On the corner of a Changan Mazda 4s store in Beijing, a FAW Mazda CX-4 is parked there alone.
Hearing that I had a crush on the CX-4 and the sales were embarrassed, he asked with some uncertainty, "Sir, do you want the CX-4?" Not a CX-30? After getting my affirmative answer, he silently opened the car door and pointed to the black vehicle nameplate, "This is the latest CX-4 in our shop." ”
The information on the nameplate shows that the CX-4 rolled off the production line in February 2021 and is about to turn one year old.
"Two days ago, one of our big brothers mentioned the CX-4, waited for the car for 32 days, and finally gave him a stock car from January this year." Sales said that after the grid connection, the Mazda 4s store is mainly based on the sale of Changan Mazda models, and the two FAW Mazda models, Artez and CX-4, need to clear the inventory first.
In some secondary dealer outlets, the price of 2020 Artez inventory cars can be reduced by 50,000-70,000, and these inventory cars are mostly red and white, and the price is not as good as corolla.
Changan Mazda is sold in the same hall as FAW Mazda's models, which have not been seen in the past. However, on August 30, with the last tweet issued by the official Weibo, the joint venture brand "FAW Mazda" officially withdrew from the historical stage of Chinese automobiles. At the dealer level, the dealer stores of Changan Mazda and FAW Mazda have achieved "grid connection" and can sell all Mazda models.
Although it has been connected to the grid for 100 days, Mazda is still in the throes of change in China.
#01
Grid-connected 100 days employees are clearing inventory
In the Mazda 4s store in Beijing, it is full of the imprint of the times, and many elements of "combining old and new" are piled up in it.
There is a store, although the name of the store is "FAW Mazda", but the display board of the exhibition car is written with the words "Changan Mazda". In another store, the flyer is different from old to new, and the corner mark of Artez on the old version of the leaflet is still "FAW Mazda", and the new version is replaced by "Changan Mazda".
The clerk mixed the two leaflets, "The new flyers are the same as the old flyers, and they are printed with the same car." ”
He revealed that after the establishment of the new company in February 2022, Changan Mazda will promote Mazda's further development in China, including new model research and development and new sales strategies. He did not disclose which models were developed, but he said that all Mazda 4s stores will complete the transition to the grid by February.
"You'd better buy a car before February of the following year, because after February the price will definitely go up." One salesperson swore. His logic is that after Mazda has only one joint venture in China, the joint venture will play a decisive role in the bargaining.
"From now on, Mazda will be the world of Chang'an." This sentence is loud and clear.
Looking around the store, in the middle is a CX-5, which is Mazda's current sales force for SUVs, and the sales staff says that the Black Knight model is the most popular. The Onksela in the corner is the backbone of Mazda's sales in China, with 9,031 units sold in November, accounting for 61% of Mazda's total sales in China.
On weekday afternoons, I couldn't see too many people in Mazda's store, and the sales staff had more time to chat about some of his feelings about the grid connection.
"The grid connection should have been merged a long time ago, FAW Mazda has so many cars, accounting for such a large store is too wasteful." The salesman is optimistic about grid connection, he believes that this is the first step in Mazda's innovation, and the commission for selling cars after grid connection has not decreased.
Sales prefer to sell Changan Mazda's cars, he said, faw-Mazda's CX-4 is currently positioned awkwardly, in a position of not getting up and down. The Changan Mazda product genealogy is very clear, small SUVs have CX-30, compact SUV has CX-5, he will generally recommend guests to buy Changan Mazda's car.
However, the current grid connection work has not been long ago, and there is no substantial increase in sales in the store.
After the grid is connected, even some "sales special cases" of FAW Mazda and Changan Mazda are also applied to new stores along with the grid connection. Under the sales system of FAW Mazda, the red and white of Artez require thousands of yuan in additional installation fees, while some models of Changan Mazda need to add money in red and gray.
Sales said that in the future, red, white and gray "will add money" to it.
#02
Consolidation still outweighs the pros
Previously, FAW Mazda had only two major models, the Artez and the CX-4. Changan Mazda, which was founded seven years later than FAW Mazda, has four models: the Axela, CX-30, CX-5, and CX-8.
There are fewer models, coupled with the sales of the branch network, which makes dealers very helpless. Around 2019, there was a "bottom-up" independent grid connection behavior of some dealers in beijing, and this behavior was also tacitly approved by FAW Mazda and Changan Mazda.
