"If you don't have a dream, what's the difference between being a human being and salted fish?"
Stephen Chow's line in "Shaolin Soccer" has been cited by many as a life motto, but in fact, it is also applicable to enterprises.
On December 14, BYD made it clear at the "My Di Friends" core technology communication meeting that it will release a new high-end brand in the first half of next year, the first model is positioned as a hardcore off-road vehicle, the price range is between 50-1 million yuan, the first launch next year, and the market will be listed in 2023.
After other mainstream independent car companies have their own high-end brands, BYD finally has to take action.
Although there has been news before, the pricing of 50-1 million yuan has still become a hot topic of discussion among people inside and outside the industry. Because, BYD car has been taking the people-friendly route, from no experience in doing high-end products, until now, the price ceiling of BYD cars is only 314,800 yuan, 1 million yuan BYD, who can afford it? Who wants to buy?
These doubts are not unreasonable, but in the author's opinion, BYD's million luxury car is exactly a wise choice.
01 BYD's high-end brand is forced by the situation
First of all, BYD's high-end brand is the trend of the times, and it can even be said that the situation is forced.
From the perspective of the general environment, it is now the best period for independent brands to develop upwards and make upward breakthroughs.
In the past ten years, independent brands have never stopped exploring high-end. Because the original brand has formed a preconceived low-end image, the brand power cannot support high-end products, so the launch of a new high-end brand starts from scratch, which is easier for consumers to accept.
From Ruiqi and Weilin to Emgrand, Global Hawk, England, from Qoros to Borgward, there are both family children and imported products, but they have failed due to their own technology, immature consumer market and other reasons, until the emergence of Lynk & Co and WEY.
Although the success of the Lynk & Co brand is due to Volvo's technology, it is undeniable that Lynk & Co has truly opened the door to independent high-end, allowing consumers to completely accept 150,000 or even 200,000 levels of domestic cars.
The upgrading of automobile consumption and the changes in consumer psychology have brought fertile soil to the impact of independent brands on the high-end market, so that independent high-end brands have finally ushered in a suitable living environment. Since then, with the rapid development of automobile electrification, more and more independent high-end brands have begun to appear intensively.
BAIC's Jihu, GAC's E'an (after the brand independence in 2020, it will become a high-end electric vehicle brand), Dongfeng's Lantu, Changan's Avita, the Great Wall's salon, SAIC's Zhiji, Geely's Extreme Kr, etc., as of now, all mainstream independent car companies have hatched their own high-end brands, except BYD.
Among all independent car companies, BYD is a clear stream. When other car companies are struggling in the field of fuel vehicles, BYD has been buried in its own new energy; when other car companies desperately "have children" in order to "fight", BYD is still doing a BYD brand, even the car logo has been spat on, BYD also firmly chooses the three letters of "BYD".
Therefore, "Clear Stream" BYD has only one BYD brand until now, and now the DM series and EV series of the fire rely on the BYD brand.
From the perspective of enterprise development, independent brands have always occupied the low-end market, the profits of low-end products are very low, and independent brands that sell a car and only earn a few hundred yuan abound, far less than joint venture brands, which is extremely unfavorable to the development of the enterprise itself. If you want to broaden the development path, you must break through upwards, so independent car companies will try to attack as soon as they have the opportunity.
BYD, which has worked quietly for 26 years, has become famous under the wave of automobile electrification. Last year, BYD's market value surpassed SAIC Group to sit on the first throne, and the success of the Dynasty series made its price ceiling exceed 300,000 yuan, and the brand recognition also increased significantly.
At this time, IF BYD continues to adhere to the market within 300,000 yuan, it will not only be self-contained, but also be photographed on the beach in the high-end flow of its own brand.
On the road of autonomous high-end, BYD is already late, it can not afford to wait.
02 The autonomous high-end ceiling is constantly being broken
BYD pushes high-end brands is the expectation of the public, the key is to do more high-end? BYD itself gave the answer: the price of the first model ranged from 50-1 million yuan.
This answer quickly exploded on the Internet, because million-level domestic luxury cars are still blank in the current market.
In the field of passenger cars, independent brands have also produced million-level luxury cars before, such as the Hongqi L9 and Hongqi L5, which started at 5 million yuan, but they are mainly used to receive foreign guests, and there are almost no sales in the civilian market. At present, the most expensive domestic car on the market is Gaohe HiPhi X, with a top of 800,000 yuan.
BYD, which has always taken the national route, suddenly announced that it would do a million luxury cars, which is really surprising at first, but why can't BYD do a million luxury cars? Or is there a market for million-level independent luxury cars?
Five years ago, independent brands also collectively attacked the ceiling of 150,000 yuan. 150,000 yuan is a watershed, at that time, as long as the self-brand car is sold to more than 150,000 yuan, it basically cannot be sold. However, the independent brand has not given up, continued to set fire to the ceiling of 150,000 yuan, and finally broke this spell under the joint efforts of Lynk & Co and WEY.
