In the era of fuel vehicles, the fight between automobile manufacturers is mechanical research and development and precision manufacturing, who can master the engine, transmission, chassis research and development technology, who can strictly control the upstream and downstream supply chain, then who produces the car.
In the era of new energy vehicles, the fight between car manufacturers is the software ecology, who can do a good job of battery thermal management, who can do a good job of user interaction of the system, OTA upgrade, then whose car is competitive.
Of course, what I'm talking about above is competition between big businesses. There are also many small enterprises attached to large enterprises, although they are not large, but they can also survive in the market with differentiated products, but their anti-risk ability is not strong. For example, Zotye Automobile and Lifan Automobile have been submerged in the long river of historical development.
In this article, we look at Venucia, a brand owned by Dongfeng Nissan, to see how they release new cars.
[1] The introduction of new products depends on changing colors
As a brand under Dongfeng Nissan, Venucia itself does not have strong research and development strength, so it is often more passive in product updates. But it is necessary to constantly launch new products to maintain market heat, so what to do? Venucia's approach is to introduce new colors, such as venucia big V dark horse version is an example. It adopts a blackened design as a whole, and is equipped with red brake calipers, which is cooler and sportier overall, catering to the tastes of young people pursuing individuality. The interior features a red-and-black contrast interior, including a red-and-black steering wheel, interior door panels, carbon fibre veneers and red one-piece seats. Nothing else has changed.
With the introduction of a new color scheme, Venucia Big V has become a new model in 2022. In terms of configuration, it is still divided into three versions of Love Bean, Top Stream, and Heavenly King, which are consistent with the previous configuration. In terms of price, it is 2,000 yuan more expensive than the 2021 model, which is equivalent to the user paying for the new color matching.
We also do not deny that many other manufacturers have also launched new colors, and even some brand colors have more serious price increases, such as Tesla, all of which are black, and want other colors to increase the price by 8,000 yuan. But the brands that do this are often car brands that are more well-known and the models themselves are not worried about selling, but brands like Venucia rely on changing colors to distinguish between old models and new models, which is easy to see as insincere.
[2] There is no core technology, the engine, the gearbox relies on procurement
Venucia mainly relies on Nissan in technology, and if Nissan does not have the right technology to give Venucia, or Venucia's model is not suitable for matching Nissan's power, it will be particularly embarrassing.
Venucia also had to solve this problem through external procurement, in fact, this problem car has been doing for a long time. Venucia Star, the 1.5T engine used on venucia big V and the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission are not independently developed. The engine was purchased from Shenyang Mitsubishi, and the engine technology is not advanced, and the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission comes from SAIC. That is to say, none of the engines and gearboxes are Venucia, or Nissan.
Without the core technology of Venucia, there is no right to speak in the use of powertrains. Second, Venucia is prone to detours and is biased. Third, once there is a problem, it cannot be solved to the user in time.
We said one by one.
First, the lack of right to speak refers to the fact that the engine gearbox that can be purchased by independent brands is certainly not the most advanced in the current independent brand. Because the most advanced engine, the gearbox, will first give itself to use. Therefore, the slightly backward engine and gearbox make Venucia's models even less competitive.
Second, it is easy to take detours, be biased, to give you an example. Venucia Star is equipped with a 48V light mix system, because when this car was launched, many other brands were also using it, because with this system can save some fuel consumption. But when it came to Venucia Big V, the 48V light mix system disappeared. It is not known whether it is due to cost control reasons or technical matching reasons. Therefore, if there is no core technology of its own, it is easy to be affected by external influences in product research and development and the use of technology, and there is no main backbone.
Third, there is a problem, can not be solved to the user in time. Since the core components of the engine and gearbox are purchased externally, problems arise. Then the user replacement and repair cycle will be longer. Secondly, after the problem occurs, the manufacturer cannot find the specific cause of the problem for a while. So in the end, it is the user who suffers.
Venucia is just a small case of automotive brands in the Chinese market. In fact, there are many similar car brands in the Chinese market. I think that with the maturity of the Chinese market and the gradual growth of independent brands. The survival of these small brands will become more and more difficult. Therefore, I think that since Venucia is already a brand of Dongfeng Nissan. Nissan's technology should be used more, especially in terms of core engines and gearboxes. Then through the appropriate reduction of configuration and price, to achieve a certain market advantage.