The end of 2021 has arrived.
This year, the wave of electrification has become more and more turbulent. The polarization of new car-making forces has intensified, traditional car-making enterprises have accelerated the transformation of electrification, and major car companies have bravely moved forward on the road of electrification, and at this time node, China's earliest new energy joint venture brand has also ushered in a new starting point.
Recently, BYD Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "BYD") issued the "Announcement on The Capital Increase and Related Party Transactions of The Participating Companies", and its board of directors has deliberated and passed the "Proposal on the Capital Increase and Related Party Transactions of the Participating Companies", and its holding subsidiaries BYD Automobile Industry Co., Ltd. and Daimler Greater China Investment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Daimler") intend to increase the capital of Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Denza") by 1 billion yuan in monetary terms according to the proportion of shareholding. 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.
After the announcement, BYD said in a separate notice that the two parties intend to complete the equity transfer in Denza, and BYD and Daimler will hold 90% and 10% of dentister's shares respectively, and the equity transfer is scheduled to be completed in mid-2022.
The difference between BYD and Denza's ice and fire
Although the auto market in 2021 has not fully recovered, BYD's 2021 is a triumphant year.
In November, BYD's monthly new car sales approached the 100,000-unit mark, reaching 98,340 units, an increase of about 82.3% year-on-year; from January to November, BYD's cumulative sales exceeded the 640,000-unit mark, reaching 641,019 units, up 72.94% year-on-year. From the perspective of segmentation, new energy vehicles have become the absolute core of BYD, accounting for 91.6% of overall sales, and have once again become the leader of new energy vehicles. In the composition of BYD New Energy, pure electric models are almost the same as DM-i, of which BYD pure electric vehicle sales reached 46,137 units, DM-i model sales of 43,984 units.
In contrast, Denza's situation is both regrettable and emotional.
Its starting point is a height that many brands have never reached, and Wang Chuanfu once said: "As a child of Daimler and BYD, Denza is a brand born on the shoulders of giants." ”
In 2010, BYD and Daimler signed a memorandum of understanding in Stuttgart to jointly create a new brand, and in March 2012, the Denza brand was officially launched.
With BYD's technical endorsement, sales in Mercedes-Benz 4S stores... Denza is almost a brand born with a golden spoon, and in the years when Denza Pure Tram was just listed, the domestic new energy market did not show a blowout like it is now, in other words, Denza is facing a blue ocean, but Denza has not come up with a sales answer that matches its background.
Looking back at Denza's sales in these years, a total of 2287 vehicles were sold in 2016, 4713 in 2017, 1974 in 2018, and in 2019, when the new energy market as a whole began to stabilize, Denza was still tepid, with sales of 2089 vehicles.
The reason is that the lack of brand power in the early stage, coupled with the lack of product strength in the later stage, further aggravated the decline in depressive sales. At this point, the momentum of annual losses has lost the vitality of competing with the new car-making forces that have sprung up.
After 11 years of persistence, why is there a drastic change at this time?
The reason is sales. Such sales obviously can not satisfy Daimler; according to media reports, Daimler has described Denza as a "disaster", and there are more and more voices within it, hoping to stop denza in time; on the other hand, BYD has the ability to do a better job of Denza, so BYD's recovery of Denza's equity may be a good choice for the three parties.
Many people know that BYD's future business development will be composed of Dynasty Network, Ocean Network and an upcoming high-end brand, and now de Espress's entry, for BYD, is equivalent to having two high-end brands at the same time, which can be confirmed almost from BYD's appointment of Denza.
It is reported that BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu and Vice President Lian Yubo will serve as directors of Denza, Ai Fengjie Alex Ai will continue to serve as CEO of Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., and Zhao Changjiang will serve as the general manager of Denza's sales division. It is worth mentioning that Zhao Changjiang also serves as the director of the office of bydir auto's high-end brand preparation office.
So the question is, how does BYD, which has two high-end brands at the same time, lay out?
How does BYD lay out the high-end?
From the current environment, now is not only the rising period of independent brands, but also the best period for upward breakthroughs. Therefore, BYD's high-end layout is forced by the situation and the trend of the times.
At a recent communication meeting, BYD clearly proposed that it would launch a new high-end brand in the first half of 2022 and release its first model in the second half of the year.
From this point of view, BYD's high-end is imperative.
Some time ago, Zhao Changjiang, the head of BYD's high-end brand, also warmed up its high-end MPV and high-end SUV on the Internet, and asked netizens online about the needs of vehicle endurance, body size, configuration, and power. Therefore, in BYD's original high-end brand, it includes SUVs and MPV models. In denza's product plan for "three new products in the next two years", MPV and SUV models are also included.
So, does the two overlap? How do I tell the difference?
In this regard, BYD's explanation is that the direction of the new high-end brand is sports cars and all-terrain off-road vehicles; Denza will have its own exclusive design style, in terms of price, Denza will also play a difference with the new high-end brand, and will not be as high as the new high-end brand.
It is understood that the first car of the new high-end brand will be a hardcore off-road vehicle, priced at about 500,000 to 1 million yuan, benchmarking Mercedes-Benz G, Hummer and other internationally renowned hardcore off-road vehicles. The new vehicle is expected to be unveiled in the second half of 2022 and officially launched in 2023.
Denza is positioned in the main market space of 300,000-500,000, so the two brands will make differences in product categories and price settings.
At present, the pricing range of BYD automotive products is mostly 100,000-300,000 yuan models, coupled with the joint blessing of Denza and new high-end brands, BYD will also form a comprehensive competitive advantage, jointly enrich the product matrix of BYD Automobile, and fill the market gap. In any case, BYD has raised the brand to a new height, and what kind of play is needed next depends on BYD's wisdom.
Write at the end:
Earlier, buffett asked Wang Chuanfu a question when he invested in BYD, that is, how to maintain the company's competitive advantage, at that time, Wang Chuanfu replied: "We never stop."
Indeed, BYD's "non-stop" allows us to see one more possibility of it. Under the technical advantage, BYD is gradually leading in sales; under the sales advantage, a more diversified development of BYD is slowly growing.
Whether it is a new high-end brand or Denza, the current BYD has come to the best stage in history.
How does BYD perform next? We'll see.