In the past 2021, the "dark cloud" of the impact of the epidemic and chip shortage has been lingering in the global auto market for a long time, and the transformation of energy transformation and consumption upgrading is still intensifying. China's auto market is facing unprecedented challenges, and finding a breakthrough in sales has both advantages and become a challenge for all car companies.
Coincidentally, in the same way, many car companies have pinned their sales expectations on the "niche" MPV market, independent brands have entered the high-end market, and joint venture brands have introduced overseas models, becoming a highlight of last year's car market. Especially after the release of the "three-child policy" in May last year, this product planning has given car companies great confidence, which has also laid the status of "high-end MPV first year" in 2021.
However, from the sales level, the facts are not satisfactory. According to the data of the Association, the cumulative sales of the MPV market last year were 1.079 million vehicles, down 1.0% year-on-year, becoming the only market in the three major market segments that declined year-on-year; at the same time, the new MPV that was pinned on high hopes was delayed in the list, which inevitably gave people a feeling of "high driving and low walking".
Presumably, many people want to ask whether the MPV market will become the next "outlet"; and which MPV is more favored by domestic consumers? After taking stock of sales in 2021, it is not difficult to find that the seemingly calm MPV market is actually surging inside, and it is not easy to share the cake on the table.
Independent consumption has been upgraded, and the share of household consumption has expanded
Speaking of the "highlight moment" of autonomous MPV, the time has to go back to five years ago. In 2016, the annual sales volume of the domestic MPV market reached 2.467 million; except for the Buick GL8, the top ten of the list were occupied by independent brands. At that time, the demand for MPV of the Chinese people still stayed in the aspect of "pulling people and carrying goods", which also witnessed the birth of a generation of legendary "god cars" such as Wuling Hongguang and Baojun 730.
However, today is different from the past, and now that you open the MPV annual sales list, you can clearly see the changes in consumer car purchase demand. With a solid reputation advantage, Wuling Hongguang ranked first with an annual sales of more than 250,000 units, but it fell by 11% year-on-year, compared with the annual sales of 650,000 units five years ago. At the same time, with the Baojun 560 on the 2020 CCTV 315 gala due to transmission failure, the image of the Baojun brand has been greatly reduced, and today's Baojun 730 is no longer the same as before, and the annual sales of more than 30,000 units have barely squeezed into the top ten of the list.
In the "old faces" of that year, Dongfeng Fengxing's annual sales volume was 49,303 vehicles, down 20.2% year-on-year, ranking sixth in the list; while JAC Ruifeng has not yet passed the "pain period" of upgrading after gradually evolving from a model to a brand, and the annual sales of 31,344 vehicles are basically the same as the previous year, also ranking in the top ten.
In addition, Wuling Capgemini, Trumpchi M6 and Chase G50, as the leaders of 100,000-level household MPV, have well balanced consumers' preferences for car purchase costs and car experience, taking advantage of the dividend of "consumption upgrade", and sales have increased year-on-year. It is not difficult to see that the balance of demand for independent MPV models in China is tilted towards the "home end", which is a sign of the decline in sales in the MPV market and a signal for the rise of the mid-to-high-end MPV market.
The joint venture pattern is stable, and the "three heroes" are still the main force
Compared with its own brands, joint venture brands have an innate "brand premium" advantage, so when introducing joint venture MPV models, they will also give priority to the mid-to-high-end market. It has to be said that the Buick GL8, Honda Alissen and Odyssey, which entered China earlier, can be described as far-sighted, and after years of development, it has now formed a solid position of "joint venture three heroes".
In terms of data, buick GL8 won the sales championship of the joint venture MPV without suspense, with annual sales of more than 160,000 units, forming a clear sales cliff with the third place. In fact, even though the Buick GL8 experienced countless "fierce enemy" challenges last year, it was not affected in the slightest, and the benchmark of mid-to-high-end MPV models was none other than it.
In addition, The Alexand and Odyssey performed well, with annual sales of both at 50,000 units, both with double-digit growth year-on-year. Compared with the Buick GL8 with a strong business atmosphere, honda's "two brothers" have stronger household attributes, especially under the blessing of the hybrid system, the comfort and economy of the vehicle have been improved, and it has a huge potential home customer group.
Among the top fifteen sales, Mercedes-Benz V-Class, Mercedes-Benz Vito and Volkswagen Vierant are also regular customers in the list, with an average monthly sales of more than 1,000 units. Indeed, the higher price, or the shallower brand accumulation, is the reason for the best-selling of the above three models, after all, the sense of business has the Buick GL8, the family attributes have Alexon, Odyssey, and it is difficult to achieve a breakthrough.
The rookie follow-up is weak, and the competition continues to intensify
Speaking of "breakthroughs", several new MPV models born last year have broken the "backwater" maintained by the MPV market for many years, and the praise of overseas markets and the ardent expectations of domestic users have made it a well-deserved focus of the car market. However, perhaps its listing time is concentrated at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter, so it does not show all the sales potential.
Take Hyundai Kustu, as a rare 180,000-level joint venture medium and large MPV in China, it has a strong advantage in terms of quality-price ratio, reaching 2151 vehicles in a single month in December, and finally ending with a perfect result of 5501 insurance vehicles per year. Kia Jawa, which is also a Korean car, has a higher price threshold, and in the early days of word-of-mouth accumulation, sales have not increased by leaps and bounds, and last year's insurance volume gained 2204 units.
Of course, the most surprising thing is the Toyota Syna. Perhaps affected by the ramp-up in production capacity, Toyota Syna has been in short supply since its listing, and the terminal market of "mark-up" is also strange; because of this, last year's Toyota Syna's risk volume was only 935 units. In contrast, Toyota Sienna (imports) has an annual insurance volume of 2878 vehicles. For the above three models, 2022 is the time to really test the product strength.
In addition to the above three models, there are many rookies in the MPV market who have sounded the clarion call. During last year's Guangzhou Auto Show, Lantu Dreamer officially debuted, luxurious interior, pure electric / extended range power system, for the high-end MPV market to provide more choices; secondly, with the appearance of Hongqi's first MPV, interior spy photos have been exposed, it was placed on the "Red Flag version of Alpha" high hopes; in addition, BYD executives announced that they will launch a new high-end MPV model, while improving the new energy market layout, but also officially launched an attack on the high-end MPV market.
Conclusion: It turns out that unlike cars and SUVs that are "just needed for home", MPV models have a high degree of choice flexibility, so in addition to the product power itself, consumers are also very concerned about user reputation and market recognition, which also creates a "slow heat" physique of new MPV models.
At the same time, the overall sales decline of the MPV market today has pierced the false prosperity "bubble" brought about by the previous commercial MPV; with the increasing number of families in demand for multi-occupant travel, as well as the rapid upgrading of the mid-to-high-end MPV market, it is believed that the future MPV market will also usher in a more stable and rapid development.