According to the data of the Association of Automobile Manufacturers, from January to March, the domestic A00 pure electric mini car sold 264,000 units, accounting for 24.7% of the entire new energy vehicle market.
In terms of products, in March, in addition to Hongguang MINI, the sales of QQ ice cream and Benben EV were equally strong, with monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units, of which Benben EV rose by 162.7% year-on-year, higher than Xiaopeng P7 and BYD Dolphin. In the sales range of 11-15, there is no shortage of euler black cats, leading T03 and other micro-electric vehicles.
Undoubtedly, micro-electric vehicles have become traffic codes. According to incomplete statistics, as of last year, there were more than 40 micro-electric vehicles on sale in the mainland automobile market, and in 2022, a number of micro-electric vehicles, including Hongguang MINIEV, began to launch derivative models. In the face of the consumption upgrade of fuel vehicles, the pure electric vehicle market is taking the opposite route--- low-end, for now, micro-electric vehicles are indeed hot, but whether it can continue to sell is a matter of later.
【Hongguang MINIEVGAMEBOY】
From "old man music" to personalized boutique cars
First of all, let's first understand how micro-electric vehicles have caught fire in the past two years.
2019 is a node, before this, micro-electric vehicles because of policy support, sales continued to rise, but with the decline of subsidies in 2019, the sales of micro-electric vehicles experienced a cliff-like decline. Statistics show that in January 2020, the A00-class pure electric sedan fell by 77.6% compared with the same period. At the time, it was predicted that such models would die out as subsidies accelerated.
However, in July 2020, Hongguang MINIEV was launched and quickly swept the country, and the sales of this car exceeded 15,000 units in only 20 days on the market, breaking the argument that micro-electric vehicles are not welcome, and also proving that the decline in sales is only a deviation in positioning.
【Hongguang MINI EV】
Hongguang MINIEV turns users to the young people's market, packaging products into a boutique scooter, which is different from the low-speed car "Old Man Le", and has attracted the attention of many young people through cross-border marketing. With accurate positioning, Hongguang MINIEV has won 680,000 units of sales since its listing.
Later listed Changan Ben E-star, Chery QQ ice cream, punk duoduo, etc., you will find that you are taking the same route, through the extremely low price, trendy shape and good endurance and other advantages out of the circle. These cars are very similar in terms of positioning and design.
【QQ Ice Cream】
【Punk Toto】
【Chang'an E-star】
Low price + transportation value, popular in major cities
In addition to the tide brand attributes, the hot sales of micro-electric vehicles are partly the result of policy orientation. In the purchase restriction city, the problems of expensive license plate auction and difficulty in lottery number have always plagued consumers who have just needed to buy a car, in this case, the micro-electric vehicle with unlimited license plate and no purchase tax has naturally become a fragrant feast.
For example, the price of a license plate in Shenzhen is about 50,000 yuan, which is equivalent to the price of micro-electric vehicles such as Hongguang MINIEV, Punk Duoduo, and Benben E-Star, which means that the license plate auction price can already buy a micro-electric vehicle. At a low price, buying a pure electric vehicle for transportation is undoubtedly practical for young people working in a limited purchase city.
【2022 Shenzhen License Plate Bidding】
A collated report from the Gaz Automotive Research Institute shows that among the 20 cities where Hongguang MINIEV is selling, including Guangzhou, Hangzhou and other cities with limited purchases.
In addition, third- and fourth-tier cities take the "economy" as the starting point and also target low-cost micro-electric vehicles. In the top ten cities where QQ ice cream is popular in 2021, Wuhu, Taizhou and Zhengzhou have all entered the list. Li Jinyong, president of the New Energy Vehicle Branch of the Automobile Chamber of Commerce of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, once said in an interview that in non-restricted cities, the sales volume of micro-electric vehicles accounted for 58%.
It can be seen that the attributes of scooters, as well as the trend design, micro-electric vehicles have become a weapon for car companies to harvest sales.
Hot selling is just a phased one?
But whether it can continue to sell hot, personally do not think necessarily.
First of all, there is convergence of micro electric vehicles themselves, the models currently on sale are similar in design, the configuration is similar, and the endurance is about 50,000 micro electric vehicles are about 170km, the price is higher than 50,000 yuan, and the basic endurance is 300km.
The ultimate trend of homogenization is to lead to consumer aesthetic fatigue. With the continuous influx of new products in the market, the cake is divided less and less, and the road will become narrower and narrower.
Secondly, the rapid growth of micro-electric vehicle ownership, resulting in urban congestion problems, the relevant departments will naturally take corresponding restrictive measures.
He Jianhua, former vice president and researcher of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, believes that when the development and expansion of the city cannot keep up with the progress of the industrialization of the automobile industry, it is inevitable to limit the license plate, which is not only for fuel vehicles, but also for electric vehicles. Micro-electric vehicles benefit from policy and are ultimately shackled by policy.
It is conservatively estimated that in less than 3 years, micro-electric vehicles will gradually lose the market segment of restricted cities.
In addition, when the market reaches a certain volume, the safety control of the product is bound to escalate.
In the "Special Evaluation Regulations for Micro Electric Vehicles" recently issued by the China Automobile Center, three aspects of collision safety, use safety and charging endurance are proposed for micro electric vehicles with a length of less than 4 meters. It is reported that the regulation is scheduled to be officially implemented in July this year. The evaluation tests introduced in the future will put forward higher requirements for the safety and technology of micro-electric vehicles.
Finally, back to the consumer audience.
Market consumption upgrades, consumers pursue more refined, more intelligent products is a certainty. In the past, when the SUV market first started, low-cost small SUVs were extremely hot, but such as Baojun 510 and other explosive models of the year have gradually disappeared from the public eye. The two seemingly unrelated market segments of micro-electric vehicles and small SUVs may end up in the same place.
There is even a view that the main value of micro-electric vehicles is to provide users with a pure electric vehicle experience. That is to say, many people want to buy electric vehicles, but have concerns about product technology and charging market, so it is most appropriate to buy a low-cost micro-electric vehicle as a transition.
In the future, as the penetration rate of electric vehicles gradually increases, the technology of pure electric vehicles is continuously optimized, and the functional services are getting better and better, consumers will turn their attention to the mainstream compact pure electric vehicle market, and even high-end electric vehicles.
For a simple example, with the gradual maturity of the pure electric vehicle market, there are more and more pure electric vehicles that can be selected within 100,000, so consumers will naturally buy models with larger sizes and more complete configurations. As a result, micro-electric vehicles will lose the use value of their scooters.
So, how should car companies achieve a breakthrough? Personally, I believe that the positioning and design of the product should reflect the individualization. For example, Wuling and Euler have this awareness, and they package products into users' fashion items and large toys to cater to the demands of trendy young users, weakening the product attributes of their travel tools and highlighting its playability.
In short, the popularity of micro-electric vehicles is only staged, and the development process of micro-electric vehicles is also a process of survival of the fittest, which can survive under the impact of the market, all of which have their own unique labels.