According to data released by Great Wall Motors, Weipai sold 58,363 new cars in 2021, down 25.65% from the previous year. This report card is obviously not up to expectations for Wei Pai, who is still in the development stage.
"The original plan was to complete the layout of the coffee smart city SUV in the first half of 2021, but due to supply chain problems, the last car in the coffee series was not completed until December 17, 2021."
Weipai CEO Li Ruifeng said that the delay in the listing of the product may affect Weipai's performance in 2021. "In the face of the supply crisis, other brands can find alternatives, but Weipai can't." According to Li Ruifeng, the hardware related to intelligent driving, such as HWA and high-precision maps on the Weipai moose, cannot find alternative solutions in the short term. This also extends the listing cycle of Mocha.
Weipai CEO Li Ruifeng
In 2021, Weipai has made a new positioning of the brand - from the previous "China luxury SUV leader" to today's "new generation of intelligent cars", and abandoned the previous product matrix composed of "VV5, VV6, VV7", and instead carried out bold category innovation, launched a coffee series product matrix composed of "Mocha, Latte, Macchiato".
The launch date of the first coffee series "Mocha" is approaching the middle of 2021, and the second "Macchiato DHT" and the third "Latte DHT" will be completed at the end of September and late December 2021 respectively. None of the three brand new products have experienced a full sales year, which is the main reason for Weipai's poor performance in 2021.
After 2021, which is almost always making preparations, 2022 may be the year when Weipai ushered in an outbreak. In this year, the 3 new products of the coffee series will usher in a full sales year, and Weipai has also prepared new products in addition to the coffee series.
In addition, Weipai will also carry forward the category innovation gene of Great Wall Motors, just like the original tank 300 became a hit once launched, Weipai will focus on the new category of "0 anxiety intelligent electric" in 2022. The first model in this segment, the Mocha DHT-PHEV, started pre-sale on January 14. Around the product layout of "0 anxiety intelligent electric", Weipai also has many actions.
The priority is the highest among the Great Wall Group
According to Li Ruifeng, Wei Pai also has new product plans in 2022.
First of all, the coffee series named "Mocha, Latte, Macchiato" has been listed separately last year. Next, we will carry out category innovation on the basis of the coffee series, "Mocha DHT-PHEV has opened pre-sale, and there will be a latte DHT-PHEV in the follow-up, which is also a product with a long pure electric mileage." Li Ruifeng said, "Probably in the second half of the year there will be a 6-seat SUV on the market." ”
Secondly, the new category of retro tide driving that users are looking forward to has also made the latest progress, after the separate appearances at the Chengdu Auto Show and the Guangzhou Auto Show, Li Ruifeng revealed that the first product of the new category of retro tide driving "Fulfills the Dream" and "will soon open pre-sale".
In addition, Weipai has also set its sights on the MPV market that is on fire. The logic behind making this decision is also very simple, "With the promotion of our country's two-child and three-child policies, as well as the popularization of the phenomenon of three generations and four generations of the same house, the market demand for 6 SUVs is relatively strong, but the demand for 6 MPVs is equally strong." Li Ruifeng said, "This year we will launch two MPVs, one is mainly for the business market and the other is for the household market." ”
Moreover, Wei Pai's plan to go to sea will be further completed this year. Last year, Weipai attended the Munich Motor Show in Germany with a high profile to announce its entry into the European market; this year, Weipai will have new actions for the European market.
Li Ruifeng said that the channel network layout of the EU market is gradually advancing, and the first smart experience center of Weipai in Berlin, Germany, will be implemented as soon as possible. From the perspective of the rhythm of product listing, the long-lasting PHEV version of the mocha will be in the first half of the year, and the long-endurance PHEV version of the latte will land on the EU market in the second half of the year.
Looking forward to 2022, Li Ruifeng believes that Wei Pai's performance in 2022 will be much better than in 2021. "The DHT-PHEV architecture on Mocha will be installed on other Products of Wei brand in the future, which represents that Wei brand accurately grasps the market demand, and then there are new incremental sources such as retro categories and MPV categories."
As a high-end brand named after the founder's surname, Great Wall Group not only has high hopes for Wei Pai, but also gives priority treatment in terms of support. Not only will the latest research and development of new technologies and new products be applied to Wei brand, but also priority will be given to ensuring supply. "Now the supply chain is extremely critical for the entire industry, and the protection of the Wei brand by the Great Wall Group is definitely the highest priority." Li Ruifeng said.
