Relying on the sale of feelings to "re-emerge from the jianghu", Chery QQ ice cream or become a cheap brand?

Chery QQ, which has disappeared for many years, has ushered in a "return" in the form of an electric vehicle.

Recently, Chery QQ Ice Cream ushered in the listing, launching a total of three models, the price range of 29,900 yuan - 43,900 yuan. Chery has reawakened "QQ", one is the continuous benefit of the A00-level (mini-car) pure electric vehicle market, and the second point is not difficult to see its intention to sell feelings.

Relying only on "selling feelings" may be difficult to return to the mainstream track

According to the China Times reporter, Chery's iCar ecology originated from the Kaiyi Automobile brand independent of Chery Automobile in 2015 to create a smart interconnection project called "iCar", and the proposal of "iCar" highlights Chery's forward-looking, which is the earlier automotive intelligent strategy proposed by traditional car companies. However, with the market share of the Kaiyi brand has not been significantly improved, the iCar car networking project has gradually become the "PPT strategy" of Kaiyi Automobile without actual results.

In June 2021, Chery reawakened the iCar project, which became Chery's automotive ecological brand , iCar Ecology. Officially signed a contract with Alibaba Cloud, committed to creating a one-stop all-scenario solution of "thousands of people and thousands of cars" for consumers, and creating a future car life with users, iCar has been upgraded to Chery's big ecological platform, which is also an innovation in Chery's future competition.

Chery's reawakening of the "QQ" IP largely depends on the "myth" that QQ has created. After all, QQ can be called one of the most meaningful models in the history of Chinese automobiles, and it can even be said to have opened up a precedent for independent brands to launch "Shenche" to sweep the market. From its birth in 2003 to 2010, QQ set a record of 1 million vehicles. Chery QQ with its small size, cute appearance, low price advantages won the market at that time, whether it is a first- or second-tier big city, or in the fourth or fifth line or even the countryside, its figure can be seen everywhere.

However, with the rapid development of China's economy, the continuous upgrading of consumption concepts, coupled with the vigorous development of China's automobile market and the continuous upward movement of automobile brands, qq and other small models that are close to the people have gradually been snubbed by the market, which is also the main reason why it eventually came to the suspension of production and delisting.

After the reappearance of "QQ", the most intuitive problem is the rapid development of China's economy, the continuous upgrading of consumption concepts, coupled with the vigorous development of China's automobile market, automobile brands are also rising, QQ has been snubbed by the market before, how many opportunities are there to return to the market?

The first is to sell "feelings" to whom? Zhou Lijun, president of the E-Car Research Institute, told the "China Times" reporter: "Fifteen years ago, the part of the users who bought Chery QQ will gradually retire one after another, or close to the retirement age. Today's core users are estimated to be 'small town aunts'. ”

It is not difficult to find that if you want to create a "phenomenon-level" model again, it is not enough to rely on feelings, after all, today is different from the past, if there is no absolute innovation and influence and excellent technical support, it will even cause consumers' "aesthetic fatigue".

Auto analyst Ren Wanfu told the "China Times" reporter: "Now the market demand is constantly released, for enterprises, the most important thing is to be able to do a good job in product positioning, products and prices are competitive, if you can do these points, I believe consumers are still willing to pay." From the perspective of consumer positioning, old consumers are old, new consumers are coming again, this market has several parts of the population, the old generation of upgraded users, young female consumers (just take this or single or purely for fun or demand is to be able to walk or or the radius of life is very small people), a small number of consumers for the number, the radius of life is relatively small in the city or county consumers and so on. ”

In Ren Wanfu's view, many companies are mentioning words such as "diversification", "innovation" and "micro-innovation", but few companies can really understand and have the courage to try, always after other companies launch explosive models or dig out consumer needs, only after hindsight, and even a rush of follow-up. A00, A0 level market demand will always exist, but the market size varies at different stages. As mentioned above, new entries and re-entrants are not a problem, opportunities are equal to everyone, and success or failure is the embodiment of the comprehensive strength of enterprises.

High-end, joint venture, and new energy are all shackled

Chery Holding Group (hereinafter referred to as "Chery") also released its 2022 sales plan, proposing to ensure annual sales of 1.5 million vehicles, strive for 2 million vehicles, and annual operating income of 200 billion yuan. Being able to set such a goal also stems from Chery's performance in 2021.

