Author：AliceDate：2023-12-22
At the beginning of 2021, the new energy vehicle industry has become more popular than expected. Whether it's NIO's January delivery of new cars increasing by 352.1% year-on-year, setting a new record for the brand's single-month delivery numbers for six consecutive months, or Tesla's launch of the domestically produced Model Y and significant price cuts, which has violently stirred up the auto market. The frequent actions taken by new energy vehicle companies seem to indicate that the new year will be an extraordinary year for the development of new energy vehicles.
In fact, signs of this boom in the new energy vehicle industry have already begun to appear in the second half of 2020. In 2020, while global car sales dropped by 20% year-on-year, new energy vehicle sales increased by 43% year-on-year. my country's new energy vehicle sales also bucked the trend and increased by 10.9% year-on-year in 2020, and there have been two good trends: an increase in the proportion of personal purchases and an increase in the proportion of purchases in non-restricted cities.
We took three companies as examples, namely Tesla, Weilai and BYD New Energy, to conduct experiential interviews at their sales stores in Beijing to observe the changes in new energy vehicles in terms of product strength, price, marketing and service from a consumer perspective. Change. I hope to work with you to read the reasons behind the unexpected growth of the new energy vehicle industry in the mid-to-high-end field, the most fierce "track" for new energy vehicles.
Diversification of models
Many people have discovered that there are not only more new energy vehicles running on the streets today, but also a wider variety of models. Is this true? By visiting the stores of the above three car companies one by one, we found that the product capabilities of new energy vehicles have been greatly improved, and we can intuitively feel the strong development momentum of the industry.
At Tesla's Beijing Huamao store, two Model 3s were in the middle, flanked by SUV models Model Y and Model X. The three models have the same style, with dynamic and fashionable appearance, simplified interior, and no other physical buttons in the center console except the central control display.
Located in the NIO Space in Blue Harbor, Beijing, there are three SUV models on sale, including EC6, ES6 and ES8. The three vehicles are spacious and elegant, with unique colors, and they look more textured under the light. The showroom is full most of the time, and a wave of consumers come to look at cars every few minutes.
The BYD Beijing Guorui store is small in area and has two cars on display, namely the Han EV sedan and the Tang SUV. The brand mainly promotes two cars, which are obviously more focused. The salesperson in the store told reporters that BYD's new energy vehicle technology is indeed mainly used in Han and Tang cars.
From the appearance point of view, the products of the three new energy vehicle brands have one outstanding feature, that is, the design style is fashionable, which is obviously ahead of the fuel vehicles of the same price range, and is close to or even surpasses international luxury brands. Under today's new consumption characteristics of "appearance is justice", this alone greatly enhances the appeal of the product.
From a price point of view, the products of the three car companies are distributed in a stepped manner in the mid-to-high-end price range. After many price reductions, the Model 3 standard range model has continued to drop in price without worrying about selling, forming Tesla's unique product features. In 2020, 137,000 Model 3 vehicles were sold in the Chinese market, accounting for nearly 30% of the global total.
NIO's ES6 is the brand's flagship model. Data shows that in January this year, NIO's three SUV models were all hot-selling, with 1,660 units of ES8 delivered, 2,720 units of ES6 delivered, and 2,845 units of EC6 delivered. Yan Jianyu, a salesperson at NIO Beijing Blue Harbor Store, said that NIO also produces to order and currently has a small amount in stock.
BYD Han is positioned as a medium to large sedan. Thanks to its high cost performance and safety performance, it has been recognized by the market as soon as it was launched. According to data released by BYD, from its launch in mid-July to the end of December 2020, the cumulative sales of Han EV in the past half year were 28,773 units. A salesperson in the store said that Han's sales would have been higher if production capacity had not been limited.
Product intelligence
Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, what is the core competitiveness of new energy vehicles? Intelligence seems to be the accepted answer.
From the perspective of configuration and performance, the new energy models of the three companies visited can already use the vehicle system and APP to realize various functions such as vehicle control, service and social interaction, and the vehicles can also be upgraded to software and function iterations after they are sold. Optimize and realize that the car is always new when it is used frequently.
Tesla is a recognized representative of "software-defined cars" in the industry. During the test drive, the Model 3 standard range version can set the driving habits of 10 drivers, and adjust them with one click after getting in the car. The standard built-in assisted driving system can drive smoothly in the lane when driving, and is safe in the face of obstacles. Possible rear-end collisions and traffic jams can be effectively screened and judged.
