"Ginger is still old and spicy", this is the first thought of many people after reading the sales data of SAIC Volkswagen in January this year. In January this year, SAIC Volkswagen's sales increased by 51.69% y/y to 130,600 units, of which sales of the ID. series continued to rise. Up to now, the cumulative sales volume of the ID. series has reached nearly 40,000 units.
As a representative of the electrification transformation of the joint venture brand, the sales performance of the ID. family has increased month by month. At this pace, monthly sales of 10,000 vehicles are just around the corner. Such a sales growth rate, even if it is placed on the overall intelligent electric vehicle track, is also very fast.
Volkswagen Group: Optimistic, doubling this year
The ID. series immediately became the "top seller" as soon as it hit the market in Europe, but the series sold only 70,625 units in China last year, failing to meet the Volkswagen Group's original sales forecast of 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles.
Some insiders pointed out that although from the perspective of single-month sales, there is still a certain gap between the Volkswagen ID. series and the top car-making forces, the sales volume in these months has gradually risen, indicating that the market presence of the ID. series is rising. In Reuters' view, the ID.series in the Chinese market is less than expected mainly due to the shortage of chip supply and the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic.
For the sales of the ID. series this year, the Volkswagen Group is very optimistic. "Although we have not yet seen a stable trend in chip supply security, the actual sales of the ID. family in China should be doubled this year." Stephan Wollenstein, president of Volkswagen China, said at a recent briefing.
Multi-dimensional product marketing
Pilot joint venture new energy vehicle track
Previously, joint venture car companies fell behind significantly in the battle of smart electric vehicles. Bill Russo, founder of Automobility Ltd., said that in China's intelligent networked electric vehicle war, players like Volkswagen, General Motors and Toyota have not maintained their dominant position in the field of fuel vehicles.
The ID. series not only needs to face Tesla and Wei Xiaoli head-on, but also undertakes the task of competing with the competitors of the same price of fuel vehicles. This has allowed the ID. series to be in the spotlight with every rise and fall in sales since its launch in China. If the sales volume of the ID. series can gradually rise, then the popularity of other joint venture new energy models will also be gradually driven.
The current user group of the ID. series, part of which is the increase and replacement of users who firmly buy new energy vehicles, has a better impression of traditional car companies, and may even be the original Volkswagen owners; the other part is the same budget and demand, the fuel SUV and the electric SUV have been compared, and finally the ID. series of design or driving experience circle powder, snatching away the market share of other joint venture brand fuel vehicles.
Industry insiders believe that the reason why the ID.series can represent the breakthrough of joint venture car companies is that it has made great efforts at the product and marketing level. For example, at the product level, although Volkswagen is not the first car company to launch electric vehicle products in the joint venture brand, its speed and determination to launch products are unprecedented. Last year, with the completion and operation of SAIC Volkswagen's 17 billion yuan new energy automobile factory, the Volkswagen brand ushered in the accumulation of ID. products, and within a year, three ID.4 X, ID.6 X, and ID.3 ID. pure electric vehicle models were launched.
At the same time, the agency marketing model tailored for the ID. family has been fully rolled out, and ID.Store (X) has entered the urban business circle, opened up new retail formats, and created a new car purchase experience that is interconnected online and offline.
Not only that, at the end of last year, SAIC Volkswagen's first ID. delivery center officially opened in Shanghai, docking the delivery business of Shanghai ID.Store (X) and adjacent 4S stores, bringing a one-stop delivery experience. Up to now, the ID. delivery center has completed the delivery of ID. vehicles for more than 1,000 groups of users. As an important part of SAIC Volkswagen's direct connection to users, the ID.delivery center has brought users a new experience in terms of convenient procedures, car guidance, and delivery ceremony.
In the ID. Delivery Center, users can complete the procedures such as car inspection, payment, decoration, and card listing within one day. On the same day, users can also quickly apply for the license quota and confirm the listing information with the help of the ID. delivery commissioner, so as to complete the official license application in Shanghai in the shortest possible time.
The delivery center also has a personalized film service
In addition, the ID. delivery center also has SAIC Volkswagen professional engineers stationed at the scene, providing one-on-one vehicle explanation services, and a special person to introduce the use of APP and vehicle-machine binding, so that users can easily get started and quickly grasp the use of new energy vehicles.
Deep ploughing quality advantage
"Once the joint venture brand becomes enlightened, it will spend more effort and use its own technical advantages to create new energy models, which is very likely to rise in the new energy vehicle sector." Lu Ancheng, a researcher at Zhejiang New Energy Technology Application Research Institute, believes that the joint venture brand car companies have the advantages of technology accumulation, which are not blank in technologies such as electrification and intelligence, and it is easy to ally with qualcomm, Microsoft, Intel and other intelligent auto parts suppliers, so as to quickly obtain technical advantages; second, at the process level, including Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota, etc. have advanced production processes and mature quality control systems, it is easy to build the quality advantages of new energy vehicles; third, on the brand, The joint venture brand has a relatively sound brand system and strong influence, if you add technology, design, technology, quality, management and other factors, it will obtain a strong market competitiveness.
In the process of electrification transformation, SAIC Volkswagen has not only brought a rich product structure, but also inherited the German quality trusted by domestic consumers. In terms of battery safety, the battery system of ID.series products has undergone 338 safety verifications before and after, far exceeding the relevant national standards, and the test content involves a series of items such as temperature shock, chemical corrosion, and extreme collision, so that consumers are completely exempted from worries about the safety of pure electric vehicles. At the same time, this is also a concentrated embodiment of SAIC Volkswagen's car manufacturing strength.
With the entry of new products into the auto market, SAIC Volkswagen has received numerous awards and ratings from third-party authorities. As the leader of the ID. family, after the ID.4 won the "2021 World Car of the Year" in the spring of 2021, the ID.4 X continues to write a success story in China. In the new version of the C-IASI evaluation procedure, ID.4 X received an All Good evaluation. This is the best result in the history of C-IASI evaluation, showing the research and development ideas of major manufacturers that consider the safety of user vehicles and the cost of vehicles from the whole life cycle. In addition, the ID.4 X stood out from the 32 shortlisted models and won the "China Environmental Car of the Year" on the "2022 China Car of the Year" list, and the judges were impressed by the car's outstanding performance in terms of mileage, handling and driving pleasure.
This year is the last year of subsidies for new energy vehicles, and a wave of new energy vehicle purchase demand will be released in advance. If the ID.series can continue to do a good job in marketing and the update of the intelligent network system, it may go out of the market run-in period and usher in a sales blowout.