Who Can Build A Brand Moat In The Next Ten Years

At the end of the second decade of the 21st century, China's own brand car companies are still in China's booming economy.

From the "ice age" of self owned brands from 2010 to 2014, to the outbreak of SUV market dividends in 2015, and then to the high-end attempt of independent automobile enterprises represented by Lingke and wey brands in 2016, the self owned brands that once grew savagely are also undergoing reshuffle in the tide of the times.

It is undeniable that in the face of structural adjustment of China's automobile market, the leading automobile enterprises with core technology and high-end models to meet the market demand after consumption upgrading have already obtained "admission tickets" in advance for competition in the next decade.

At the same time, with the continuous innovation and development of artificial intelligence, big data, Internet of vehicles and information communication technology, as well as the acceleration of new energy process, the automobile industry has entered the era of intelligence and new energy.

Therefore, in the face of increasingly fierce competition in China's automobile market, the deepening trend of electrification and intelligence, and the market share of independent brands has repeatedly fallen below the red line, Chinese automobile enterprises have begun to take advantage of the brand-new track, the high-end new energy market with broad growth space in the future, to accelerate the impact on the high-end brand.

On the one hand, thanks to the favorable policies, the state has continued to increase support for new energy vehicles; on the other hand, new car makers such as Weilai, idealist and Xiaopeng have emerged in the middle and high-end market, which has injected confidence into the high-end industry through new energy.

From the early Lingke to this year's launch of BAIC's arcfox and Dongfeng's Lando brand, GAC's AIAN independence, SAIC, Pudong New Area and Ali's Zhiji automobile, as well as the new high-end brands jointly launched by Changan, Huawei and Ningde times, all major automobile enterprises have focused on the high-end new energy vehicle market this year.

On December 1, the new Lingke 01 was officially launched. The new car offers five models of fuel and PHEV plug-in hybrid power. The price of the new car is 179800-222700 yuan.

On December 4, Hongqi new pure electric vehicle e-hs9 was officially launched in Boao, Hainan. The new car is positioned as a high-end large-scale pure electric SUV. The length, width and height of the new car are 5209 / 2010 / 1731mm, the wheelbase reaches 3110 mm, and the price is RMB 5098-729800.

On December 18, Lando free, the first large and medium-sized intelligent electric SUV of Dongfeng lantu, will also make its world debut in Shenzhen. It is understood that the new car will provide pure electric and extended range electric power options.

High end construction of brand moat

Under the downward pressure of automobile market, it has become an unavoidable choice for independent brands to break through the high-end market.

The latest data shows that in the first 10 months of this year, the sales volume of self owned brand passenger cars was only about 5.752 million, a year-on-year decrease of 14.1%, and the market share dropped by 1.8 percentage points compared with the same period of last year, leaving only 37.1%, a new low in recent years. Correspondingly, in the first three quarters of this year, the cumulative retail sales volume of domestic luxury car market was about 1.7879 million, with a year-on-year increase of 10.9%. It is the only market in the three major market segments to maintain positive growth.

"This year, the differentiation of high and low-end passenger car market is particularly obvious. After the epidemic, luxury cars showed stronger growth characteristics than before. In October, luxury car retail sales increased by more than 30% year-on-year." Prior to that, Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the national passenger car information association, pointed out.

Cui Dongshu believes that the core reason for the differentiation of automobile consumption market is not the differentiation of manufacturers themselves, but the drastic changes of manufacturers affected by demand. The traditional car market with less than 80000 yuan has shrunk sharply, and more than 250000 yuan has shown a high growth. The growth rate is better than the average price of the industry below 80000 yuan. In recent three years, only about 10% of the manufacturers, while luxury cars account for more than 80%.

"The positioning of automobile enterprises and products determines the survival opportunities of enterprises. If they do not sell high priced cars, they will be killed if they try hard." Cui Dongshu said.

In the face of a new round of structural adjustment in the automotive market, China's self owned brand automobile enterprises have never been as sober as at this time. At present, they are not only facing the problems of how to consolidate the business foundation, build the adaptability, and survive in the short term, but also how to find the turning point before the business turning point and build the long-term competitiveness.

In this competition for the next ten years, self owned brand car companies have built a moat of brands with the goal of high-end.

