Changan Automobile restructured its brand: Auchan "retreated" and will be incorporated into the "gravity" system

Every reporter: Duan Siyao Every editor: Pei Jianru

The brand has been established for nearly 6 years, and Auchan is fading out of Chang'an's independent brand system.

A few days ago, the two main models of "X7 PLUS" and "X5 PLUS", which were originally sold under the Auchan brand, were launched under the names of Changan's "second-generation X7 PLUS" and "second-generation X5 PLUS", and hung the "V mark". Coincidentally, at the beginning of February this year, the official picture of UNI-Z released by Changan Automobile is also highly similar to that of Auchan Z6.

"The models we are currently selling are still hanging Auchan's Yunying brand, and when this batch of cars is sold out, it will be the 'V' mark. A sales staff of a Chang'an Auchan 4S store in Beijing told the "Daily Economic News" reporter.

The relevant person in charge of Changan Automobile also told reporters: "The Auchan brand will be divided into the gravitational sequence under Changan's own brand, and the 'V mark' will be hung." ”

In addition to the gradual fading out of the Auchan brand, Changan Automobile will also integrate the existing independent fuel vehicle resources, and gradually integrate the CS series and UNI sequence into the gravitational sequence.

The terminal reduces the price and clears the inventory

As the Auchan brand accelerates its merger into Changan Automobile, its sales terminals are also accelerating the inventory clearance.

According to the official website of Changan Auchan, it currently has a total of eight models on sale, including Auchan Z6, Auchan X5, and Changan Lumin. However, a number of sales staff of Changan Auchan 4S stores told reporters that the low configuration of some models of the Auchan brand in the store has no cars, and there are only a small number of existing cars with high configurations.

Image source: Photo by reporter Kong Zesi (data map)

"At present, there are a small number of existing cars for Auchan Z6 iDD new energy, but the configuration is not complete. The above-mentioned sales staff of a Changan Auchan 4S store in Beijing said that only one of the Auchan Z6 iDD new energy models is a 2023 Zhidian iDD 150KM flagship PLUS, and there is no existing car in other configurations.

In order to clear the inventory as soon as possible, a number of 4S stores are selling Auchan models at reduced prices. "Now the models on sale of the Auchan brand are relatively discounted, with a cash discount of 35,000 yuan for the 2023 Auchan Z6 Zhidian iDD 150KM flagship PLUS and a cash discount of 40,000 yuan for the 2023 Zhidian iDD 150KM flagship PLUS smart parking version. Another Changan Auchan 4S store in Beijing said.

The reporter noticed that Changan Auchan had previously lowered the prices of its Auchan Z6 Zhidian iDD, Auchan Z6, and Auchan X5 PLUS models, with a maximum reduction of 30,000 yuan. "After the rebranding, the old Auchan models with the 'Cloud Eagle Logo' are not easy to sell, in fact, we have been selling at a reduced price since the second half of last year. The above-mentioned sales staff of a Chang'an Auchan 4S store in Beijing said.

Merge into the "gravitational" system

The merger of the Auchan brand into the "V standard" has long been hinted at.

At the 2024 Changan Automobile Global Partner Conference at the beginning of this year, Wang Jun, President of Changan Automobile, announced that Changan Automobile will hit the sales target of 2.8 million units in 2024.

In 2018, Suzuki officially withdrew from the Chinese market after 25 years of operation, adding to the decline of Changan's joint venture brands. It is at this juncture that Changan Automobile has created the Auchan brand with the power of the brand, using a new LOGO to compete with brands such as Baojun and Dongfeng Fengxing.

Image source: Photo by reporter Zhang Jian (data map)

At that time, Changan Auchan was considered to be one of the "one body and two wings" of Changan's independent passenger car brand development, sharing Changan Automobile's global R&D, procurement and manufacturing system, and then successively launched Auchan X7 series, Auchan X5 series and Auchan Z6 and other models. As of 2022, the annual sales of the Auchan brand have exceeded 210,000 units.

However, with the shrinkage of the fuel vehicle market, Changan Auchan, which is positioned in the entry-level household market, will inevitably be squeezed in the market space. As of now, Changan Auchan has not announced the total sales volume for the whole year of 2023, only announcing the sales of the main sales model Auchan Z6 series with 121,600 units.

Some analysts believe that at the node of Changan Automobile's comprehensive electrification, the fading out of the Auchan brand is actually giving up more resources and sales opportunities for other new energy brands. According to the plan, in 2025, Changan Automobile will achieve the sales target of 3.5 million ~ 4 million units, including 1.2 million new energy vehicles, and in 2030, it will strive to achieve the annual sales target of 5 million units, and the sales volume of new energy vehicles will reach 3 million ~ 3.5 million units.

A new adjustment under the sales target of 2.8 million units

Behind the return of Auchan, Changan Automobile is undergoing brand restructuring and sequence renewal.

The relevant person in charge of the above-mentioned Changan Automobile told reporters: "Next, the CS series, UNI series, and the merged Auchan models will be placed under the Changan gravity system, which is equivalent to the original 'V standard' is now divided into two product sequences, namely Changan Qiyuan and Changan gravity." ”

At present, although "Changan Gravity" does not appear on the official website of Changan Automobile, it has made changes in the division of brands and products, including Changan Qiyuan, as well as CS series, UNI, Yida, Yidong, Lumin, X series, Ruicheng, pickup, etc. After the integration, Changan Gravity's models are mainly concentrated in the mainstream price band of 100,000~150,000 yuan, and there are fewer new energy models, including Changan Lumin micro pure electric vehicles, as well as plug-in hybrid models such as UNI-V Zhidian iDD and UNI-K Zhidian iDD.

Image source: Changan Automobile's official website

"Changan Qiyuan under the 'V standard' is a new energy product, and Changan gravity is mainly a fuel vehicle product, so as to make a distinction. The relevant person in charge of the above-mentioned Changan Automobile told reporters.

After the integration of existing fuel vehicle brands, Changan Automobile will be divided into five major segments, namely Changan Gravity, Changan Qiyuan, Deep Blue Automobile, AVATR and Changan Kaicheng. Among them, Changan gravity will still be the main bearer of Changan Automobile's sales. In 2024, Changan Automobile will sprint to the sales target of 2.8 million units, and Changan Gravity will assume the "heavy responsibility" of 1.25 million units.

"Changan Automobile will unify and integrate existing fuel vehicle brands such as the 'V' standard, UNI series and Auchan to accelerate the electrification transformation. Debang Securities Research Report believes that through the integration of existing fuel vehicle brands, we can make full use of the "Changan" brand assets and share resources such as R&D and platforms, so as to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and achieve the goal of "increasing stock".

National Business Daily