The competition in the mid-to-high-end MPV market has intensified, how can the new Odyssey defend the ring?

Economic Observation Network reporter Wang Shuaiguo recently, the 2022 Odyssey with Honda's third-generation i-MMD hybrid system as standard was officially launched to meet the increasingly competitive MPV market.

Since the second half of 2021, a number of new MPV vehicles in the domestic auto market have emerged. At the Chengdu Auto Show at the end of August, three MPV models of GAC Toyota Xena, Dongfeng Yueda Kia Kahua and Beijing Hyundai Kustu were collectively unveiled. Soon after, Dongfeng Yueda Kia Kahua and Beijing Hyundai Kustu were listed one after another. On January 1, 2022, GAC Toyota Syna was also listed in 4S stores nationwide and started delivery.

The Guangqi Honda Odyssey is a product that has been in the market for many years, entering the Chinese market as early as 2007. According to the sales figures released by Guangqi Honda, Odyssey sold a total of 43,300 vehicles in 2021, and the cumulative sales volume in the Chinese market reached 650,000 units, which has a place in the MPV market. The new model mainly upgrades the exterior interior design, intelligent networking system, driving assistance system and intelligent technology configuration.

In terms of power, the new Odyssey follows Honda's third-generation i-MMD dual-motor hybrid system, with a maximum torque of 315N·m for the drive motor, and a 2.0-liter Atkinson cycle DOHC i-VTEC engine, with a combined maximum output of 158kW and a WLTC comprehensive fuel consumption of 5.88L/100km. Seamless switching between pure electric, hybrid and direct engine drives.

In terms of driving intelligence and safety, the new Odyssey is equipped with Honda SENSING safety supersensitive system, and the intelligent interconnection is equipped with Honda CONNECT 3.0 system.

From the perspective of product power upgrade, the hybrid system will be a major competitive weapon for the new Odyssey. GAC Honda's hybrid system currently covers many fields such as cars, SUVs and MPVs, and the hybrid models are competitive, and since the introduction of hybrid models in 2016, GAC Honda's hybrid model sales in China have exceeded 300,000 units, which will help Odyssey gain an advantage in the competition.

In addition to facing old rivals such as the Buick GL8 and Dongfeng Honda Alexon, the Odyssey will also be pursued by Toyota Xena, Kia Jawa and Hyundai Kustu. From the perspective of price, the market guidance price of the five versions of the new Odyssey is 235,800 yuan - 328,800 yuan. The guidance price of Jiahua is 288,900 yuan - 339,900 yuan; the price of Beijing Hyundai Kustu is 169,800 yuan - 218,800 yuan. The Odyssey has Xena and Jawa, and the bottom has Kustu, which can be described as suffering from the "upper squeeze and lower pressure".

But such a price layout also means that Odyssey has its own differentiation range in the market, that is, between the middle and high end. In its own range, the new Odyssey has more advantages in fuel consumption and driving flexibility than competitors with overlapping prices, but it is insufficient in power and space.

In terms of size and space, the new Aoder racing car body size 4861×1820×1712mm, less than 5 meters body size, so that it is not "parking difficulty" relative to competitors; the minimum turning radius of the same level of 5.4m, with Honda's good chassis tuning, brings a flexible driving experience similar to a car. Under the Honda MM space design concept, the new Odyssey has added a rich storage space, plus a double cross extra long rail to complete the four-way movement of the seat, and the third row of seats can be flattened, resulting in a more flexible and changeable space combination.

Industry analysts pointed out that with the full liberalization of China's three-child policy and the increasingly obvious trend of automobile consumption upgrading, there will be more and more products in the high-end MPV market, and competition will become more and more fierce.

Some mid-to-high-end products in independent brands have begun to appear, and electrification technology has been applied to seize this market. For example, at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November, SAIC Maxus released the full-size luxury smart pure electric MPV MIFA 9, which is scheduled to start delivery in May 2022. Lantu Automobile, a high-end electric brand under Dongfeng Group, released a large luxury electric MPV, Lantu Dreamer, and said that the new car will be officially listed in mid-2022.

From the perspective of recent sales, the old Odyssey has always maintained a monthly sales of more than 3,000, Kia Kahua's sales in September to November 2021 were 584, 383 and 572, respectively, with a cumulative sales volume of 1539 vehicles in three months, and Hyundai Kustu's sales in October-November 2021 were more than 1,000 vehicles. Although Odyssey is still in the lead, competitor models are also slowly catching up. Odyssey's hybrid system, along with its own user base and market reputation, will be its moat for some time to come.