Since the launch of the new generation of Fox, using a three-cylinder engine, there has been a lot of scolding on the Internet. After all, three-cylinder engines are the product of compromises due to "emissions", if it is not for this reason, manufacturers will not use three-cylinder engines anyway.
But Ford insisted on doing so, at the cost of Fox's waterloo from sales! From the original A+ class car to a regular A class car. Gradually lost its position in the minds of users.
Recently, the mid-term modification of Fox was exposed, and the biggest change was the replacement of the 1.5T four-cylinder turbocharged engine. So can fox's original lost market come back?
[1] China's A+ compact market has changed
In the past, we would simply call a compact car with a multi-link independent rear suspension called an A+ class compact car. Representative models are Volkswagen Sagittarius, Lingdu, including Civic. But then Corolla also used a multi-link independent rear suspension, so in the user's mind, the suspension can no longer be easily distinguished. Then use the engine to distinguish. Using a turbocharged engine, the power is an A+ class compact car, using natural suction, the power of the family is an ordinary compact car.
According to this logic, the A+ class compact car market in the Chinese market has undergone great changes.
The first change was that the models became more abundant, including the original Sagittarius, Lingdu, Civic, Golf, plus the stylistic style. The second change is the appearance of independent brand models, they have hit the market with more generous models, such as Xingrui, Lynk & Co 03+, Trumpchi Shadow Leopard and other independent brand models.
The third change is the price of luxury brand compact cars, such as the Audi A3, Mercedes-Benz A-Class. Younger users are not unaffordable.
So today's market environment has changed a lot, and even if The Focus changes back to a four-cylinder engine, it may not be able to compete with the brands I mentioned above.
[2] China's young generation is also upgrading consumption, upgrading new energy vehicles and upgrading them to B-class cars!
In addition to the changes just mentioned, there is also a change of the times, that is, a new generation of young consumers in China, who are not even cold to fuel vehicles. They began to pay attention to new energy vehicles, and even began to pay attention to B-class cars.
In today's market, the performance of new energy vehicles bought within 200,000 is not inferior to the performance of fuel vehicles. There are countless cheap B-class cars on the market today, the Hyundai Sonata, the Kia K5, the Citroën Versailles C5X. These models have a fairly good product strength.
It can be said that new energy vehicles, cheap B-class cars, mainstream A+ cars, have a huge market impact on Fox cars.
[3] After switching back to the four-cylinder engine, the price reduction is the only way to save sales?
So for Fox, switching back to a four-cylinder engine is just the first step in getting users back in trust. The second part, of course, is the price. We look at the current guidance price of Fox 1.5T three-cylinder engine models from 13.68 to 153,800 yuan. Still not cheap. Users in this price range can buy Geely Star, Honda Civic, and even Citroën Versailles C5X. In contrast, Fox's advantage is not so great.
So I think If Fox wants to regain the lost market, it will inevitably go down the road of price reduction.