Investigation on the surge in sales of new energy vehicles: Why did it suddenly "break the circle"?

Why did new energy vehicles suddenly "break the circle"

——Investigation on the surge in sales of new energy vehicles, our reporter Liu Jin

　　In the first year of 2021, the popularity of the new energy vehicle market far exceeds expectations.

Why did new energy vehicles suddenly "break the circle" and turn many consumers into fans?

Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, what are the unique attractions of new energy vehicles?

The reporter recently selected three companies in the mid-to-high-end field of new energy vehicles to conduct experiential interviews to observe the changes in the new energy vehicle industry from the perspective of consumers, hoping to read the reasons behind the industry’s unexpected growth.

　　In the beginning of 2021, the new energy automobile industry has exceeded expectations.

Whether it is NIO’s delivery of new cars in January, which has increased by 352.1% year-on-year, it has set a new high in the number of single-month deliveries for the brand for six consecutive months, or Tesla’s sale of domestically produced Model Y and a substantial price cut have greatly stirred the auto market.

The frequent actions of new energy vehicle companies seem to indicate that the new year will be an extraordinary year for the development of new energy vehicles.

　　In fact, the hot signs of the new energy automobile industry have begun to appear in the second half of 2020.

In 2020, while global car sales fell by 20% year-on-year, sales of new energy vehicles increased by 43% year-on-year.

my country's new energy vehicle sales in 2020 will also increase by 10.9% year-on-year against the trend, and there are two good trends: the increase in the proportion of personal purchases and the increase in the proportion of purchases in non-restricted cities.

　　Why did new energy vehicles suddenly "break the circle", turning many consumers into fans?

Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, what are the unique appeals of new energy vehicles to consumers?

What are the characteristics and differences in products, marketing and services of different car companies?

With these hot topics in mind, the reporter recently selected three companies in the mid-to-high-end field of new energy vehicles, namely Tesla, Weilai and BYD New Energy's sales stores in Beijing to conduct experiential interviews to observe new energy from the perspective of consumers. Changes in automotive products, prices, marketing, and services.

I hope to work with readers to read the reasons behind the unexpected growth of the new energy vehicle industry in the mid-to-high-end field, the most intense "track" for new energy vehicles.

Diversified models

　　Many people find that there are not only more new energy vehicles running on the street, but also more models.

Is it true?

The reporter visited the stores of the above-mentioned three auto companies one by one and found that the product strength of new energy vehicles has been greatly improved, and can intuitively feel the strong development momentum of the industry.

　　In Tesla's Beijing Huamao store, two Model 3s are in the middle, with Model Y and Model X SUVs on both sides.

The three models have the same style, dynamic and fashionable appearance, and the interior is simplified to the extreme. The center console has no other physical buttons except the center control display.

　　Located in the Weilai Space of Beijing’s Blue Harbor, there are 3 SUV models on sale, including EC6, ES6 and ES8. The 3 models are spacious and atmospheric, with unique colors, and they are more textured under the light.

The showroom is full most of the time, and there will be a wave of consumers watching cars every few minutes.

　　BYD's Beijing Guorui store is small, with two cars, namely Han EV sedan and Tang SUV.

The brand's main two cars are obviously more focused.

In-store sales staff told reporters that BYD's new energy vehicle technology is indeed mainly used in the Han and Tang models.

　　From the appearance point of view, the products of the three new energy vehicle brands have an outstanding feature, that is, the design style is fashionable, which is obviously ahead of fuel vehicles of the same price, and is close to or even surpassing international luxury brands.

With the new consumption characteristics of "appearance is justice", this alone greatly enhances the attractiveness of the product.

　　From the price point of view, the products of the three car companies are distributed in a stepped manner in the mid-to-high-end price range.

After several price reductions, the Model 3 standard endurance version has entered the range of 250,000 yuan after subsidies.

No worries about selling, and continuously reducing prices, forming Tesla's unique product features.

In 2020, Model 3 sales will be 137,000 in the Chinese market, accounting for nearly 30% of the global total.

　　"There are more customers watching cars on weekends, and most of them recently came to see Model Y." Guo Xinhao, a salesperson at Tesla's Beijing Huamao store, said that Tesla adopts an order-based production model, and now it has to wait 4 to 6 to buy Model 3 The car can only be picked up every week, and Model Y has to wait about 6 months.

　　Weilai ES6 is the flagship model of the brand, with a price range of 350,000 to 450,000 after comprehensive subsidies.

The data shows that in January this year, all three SUV models of Weilai were in hot sales. Among them, ES8 delivered 1,660 units, ES6 delivered 2,720 units, and EC6 delivered 2,845 units.

Yan Jianyu, a salesperson of NIO Beijing Blue Harbor Store, introduced that NIO is also an order-based production and currently has a small amount of stock.