NIO, which insists on not cutting prices, has made great efforts in intelligence. Taking the ES6 as an example, it has a comprehensive cruising range of 610 kilometers and is equipped with the NOMI on-board artificial intelligence system and the NIO Pilot assisted driving system.
BYD has set new industry benchmarks in terms of safety and performance. Han EV is equipped with BYD's newly developed "blade battery", which is safer than ordinary ternary lithium batteries and has a higher energy density than ordinary lithium iron phosphate batteries. It makes Han EV safer and has a significantly improved cruising range. At the BYD Guorui store, the sales staff specially placed a mirror under the Han's chassis to facilitate customers to check the battery location.
DiPilot, the intelligent assisted driving system launched by BYD, has also been applied to the Han EV for the first time. In addition, the Han EV's vehicle interior is excellent, with a full LCD instrument panel, floating central control screen, electronic shift lever, etc., and the interior has a strong sense of technology.
It can be felt that intelligence has become the core focus of competition for new energy vehicle products. The three car companies have formed their own technical routes and made it the biggest feature of their products. Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles have lower operating costs and are more intelligent. Their product competitiveness is increasingly enhanced, and consumer acceptance has also been significantly improved. From initial doubts and wait-and-sees to now familiarity and adaptation, consumers' changing attitudes towards new energy vehicles are gradually accumulating huge market demand.
Marketing digitalization
Different from the scene a few years ago when they were placed next to a row of traditional fuel vehicles and were weak and weak, today's new energy vehicles have a relatively independent marketing method. The three brands visited all chose to open directly-operated stores in popular shopping malls such as Beijing Huamao Shopping Center and Blue Harbor, and their marketing methods were also more digital.
Tesla is a pioneer in digital marketing. Different from the traditional way of buying a car, even if you are in a Tesla direct-operated store, the store clerk will tell customers that they need to log in to the official website or APP to place an order, and all configurations can be added by themselves. This method avoids the eloquent recommendations of traditional sales staff and gives consumers a professional and efficient experience. Tesla's marketing work is simple, efficient and meticulous. Even on service platforms such as Dianping, all Tesla stores in the same city have unified covers and styles, and have online car showrooms.
NIO's marketing work has made some innovative adjustments, such as live streaming on social platforms, short videos introducing vehicle selling points, establishing WeChat groups, maintaining communication with consumers, etc., making marketing more localized. Since its APP is originally the main channel for NIO users to purchase and use cars, its online operations have unique advantages. Therefore, even when offline channels are not smooth due to uncertain factors such as the epidemic, NIO can still use online channels to Provide one-to-one service to users.
BYD's marketing has many traces of the traditional model, and its official website mainly provides display and publicity functions. When searching for the "BYD" APP, multiple names are displayed, among which the one with the highest download volume is "BYD Cloud Service", which mainly provides after-sales service, cloud classroom and other functions. Offline stores have many categories, including Dynasty series, E series, etc.
User-centered
Traditional car brands are mainly engaged in manufacturing, with sales and after-sales mostly completed by 4S stores and dealers. However, new energy car brands, especially new car-making forces, are born with Internet genes and have a closer relationship with users, so they pay more attention to service. . Shifting from "manufacturing" to "manufacturing + service", creating products and services with users as the center, is gradually becoming a new trend in the development of the new energy automobile industry.
Guo Xinhao told consumers that electric vehicles basically require no maintenance and only require regular inspection and replacement of air conditioning filters. When inspection and repair are needed, you can go directly to a Tesla directly-operated after-sales store.
NIO’s services are relatively complete. Chang Yuxin, a salesperson at the NIO Beijing Blue Harbor Store, said that NIO has launched contactless services for more than a year. Services such as repair, maintenance and one-click power-up can all use the NFC function to authorize a NIO service specialist to unlock the vehicle once. , the entire process is completed without contact.
Compared with its own products and technology, BYD's services have obvious shortcomings. However, BYD has begun to pay more attention to service work and is also adapting to the new service model. Zhao Changjiang, general manager of BYD Auto Sales Co., Ltd., responded seriously to customer suggestions on Weibo. His candid attitude has won the recognition of many customers. If BYD can keep up with its own products and technologies in terms of services, the overall competitiveness of its products will undoubtedly reach a higher level.
At present, three companies, Tesla, NIO and BYD, have become representatives of the new energy vehicle industry. In addition, there are many new energy vehicle brands growing in my country. Although each company's products and technical routes are different, many brands have gone out of their own way and jointly promoted the development and growth of the industry. We also look forward to the fact that future new energy vehicle products will be richer, safer, more intelligent, and marketing and service levels will be further improved, allowing more people to become new energy vehicle owners with peace of mind.
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