The research Chinese is the "essence" of SAIC Volkswagen.
Author: Lu Weijia
There is a saying in Guangdong: "The same person has different lives, the same umbrella has different handles", which means that the same person has different encounters, and the same umbrella uses different handles.
This situation is not uncommon, if SAIC Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen Skoda are regarded as a pair of brothers, then the two brothers are highly close in birth background, the very different fate of this saying is reflected in the magic of this saying.
Especially in the past 2021, SAIC Volkswagen won the single-brand sales championship with an annual sales volume of 1342788 vehicles, compared with the SAIC Volkswagen Skoda brand only delivered 71,200 new cars, down 58.8% from 2020, and the gap between the brothers is very different.
Of course, SAIC Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen Skoda, which were originally born from the same root, can form such a large gap in fact, there are traces to follow. On the one hand, after Skoda became a wholly-owned sub-brand of Volkswagen in 2000, it has been laid out in a sinking market position, and its brand image in the domestic market is slightly lower than that of Volkswagen. At the same time, the added value of the brand happens to be the most important factor for most domestic consumers, and the brand image focusing on the sinking market is undoubtedly hindering the development scope of Skoda.
On the other hand, because the product characteristics and the domestic market consumer taste is not the same, in terms of the sense of interior grade alone, this is Skoda has always been relatively weak, Chinese consumers attach great importance to the place, Skoda models use too much hard plastic wrapping, is undoubtedly contrary to the mainstream domestic consumption habits.
For example, at the Skoda media dinner held on the Lapa Festival, I chatted with Chen Zhixiong, the stylist of SAIC Volkswagen Skoda, and learned that the reason why the models under the Skoda brand use more hard plastic parts in the interior is that the R&D team at the ŠKODA headquarters believes that drivers and passengers will not touch the doors and center consoles in most cases, so they insist on adding leather packages to the door trim and instrument table positions without increasing the cost.
But fortunately, as the Chinese market gradually becomes one of the most important single markets for the Skoda brand, the voice of the Skoda China team is getting higher and higher, and the ŠKODA headquarters is also willing to accept the suggestions of the Chinese team, and the product characteristics of Skoda's models will become more and more in line with the actual demands of the domestic market.
Brand new Kodiak
This change began with the new Kodiak. In order to highlight the high degree of attention of Chinese consumers, SAIC Volkswagen Skoda has made significant improvements to the appearance and interior of the new Kodiak.
First of all, in terms of appearance, the new Kodiak has evolved into a "flowing crystal exquisite aesthetic" on the basis of crystal-cut design elements, continuing the tough and impactful design concept of the Skoda brand, thus creating a more radical momentum.
At the same time, the new Kodiak will be equipped with a sports kit for overseas RS models as standard, which is one of the places where the domestic version of the model is added to the overseas version.
It is worth mentioning that under the implementation of the design concept of "flowing crystal exquisite aesthetics", the internal lamp cavity structure of the new Kodiak tail lamp is like a delicately carved crystal cup containing red wine, which can present a very rich detail through the light.
This is followed by the interior part, which is a top priority for the new Kodiak.
Specifically, the new Kodiak and Tiguan L have launched a new design based on the Chinese market, in response to the Chinese market's demand for large-size screens, 12.1-inch floating large screens and 10.3-inch full LCD instruments, access to the new smart car MOS 3.X system, the system includes wireless CarPlay/CarLife, OTA remote upgrade, mobile phone control car, car interconnection and other functions, in intelligent voice, intelligent navigation, smart entertainment, intelligent travel, The improvement of modules such as intelligent control vehicles is not just a star and a half.
It can be seen that the domestic version of the model is higher than the overseas version of the model in terms of fashion and technology, and to some extent, it has achieved the level of domestic "increase".
And that's not all, the new Kodiak also uses leather wrapping for areas such as door trim and center console, and under the background of 10-color streamer mood lights, the new Kodiak's sense of grade can be described as comparable to Tiguan L, and completely walks out of the shadow area of "everything is plastic".
I believe that from now on, consumers who once abandoned Kodiak on the grounds of "poor interior texture" may be replaced by the new Kodiak changes.
In addition, the new Kodiak ordinary version of the model will use the same integrated barrel seat as the GT version, whether it is the visual effect of the sense of grade or the actual ride wrapping, its performance is better than the conventional seat, and the coupe version of the GT model is also a unique model in the domestic market.
In terms of power, the new Kodiak continues to be equipped with the third-generation EA888 2.0T engine, of which the low-power version has a maximum output of 186 horsepower and a peak torque of 320 Nm; the high-power version has a maximum horsepower of 220 hp and a peak torque of 350 Nm, and the transmission of high and low power models are matched with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, with an acceleration time of 0-100km/h or 7.5-9 seconds.
In general, the product strength of the new Kodiak has been greatly improved, and the competitiveness in the mid-size SUV segment can be regarded as reaching the level of quasi-mainstream, which can be regarded as one of the pain points that solve the continuous downturn in sales performance.
In the future, if the new Kodiak who joined the "Research Chinese" team still cannot reverse the decline of the brand, then the changes that SAIC Volkswagen Skoda will make will not only be products, but also important is the brand image. However, it is not easy to reshape the brand image.
(Model picture taken by the author)
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Are you looking forward to the brand new Kodiak?
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