　　BYD Han is positioned as a medium and large sedan, with a guide price starting at 229,800 yuan after comprehensive subsidies.

Thanks to its high cost performance and safety performance, it was recognized by the market as soon as it went public.

According to data released by BYD, from the mid-July 2020 to the end of December, the cumulative sales of Han EVs totaled 28,773 in the past six months.

In-store sales staff said that if it were not for limited production capacity, Han's sales would be even higher.

　　Overall, the cost performance of the three new energy vehicles is no lower than or even higher than that of traditional fuel vehicles.

After continuous updating and iteration, my country's new energy vehicle market has become more and more abundant in product lines, and product competitiveness has also improved significantly, which can meet the diversified needs of the consumer market.

It can be said that new energy vehicles are moving from the past “relying on subsidies” to the “real market”.

Product intelligence

　　Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, what is the core competitiveness of new energy vehicles?

Intelligence seems to be the accepted answer.

The reporter visited and found that more and more new energy automobile companies are building a service system for users throughout the process of car purchase and car use through digital platforms to improve digital life and after-sales service in the car.

　　In terms of configuration and performance, the new energy models of the three companies visited by the reporter have been able to use car-machine systems and APPs to achieve various functions such as car control, service, and social networking, and software upgrades and functions can also be carried out after the vehicles are sold. Iterative optimization to realize the common and often new car.

　　Tesla is a recognized representative of the "software-defined car" in the industry.

During the test drive, the Model 3 standard endurance version can set the driving habits of 10 drivers, one-click adjustment after getting in the car, and the standard built-in assisted driving system can drive smoothly in the lane while driving. Possible rear-end collisions and stoppages can be effectively screened and judged.

If you want to achieve a higher level of assisted driving, you can purchase an assisted driving package of more than 60,000 yuan.

The owner of the car, Ms. Cao, told reporters that after buying a Model 3 at home last year, her husband quickly adapted to the assisted driving mode, and now he can hardly drive the original fuel car.

　　However, in the process of highly integrated intelligent experience, many accidents caused by loss of control have also occurred, which has become the biggest concern of consumers when buying Tesla.

With several price cuts, the configuration of Model 3 has also been lowered. Since October last year, its battery has been changed from a ternary lithium battery to a lower-cost lithium iron phosphate battery. It is the only one of the three companies that uses lithium iron phosphate batteries. Brand.

　　NIO, who insists on not cutting prices, has worked hard on intelligence.

Taking ES6 as an example, it has a range of 610 kilometers under comprehensive working conditions, and is equipped with NOMI on-board artificial intelligence system and NIO Pilot assisted driving system.

Sales staff told reporters that in addition to the standard assisted driving system, Weilai also provides upgraded assisted driving for purchase.

Since January this year, NIO has continued to exert efforts in the research and development of new products and technologies.

On January 9, NIO released the car ET7 and 150 degree battery pack; on January 25, NIO OS 2.9.0 version of the NIO car and machine system was launched.

　　BYD has set a new industry benchmark in terms of safety and performance.

Han EV is equipped with BYD’s newly developed “blade battery”, which is safer than ordinary ternary lithium batteries and has a higher energy density than ordinary lithium iron phosphate batteries. This makes Han EV safer and its cruising range has been greatly improved.

In the BYD Guorui store, the sales staff deliberately placed a mirror under the chassis of Han to facilitate the guests to check the battery location.

　　The DiPilot, an intelligent assisted driving system launched by BYD, was also applied to Han EV for the first time.

In addition, Han EV’s vehicle interior is excellent, with a full LCD instrument panel, suspended central control screen, and electronic shift lever. The interior has a strong sense of technology.

　　It can be felt that intelligence has become the core focus of new energy vehicle product competition, and the three auto companies have formed their own technical routes and made them the biggest feature of their products.

Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles have lower operating costs and higher levels of intelligence, and the competitiveness of their products has increased day by day, and consumer acceptance has also increased significantly.

From the initial questioning and wait-and-see, to now being familiar with and adapting, consumers’ attitudes towards new energy vehicles are gradually accumulating huge market demand.

Marketing digital

　　Unlike a few years ago, which was placed next to a row of traditional fuel vehicles, the new energy vehicles now have relatively independent marketing methods.

The three brands visited by the reporter, without exception, chose to open direct-operated stores in popular shopping malls such as Beijing Huamao Shopping Center and Blue Harbor, and their marketing methods were also more digital.

　　Tesla is a pioneer in digital marketing.

Different from the traditional way of buying a car, even if you are in a Tesla store, the clerk will tell the customer to log in to the official website or APP to place an order, and all configurations can be added by themselves.

This approach avoids the eloquent recommendations of traditional sales staff and gives consumers a professional and efficient experience.

