On June 19, the new generation of Haval H6 was officially launched, with a price range of 117,900-143,900 yuan, and a price range of 103,900-129,900 yuan after comprehensive discounts.
Although only a gasoline version will be launched in the early stage, the model equipped with Hi4 hybrid technology will be launched later.
In the market environment that matches the launch of the new generation Haval H6, in the past six months, the cumulative sales of the Haval H6 have reached 87,000 units, ranking 10th in the SUV sales list. In the market segment, the pure electric SUV Tesla Modle Y and the plug-in hybrid SUV BYD Song Pro/Plus dominate the top three.
Needless to say, for any model, the primary purpose of the replacement is to stimulate sales.
Obviously, if the new generation of Haval H6 wants to quickly boost sales, the best choice is to play freely in the field of new energy technology. And Great Wall Motors has no shortage of technical reserves, such as the Hi4 hybrid technology, which has been fully verified by the market.
However, for the launch of new cars, Great Wall Motors still chose the order of the gasoline version first, and the hybrid version last.
I believe that this is not the decision of Great Wall Motors to draw lots. This requires further clarification of the real market logic of the new generation of Haval H6.
01
First of all, let's take a look at where the new generation of Haval H6 is mainly "new".
Wei Jianjun said that the new generation of Haval H6 is a particularly large facelift, in the power, intelligence, cockpit, safety and other aspects have been upgraded, although the appearance has not changed much, but the core technology in the car has changed.
Therefore, the upgrade of the new generation of Haval H6 is the improvement of the bottom line, the value of the improvement, and the improvement of technology.
For example, in terms of power, while the 2.0T engine is returning, the transverse 9DCT equipped with the new generation Haval H6 has invested 500 million yuan in research and development and 1 billion yuan in production alone, which can represent the world's leading transmission level. It has the characteristics of fast power response, high-speed energy saving, low high-speed cruising speed, smoothness, dense speed ratio, etc., and uses 9 gears at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour, and the engine speed is less than 2000 rpm.
Technology is the fundamental solution to the problem.
The combination of 2.0T + 9DCT of the new car, under the premise that the fuel consumption is only 7.5L per 100 kilometers, the maximum horsepower can reach 238PS, and the maximum torque can reach 385N.m, which is completely the performance of medium-sized and even medium-large SUVs.
While strengthening performance, the new generation of Haval H6 also makes up for the shortcomings in intelligence.
The new car is equipped with 8155 automotive-grade chips and Coffee OS 2 cockpit system, and can be equipped with HICAR and ICCOA in terms of vehicle-machine interconnection, which can support the wireless interconnection of most mobile phones on the market. It is equipped with a Level 2 intelligent driving assistance system, equipped with nearly 20 driving assistance functions such as adaptive cruise, intelligent cruise, lane assist, collision warning, and automatic braking.
In terms of materials, the new generation of Haval H6 is also more solid. Of course, the "materials" here refer to two aspects.
The first is the improvement of interior texture and comfort, such as the use of a double front wall sound insulation structure, which effectively improves the odor insulation and sound insulation performance of the vehicle, such as the 9 speakers, focusing on optimizing the cost of heavy bass.
The second is the ascension based on security.
In terms of active safety, it is equipped with ABS anti-lock braking system, EBD electronic brake force distribution system, TCS traction control system, RMI vehicle rollover intervention system, HHC hill start assist system, HDC hill descent system, EPB electronic parking system, and AUTO HOLD automatic parking system.
Passive safety: 2000Mpa hot forming material is applied to key body positions, and the yield strength is equivalent to 2.35 times that of the aircraft carrier deck and 2 times that of the nuclear submarine.
Compared with the traditional 1500Mpa hot stamping material, the strength is higher, and the body crash performance requirements are better realized. More than 72% of the vehicle body is made of high-strength steel, of which hot stamping steel accounts for 14%. The one-piece hot-stamping steel door frame is used to fully ensure the safety of personnel in the event of an accident in the event of a vehicle collision.
In addition, the addition of an electric tailgate, pocket gear, dual LCD screens, 50W wireless charging and mobile phone cooling functions, etc., can be seen as a more detailed breakthrough in the practicality and fun of the new car.
It is not difficult to find that the new car is a highly targeted advancement on the basis of sticking to the bottom line. The "barrel principle" is a good illustration of Great Wall Motor's product thinking when building new cars.
The new generation of Haval H6 is the most balanced generation of Haval H6 since its launch in 2011. Like a hexagonal warrior with both civil and military skills.
02
In fact, we know it, and Great Wall Motors itself knows better. Even so, it is difficult for the new generation of Haval H6 to reproduce the fierce life of the highest monthly sales of more than 80,000 units that year.
This is a change of circumstance that does not depend on human signification.
Tesla Modle Y is the sales champion of the entire SUV market in the past six months, with a cumulative total of 226762 units, and the average monthly sales volume is only about 38,000 units. It's less than half of the era of Haval H6 dominance.
This is the status quo of the market, which has been irreparably differentiated, and the era of absolute large single products has passed, since the peak can no longer be seen.
Then, Haval H6, as the Great Wall Motor, as the most important model of the Haval brand, will inevitably face a new market strategy choice.
First, the pattern of globalization has been laid.
In 2023, the annual sales of the Haval brand will reach 715188 units, a year-on-year increase of 16.00%. By the end of 2023, the cumulative global sales of the Haval brand will exceed 9 million units, becoming the first Chinese SUV brand with global sales approaching 10 million.
In the past 12 years, the Haval H6 has accumulated more than 4 million users worldwide, and has been sold well in important overseas markets such as Brazil, Chile, Thailand, the Philippines, and Australia.