According to the data released by Chery, in the first 11 months of 2021, Chery Group sold a total of 850,000 vehicles, an increase of 38.3% year-on-year, higher than the industry growth rate of 4.5%, and the operating income was 130.18 billion yuan, an increase of 42.8% year-on-year.

Although judging from the official sales volume and the performance of the sales target set early, Chery is more satisfied with the performance of 2021 and is full of confidence in the development of 2022. However, if you carefully consider the sales data, it is not difficult to find that Chery still has barriers that need to be broken.

The first is the high-end brand Xingtu, according to the data of the Association of Automobile Associations, the sales volume of Xingtu from January to November was 32,000 vehicles, according to which its monthly sales were only about 2,900 vehicles. Gao Xinhua, general manager of Xingtu brand, once said: "As a high-end brand and strategic brand under Chery, Xingtu is the integrator of technology Chery, the forerunner of Chery technology, and the breakthrough of Chery's upward movement, shouldering the important mission of leading Chery, accelerating change, making upward breakthroughs, and fully embracing the era of green intelligent vehicles." "But now it seems that the Xingtu brand, which has shouldered such a heavy responsibility, has not yet achieved the desired effect."

In terms of joint venture brands, according to data from the China Automobile Association, the sales volume of luxury cars produced in China in the first 11 months reached 3.112 million units, an increase of 19.5% year-on-year, and the growth momentum was still rapid. However, Chery Jaguar Land Rover sold only 50,400 vehicles in the first 11 months, accounting for less than 0.02%.

In terms of new energy, although official data shows that Chery New Energy's cumulative sales in the first 11 months were nearly 89,000 vehicles, an increase of 145.2% year-on-year. However, a longitudinal comparison can be found that there are problems with its sales structure. Chery eQ sold about 66,900 vehicles in the first 11 months, accounting for nearly 75% of the total Chery New Energy. However, Chery New Energy has many products, in addition to eQ, there are many products such as big ants, Tiggo e, Arrizo e and so on. However, relying only on Chery eQ to gain market share, the sales structure is not healthy, and the product power kinetic energy is insufficient.

In the case of joint ventures, high-end and new energy development are relatively weak, the focus on the layout of the micro pure electricity market may also be another reason for Chery to regain the "QQ" IP. After all, due to the popularity of Euler and Hongguang MINI EV, it indicates that the A0 and A00 segments still have prospects.

Ren Wanfu pointed out: "Personally, I believe that the demand for A0 and A00-level new energy vehicle markets has been continuously released under the drive of Products such as Euler Hongguang MINIEV, and has become an important part of the new energy vehicle market, and it is impossible for Chery not to be moved. Chery has always had products in the market before, but the sales volume is average, and this time to regain the 'QQ' IP, it is also hoped that the IP can bring more attention, thereby driving the overall sales. After all, Chery needs new growth points. ”

At the same time, Chery has always advocated the layout of "having more children and fighting" in terms of brand strategy. In the early days, Chery also owned a number of sub-brands such as Kerry Automobile, Ruilin Automobile, and Weilin Automobile, but the operation was not ideal, resulting in the suspension of production and the sale of cheap sales. Today, Chery is only left with Xingtu, Chery, and Kaiyi, which are responsible for the high, middle and low end markets respectively. However, due to the unclear pricing between brands and the unclear characteristics of product strength, the competitiveness of brands is insufficient, and there are even serious problems of internal friction.

Zhang Xiang, an analyst in the automotive industry, pointed out in an interview with the "China Times" reporter: "There are not a few companies like Chery that have launched multiple sub-brands, and such a layout puts the company in a strategic position that can be attacked and retreated, if the brand sells well, it can be independent, and if it is not sold well, it can be abandoned." This is a test for different market segments, if successful, you can continue to invest in the brand, if you fail, you can also stop the brand strategy in time. Launch multiple brands at the same time, after all, as long as there are one or two successes, it is not a failure. ”

In Zhou Lijun's view, if the effect is remarkable after the reawakening of "QQ", once the amount is on, then the probability of the future or its independence into another sub-brand is very high. Ren Wanfu also holds the same view: "In Chery's style, if QQ Ice Cream is successful, it is not impossible to build a cheap brand. ”

Responsible Editor: Li Yan'an Editor-in-Chief: Yu Jianping