"Take off!" In just nine words, it is the meaning behind Denza Automobile. Just like ordinary people's homes, at the beginning of debenture's birth, its "parents" Daimler and BYD gave it high hopes, hoping to hope that the "son" would become a dragon.
On December 24, BYD announced that its holding subsidiaries BYD Automotive Industry and Daimler had each increased their capital by 1 billion yuan in monetary terms to Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. After the completion of the capital increase of the shareholders of both parties, BYD Automobile Industry and Daimler will continue to hold 50% of the equity of Denza New Energy respectively. At the same time, BYD announced that it has reached an agreement with Daimler Greater China Investment Co., Ltd. that BYD will transfer 40% of the equity of Denza held by Daimler China, and the shareholding ratio of the two parties will be adjusted to 90% and 10%, and the transaction price will not be disclosed.
Can't afford to support the "Denza"!
BYD and Daimler are two car companies, no matter which one is a heavy presence in today's automotive market. As a new energy vehicle brand jointly created by "double strength", Denza Automobile has never been able to show its due style.
On March 1, 2010, BYD and Daimler signed a memorandum of understanding in Stuttgart, in which the two sides agreed to jointly invest in the construction of a high-end new energy vehicle brand, and the DENZE Denza brand was born. Subsequently, with the joint efforts of BYD and Daimler, Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. was established. We vaguely remember that at the beginning of Denza's birth, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu once said: "As a child of Daimler and BYD, Denza is a brand born on the shoulders of giants." ”
Although Denza Automobile was born with a golden key, its development process was not smooth. Denza Automobile's first concept car was unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show in 2012, and the mass-produced version of the Denza 300 was first unveiled at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show and officially launched in September of the same year, priced at 369,000-399,000 yuan. As the earliest pure electric vehicle brand, Denza Automobile can be said to have occupied the time advantage. Because in 2014, Li Bin, who was the chairman of E-Car at the time, had just led the team to establish Weilai Automobile, and Musk had only completed the Tesla listing, so Denza Automobile was extremely potential in the eyes of people at that time.
However, in the following five years, Denza Motors seems to be in a "stocking" state, and BYD and Daimler have not paid much attention to them in addition to providing financial support every year. According to the data, BYD and Daimler have increased their capital to Denza Automobile by 5.4 billion yuan during the period from 2017 to 2020. Because Denza Automobile has been unable to gain the favor of the market after successively launching denting 400, Denza 500 and other models, Daimler and BYD have to start working hard.
Taking Denza X as an example, not only has a large number of Mercedes-Benz design elements been added in terms of appearance and other aspects, but also by Mercedes-Benz dealers
Make sales in the hope of increasing awareness and brand influence. However, the final result is indeed counterproductive, because Denza X is based on bydy BYD Tang EV600, although a lot of Mercedes-Benz design elements have been added, but still failed to attract the attention of many consumers.
Same bed, different dreams!
There is a saying that whether it is from the background strength or from the founding time, Denza Automobile occupies a great advantage, why is it always difficult for Denza Automobile to achieve results? Combined with the development of BYD and product innovation in recent years, Brother Cylinder believes that the cooperation between Daimler and BYD is more of a complementary advantage and mutual learning, and Denza Automobile is only a "test field" in the process of mutual learning between the two sides.
Specifically, the two sides seem to have long understood what they want to get from each other in the early stage of cooperation, BYD values the accumulation of Daimler's century-old automobile industry, and hopes to learn Daimler's manufacturing management experience through cooperation, and Daimler is interested in BYD's achievements in the field of new energy vehicles.
With the passage of time, BYD has indeed learned a lot from Daimler, such as the continuous improvement of the appearance and interior of the Dynasty series models. Similarly, Daimler has also successfully gained a lot from BYD, laying the foundation for its own entry into the new energy vehicle market. However, what neither side expected was that Denza Automobile did not seem to have "inherited" the excellent genes of both sides and was repeatedly frustrated in the new energy vehicle market.
In general, Brother Tank believes that the cooperation between Daimler and BYD can almost be seen as a "marriage" without any feelings, only the exchange of interests. On the basis of no feelings, Denza Automobile, as the final result of the "emotional crystallization" of both sides, may become a "victim" of cooperation.
Is there a future for Denza?
In this context, Brother Cylinder believes that this capital increase may be the final support of Daimler and BYD for Denza Automobile. Assuming that Denza Automobile has not been able to meet the expectations of both sides, then Denza Automobile may be solely responsible for BYD in the future.
For the future of Denza Motors, most media are not optimistic. According to the data, denza Automobile's cumulative sales from 2015 to 2019 were 13,800 units, compared with only 4,175 units in 2020. In addition to the lack of optimistic sales performance, the profit situation of Denza Automobile is also worrying. According to BYD's announcement, from 2017 to 2019, the investment income recognized by Denza Automobile under the equity method was -232 million yuan, -475 million yuan and -539 million yuan, respectively, and the loss continued to expand.
Combined with the current stage of Daimler's development in the field of new energy vehicles, Daimler has shifted its focus back to the EQ family at this stage, and after the EQC listing, Daimler hopes to complete the transformation of new energy through its own strength. I remember that in February this year, Daimler Group CEO Conlinson publicly stated, "The success or failure of Denza's newly launched Denza X will determine the future of the brand, Daimler has completed its cash investment in Denza, and we will continue to observe its development before making a decision." "Unfortunately, with the passage of time, the sales of Denza Automobile have not improved. Therefore, in April this year, there were several media reports that Daimler internally hoped to terminate the Denza project and no longer invest in the project, but the news was not confirmed.
In addition, Tang Shikai, chairman of Daimler Greater China, once said: "Daimler new energy products will adhere to the dual-track development route, and BAIC and BYD are two parallel lines. However, our biggest partner in China is still BAIC Group, because we invested 450 euros to develop new energy products under the Mercedes-Benz brand. It is worth mentioning that Daimler has previously carried out new cooperation with Geely Automobile, and on January 8, it established a global joint venture of the smart brand. In other words, Denza Automobile will most likely become Daimler's "outcast".
As for whether BYD will fully take over and dominate the development of Denza Automobile? Brother Cylinder believes that this possibility is not ruled out. Since the second half of 2020, BYD has sent out the message of building a high-end brand, and even in November this year, it was rumored that the first model of the high-end brand was an MPV model. Combined with the development trajectory of some independent brands in the automobile market, BYD may position the BYD brand as a mid-end brand, the Ocean series as a low-end brand (running volume), and will launch a luxury high-end brand in the future, while Denza Automobile will be positioned as a mid-to-high-end brand.
Of course, the above-mentioned brand layout of BYD is only a personal conjecture, as for how BYD and Daimler will place Denza Automobile in the future, it depends on whether Denza Automobile can "turn over salted fish" next.
summary
When BYD and Daimler increased their capital in Denza Automobile, we seem to forget that the layout of the two "parents" in the field of new energy vehicles has begun to improve, and the utilization value of Denza Automobile seems to have begun to become dispensable. Of course, "rotten ship and three pounds of nails", if Denza Automobile is subsequently taken under the command of BYD, with its strong sales network, it may bring a glimmer of vitality to Denza Automobile!