As Wei Jianjun said at the shareholders' meeting in May this year, new energy is China's strategy, not the strategy of other countries.
This means that in the overseas market, the pure fuel version of the new generation of Haval H6 still has a huge market space. This is also the main reason why Great Wall Motors is willing to invest so much manpower and material resources in the research and development and mass production of 9DCT gearboxes in the context of the current new energy popularity in the domestic market, and is also willing to spare no effort to bring the best Haval H6 to the market.
With the new generation of Haval H6 as evidence, Great Wall Motor's vision has been fully expanded to a global scope, not only limited to the domestic market.
Second, the product pattern from "advanced soldiers" to "multi-dimensional breakthroughs" has been formed.
In 2019, the sales volume of the Haval H6 reached 386,000 units, and led the Haval brand to a good result of 769,000 units.
In 2023, Haval H6 will sell 218,000 units, and in just 4 years, the annual sales of Haval H6 have fallen by nearly 170,000 units. For a time, the remarks of Haval H6 "falling off the altar" were very loud.
However, the comparison of the data should not end there.
In 2023, the Haval brand will sell 715,000 units, only about 50,000 fewer than in 2019. In other words, more than 120,000 other models of Haval have strongly intervened in the market and successfully regained the market share of Haval H6.
These products not only include new traffic models such as the second-generation Haval Big Dog and Haval Thunder, but also 77,000 new energy models of the Haval brand. The prices of these replacements are all higher than that of the Haval H6.
Obviously, the innovation of Haval brand supplies, scientific and technological innovation, and technical route innovation have improved the quality of the production line and formed the advantage of group operations.
The Haval brand has the conditions, exchanging space for time, and the renewal of Haval H6, especially the comprehensive upgrade in the field of intelligence, is a license in accordance with the established rhythm.
The third is the "ecological war" of the Great Wall, ushering in the strategy of "big cycle".
The product strategy of Haval H6 in a certain period of time in the future must be a parallel way of dual technology routes of fuel + hybrid. Fuel is mainly in the overseas market, and fuel + hybrid is mainly in the domestic market.
As for the specific Hi4 version, why is it delayed?
Zhao Yongpo, general manager of the Haval brand, explained that the Hi4 version will increase the cost by about 35,000 yuan compared with the fuel version. The pricing is high, which will affect the user experience; If the pricing is low, it will affect the overall benefit.
Zhao Yongbo's explanation is, of course, a reliable answer. To this end, he even used the process and materials used in the new car as an example to prove why the Hi4 version has a high cost.
But the truth is not absolute.
At present, only the second-generation Haval big dog of the Haval brand has launched a full-technology route model in addition to pure electric, which is very revealing.
Haval's second-generation Big Dog Fuel Edition (1.5T/2.0T) has an official guide price of 135,800-156,800 yuan, Haval's second-generation Big Dog Plug-in Hybrid Edition (DHT-PHEV technology) has an official guide price of 162,800-175,800 yuan, and Haval's second-generation Big Dog Hi4 Edition has an official guide price of 179,800 yuan.
It can be clearly seen that what Zhao Yongpo said, "the Hi4 version will increase the cost by about 35,000 compared with the fuel version" is real. Because the market guide price of the second-generation Haval big dog Hi4 version is about 35,000 yuan more expensive than the fuel version.
However, the guide price of the second-generation Haval big dog Hi4 version and the plug-in hybrid version is very close. In other words, Hi4 will not be "outrageous". Since the second-generation Haval big dog can push three technical routes at the same time, why can't the Haval H6?
The answer is, not really!
The second-generation Haval big dog is positioned as a mild off-road, which is a new product under Great Wall Motor's insistence on category innovation. The model positioning determines that the market of Haval big dogs is niche.
However, as a classic representative model of urban SUVs in the global market, Haval H6 is not comparable to the second-generation Haval dog.
Therefore, the Haval H6 Hi4 version must be a volume, and even a hit.
As Wei Jianjun said, Hi4 technology is unique, the configuration of dual motors on the front and rear axles in series and parallel electric four-wheel drive, while opening a new generation of electric four-wheel drive, it also brings experience and safety improvements, four-wheel drive brings improvement in handling and safety, better acceleration, driving pleasure and coping with various escape scenarios. For such a product, there will definitely be a large number of users who are willing to pay for it.
At present, Great Wall Motor has built a set of forest ecosystems with the whole vehicle as the core, a comprehensive layout of intelligent and new energy-related businesses, and the coordination of multiple business sectors and continuous evolution. In the view of Great Wall Motors, this is the core competitiveness of the intelligent new energy track in the future.
From R&D to marketing, from single product explosion to system capability, it is the fission of Great Wall Motors from fist to punch. As a result, for Great Wall Motors, the time for a big cycle has come. And the first task of navigating the big cycle is to be robust.
The answer is already very clear, Great Wall Motor's system capabilities ensure the inevitability of mass production of the Haval H6 Hi4 version, and the stability must be guaranteed through the large cycle, which is the key to the arrival of the Haval H6 Hi4 version.
Great Wall Motors has always had the courage to face the problem head-on.
Wei Jianjun said frankly at the previous shareholders' meeting: The plummeting sales of Haval H6 is due to the failure to capture the hearts of consumers at the marketing level, which has led to the gradual withdrawal of this Great Wall foundation from the main SUV market.
Having said that, in fact, we see that the new generation of Haval H6 is still deeply rooted in the product and focused on the market rhythm. The new car has a marketing bonus, but it will not be bells and whistles, and it will not be grandstanding.
It is foreseeable that the follow-up Haval H6 Hi4 will be a blockbuster if it does not hit.