After crossing the threshold of 150,000 yuan, the ceiling of independent brands has been continuously broken, breaking through 200,000 yuan, 250,000 yuan, 300,000 yuan in 5 years, and even sold to 800,000 yuan.
The top byding BYD Han with nearly 280,000 yuan and the ideal ONE of 338,000 yuan are sold more than 10,000 units a month (November 2021), and the 468,000-62.40 million WEIO ES8 can sell more than 2,000 units per month.
The most astonishing thing is that the HiPhi X, which costs 570,000-800,000 yuan, sold 763 units in November (on the risk number). As of the eve of the 2021 Guangzhou Auto Show, Gaohe HiPhi X has been delivered for exactly half a year, and the cumulative delivery volume has exceeded 3300 units. The sales of hundreds of units per month cannot be called a big sale, but for an independent luxury car of more than 500,000 yuan, such achievements are already valuable.
Why does an independent brand with no car background and no name sell for 800,000 yuan and some people buy it?
Because the consumption upgrade has spawned a group of users who pursue individuality and like to hunt for curiosity, they do not have bad money in their hands, do not value the brand when buying a car, dare to try new things, and highlight the personality.
Of course, Gaohe Auto itself also has merits, including high appearance, a strong sense of luxury in the interior cockpit, and a lot of technology to build new cars, such as the OT system that can separate software and hardware, which is in the middle of this part of the user's nostalgia. More importantly, the 800,000-level autonomous luxury car has no choice but to go to the High Hehi X.
The case of Gaohe proves that independent luxury cars of more than 500,000 yuan are not completely without a market. The changes brought by electrification and intelligence to the automotive industry, coupled with the change in the direction of automobile consumption, have provided high-quality soil for independent brands to impact the higher-end ceiling.
03 BYD's road to canonization requires a million luxury cars
The first model of BYD's high-end brand is set at 50-1 million yuan of hardcore off-road vehicles, which is actually a correct decision.
Why?
Although it firmly occupies the top position in the sales list of new energy manufacturers, and its market value also sits firmly on the throne of no.1 market value of domestic listed car companies, BYD's image in the minds of domestic consumers still stays at the low-end and affordable level, and it is not related to words such as high-end and luxury.
If a company wants to become bigger and stronger and become the real leader of the industry, it must not only be satisfied with the low-end market, but also must compete for influence and discourse power in the high-end market, which is not only out of the need to occupy more market share, but also the only way to enhance the corporate image.
BYD now does not lack platform, no lack of technology, no lack of product power, the left hand to master the "blade battery", the right hand to develop an all-solid-state battery, pregnant with DM-i supermix technology, DM plug-in mix technology, behind the BYD e platform 3.0, in addition to the independent semiconductor industry, BYD is now missing a high-end luxury image.
At this stage, the industry change and consumption environment is providing the most fertile cultivation soil in the history of independent luxury cars, at this time to build a high-end brand is opportune, the product sequence instead of the price from 300,000 to 400,000 to 500,000 yuan step by step, it is better to put in place, directly from 500,000 yuan to explore upwards, and to test the market with million luxury cars.
The price range of 50-1 million yuan is actually set very accurately, because less than 500,000 yuan is not enough to create a high-end image, and the price above 1 million yuan is easy to be prohibitive, and 50-1 million is just right.
Many consumers question: Is anyone buying a million-level BYD?
This was a misunderstanding. Million-level BYD is not for the volume, not to make money, but an "image project", in order to tell consumers: BYD can not only take the civilian route, but also can do high-end luxury cars.
As for sales, in view of the 800,000 yuan of Gaohe automobiles are willing to buy, 1 million yuan BYD should not lack consumers to try early, if there are two or three thousand orders a year, it is basically a success.
The first car positioned itself as a hardcore off-road vehicle, which was also a deliberate choice for BYD, as IT has been missing such products. The great wall tank 300 a hit and red to prove to people that hardcore off-road vehicles have a large market in China, the pre-sale price of the tank 500 is up to close to 400,000 yuan (customized version), indicating that domestic consumers are willing to spend money for a high-quality off-road vehicle.
Tank brand is a fuel vehicle, and BYD's hardcore off-road vehicle is a new energy, the probability will be launched DM-i models and EV models, the price is naturally higher than the tank brand, and then learn a trick and a half from Gaohe Automobile, unconditionally pile up a lot of technology, create a super luxury cockpit atmosphere, sell to 1 million yuan is not excessive.
Therefore, IT's very wise to set the first model of BYD's high-end brand at 50-1 million yuan for a hardcore off-road vehicle, which is also a necessary choice for its road to becoming a god.