However, the upward brand is bound to be a difficult and narrow track. In addition to breaking through the price ceiling, independent brands also have to face the fierce competition in the middle and high-end market segments: Tesla's strong performance, the strong rise of new forces in car manufacturing, the acceleration of electrification of luxury brands, and the accelerated layout of joint venture brands will usher in a fierce battle in the middle and high-end new energy market.

"Building a high-end brand is certainly not achieved overnight. Link should adhere to the way of value, which is also the value of users. It is to identify the direction, maintain their own strategic positioning, do a good job in products, provide good service to users, and walk out of a road to lead the way On December 1, Lin Jie, vice president of Geely Automobile Group and general manager of Lingke Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., said in an interview with the media.

According to Lin Jie, in terms of vehicle models, Lingke will further enhance the competitiveness of its products after improving the product layout in various market segments. The most important point is not only to focus on fuel vehicles, but also to pay attention to the layout of the new energy field.

It is understood that the first pure electric vehicle of Lingke under the vast framework has been launched and will be put on the market in mass production next year. In terms of channels, the sales of pure electric vehicles will adopt the mode of direct marketing, and the service will also be integrated with the existing channels.

It is worth noting that, different from other brands, as a global gene brand, it also officially entered the European market starting with link 01.

"This year, link opened its first physical store in Amsterdam in Europe, and a second store is about to open. In Europe, the sales model is subscription mode, which is a business model which is very different from the existing model of the automobile industry. The purpose is to explore how to use vehicles more effectively. This kind of marketing method is very innovative. "

"Lingke's sea going is not a simple export of trade, but an output of business philosophy," said Lin Jie. We must realize that China's innovative products are the core of global manufacturing. "

High end competition: brand premium is the key

"In the high-end pure tram model, the new force of car making has made certain achievements. However, the traditional car companies are quite different in the choice of high-end routes. The high-end brands represented by Lingke and wey start from fuel vehicles, gradually transition to PHEV, and then to high-end pure electric vehicles, while the later brands such as arcfox and Lando directly enter the field of high-end pure electric vehicles. " For example, Cui Dongshu is still in the process of developing high-end brands in July, and the main problems are still in the process of independent brand development

"At present, it is more difficult for link and wey to enter the high-end new energy field from plug-in hybrid models, and the market recognition is not particularly high. But there are still certain opportunities to enter the high-end electric vehicle market in the future. " Cui Dongshu pointed out that there will be some room for development by making technological breakthroughs and lowering the price to the mainstream market.

"Now that the platform and technology are relatively open, it's a good opportunity for these brands to build a good car and then add some design elements." Cui Dongshu believes that in the process of brand high-end, it is not necessary to pursue differentiation, as long as they are on the line of market recognition and acceptance, and it is very difficult to pursue innovation and innovation. At this stage, it is the most important work to speed up the catch-up with the help of previous achievements.

In addition, in the face of fierce competition in the current market, joint venture brands are going down, and Chinese brands are launching high-end products to seek breakthroughs. The industry believes that the future competition will not focus on the scale of sales, but on the ability of brand premium.

Therefore, after giving full play to the technical strength, how to make automobile products more recognized by users in the terminal is also an important topic for independent automobile enterprises to achieve brand upward.

However, the embodiment of brand value is not simply cost-effective. It should also have more distinctive attributes such as intelligence, luxury and technology, which can be passed on to users' lifestyle and spiritual propositions, or the extensibility of product functions.

In the view of the industry, with the gradual deepening of digital degree, today's young consumers are more active, participatory and creative, and their consumption is also changing from functional to emotional and value-based demands. They are no longer satisfied with onlookers, but eager for more participation.

How to really establish a good relationship with young consumers and transform consumer demand into value growth point is a problem that all automobile manufacturers have to solve. More attention to user needs, more attention to user operation is also a required course for enterprises.

"In the era of homogenization, the era when users can be moved only by a single product force has passed. We must be thinking about how to make friends with users, how to let consumers identify with quality. In the future, it is a good way to highlight brand new ideas in the emotional value level of user groups. " Previously, weiy brand CMO Li Ruifeng in an interview with reporters pointed out.

"The entire Geely Automobile Group is to emphasize the user-centered, market-oriented." Lin Jie finally stressed that in the future, Lingke will not rely on quantity to win. The key is to look at the quality of its business and use quality to drive sales.