Tesla's marketing work is simple, efficient and meticulous. Even on service platforms such as Dianping, all Tesla stores in the same city have unified covers and styles, and have launched the auto showroom.

　　However, Tesla's marketing model cannot be copied in many respects.

In October last year, Tesla disbanded its public relations team and became the first car manufacturer not to talk to the media.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that there is no need for public relations or media relations departments.

Tesla China continues this style in public relations.

This marketing method greatly saves marketing costs, but the drawbacks are also clearly visible.

Nowadays, there are overwhelming reports about Tesla's price cuts and accidents on the Internet, and Tesla rarely has an official response, and it is easy to give people the impression of "ignoring".

　　Weilai’s marketing work has some innovative adjustments, such as live broadcast on social platforms, short videos to introduce vehicle selling points, establishment of WeChat groups, and maintaining communication with consumers, etc., and the degree of localization of marketing is higher.

Since its APP was originally the main channel for NIO users to buy and use cars, its online operation has unique advantages. Therefore, even if offline channels are not smooth due to uncertain factors such as the epidemic, NIO can also use online channels Users provide one-to-one services.

　　BYD’s marketing has many traces of traditional models, and its official website mainly provides display and publicity functions.

When searching for the "BYD" APP, multiple names were displayed. Among them, "BYD Cloud Service" with the highest download volume provides after-sales service, cloud classroom and other functions.

There are many categories of offline stores, such as Dynasty series, E series, etc., but the description information on the map navigation is not clear. It is quite "brain-burning" to rely on consumers to distinguish the store locations.

However, even if there is no "full firepower" in marketing, Han EV has quickly advanced to top-tier models after its launch, which also confirms the hard power of the product from the side.

User centralization

　　Traditional car brands are mainly engaged in manufacturing, and sales and after-sales are mostly completed by 4S stores and dealers. New energy car brands, especially new car manufacturers, are born with their own Internet genes and have a closer relationship with users, so they pay more attention to service links .

From "manufacturing" to "manufacturing + service", creating products and services with users as the center is gradually becoming a new trend in the development of the new energy automobile industry.

　　Guo Xinhao told reporters that electric vehicles basically do not need maintenance, and only need regular inspection and replacement of air-conditioning filters.

When you need to check and repair, you can go directly to the Tesla after-sales store and choose the original parts.

She told reporters, "The price is very low, and Tesla does not have to rely on after-sales maintenance to make money."

　　Weilai's services are relatively complete.

According to Chang Yuxin, the salesperson of Weilai Beijing Blue Harbor Store, Weilai has launched contactless services for more than a year. Repairs, maintenance, and one-click power-on services can all be authorized by Weilai service specialists to unlock vehicles through the NFC function. , The whole process is completed without contact.

　　In order to dispel the market’s double anxiety about new energy vehicles and new brands, Weilai also provides a lot of bottom-up services. Li Bin, the founder and chairman of Weilai, set up a user trust two years ago with a third of his shares. Funds are used to protect the rights and interests of users.

Nowadays, with the help of car-electric separation design + BaaS battery rental service + official second-hand car model, NIO is believed to have solved the problem of low value retention rate of electric cars.

　　Weilai's service touched the car owner and made himself successful.

As soon as the reporter walked into the Blue Harbor Store in Beijing, the first person to greet was a volunteer owner.

Doing my best to help Weilai has become the spontaneous behavior of many Weilai car owners. The netizen "Qigua" left a message saying, "I bought a Weilai and I would like to recommend it to everyone."

　　However, after the rapid development, Weilai's services have also begun to have new problems.

During the reporter's viewing of the car, the number of salespersons who were responsible for the introduction was changed to four, and some discounts were made on the consistency of Q&A and the convenience of communication.

As Li Bin himself said, Weilai is still in the process of growing in terms of service capability improvement, infrastructure construction, and process optimization.

　　Compared with its own products and technology, BYD's services are obviously shortcomings.

Recently, some media reported that the purchase of Han EV still has the situation of charging licensing fees, mortgage service fees and insurance bundle sales.

However, BYD has begun to pay more attention to service work and is also adapting to the new service model.

Zhao Changjiang, the general manager of BYD Auto Sales Co., Ltd., responded seriously to customers' suggestions on Weibo, and his frank attitude won the recognition of many customers.

If BYD's services are in line with its own products and technologies, the comprehensive competitiveness of its products will undoubtedly step onto a higher level.

　　At present, Tesla, Weilai and BYD have become representatives of the new energy automobile industry. In addition, there are many new energy automobile brands in my country that are growing.

Although different products and technical routes are different, many brands have stepped out of their own pace and jointly promote the development of the industry.

We also look forward to the future of new energy vehicles with richer and safer products, higher levels of intelligence, and further improvement in marketing and service levels, so that more people can become owners of new energy vehicles with peace of mind.