Can changing the name increase sales? Not necessarily.
Author: Old Horse
Image: Network
Before, many car companies did not care too much about the naming of this matter, but as the Great Wall released itself in this area and achieved good results, many brands also began to name their models. And not only new cars, but also some models that are already on the market have also been renamed. These cars that have been renamed are basically sales that have not reached expectations, and it is obvious that car companies want to change their names and give these cars a "change of life against the sky", but is there really an effect?
Baojun Valli
Former name: Baojun RC-5W
In August 2020, the new Baojun RC-5 and RC-5W were officially launched, of which the RC-5 is the sedan version and the RC-5W is the travel version. Both cars use the latest family design language, and Baojun also wants to present a new look of the brand to everyone through these two cars, but contrary to expectations, these two cars have not achieved the expected effect, and it can even be said that the market performance is somewhat dismal.
What to do? Major changes are unlikely, but it is okay to change the name. The sedan version does not have so many stories to tell, and the competition is fierce, there is no need for "rescue", and the travel version of the RC-5W can still be operated. So Baojun renamed it Valli and re-listed it in June 2021.
Since the previous RC-5W was not too widely recognized, Baojun did not mention this matter when it was listed on The Valley, giving it a new positioning of "large flat-floor RV" and selling it as a brand new model.
From the perspective of the entire market, Valli has no direct competitors at the same level and at the same price, which is one of its advantages, coupled with baojun's new marketing, it does bring a good heat to Valli at the beginning, and the order volume is also quite large, breaking through 8600 units in a short period of time. But since then, Valli has seemed to have disappeared, barely able to see a message of it. It seems that it is not easy for the station wagon to sell well in China, and Baojun can't move it.
In fact, I have tested Valli before, the performance is still good, the product force is more balanced, but also more mature, the appearance is definitely the most different from the place, but also the biggest selling point, plus the top compartment is more stylish. The interior design is decent and there is nothing wrong with using it. The configuration is also normal at its price point. The 1.5T+CVT is very smooth to drive, the power is enough for daily driving, and the feeling of chassis and steering also has a certain sense of quality. In general, it is still a very practical car, suitable for crock pot fans who do not have enough money on hand.
Baojun KiWi EV
Former name: Baojun E300
Yes, this second car is still Baojun, which is the more popular KiWi EV in the recent electric car, which was once called Baojun E300. Before it sold badly, I think a large part of the reason is that it was "not born at the right time". Its earliest launch time was June 2020, when the micro-pure electric passenger car market was still in silence.
After the launch of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV in July 2020, it completely activated this market segment and drove the hot sales of many models of the same level. As an "advance force", Baojun naturally will not sit idly by and ignore the hot sales of latecomers, and such a good opportunity must be seized. So the E300 was renamed the KiWi EV, and gave it a new positioning for a fashion travel item, which was re-launched not long ago.
Because of the relationship between Baojun and Wuling, many people will naturally think that the KiWi EV is the brother model of Hongguang MINIEV. In fact, this is not the case, KiWi EV positioning is more high-end, whether from the price, design or configuration, it is a boutique electric car, and MINIEV is only used to meet the most basic travel needs, the two face the consumer population will hardly overlap.
I've also experienced kiWi EV statically before and had a very short dynamic test drive, and I think its design is still the biggest selling point. Both the exterior and the interior are extremely stylish, the sense of urbanity is particularly strong, and the return rate on the road is extremely high. The feeling of driving is also completely different from the imaginary lightness, don't look at the car is very small, but the chassis is quite calm, adjusted carefully.
Although the product strength is good, I did not have much expectations for its market performance at the beginning, after all, the price of 69,800-89,800 yuan is indeed a bit expensive in the same level market of about 30,000 yuan. However, from the order volume point of view, the data is not bad, KiWi EV listed for a month, the order volume has exceeded 10,000, it seems that everyone is really no resistance to cute things.
Dongfeng Honda Yingshi pie
Former name: INSPIRE
Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen are all brands that play a relatively slippery two-car strategy, but sometimes such an operation also brings a problem, that is, there will always be one of the brother models that sells hot, and the other is slightly deserted. This is the case with Accord and INSPIRE, one is an evergreen in the B-grade market, while the other side is somewhat ill-fated.
Even dealers in order to increase sales, directly to INSPIRE gave a domineering and rubbing brother hot name: Accord King. This name did play a certain role in the circulation of the market, but after all, it is not an official behavior, which may affect the brand image, so this time the official simply gave a Chinese name: Yingshipai. After all, it is sold in China, and it is really not possible to have a Chinese name.
In contrast, Dongfeng Honda's action is a little more clever, it is taking advantage of the model modification, and at the same time officially announced the name of the Chinese, which is not so abrupt. And in the publicity has also been strengthened, from the sales point of view, or achieved a certain effect. Recently, Dongfeng Honda announced the sales of Yingshipai in November, reaching 10,054 units, and before that, it hovered between 3,000 and 5,000 units.
Although it is a brother model of the Accord, the IncePai still makes a difference in some aspects. First of all, in terms of appearance design, the business style of Yingshipai is more intense, while the Accord is more dynamic. The interior of the two cars is basically the same, but at the same price, the configuration of the Yingshipai is higher.
summary
For the Chinese people, the symbolic meaning of the name is very important, in the field of automobiles is actually the case, but for the car, the name is not all, more important is the product power and brand power, with these hard power, a good name is the icing on the cake; and the lack of hard power, even if the name is no longer crazy, it is only a mirror flower, a castle in the air, will not bring any improvement to sales.