In July 2020, Wuling Hongguang MINIEV turned out to be a small and cute body shape and a people-friendly price, this car has received widespread attention as soon as it was unveiled. Up to now, the cumulative sales of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV have exceeded 550,000 units, and it has won the top spot in China's new energy model sales for 16 consecutive months, becoming a well-deserved model of "National God Car".
The fire of Hongguang MINIEV has made many brands set their sights on the micro-pure electric vehicle market. On the side of traditional car brands, Changan, Chery, Xiaokang and other independent brands have entered the game, and joint venture brands such as Citroën and Toyota have also had corresponding product plans; on the other hand, low-speed electric vehicle manufacturers known as "old man le" also hope to take this opportunity to achieve transformation and upgrading to "new car-making forces". There is no doubt that all of them have one goal, that is, to grab the cake of Hongguang MINIEV.
How big is the micro-electric vehicle market?
The arrival of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV has made people see the huge potential of the micro-electric vehicle market. However, before that, the mini car market also had pioneers, but their ends were mostly very dismal. The reason why micro-electric vehicles such as Hongguang MINIEV will catch fire is that the timing is on the one hand, and it is also the key to grasping the gap in the transition between "old man music" and "passenger cars".
Previously, according to statistics, since 2013, the low-speed electric vehicle market has maintained a rapid growth rate of more than 50% for several consecutive years. Up to now, the market ownership of "Old Man Le" has reached 10 million.
The barbaric growth of "old man music" has laid the groundwork for the rise of the micro-electric vehicle market. At the end of 2018, the state pressed the pause button for the security risks of "old man music". In this context, the retirement of "Old Man Le" just completed the listing of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV. As an A00-class electric vehicle with a starting price of only 28,800, in addition to being able to legally go on the road, it also has the attribute of a tide brand, which not only perfectly fills the market gap after the absence of "Old Man Le", but also injects new vitality into this market.
Also starting from Hongguang MINIEV, the domestic A00-class electric vehicle market has shown a super growth trend. Starting in the second half of 2020, the sales volume and market share of A00-class electric vehicles have both increased. By the first half of 2021, the A00-class new energy passenger car market achieved a final retail sales of 318,000 units, an increase of 534.2% year-on-year. According to the latest data from the Association of Automobile Manufacturers, from January to November 2021, the sales volume of domestic A00 pure electric mini vehicles has reached 755,000 units, accounting for 26.8% of the entire new energy market. It is thanks to this growth rate that micro-electric vehicles are once again in front of Volkswagen.
How are those "latecomers" doing?
Playing iron also needs to be hard, choose the right time to enter, and have excellent skills. For The Hongguang MINIEV product itself, the extremely low price, personalized design, unlimited brand, no purchase tax and ultra-low cost of use, these are its attractive places, and for such a low threshold model, the huge user base of the Wuling brand also adds a lot to it, and the personalized marketing method makes many young people pay for it.
After Hongguang MINIEV "detonated" the micro-electric vehicle market, latecomers flocked to it. In the near future alone, Chery QQ ice cream and Xiaokang Scenery MINIEV models are the most obvious examples.
From the perspective of brand appeal, the word Chery, or the name QQ, is almost universally known. After many years, Chery restarted this IP, and it can be seen that it has high hopes for it. From the perspective of product strength, the latecomer QQ Ice Cream, whether it is internal and external design, or size configuration, has "penetrated" the routine of Hongguang MINIEV. Slightly larger body size, richer configuration and similar price, it can be said that QQ ice cream is fully equipped to challenge the strength of Hongguang MINIEV.
As for the other new face, Xiaokang Scenery MINIEV, listening to the name, you know that it is aimed at Hongguang MINIEV. Judging from the current news, this car also takes the same personalized scooter route. In terms of design, the scenery MINIEV has its own unique style, and it is slightly larger than the Macro MINIEV in terms of size, but the information about its endurance and price has not yet been announced.
In fact, it is not difficult to see from the later launch of these models that they seem to be taking the path of Hongguang MINI intentionally or unintentionally at the product and marketing level. But today, Hongguang MINIEV has been very mature, various versions of various ways to play is also more and more, then if the latecomers are still just according to the Hongguang MINIEV routine, it may be difficult to create a miracle.
Where is the next breakthrough for micro-electric vehicles?
It is foreseeable that in the field of micro-electric vehicles, more and more cars will enter the market, and in this process, the phenomenon of "homogenization" is becoming more and more serious. Everyone is running in one direction, but such "crowding" cannot bring about healthy competition. Therefore, if the micro-electric vehicle market wants to achieve greater development, it must find new breakthroughs.
In the eyes of car life, "high-end" and "extreme personalization" are two good ways.
As we all know, the product threshold of micro-electric vehicles is very low, so low price is a core advantage of the product, and the cost performance is also crucial. However, for Hongguang MINIEV, which sacrificed profit margins in exchange for sales in the early stage, it has taken the lead. Today's scale allows Hongguang MINIEV to have the capital to actively adjust the allocation and price according to the needs of market competition, and even bring consumers a feeling of sincerity.
Therefore, for competitors, they must look for the market that Hongguang MINIVs have not yet covered, so as to strengthen them in a targeted manner, cut through the pain points, and create new shares.
The mention of "high-end", at first glance, seems to have nothing to do with low prices, but the high-end here is relative, referring to giving consumers more experience under the premise of controlling costs as much as possible. Taking a step back, even if the price is slightly more expensive, but the sense of quality and experience has improved, I believe that the same people pay.
Here, the zero-run T03 is an example, and its exquisite route is obviously very popular with young people. In the past December, this car contributed 5672 units to the delivery of zero running, and last year its single-month order volume also went to 9297 units, and the annual delivery volume reached 38463 units, which is also a good result in the micro pure electric market.
Secondly, another core competitiveness of micro-electric vehicles is to be a toy car that highlights the attitude and expresses personality. On this point, Hongguang MINIEV is already doing and doing a very good job. However, when defining such a product as a "toy", there are too many ways to play and possibilities, and the ultimate personalization is obviously easier to achieve in such a low-threshold car. If a micro-electric vehicle can make consumers buy tools, perceive culture, and express their personality and taste, then it will certainly be favored by young people.
When tesla, Weilai, Xiaopeng and other high-end electric vehicles continue to expand in first- and second-tier cities, in cities below the third tier, micro-electric vehicles still have a lot of room for growth. Although the product orientation is different, the sense of experience brought by such products to consumers should be more diverse. Wuling Hongguang MINIEV has made a good start for this market, and how to widen this road may be the key to the development of the entire market.
Note: The above pictures come from the brand official