"When I wrote the second-generation Trumpchi GS8, I couldn't think of any of its direct competitors for a while."
On the night of Double 12, GAC Trumpchi's second-generation GS8 was officially listed, and some important basic information was first explained:
(1) The price range of new cars is 186,800-246,800 yuan.
(2) The length of the vehicle is close to 5 meters (the dual engine is more than 5 meters), the wheelbase is 2920mm, and the positioning is medium-sized SUV.
(3) At present, there are two options of 6 seats and 7 seats, and the price is the same as that of six/seven seats.
(3) Divided into the pilot series and the dual engine series, the former fuel and the latter hybrid, the dual engine version uses Toyota's THS hybrid technology.
(4) Both versions are equipped with a TorqueWave Power 2.0T engine. Yes, even the dual engine version has been replaced.
(5) The fuel version matches aisin 8AT, and the first generation GS8 is 6AT.
(6) The fuel consumption of the dual-engine version of THEDC is 5.3L/100km, and it also sends a "battery worry-free gift".
The second generation of GS8, is there market soil?
J.D.Power released the 2021 China New Car Purchase Intention Research Report in March, and the data shows that the willingness of Chinese consumers to buy self-owned brand cars has gradually climbed from 22% in 2016 to 49% in 2021, of which the post-95 purchase willingness to buy domestic cars is the highest among all surveyed people - 61%.
In short, more and more Chinese are willing to support domestic brands.
BYD Han EV monthly sales exceeded 10,000, and the top model even accounted for 60%; the tank 300 exceeded expectations, and the supply exceeded the demand and successfully went out of the circle; the SUV sales list TOP10 independently occupied half of the norm; "Wei Xiaoli" also rode the east wind of new energy and gained a firm foothold in the high-end market. Facts have proved that as long as the self-branded cars have sincerity, Chinese consumers are willing to pay.
Car building such as "sailing against the current, not advancing or retreating", the brand upward has long become a popular keyword in the Chinese car market, and everyone does not want to get rid of the shackles of "cost performance" - before thinking about how to impact the 200,000 price point, now everyone thinks about how to rush to 250,000. Nowadays, major independent brands are chasing "high-end", and trumpchi GS8, as the flagship model of GAC Trumpchi, naturally undertakes the task of rising again.
4 years ago, the first generation of GS8 in one fell swoop, the supply exceeded demand, now the times are changing, China's car market is changing with each passing day, the second generation of GS8 is back, is there still a chance?
As I said at the beginning – when I was writing about the second-generation GS8, I couldn't think for a moment what its direct competitors were.
Admittedly, at this price point, you can find a lot of excellent joint venture SUV products, such as RAV4 Rongfang, CR-V, Tiguan L, etc., and even some people say Highlander. But one from the main brand and the joint venture brand is not a consumer group, and the second is that the Trumpchi GS8 is positioned as a mid-size SUV, and it is a circle larger than these cars in terms of size.
If you go back to the camp of independent brands, BYD Tang DM and Tank 300 may be the most direct competitors of the second-generation Trumpchi GS8. However, the tank 300 emphasizes its own hardcore off-road positioning, and the audience of trumpchi GS8 is also different, one round down, it seems that only BYD Tang DM is left.
It seems that the market still has opportunities, and differentiated positioning and pricing have won space for trumpchi GS8.
23,000 more than the old model started?
In 2016, the first generation of GAC Trumpchi GS8 was officially listed, priced at 163,800-25.98 million yuan. In contrast, the second generation is 20,000 yuan more expensive than the starting price of the first generation3, and objectively speaking, the price has increased.
On October 1, GAC Trumpchi GS8 officially opened pre-sale, with a pre-price of 188,880-246,800 yuan. Soon after the pre-sale opened, the official app collapsed. The official statement: "1 hour order exceeded 500, 24 hour order exceeded 2000+", "program ape underestimated everyone's enthusiasm for ordering", and later rumors that the blind booking of new cars has exceeded 10,000, which shows its popularity.
It may be affected by the starting price of the first generation of GS8, everyone feels that the official price of the new car will be explored, and they have "expected blind booking". It turned out that the official price and the pre-sale price were only 2,000 yuan apart, and there were many dissatisfactions at once, and some people complained that Trumpchi's "honey juice" confidence was a bit floating, and some people even directly unsubscribed. But it is not strange to see, which new car listing is not a bunch of people spraying expensive?
