After the automotive industry entered the new energy era, BMW took the lead in taking the MNI brand to "open the knife" and joined hands with Great Wall Motors to help it transform into a pure electric brand. In 2018, the two sides formally signed a cooperation agreement, each accounting for 50% of the shares to establish Beam Automotive. The Zhangjiagang production base started construction in 2019 and is expected to be put into use in 2022. Judging from the recently exposed test car spy photos, the factory already has the ability to manufacture the whole vehicle, which means that the MINI electric version has officially entered the countdown stage of mass production.
MINI, which focuses on the younger generation, has now completed the electrification transformation in line with the tide, and the future should be greatly improved. But the market is changing rapidly, and the old love that has been renovated may not be able to seize the limelight of the new love. With the car less personal humble view, the electrified MINI, may not be able to reach the height of the field of fuel vehicles.
MINI has actually launched a pure electric model ELECTRIC, last year's global sales of 17,600 units, but also a good result, but the regional demand affected the data content. Due to the general narrow urban roads in European countries, consumers have a certain demand for small cars. Smaller models such as the Volkswagen ID.3, Renault ZOGEN and Hyundai KONA have all become the best-selling pure electric models in Europe. But without the support of the unique traffic environment, their market performance is difficult to say.
The Volkswagen ID.3, which landed in the Chinese market in October, is exactly the same design as the ID.3 on sale in Europe, and is an original pure electric vehicle model, with the highest sales volume of only 2646 units in a single month since its listing. One of the best-selling pure trams in Europe is a closed door in the Chinese market. Of course, there are impacts such as capacity, channels and publicity, but most people only want to look at it from a distance, I am afraid that it is still hindered by its compact sedan identity. After all, the starting price of ID.3 is 150,000 yuan, and not everyone has the courage to pay for faith.
No matter how the MINI is transformed, it is impossible to get rid of the identity of the car. Therefore, after the realization of electrification, it is inevitable that it will fall into a situation of unsatisfactory water and soil. There may be friends to say that brand, design and technology can still support MINI to win the hearts of young people. However, in the era of new energy, the selling point logic of fuel vehicles is completely different from that of pure electric vehicles.
Cute and well-behaved design, simple and portable handling and first-class driving feel are the three "magic weapons" of the MINI market. However, the wave of the new energy era has struck, and the barriers to advantages can also be broken by other manufacturers. Almost all manufacturers have abandoned the design concept of fuel vehicles when creating pure trams, and are committed to creating a sense of technological futurism. The Euler brand under Great Wall Motors focuses on the exclusive design of the female group. On the other hand, the pure electric model adopts a three-electric system, and the fuel vehicle technology has limited impact on the handling.
In addition, the auxiliary intelligent driving system is the biggest selling point of pure electric vehicles. From the perspective of reality, the great wall and BMW may not be able to inject much intelligent driving technology into the electrified MINI.
Great Wall Motor's high-end intelligent model Mecha Dragon, super intelligent perception system consists of lidar, high-definition camera and ultrasonic radar, a total of 38 intelligent perception components. The hardware equipment is of a high standard, but this does not mean that excellent intelligent driving can be achieved, because the assisted driving system needs to continuously absorb road condition data to accurately identify road conditions and make correct behavior. Great Wall Motors' database does not accumulate much intelligent test road condition information. People with simple minds and developed limbs are still easy to be bullied. Other brands such as Euler do not have any intelligent driving technology. As for BMW, the intelligent driver assistance system is still in the exploratory stage.
The design and control are no longer strong, and the gold content of intelligent driving technology is worrying, but in fact, it is not necessarily a big deal. Most critically, the market has led to a shift in consumer perceptions, which has seriously hit THE "identity" of MINI.
The rise of mini-cars such as wuling hongguang MINI EV has given many consumers a cheap cognition: "Such a small pure tram is definitely a low-end product." "Mini's pure electric version of the body data is almost the same as these small cars. The MINI logo is not highly recognizable, which is easy to be considered a low-cost scooter. This kind of "demotion" cognition, the young group that pursues face, I am afraid it is difficult to accept it.
Of course, MINI will certainly hype up and establish its own luxurious image, but the degree of influence on cognition is very limited. Why doesn't the e-commerce "Double 11" directly get the lowest price? Because it is said that it is the lowest price, you do not believe it. The awareness of discount promotions that has been cultivated over the years has made the lowest price must be added with discounts or coupons. The same product, double 11 direct sale of 99 yuan, promotion of 50% off 99 yuan, who is the lowest price in the hearts of the public, it goes without saying.
Mini's only strong now is the brand honor, but can this win the hearts of consumers? If the price difference is not large, isn't the Tesla Model 3 fragrant? In short, in the eyes of the car, the electrification of MINI, the prospects of the Chinese market are not optimistic.