Since around 2015, the term "new energy era" has frequently appeared in the publicity of the automotive industry, but what really makes this concept change from "verbal" to "realistic" should be counted from last year. With the continuous improvement of the industry penetration rate of new energy products, the domestic auto market has given birth to many well-known new energy models, especially Wuling Hongguang MINI EV, BYD Qin PLUS and other products, which are not inferior to the performance of fuel models at the sales level.
It is undeniable that the birth of Hongguang MINI EV not only cultivated consumers' habits for the use of pure electric models, but also brought fire to the "micro pure electric vehicle" market that was once not optimistic. Followed by products such as Chery QQ Ice Cream and Dongfeng Fengguang MINI EV, all of which have invariably pounced on this "cake", the price range of 30,000-50,000 yuan and the endurance performance of 100-200km seem to have become the current "sales code".
So, how are the "latecomers" in the micro-pure electric vehicle market performing? Take Chery QQ Ice Cream, since its launch at the end of December last year, its sales performance from January to March were 9984 vehicles, 6442 vehicles and 11687 vehicles, respectively; the monthly sales of Hongguang MINI EV in the same period were 26682 vehicles, 26116 vehicles and 41980 vehicles, respectively. Sales exceeded 10,000 for the first time three months after the listing, which is indeed valuable for a new model; but for QQ Ice Cream, which was previously pinned on high hopes, it is undoubtedly lower than market expectations.
Why can't QQ Ice Cream sell Hongguang MINI EV? From the perspective of product strength alone, QQ ice cream is no less than the Hongguang MINI EV, especially in terms of size data, and even slightly better than the latter, whether it is from the perspective of power performance, endurance performance, or styling style and configuration strength. If you have to emphasize the strength gap between the two, brand recognition and price may be the most obvious difference.
As the "originator" of domestic micro-pure electric vehicles, Hongguang MINI EV not only opens up a new market segment, but also provides a new travel and life experience under the condition of high oil prices and high threshold for pure electric products. In contrast, as a latecomer's QQ ice cream, even if the product strength is excellent, it is difficult to escape the former's "star aura", and the gap between the strength of the two is not large, and it is more difficult for hongguang MINI EV to stand out.
From the price level, at the beginning of the listing of QQ ice cream, the price range of Hongguang MINI EV was similar, all of which were sold from 29,900 yuan; but after experiencing the "price increase storm" in March, it cancelled the entry-level version of "pudding", bringing a "milkshake" after increasing the air conditioning configuration, and the latest starting price rose to 39,900 yuan. At the same time, after experiencing two price increases, the terminal price of medium and high-end models has been raised by 6,000 yuan.
As the author predicted before the launch of QQ Ice Cream: in the case of similar product strength, IF QQ Ice Cream wants to keep pace with Hongguang MINI EV, it needs to give certain discounts in terms of price or car purchase policy. Of course, in the face of the small manufacturing costs of micro pure electric vehicles, as well as the rising price of raw materials, I believe that QQ ice cream has been "tried its best" to price it.
Conclusion: Looking at today's micro pure electric vehicle market, objectively speaking, QQ ice cream is one of the few products that competes with Hongguang MINI EV from the level of recognition and product strength, but the fact that the sales difference between the two last month was 30,000 units also proves the solid position of Hongguang MINI EV market. It is not difficult for QQ ice cream to gain a firm foothold in the micro pure electricity market, but it is obviously not easy to become a pillar of sales.