After the grid connection, the Mazda 4s store has not affected the interests of Mazda customers, and all pre-sales and after-sales policies are still implemented. In changan mazda or FAW Mazda dealers, the preferential margins given are roughly uniform. New Mazda's 4S store can combine the strength of two channels, with more models, wider product lines and more perfect services.
Nakajima Toru, president of Changan Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd., said in an interview with the media at this year's Guangzhou Auto Show that the integration of the two joint ventures is now basically completed, followed by a further stable and smooth transition of all sales channels, and Changan Mazda provides completely unified standard products and after-sales service.
This time Mazda's official announcement and integration into the network can be said to be "the trend of the times" and "natural progress" - because "FAW Mazda" was originally a "special product" of a "special historical period".
After the cooperation between the two sides, FAW purchased the right to use the technology platform from Mazda, and many of FAW's autonomous cars also used Mazda's technology. For example, the Pentium B70 is based on the Mazda 6 platform, and the Hongqi H5 is based on the platform of artez.
The news of the comprehensive joint venture between FAW and Mazda has been spread again and again, and even the senior management of FAW Car has released a signal to the media that "a comprehensive joint venture will be opened", but there is no follow-up.
On the side of Changan Mazda, Changan and Mazda have established a joint venture with a share ratio of 50:50 to jointly discuss the introduction and research and development of vehicles. In addition, in terms of product launch, Changan Mazda has also introduced more models, such as Onxella, CX-5, CX-8 and so on.
From January to August this year, FAW Mazda sold a total of 38,885 vehicles, down 51.67% year-on-year.
When FAW Mazda is reduced to chicken ribs, it is inevitable that it will be laid off. Mazda has a total of 7 products in China, and the short product line is not enough to support the two partners, and the merger is more conducive to the intensive use of resources. Nakajima also mentioned that the original intention of the integration was to enhance the brand and value of Mazda's business in China, and to fully focus on resources, products and channels.
However, will Mazda really sweep away the chronic disease and revitalize itself after being connected to the grid?
Grid connection is undoubtedly a correct decision, and it is also in line with the expectations of most people in the industry. But judging from the speed of advancement, it seems that mazda's development trend has not been quickly reversed.
At the beginning of the grid connection, there was such an expectation in the industry that Changan Mazda may have new brand propositions, new product planning, upgrade stores, and launch more initiatives and long-term goals. But as of now, the entire grid connection process seems to be quiet, and there is no publicity.
Grid connection is a good prescription, but it is not a cure, and even whether it is a symptom remains to be seen.
#03
Next Changan Suzuki?
After the establishment of the joint venture, will the pace of Changan Mazda's introduction of new models continue to accelerate? The answer seems to be no.
Nakajima said that in 2021-2022, Changan Mazda will make improvements or remodels based on existing products. In other words, Changan Mazda does not intend to launch a new electric model.
There are 6 fuel vehicles and 1 electric vehicle, which is the "whole wealth" of Changan Mazda. Compared with other traditional car companies, the lineup of 7 models is relatively scarce, and Mazda lacks explosive models.
For a long time, Mazda has shown that it does not pay enough attention to the Chinese market. In the "2022 Post-2022 Crossover SUV Product Line Development Plan" released by Mazda Motor Co., Ltd., Mazda indicated that from 2022 to 2023, it will launch five SUV models, CX-50, CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90, and launch a model product for the EV-specific platform around 2025.
In 2016, the Mazda CX-4 was launched, and this car was a successful attempt to localize Mazda. During a period of time on the market, the CX-4 performed well, achieving sales of 61,376 units in 2018, once becoming the "hope of the whole village" of FAW Mazda. Some insiders said that as long as the development and design of consumers in the Chinese market are well done, Mazda's products can have market opportunities.
The Chinese market is becoming more and more cruel, and as of 2021, we have witnessed many international brands such as Renault, Opel, Suzuki and so on leave the Chinese market.
No one wants Mazda to be next, because more brands will make the automotive market more fun. But from an objective point of view, how long Mazda China can survive, no one can give an answer.
Can Chang'an save Mazda? Industry observers said that Changan's focus is on its own business, and it has some contempt for joint ventures. At the level of abandoning negative equity, it is almost never hesitant and soft. The cases of Changhe, Chang'an PSA, and Chang'an Suzuki are vividly remembered...
Mazda's fate ultimately needs to be controlled by Mazda China and its global headquarters. The only thing that can save Mazda is itself.
End
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