The author | Wang Yunpeng
The source | Auto Grand view
In 2014, a phenomenal variety show "Run, Brother" exploded on the screen.
Many attentive viewers should remember that in addition to the strong star lineup and humorous and interesting content, this show was more eye-catching at that time, and there was a new A+ class sedan that shuttled on the screen.
On January 9, 2015, with SAIC Volkswagen's "luxury wide-body coupe", domestic consumers can also be regarded as officially recognizing this new A+ class sedan. It is SAIC Volkswagen Lingdu.
Thanks to the addition of fashionable slipbacks, sharp chamfered waistlines, and wide body while inheriting the family design language, giving the whole vehicle a stylish and sporty appearance, Lingdu is also regarded by the industry as "a blockbuster model that understands Chinese consumers before the wave of rejuvenation in the automobile market has fully arrived." ”
Quite excellent product strength, so that Lingdu at the beginning of the listing to achieve a good sales performance. The data shows that the monthly sales of the car were close to 20,000 units at the highest, which can compete with the Honda Civic.
However, due to the fact that it has not been replaced for many years, the current sales of Lingdu are not as good as before. According to the latest sales data, Lingdu sold only 5882 vehicles in November 2021, and the cumulative sales from January to November last year were only 47239 vehicles. Judging from the sales data, the current product strength of Lingdu has been obviously insufficient.
However, this problem may be resolved soon. A few days ago, SAIC Volkswagen announced that the new generation of Lingdu will be officially released on January 17, 2022, and is expected to be listed at the end of January. As a replacement product, the new car is based on the MQB Evo platform and adopts a new design language. Judging from the previous declaration information, the new car will be equipped with a 1.4T engine and provide a frameless door design.
It is worth mentioning that the new Audi A3 and the eighth generation of golf are also products under the MQB Evo platform. Therefore, digitalization may be another label of the new generation of Lingdu.
Say goodbye to the "nesting doll face" once and for all
As an upcoming replacement model, the exterior design of the new generation OfLingdu has been exposed as early as July 2021.
From the overall design point of view, the new car does not have any shadow of the current Volkswagen, and even after the logo is covered, many people probably will not feel that this is a Volkswagen brand model.
In the front face design, the new generation of Lingdu part integrates the design elements of the ID. series electric vehicle, the headlight group shape is narrow and sharp, and adds a through-line light strip connection. In terms of front encirclement, the new car is equipped with a near-penetrating grille, and the outer side has added a "figure eight" shaped diversion hole, which looks like a grin and is more "magical". According to the declaration information, the new car will provide a variety of grille internal structures for consumers to choose.
Overall, the front face design of the new generation of Lingdu has not only become more low and flat, looking very radical, but also completely different from the calm style of the past.
Since it is based on the MQB Evo platform and positioned as a compact coupe model, the new generation of Lingdu body side adopts a slip-on roof design. Of course, this style is also a common design technique on today's cars. In terms of other details, the new generation of Lingdu waistline design is quite sharp, and connected with the front wheel eyebrow line, with the rib line along the lower edge of the door, the body looks more layered.
In addition, according to the previously exposed declaration information, the new car will be equipped with 16-inch, 17-inch or 18-inch wheels according to different configuration models. In terms of body size, the new car has a length, width and height of 4784/1831/1469mm and a wheelbase of 2731mm, which is larger than the current model (the current Lingdu length, width and height are 4615/1826/1425mm, and the wheelbase is 2656mm), of which the wheelbase has increased by 75mm.
In the rear part of the car, the design of the new generation Lingdu is also different from the current model. Specifically, the new car adopts the popular through-type taillight design, and the lampshade is blackened and highly recognizable. At the same time, the English logo of "Lamando" has also been moved below the brand logo. In terms of exhaust pipes, the new car adopts a hidden design, but through the decoration to create a visual effect of bilateral co-production.
In terms of interior, according to the spy photos exposed before, the new generation of Lingdu has many similarities with Tiguan X, and the central control part adopts a dual screen and a through-channel air conditioner air outlet design. In terms of power, the current Lingdu is equipped with a 1.4T engine, with a maximum horsepower of 131 horses and 150 horses respectively. Although Volkswagen already has a 1.5T engine, it has not yet been mass-produced and loaded, so the powertrain of the new Lingdu will continue to be cashed.
7 years back still a teenager?
Seven years ago, a phrase "luxury wide-body coupe" made the Volkswagen MQB platform's first model in the Chinese market, Lingdu, kill a bloody road in a number of ordinary and moderate family car markets.
Can the new generation of Lingdu, which has undergone tremendous changes in the design level, really be able to "return from 7 years and still be a teenager" as written on the SAIC Volkswagen promotional poster?
In my opinion, the answer still needs to be marked with a lot of question marks.
First of all, from the perspective of design dimension, consumers who choose to buy cash Lingdu are largely interested in its attractive and sporty design style. The new generation of Lingdu is placed in the entire A-class sedan market, and the design style of the new car does not actually make people feel bright.
Secondly, the new generation of Lingdu is positioned as a sports car, but from the current market performance, the current understanding of sports by Volkswagen brands does not seem to accurately get the psychology of the younger generation of consumers.
Especially in the context of the continuous rise of new car-making forces and independent brands, the advantages of many joint venture new cars are gradually weakening, which can be seen from the embarrassing performance of Toyota Lingshang.
In terms of product strength, from the current information, in the case of basically maintaining the same power performance, "large size and youthful appearance" is the selling point of the new generation of Lingdu, but in this way, the positioning of the "wide-body sedan" of this car begins to become blurred, which will undoubtedly make its already fragile influence more ugly.
At the same time, judging from Lingdu's current market performance, the car has almost lost its influence in the A-class sedan market. In the future, after the listing of the new generation of Lingdu, how many young consumers can think of it in the first time of car purchase in the same price range when facing new domestic models such as Lynk & Co 03, Honda Civic, Buick Veyron, and Geely Xingrui, which has a more advantageous price?
At present, although the overall highlights of the new generation of Lingdu are not many, its new elements such as borderless doors and double screens still make the whole car look younger and more personalized. And this may help it attract more young consumers.