"Little God Car" out of the circle, A00-level electric vehicles into the first year?

Infographic/IC.

A00-class electric vehicles have once again embarked on the "altar".

2021 is the first full year since the launch of SAIC-GM-Wuling's "little god car", Hongguang MINIEV. This year, sales remained high.

This wave of sales has driven the market's enthusiasm for exploring the mini car segment. A large number of car companies launched A00-class new energy vehicles, and 2021 was once called the "first year" of new energy vehicles.

In the view of experts, due to the relatively low proportion of electric vehicle sales in passenger cars as a whole, it is currently impossible to judge that the entire electric vehicle segment has successfully sunk and the low-end market has revived. However, low-end electric vehicles have huge development potential and market.

Blowout

Hongguang MINIEV sales dominate the list, why is the A00-class car market picking up?

Since its launch in July 2020, Hongguang MINIEV has continued to set sales records and has been called "Little God Car" because of its high sales. From July to December 2020, Hongguang MINIEV sold a total of 127,651 units, of which 35,388 units were sold in December, breaking a record high.

This achievement continues into 2021. According to the latest data from EV Sales, an authoritative market research institute, Hongguang MINIEV once again topped the global new energy vehicle sales with a wholesale volume of 39,128 units in October 2021, which is also the fifth time that Hongguang MINIEV won the global sales crown and promoted to the "five crowns". Previously, according to the data of the Association of Automobile Associations, in October, Hongguang MINIEV also won the top spot in the Chinese car list with a retail performance of 47834 units.

According to the latest data, in November 2021, Hongguang MINIEV achieved 15 consecutive months of domination of China's new energy market with sales of 45,576 units, and the overall sales volume has exceeded 500,000.

It is almost foreseeable that Hongguang MINIEV will be the sales champion of the new energy market in 2021.

In fact, stimulated by the big sale of Hongguang MINIEV, small new energy vehicles blue ocean was robbed. A large number of car companies launched A00-class new energy vehicles, and 2021 was once called the "first year" of new energy vehicles.

Before the listing of Hongguang MINIEV, Chery QQ was a household name. According to the data, Chery QQ once ranked first in the national passenger car retention rate from 2006 to 2010. Nowadays, Chery QQ naturally has to share a cup of soup.

In March 2021, the news of the establishment of Qilu New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. was spread in the market. According to reports, behind this company stands Chery Group, which plans to launch an A00-class pure electric model.

This year, on November 13, Chery Ant launched a sweet powder model, with a cruising range of up to 408km. On December 28, Chery QQ Ice Cream was officially launched, priced at 29,900-43,900 yuan, and released three models of pudding, cone and sundae, a total of seven colors, providing two endurance versions up to 170km.

In the eyes of many consumers, Chery QQ Ice Cream and Hongguang MINIEV have launched a head-on competition.

Recently, the Great Wall 2022 black cat new model was officially launched, and the new car launched a variety of configuration versions, with a price range of 69,800 yuan to 81,300 yuan, and the mileage can reach up to 405km.

In fact, the A00-class car market has been shrinking for many years. According to the 2012 Fiat Association, the proportion of narrow passenger cars in the A00-class car market has dropped to 3.9%.

Why did the A00-class new energy vehicle suddenly pick up overnight? Some analysts said that at present, Chinese cities are generally facing road congestion, lack of parking spaces, high cost of car problems, a convenient and practical, safe and reliable, economic and economical and cost-effective pure electric car, very suitable for the needs of users to travel and use.

"Hongguang MINIEV can be said to win customers with cost-effectiveness, not just because it is the cheapest." Automotive industry analyst Zhong Shi told the Beijing News Shell financial reporter that there are many low-speed electric vehicles competing with Hongguang MINIEV at the same price, on the one hand, the performance of Hongguang MINIEV is superior in the same price model, cost-effective, on the other hand, its brand effect is higher, brand awareness is larger, in the era of fuel vehicles, Wuling's van has sunk to small cities, counties, opened up popularity, Hongguang MINIEV target consumers are also willing to choose familiar brands.

Zhong Shi said that when Hongguang MINIEV first announced the price, he was also quite surprised. Because in the era of fuel vehicles, the price of Wuling's micro-surface is basically more than 40,000 yuan, the price of micro-truck is between 35,000 and 70,000, and the more expensive models such as MPV Wuling Capgemini can be sold at a maximum price of more than 100,000. "Considering the high cost of electric vehicles, the upfront sales may not be as good as fuel vehicles, and the price of Hongguang MINIEV from 28,800 is already relatively low."

In the same price, Zhong Shi believes that the Hongguang MINIEV has some similarities with Suzuki Beidou - although the body is small, it has a large volume ratio, a large available space rate, and a high practicality. However, due to the relatively low proportion of electric vehicle sales in passenger cars, it is currently impossible to judge the entire electric vehicle segment based on the increase in sales of Hongguang MINIEV and the revival of the low-end market.

potential

This year's production and sales are expected to reach 2 million vehicles, and the future direction should not be low-end

Li Weili, deputy director of the Economic Consulting Center of the State Information Center, has publicly stated that the small electrification of the middle and low end is the overall direction of future development.

Li Weili said that at present, many families pick up and drop off children or the elderly, will buy 30,000-50,000 yuan of electric vehicles, while young people in third-tier cities favor 70,000 yuan of electric vehicles, these cars are more economical and convenient, you can charge at home, no need to find gas stations.

He believes that small and medium-sized cities have urgent and motorized travel needs. Unlike large cities, the living environment in small and medium-sized cities is relatively scattered, the demand for motorization is relatively high, and there is no need for vehicles with particularly high mileage. At present, there are only 80 cars for 1,600 third-tier small and medium-sized cities, while there are only 60 cars for 1,000 people in townships and towns in 22,000 third-tier cities, which is still relatively low. These all provide a broad market for the development of electric vehicles after the subsidies are reduced.

At the end of last year, Li Jinyong, president of the New Energy Vehicle Branch of the Automobile Chamber of Commerce of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, said that in China's non-restricted cities, 58% of new energy vehicle users have purchased A00-level electric vehicles, and A00-level electric vehicles will rely on more fashionable shapes, spacious spaces, intelligent experiences and lower costs of use to take the lead in replacing fuel vehicles of the same level. Production and sales will reach 1.5 million to 2 million units in 2022.

It is worth mentioning that the development of the A00-class new energy vehicle segment will also face many challenges.

Jia Xinguang, chief analyst of the China Automotive Industry Consulting and Development Corporation, stressed that the complete equivalent of A00-class cars to low-end was once one of the reasons for the shrinking of the market segment that year.

"The electric vehicle market should be divided into different levels like cars, so it should not be understood as low-end is the future direction", Jia Xinguang told Shell Financial Reporter that the development of micro-electric vehicles, small electric vehicles and low-speed electric vehicles was relatively slow before, mainly because the policy was not clear, neither clear support nor strict prohibition, neither formulated detailed industry standards, nor included in the management of relevant departments.

Jia Xinguang believes that low-end electric vehicles have huge development potential and market, in third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities, counties or rural areas, people riding electric bicycles and transporting goods with minivans are potential users in the replacement of low-end electric vehicles. Relevant departments should clarify the relevant standards for low-end electric vehicles, and regulate them in terms of safety and environmental protection, "Now the technological progress and market development of low-end electric vehicles have been very rapid."

Beijing News shell financial reporter Lin Zi Editor Wang Jinyu Proofreader Yang Xuli