According to the data released by GAC FCA in March 2022. The Jeep brand has sold only 1 vehicle in China. So is there any hope for JEEP to re-emerge in China?
China's auto market is an incomparably open and fiercely competitive auto market. If you can seize the market opportunity, it is likely to become a brand like Tesla. But after all, the successful people are a minority, and in recent years we have found that there are already many car brands that can't stand it. For example, Suzuki Motors and Acura have withdrawn from the Chinese market. Lifan Automobile, Zotye Automobile, and Borgward Automobile in its own brands have also disappeared. So who will be the next to exit the Chinese market? GAC Mitsubishi? GAC FCA? Or Peugeot Citroen? In fact, it is possible.
So for the Jeep brand, is there any hope of re-emerging? How can it rise again? I think it's easy to say simple. It is difficult to say that it is difficult, and we must prescribe the right medicine.
Let's start with the Jeep brand itself. Jeep is not a big brand, it is a small brand that takes the personality route, I think this is whether in the United States or in China, Jeep has to insist on it all the time, the personality route does not necessarily mean niche, in fact, it can also be made into a model that sells tens of thousands of vehicles a month. For example, the Tank 300 is a very successful example.
The second point, the Jeep brand, should continue to take the route of hardcore off-road vehicles, or to be more precise, it is resolute not to give up its strong off-road capabilities. Because this is the gene of the Jeep brand, if there is no longer even this brand gene, how to convince users to buy it?
So based on the two reasons I analyzed above, let's take a look at the current domestic models of Jeep, you can know that the guide, the free light these models he does not have too much personality, and does not have a particularly strong off-road ability, he is an ordinary city SUV. Therefore, these two models should be decisively stopped and not produced again.
Then produce powerful models, such as the Wrangler domestically, and reduce the price through domestic production. I can boldly predict here that if jeep can produce the Wranglers and reduce the price appropriately, then it will definitely sell well. Because there is no hardcore off-road vehicle in the Chinese market that can compete with the Jeep Wrangler, the Tank 300 is not.
And now Wrangler also has new energy models, that is, plug-in hybrid models. In fact, this model should also be domestically produced. Because at present, there are very, very few new energy hardcore off-road vehicles in the Chinese market.
The second aspect is to upgrade the existing model, for example, Jeep's current highest domestic luxury model is the Grand Commander. The two entry-level models of this model do not even have four-wheel drive. The price of the top model is 329,800. With the tank 500 entry model 335,000. The price difference is not much, but comparing the configurations shows that Jeep is completely uncompetitive. Not only is the configuration very low, but there is also no rear axle differential lock. The off-road capability is certainly not as good as the tank 500. And the tank 500 is still a non-loader body. So how can such a model compete in the market? So Jeep should upgrade the Grand Commander to a luxury off-road vehicle that can benchmark or compete with tanks 500. Because in this market, China does not have much competition for models.
The third aspect is to develop some models with personality for the Chinese market, and also learn from the US market, which can give users full choice, and users can choose to install. Instead of following the market to launch urban SUVs. Because in the urban SUV market, Jeep is not competitive with its own brand SUV.
So through the above three measures, I believe that the Jeep brand can still be saved in the Chinese market, otherwise the domestic Jeep will really not be saved.