There will also be products with 300Km+ pure electric battery life
The Mocha DHT-PHEV, which has already started pre-sale on January 14, represents the beginning of Weipai's comprehensive shift to high-end new energy tracks, and the way to play that can reflect differentiation in a track is the new category of "0 Anxiety Intelligent Electric" proposed by Weipai in the pre-sale activity.
Li Ruifeng said that this is a "gorgeous turn" carried out by Weipai under the positioning of a new generation of intelligent vehicles. "Starting from 2022, Weipai will fully lay out products equipped with long-endurance intelligent DHT-PHEV architecture on the basis of the three new categories of coffee series, retro categories and MPV." Li Ruifeng said that Weipai is "China's first high-end intelligent new energy brand to completely transform from traditional fuel vehicles to new energy".
The new category of "0 Anxiety Intelligent Electric" reflects the advantages of category focus, category differentiation and category evolution that Great Wall Group has always had. Behind it is the insight into user needs, the judgment of market trends, and of course, the most important thing is its strong technical reserves and rapid and flexible adjustment capabilities.
This gives Weipai a superpower - when the industry transitions rapidly to electrification, Weipai can also quickly prepare and work on products that solve user pain points.
The three characteristics of mocha DHT-PHEV perfectly explain what is "0 anxiety intelligent electric" - the first is a 204km ultra-long pure electric endurance, which is the longest pure electric endurance PHEV product on the market; the second is that the whole series is equipped with noH intelligent pilot auxiliary high-end intelligent driving function, echoing Weipai's positioning of "new generation of intelligent cars"; the third is a high-performance electric four-wheel drive system with zero hundred acceleration of 4.8 seconds, which carries forward the acceleration performance of electric vehicles.
"There will be products with an electric mileage of 300km+ in the future." Li Ruifeng said that Weipai's goal is to achieve the five "0 anxieties" of right-of-way 0 anxiety, 0 anxiety about using the car, 0 anxiety for replenishment, 0 anxiety for safety, and 0 anxiety for driving fun.
Transition to a user-based enterprise
In order to transform to a high-end intelligent new energy brand, weipai's user thinking has also changed. Li Ruifeng said that Weipai should change to a user-oriented enterprise.
On the second day of the Mocha DHT-PHEV pre-sale event, Weipai also held the first fan festival for all users. Different from the previous user activities of traditional OEMs, this time it is a thorough user-led activity.
Li Ruifeng said that the host of this fan festival, video shooting, and many ideas all come from loyal owners, and it is an activity organized and planned by loyal owners. As an oem, Weipai has not participated in any content supervision and planning except for releasing some rights and policies, "This is a conference that we really create with users." Li Ruifeng stressed.
Weipai's determination to transform into a user-oriented enterprise is by no means limited to superficial forms, but is also deeply reflected in practical actions.
For example, in the assessment method of dealers, in addition to the previous sales indicators and market share indicators, the important indicator of user satisfaction has also been increased. "Let dealers transform with manufacturers and better serve customers, which is truly a top-down manufacturer's co-creation, all-round, three-dimensional, all the time to serve our customers." Li Ruifeng said.
As of January 10 this year, the number of user registrations in more than a year has exceeded 1.4 million, and nearly 900,000 new user registrations have been achieved in 2021 alone, and the number of daily active users of app has remained above 10%. This is the main position of Weipai's transformation into a user-oriented enterprise.
Next, Weipai's goal is to use intelligent and digital technology to connect mobile phones, car terminals and terminals to form a three-in-one user service framework. The purpose of this is to be able to respond to the service needs of users at any time, and the ultimate goal is to improve user satisfaction.
Li Ruifeng gave a simple example - for example, even if the user is sitting in the car, he can reflect the overall use of the vehicle to Wei Pai through the "I want to spit" function of the car machine. Intelligent services such as one-click intelligent maintenance and one-key intelligent loss determination can also improve the pain points in the process of serving users in the past.
Li Ruifeng concluded that the values conveyed by Weipai hope to resonate with users. Of course, Wei Pai will also learn some good experience, good ideas, and good thinking from the new forces in the process of user operation. "I think it is possible to learn, learn from and emulate, but we will also have differentiation, and we will adjust it in combination with user portraits and brand positioning." Li Ruifeng stressed.