130,000 Teana, Accord, 150,000 Magotan and 170,000 Envision Plus, joint venture fuel vehicles seem to be more fragrant than new energy?
With the introduction of the limited-time preferential policy, the starting price of Buick Envision Plus has come to 169,900 yuan. In fact, in the past year, there are actually many joint venture brands on the market to give greater discounts, Accord, Magotan, Passat have launched a large discount, the beginning of the month launched the Tian Lai Zhen version also dropped the price to 127,800 yuan.
The positioning of the B-class car gives the price of a near-A-class car, which many people would not dare to think of a few years ago. However, on the other hand, the rise of domestic new energy vehicles has indeed put pressure on these traditional joint venture brands. With the formation of a new market pattern through the sharp price reduction of these traditional fuel vehicles, for consumers, how to choose?
The penetration rate of new energy exceeded half for the first time, and the sales volume of joint venture brands was under pressure
In July this year, the market penetration rate of new energy vehicles reached more than 50% for the first time, announcing that new energy vehicles have officially become the mainstream of the market. From January to August 2024, NEV production and sales reached 7.008 million units and 7.037 million units, up 29% and 30.9% y/y, respectively.
The sales of joint venture brands, mainly traditional fuel vehicles, have been under certain pressure, and the sales of many brands have declined. According to the latest data, the market share of joint venture brands in August 2024 has declined significantly. The market share of mainstream joint venture brands, including FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC Volkswagen, FAW Toyota, GAC Toyota, etc., has fallen to 25.3%. Even if luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Volvo are included, the overall market share of joint ventures is only 36.8%. This change is in stark contrast to the dominance of joint venture brands in China's auto market, when German brands accounted for 25 percent of sales five years ago, while domestic brands accounted for only 37.9 percent of annual retail sales.
The sharp decline in market share is a major challenge for joint venture brands. In such a market environment, in addition to accelerating the transformation of electrification and intelligence, joint venture brands are also seeking to increase sales through exports, such as Yueda Kia and SAIC-GM have achieved certain growth in overseas markets. However, the strong growth of domestic brands has also brought considerable challenges to joint venture brands, which need to constantly adjust their strategies to cope with the increasingly fierce market competition if they want to remain competitive in the Chinese market.
Reducing prices is obviously the most direct and effective way. BMW should have the most say in this point, and after offering a large discount in order to deal with the "price war", it announced its withdrawal from the price war due to pressure from the dealer level. However, the sales pressure that followed made BMW have to readjust the preferential range, and the current preferential range of some models has even reached 170,000 to 140,000.
The price reduction of the joint venture brand "Tianji Horse Racing", who is more worthwhile
In the context of the penetration rate of new energy vehicles exceeding half for the first time, the sales volume of joint venture brands is indeed under considerable pressure. In order to cope with this challenge, joint venture models have adopted a price reduction strategy, and the prices of some B-segment models have even dropped into the field of A-segment new energy vehicles.
In fact, this strategy was also the main means of independent brands, using a higher positioning and larger bowl configuration to compete with joint venture brands. For example, the original Geely Borui, the positioning of the B-class car is cheaper than that of Suteng and Corolla. But now the market has changed, and the protagonist of "Tianji Horse Racing" has also changed.
Luxury brands have cut prices, independent new energy accounts for more than half of the market, and some B-class models of joint venture brands have suffered from enemies. The best way is to lower the price to the price range of A-class new energy vehicles, and use your own advantages to counter the disadvantages of competitors.
Take the Buick Envision Plus starting at 169,900 as an example, the sales champion at this price is undoubtedly the BYD Song PLUS DM-i. In the face of such a hot-selling model, the positioning and size of the Buick Envision Plus mid-size SUV will have some advantages, with a length/width/height of 4822/1883/1695mm and a wheelbase of 2833mm.
At the same time, the overall configuration performance of Buick Envision Plus is also good, such as 30-inch integrated curved 6K screen, electronic pocket block, 121-color ambient lighting, plus Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip, wireless CarPlay, wireless mobile phone charging and new voice engine, etc., which is more than enough to meet the needs of daily travel. At the same time, the overall chassis texture and driving experience also have good performance. In particular, the power system composed of the eighth-generation Ecotec 2.0T variable-cylinder turbocharged engine + 9-speed HYDRA-MATIC transmission + 48V mild hybrid system also has an excellent comprehensive experience in the same price range.
Of course, compared with the A-class new energy vehicles represented by the Song PLUS DM-i, the performance of the Buick Envision Plus in terms of intelligent technology is still slightly inferior. The openness of the vehicle-machine system is not high, and the voice interaction experience is not as good as that of new energy vehicles. In addition, whether it is a pure electric or plug-in hybrid model, these competitors will have an advantage in commuting costs.
As for intelligent driving, the advantages of new energy vehicles will obviously be greater. However, despite the trend of intelligence and electrification in the automotive industry, there are still many consumers who have reservations about intelligent driving technology or have concerns about its safety and reliability. Therefore, for those consumers who prefer a traditional driving experience and stable performance, the joint venture brand fuel model is still an attractive choice.
If compared according to the same positioning, these joint venture brands of fuel vehicles obviously do not have many advantages, but mid-size SUVs like Buick Envision Plus still maintain their own advantages in some aspects to compete with A-class new energy SUVs. First of all, pure fuel vehicles have more advantages than new energy vehicles in terms of service life, maintenance costs and second-hand residual value. In addition, the brand effect of these established car companies cannot be ignored, and consumers' trust and loyalty to the brand are often important factors when buying a car.
summary
In general, although the market share of new energy vehicles is growing, the fuel models of joint venture brands are still competitive in terms of service life, second-hand residual value cost and brand power after the price drops. The only question is, how long can such a price reduction last in terms of cost?
As for how to choose, if you are not very interested in intelligent driving, do not have much pursuit of the "green card", are not used to charging this way of replenishing energy, or want to buy a higher-level model with less money, then these "big price reduction" joint venture fuel vehicles are still worth considering.