Is the new car worth the price?
First of all, we believe that the pricing of the second generation Trumpchi GS8 is worth it.
The point that many people complain about is that the starting price of the new car is 23,000 yuan more expensive than that year, but as long as we compare the minimum matching of the new and old models together, we can find that the new car has the following advantages:
(1) Overall improvement of size;
(2) Aisin 6AT was upgraded to 8AT, and the engine power was slightly improved;
(3) The vehicle warranty has changed from the original "three years or 100,000 kilometers" to "five years or 150,000 kilometers";
(4) Tires upgraded from 18 inches to 20 inches;
(5) Add front and rear exhaust head air bags;
(6) Add a new set of L2 level driver assistance system;
(7) Reversing image becomes 360° panoramic image;
(8) The small skylight can open the skylight to change the panorama;
(9) Add electric rear tailgate;
(10) Plastic steering wheel upgraded to leather steering wheel;
(11) Added 12.3-inch full LCD dashboard;
(12) Added electric adjustment of the main driver's seat + leather seat + front seat heating;
(13) The headlights were upgraded from the original halogen to full LED.
Not to mention that the interior and exterior design of the new car and the texture of the chassis have changed, on the new configuration alone, it is already worth the difference of 23,000 yuan. In fact, the second-generation GS8 can also be easily equipped to launch a lower price entry model, but this is undoubtedly contrary to the trend of consumption upgrading, and it is not conducive to the brand upwards.
In addition, the second-generation Trumpchi GS8 not only superficially enhances the image of the model by raising the starting price, it also introduces Toyota's THS hybrid technology, and combines with its own torque wave power 2.0T engine, so as to achieve the effect of both power and fuel consumption.
Some people say that the second-generation Trumpchi GS8 is Highlander's "flat replacement" product, to some extent. After all, the minimum difference between the dual engine version of these two cars is 40,000 pieces, considering the factors of size, grade and driving texture, this difference we understand as a brand premium.
In summary, whether it is a fuel version or a dual engine version, the price of the second-generation Trumpchi GS8 is standing.
Some thoughts about GAC Trumpchi
GAC Trumpchi was also very beautiful once upon a time, a GS4 sold well, there is a great meaning of pulling haval H6 off the altar, and the GS8 launched later was also very fruitful in the early stage, and even had to increase the price of the car.
Unfortunately, the good times are not long, follow-up because of negative news and poor quality and other issues, GAC Trumpchi failed to maintain the growth trend, the past 3-4 years of star car influence downward, and because of the front running too much, Trumpchi up and down is indeed a bit drifting, the most important thing is not clear where the success is? As a result, the new car strategy has become conservative, so the subsequent launch of models has not achieved good market results.
Realizing that sticking to one's own device would only make the dream of holding on to the share get farther and farther away, GAC Trumpchi began to dare to try.
As a result, Shadow Leopard was born, although its controversy is very large, but it has achieved monthly sales of more than 10,000 results, opening up a new world for Trumpchi's car market. As for the second generation of Trumpchi GS8, it does have a lot of remarkable places, such as its dual engine power and new chassis tuning, etc., which has grown a lot.
From the Shadow Leopard and the second-generation GS8, we can see two points: one is that the technological progress of GAC Trumpchi plays a supporting role, and the other is that GAC Trumpchi actually has insight into the market and the ability to grasp the demand is still online.
But selling a car is not a hammer deal, it emphasizes the long tail effect. GAC Trumpchi must learn the lessons of the last popularity, especially the two major problems of product quality and price increase, otherwise the best product strength will be like a flash in the pan and repeat the same mistakes.
The above analysis, standing on the GS8 platform, the keyboard troll must be saying again: Collect money, to ... It doesn't matter, the product is put there, you go and taste it yourself. Friends who are interested in the second generation of GS8, I would like to remind you of three points again:
1, the dual engine version of the new car has not yet gone offline, and the fuel version is mainly sold in the early stage. Although the dual engine version accepts orders, it may not be delivered until next year.
2, the reliability of the new car is unknown, especially the dual engine version, so you may wish to wait and see before starting.
3, before buying a car, try more, do not use money.
The editor said: Trumpchi GS8 has seen the high mountains, but also gone through the lows, and now it is back, somewhat like the classic scene of "The True Colors of Heroes" - I am not proving how great I am, I am proving that what I lost must be taken back with my own hands.