For a long time, medium and large cars are the largest luxury car segment in China, and it is also an important entry point for establishing a brand image among Chinese consumers. However, due to the long-term monopoly of the market by luxury brands such as BBA, independent brands have entered the medium and large car market countless times, but they still end in failure, and over time, this segment has gradually become an indescribable pain for independent brands.
But today, the emergence of BYD Han has completely broken this deadlock and won back a city for its own brands.
Recently, BYD released the 2021 sales data show that BYD Han sold 117,665 vehicles throughout the year, reaching 13,701 vehicles in December alone, ranking in the top 1 of Medium and large chinese brands and the TOP1 of medium and large new energy cars, ranking among the top 3 of the medium and large car market for 5 consecutive months, becoming the only Chinese brand model that can compete head-on with BBA in the medium and large car market. Among them, Han EV has sold more than 10,000 for two consecutive months, continuing to lead the medium and large pure electric car market.
On the surface, the sharp increase in sales has made BYD Han another phenomenon-level "hit". However, a closer look at the reasons for its growth, it is not difficult to find that with this model, BYD has embarked on its own high-end road.
Take quality as a prerequisite to improve product strength
In the past 2021, in addition to the electrification transformation, another frequently mentioned by car companies is "brand high-end". In fact, in the face of the environment of consumption upgrading and the rise of domestic products, most of the independent car companies choose to independently incubate a high-end brand, and there are few cases of BYD directly breaking through the siege with a single model and succeeding.
Of course, BYDHan's success is no accident.
As a model with high hopes, BYD Han was equipped with a number of cutting-edge technologies at the beginning of its birth. In terms of intelligence, BYD Han is the first to build the DiPilot intelligent driving assistance system, the system's DiDAS intelligent driving technology with strong technical support, can combine the user's driving habits, help users cope with various driving scenarios, resolve potential dangers.
At the same time, BYD Han is also the world's first new energy car equipped with blade batteries and the first in China to apply the self-developed SiC module in the main inverter, which further improves the electronic control efficiency, mileage and vehicle performance, and truly realizes the integration of high safety, high endurance and high strength.
At present, BYD Han has two models: EV and DM. Taking Han EV as an example, its four-wheel drive version only needs 3.9 seconds to accelerate 100 kilometers and has a cruising range of 550 kilometers, while the long-endurance version accelerates 7.9 seconds per 100 kilometers, but the cruising range reaches 605 kilometers. Moreover, Han EV also has the ability to charge quickly, charging for 10 minutes with an endurance of up to 135km, charging from 30% to 80% in only 25-40 minutes.
In addition, as a sustainable and evolving intelligent new energy flagship, BYD Han has also been guided by user suggestions and market demand, constantly upgrading and evolving, and improving itself. It is understood that since its listing, BYD Han has provided consumers with as many as 15 OTA upgrade services, covering three dimensions: intelligent travel, human-computer interaction, and car experience.
At the same time as the OTA upgrade, BYD Han has also successively introduced new models and configurations such as sky gray interior, smart upgrade package, 5G Danna smart music cockpit, aurora blue appearance, golden scale orange/night purple carbon fiber interior, etc., to further enhance product competitiveness.
The strength of hard-core products and the sustainable evolution ability of vehicle OTAs have also made BYD Han the first medium- and large-sized sedan with annual sales of more than 110,000 chinese brands, ranking the top camp in the mid-to-high-end new energy vehicle market.
Take the medium and large car market as the breakthrough point and raise the brand height
From this point of view, the logic behind BYD Han's success is not complicated. However, there is no shortage of good products on the market, but to make "gold" shine, it needs to be matched with a one-hit layout.
Previously, in the first time after the realization of domestic production, BBA put its medium and large cars into production, so as to achieve a double harvest in sales and brand, and also continuously promoted the medium and large car market, making it the largest market segment among luxury brands.
The same is true of BYD's high-end thinking. After all, the purchase of a medium-sized and large car of more than 200,000 yuan, for most consumers, has reached the ceiling of the car purchase budget, so the product strength and brand connotation of the car itself often determine the height of the brand in the minds of consumers.
In fact, as early as more than a decade ago, independent brands began to try to develop towards high-end. Chery's efforts from the Son of the Orient in 2003 to the Qoros in 2007 to the Ruilin brand in 2009 have become "tuition fees"; Dongfeng's high-end C-class sedan Dongfeng A9 also ended in failure.
Not only that, these cases also happened to self-owned brands such as JAC, Changan, GAC, SAIC, BAIC, and FAW. Today, BYD Khan has finally "raised his eyebrows" and made a road to hit the high-end for his independent peers.
Since the sales volume of each company in December has not yet been fully released, it is temporarily based on the official data released from September to November 2021. Among the medium and large high-end cars, BYD ranked among the top three in the medium and large car market with 10,248, 11,087 and 12,841 respectively, and the next Audi A6 opened a gap of nearly 5,000 vehicles, becoming a representative model of Chinese brands impacting the high-end, laying a good foundation for the BYD brand to rise.
While dividing the market share of luxury car brands in large and medium-sized cars, BYD has also identified the weak points of luxury car brands in the field of new energy and accurately attacked. It is understood that bydyhan has more than 2/3 of the owners from first- and second-tier cities, more than 60% of the owners from luxury brands to increase and buy, social elites and backbones are gradually becoming the mainstream user group of BYDHan.
Start with BYD Han and tell the story of Chinese car brands
Starting with BYD Han, BYD's brand high-end road has become clearer.
According to the latest sales data released by BYD, in the whole year of 2021, BYD sold a total of 730,093 passenger cars. Among them, the number of new energy passenger cars reached 593,745 units, a year-on-year surge of 231.6%, accounting for 81.32% of the annual sales. Further segmented, pure electric passenger cars sold 320,810 units, an increase of 144.95% year-on-year, and plug-in hybrid vehicles sold a total of 272,935 units, an increase of 467.62% year-on-year.
The huge basic volume, the reputation of the deep ploughing market for more than ten years, and the leading position of the early product force allow BYD to come and go freely when converting users.
"In the first half of this year, the average selling price of BYD's bicycles has reached 151,800 yuan, becoming a joint venture comparable to Volkswagen." Li Yunfei, general manager of BYD's brand and public relations business department, said in his speech on New Year's Day that in order to further enhance the value of BYD's brand, BYD expects to release a high-end brand in the first half of next year, with a price range of 500,000 to 1 million yuan, and the first model is a high-end off-road vehicle.
At the same time, the Han family will usher in a new member - Han DM-i, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology public information, the length, width and height are 4975/1910/1495mm, and the wheelbase is 2920mm. It will be equipped with a 102kW High-speed Turbocharged 1.5Ti High Efficiency Engine with a thermal efficiency of up to 40%. Coupled with the combination of three powertrains of a single permanent magnet synchronous motor with a motor power of 145kW/160kW and a dual permanent magnet synchronous motor of 160kW and a rear 200kW, the fastest acceleration per 100 km/h reached 3.7s. The total battery capacity is 18.3kW·h and 37.6kW·h, respectively, and the pure electric endurance exceeds 200km+, which is expected to be available in 2022. At that time, BYD's sales will go up to a new level.
It can be seen that with its excellent product strength, BYD Han has won the recognition of consumers in the medium and large sedan and high-end new energy vehicle market, which has also strengthened BYD's image as a leader in new energy vehicles to a certain extent, and more importantly, promoted the upward pace of independent brands. Nowadays, with the new generation of groups gradually becoming the main force of consumption, the market's interest in domestic products is unprecedentedly high, and the hot-selling BYD Han is destined to become a new milestone in the rise of domestic products.