.
C10 continues the "price-to-price" route
Leapmotor C10 is not only the most low, but also has a higher configuration, continuing the previous high "price-to-price" route of Leapmotor, because the company's goal is to set a new value benchmark in the market segment of around 150,000 yuan.
As Leap 30 The first global strategic model under the technical architecture, the C10 adopts the "four-leaf clover"** integrated electronic and electrical architecture developed by Leapmotor, (Zhixiang version and intelligent driving version) is equipped with Qualcomm 8295 intelligent cabin chip (other versions are equipped with Qualcomm 8155 chip), (intelligent driving version) is equipped with 128-thread lidar and NVIDIA Orin-X intelligent driving chip, which can realize 25 intelligent driving assistance functions such as NAP high-speed intelligent navigation assistance and NAC navigation assistance cruise. Among the 160,000-yuan new energy vehicles, the C10 is the only model equipped with lidar and Orin-X chips.
In terms of space, Leapmotor C10 has class-leading rear seat space - the maximum leg space reaches 1050mm, the maximum head space reaches 1015mm, the second-row seat cushion length reaches 514mm, and the rear seat backrest is 27° 32° adjustable in two gears.
In terms of power, the Leapmotor C10 extended range version of the motor has a maximum power of 170 kilowatts, a maximum torque of 320 Nm, a maximum speed of 170 kilometers per hour, and a 000 acceleration time of 768 seconds. The 000 acceleration time of the pure electric version is 729 seconds, other parameters are the same as the extended range version. In terms of chassis suspension, the Leapmotor C10 adopts a front MacPherson + rear five-link independent suspension combination, which improves the handling performance and ride comfort of the vehicle through optimization and tuning.
In terms of safety, the Leapmotor C10 adopts a one-piece skeleton structure design, and the torsional rigidity of the body-in-white is as high as 42,500N·m °. The front and rear door anti-collision beams, B-pillar reinforcing plates, seat beams, etc. are made of nuclear submarine-grade 2000MPa hot-stamping steel. The proportion of high-performance materials containing aluminum alloy is as high as 736%。
Low price≠ high sales
Can the low price and high "price-to-price ratio" of Leapmotor C10 make this car a hit? EV Century believes that this is not inevitable, and that there is uncertainty in it.
At the launch conference of the new car on March 2, Zhu Jiangming, founder and chairman of Leapmotor, said that since the launch of pre-sales in January this year, Leapmotor C10 has accumulated more than 450,000 orders, showing that this car is popular in the market. Moreover, the pre-sale ** is 15580,000-18580,000 yuan, the official price is 12880,000-16880,000 yuan, 1 lower than the pre-sale price70,000-270,000 yuan. Theoretically, after the official launch of the Leapmotor C10, it is possible to get more orders.
Zhu Jiangming also said that before the launch of the Leapmotor C10, more than 3,000 commercial vehicles have been delivered to Leapmotor stores across the country, realizing the delivery of the listing, and the customers who have placed orders have saved the pain of waiting for a long time, which will also help the sales of this car.
But that doesn't mean the C10 will be able to sell well. Because the current market environment is abnormal, various car companies have taken turns to reduce prices, and there is no sign of stopping the war, which has led to changes in consumers' psychological expectations, believing that there is no lowest car price, only lower, which may lead to "buy up but not buy down". If many consumers hold on to the currency, then low prices will not lead to high sales.
Judging from the sales trend of the entire new energy vehicle, in 2023, the most fierce battle, the year-on-year growth rate of new energy vehicle sales will be significantly lower than that in 2022. As shown in the chart above, according to the retail sales data of the Passenger Car Association, in 2022, the domestic retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles will be 56740,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 900%。Retail sales in 2023 will be 77360,000 units, a year-on-year increase of only 362%。
From the perspective of monthly growth, from January to December 2022, the growth rate of domestic retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles is in order. 1%。The increase from January to December 2023 is significantly lower, in order. 3%。
In 2023, China's economy and society will come out of the impact of the epidemic and fully return to normal, and car sales will also exceed 30 million for the first time, while the growth of new energy vehicle sales will still slow down. Based on this, the author believes that although the ** of Leap C10 is very attractive, it still needs to be observed to what extent it can be reflected in sales in the end.
The C10 is of great significance to Leap
The C10, which has just been launched, is of great significance to Leapmotor. First of all, the segment in which this mid-size new energy SUV is located is growing rapidly, and if it can also get good sales like the C11 that has been launched, it will greatly increase the sales scale and gross profit margin of Leapmotor.
According to the data of compulsory traffic insurance, the cumulative number of Leapmotor vehicles insured in 2023 will be 130293, of which 75,097 will be SUV model C11, accounting for 576%；The sedan model C01 was 23,123 units, accounting for 177%；Mini car T03 was 32,073 units, accounting for 246%。There is no doubt that the C series has become the absolute sales leader of Leapmotor, and the higher price is also the main profit of Leapmotor**. However, in the C series, the sales volume of the C01, a medium and large new energy sedan, is average. Therefore, it is a very reasonable choice to further expand the new energy SUV market where the C11 is located.
In 2023, Leapmotor officially announced the delivery volume of 144155 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of more than 29%, but there is still a big gap from the target of 200,000 vehicles. The sales target for 2024 is 300,000-400,000 units, which is an even higher increase, and the C10 must succeed if it is to successfully achieve its goal.
Secondly, the C10 is also the first global model of Leapmotor, which will be exported to Europe, South America, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and other international markets in the future. According to Zhu Jiangming, Leapmotor will start overseas sales in September this year, and the sales target for overseas markets this year is 6,000-10,000 units, of which the C10 will become the flagship model sold overseas.
Leap C10