In the past one or two years, the most popular automotive segment is the plug-in and mixed market. This time, independent brands sang the protagonist, and foreign capital was reduced to supporting roles. Independent car companies such as BYD have basically monopolized the plug-in and mixed market, and it can be said that they have achieved overtaking in curves. Why is that?
1. The hottest automotive segment
Under the ravages of the epidemic black swan and the supply chain crisis, the automotive market is full of mourning. In the cold winter of the car market, an unprecedented new force spewed out. This originally marginalized market segment has exploded the entire automotive industry with a "miraculous" take-off posture with continuous soaring sales. The sales volume of plug-in hybrid models in the car market in 2020 accounted for only 1.3%, and in 2021, it soared by 107.7%, accounting for 2.7%. Entering the Year of the Tiger, plug-in and hybrid models continue to be unstoppable, with sales growth reaching 198.3% in January and 338.6% in February, more than double the increase in pure electric models, with unlimited potential.
2. Independent brands monopolize the plug-in market
2021 is the first year of the outbreak of plug-in models, and the "initiator" of this plug-in feast is BYD, the leader of new energy. In January 2021, BYD DM-i super hybrid turned out to be mass-produced, and Qin PLUS DM-i, Song PLUS DM-i, and Tang DM-i fired three arrows at the same time, which opened the blowout trend of the hybrid market. According to data from the China Automobile Association, the sales volume of plug-in hybrid vehicles in mainland China in 2021 will be 600,000 units, an increase of 143.2% year-on-year. Byd's DM model sales in the same period reached 273,000 units, accounting for half of the plug-and-mix market.
After that, Great Wall, Geely, Chang'an, Chery and other independent brands quickly followed up and entered the plug-in market, pushing this feast of the times to a climax. The head car companies represented by BYD have begun to work together to besiege foreign brands in the plug-and-mix market. American, German and other car companies are lackluster in the field of hybrid, and they are not listed for the time being. Japanese brands that have always been strong in the field of hybrids, such as Toyota and Honda, have also lost in front of independent brands such as BYD. The Performance of the Japanese in the oil-electric hybrid light mixing market is acceptable, but the sales volume in the plug-and-mix market is very low, and it has collapsed.
3. The core technology is 40,000 cheaper
Whether it is from the sales volume or technology, in the field of plug-in and mixing, independent brands have achieved overtaking of foreign investors in the corner. First of all, the hybrid core technology launched by BYD and other car companies has broken the patent barriers and technical monopolies of Japanese car companies, and is obviously more advanced. Whether it is the Toyota THS that used to be known as the "world's first" or the Honda i-MMD, it is "oil-based", essentially an oil car. BYD's DM-i is "mainly electricity-based", essentially a tram. This kind of technical generation difference is the fundamental reason for the popularity of BYD's plug-in models.
Secondly, the cost of hybrid core technologies for independent brands is lower, around 40,000 or 50,000, while foreign brands are generally as high as 70,000 or 80,000 yuan. According to the data, the starting price of BYD Song fuel vehicles is 115,800, and the plug-in mixed car is 152,800, and the difference between the two is less than 40,000. The situation of BYD Qin and Emgrand is similar. In contrast, foreign brands, The Corolla fuel car starts at 109,800 yuan, plug-and-mix starts at 207,800 yuan, a difference of nearly 100,000 yuan between the two, and the same is true for passats and BMW 5 series. Independent brands rely on cost advantages, and their plug-in models are more competitive, so consumer acceptance is higher.
Why is the cost of foreign brand insertion and mixing technology high? The layout of foreign traditional car companies in new energy, especially in terms of plug-in and mixing, is generally backward, the Japanese are obsessed with HEV light mixing, and the European and American systems are not looking at hybrid. This lag leads to the lack of technical reserves for foreign brands in terms of insertion and mixing, the inability to build scale effects, and the lack of a complete supply chain system. In contrast, independent brands, especially BYD, have been deeply cultivating hybrid technology since 2008, leading the world in core three-electric technology, and have a perfect and independent supply chain system, which can achieve the key balance between plug-in and mixing technology and cost.