In recent years, more and more consumers are willing to choose their own brands when buying cars. It is undeniable that most consumers who choose their own brands are starting with cost performance, but in fact, some consumers see the rise of independent brands and are full of confidence in them. According to the data, the market share of joint venture brands from 2018 to 2020 was 50.2%, 51.4% and 51.1%, respectively, basically maintaining more than 50%, but it fell to 47.4% in the first five months of 2021. The decline of mainstream joint ventures is in stark contrast to the growth of independent brands, which also confirms that independent brands are constantly eroding the market of joint venture brands.
Of course, we have to admit that some foreign car brands have hundreds of years of accumulation of technology, but with the rapid rise of independent brands, and the new generation of young consumers have no prejudice against domestic and foreign goods, which is of great help to the future development of independent brands.
In recent years, we have been saying that the post-80s and post-90s are the main force of automobile consumption, but today, the percentage of post-95 consumers has increased significantly, and even the trend shows that it will exceed the main force of consumption after the 80s. Unlike the post-80s, after the 95s, they label themselves more as trendy, literary, intelligent, environmental protection, etc.; these people pay more attention to the quality, performance, applicability and other attributes when buying cars, but they do not care too much about the price and brand; and have higher requirements for intelligence. As some data shows, 98% of the post-95 population owns a smartphone, and is expected to catch up with the post-80s and post-90s by the end of 2021, becoming the most used group.
In fact, the post-95s were born in this era of material wealth and technological explosion, and this growth environment led to the values of this part of the consumers being different from those of the post-80s. For example, if you say that the car of the own brand, you want to do it for people in the 70s and 80s, I think it is very difficult, because they have a very solidified impression, buying luxury cars is Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, generally Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen and other mainstream joint venture brands. But after 95 is not the same, the values are label culture, they buy car quality, performance, applicability is a necessary attribute, things are not good, but this alone is not OK, they will be impressed by some things other than the product, for example, in the past two years, "national tide" is getting hotter and hotter, many old domestic products are also among them, such consumption characteristics, but also let the future development of independent brands have more opportunities.
Although the brand is a consideration for young consumers when buying a car, the product strength and marketing of the vehicle itself are the same. We know that the background of the post-80s growth is material scarcity, slow development, and relatively small socio-economic and technological changes. But after 95 is different, this generation of living environment is very rich in materials, and another feature is intelligent technology. Internet big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, 5G, artificial intelligence emerge in an endless stream, post-95 is the Internet native, everything related to intelligence is these people to take the lead in consumption. So there is a big difference between the two eras, and the post-80s consumers pay attention to big brands, which is different from the post-95s.
In addition, smart cars have become one of the few new outlets in the automotive industry. Young people buy a car to see whether the functional configuration is diversified, and independent brands are more familiar with the car buying psychology of the Chinese, they first began to add intelligent configuration to the new car, and in the brochure and various public scenes widely announced, to the post-95 young consumers left the impression that autonomous cars are very intelligent. From the consumer side, the degree of intelligence after 95 in other fields is also very high, for example, many home things are intelligent, they have developed habits, cars and cars are the same, so the Internet of Vehicles is definitely a big trend, which provides a very good opportunity for independent brands.
In addition to the efforts of car companies themselves, China, the world's largest market, has also given independent brands a stage to play. It is worth saying that at present, in addition to sales volume and market share, independent brands have also made great breakthroughs in quality and price. 100,000 yuan is no longer the ceiling, and the aggressive brand has gained a foothold in the 150,000 yuan market and impacted the 180,000 yuan or even 200,000 yuan market. That is to say, whether it is from the demand of consumers, the ability level of independent brands themselves, or accumulation, now is a good period.
If independent brands want to continue to rise, it is inseparable to create a unique and attractive brand culture, because the formation and promotion of brands are inseparable from the injection of cultural elements and the nourishment of cultural forces. Secondly, we must also improve the quality of service, remember that there is a famous saying in the automobile industry: "The first car is sold by the sales staff, and the second and third cars are sold by the after-sales service personnel." "It is not difficult to understand how much consumers care about the quality of after-sales service of the car as a bulk commodity.
In summary, it can be seen that the rise of independent brands is by no means a single technological progress, and under the change of consumer demand, it also gives the rise of independent brands the opportunity. But this opportunity, still not every independent brand can have, only enough efforts, seize the opportunity, so as to seize the dynamics of the changes in the Chinese market in a timely manner, so that the strength of independent brands to leave the opportunity to survive and expand.
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