Author: Gao Hao
Restless young people are mostly hard to resist the temptation of performance cars.
In 2002, a grumpy 4.2L V8 engine was loaded into the A6 (C5) of the years, becoming the "strongest grocery shopping car on the surface" that fans talk about. The performance of the RS6 is not invincible, but just as everyone watching the Beijing Winter Olympics has long ceased to regard whether to win gold as the only criterion for measuring the excellence of athletes, fans are more concerned about the RS6 for the station wagon to give a different soul.
Nowadays, Audi S, R/RS performance brand models cover all segments of domestic sports cars, cars and SUVs, and S3 and S4 are frequently popular commodities. In particular, the Audi RS Driving Academy, which was established last year, helps those extreme players realize their track dreams from hobbies to professionals, and also makes the Four Rings brand more and more flavorful.
Not only Audi, including Mercedes-Benz AMG, BMW M, three German luxury brands have launched corresponding performance models in almost every market segment, with higher bicycle profits and more outstanding brands. In the pursuit of individuality, sports labels make their respective brands more plump.
It is worth noting that the performance car is no longer an unattainable ornament above the temple, and under the impetus of the German luxury car, the domestic performance car and sports culture are gradually heating up and heating up. Nowadays, in the Chinese auto market, only at the level of 200,000 yuan, there are a number of autonomous performance vehicles including Lynk & Co 03+, MG MG6 XPOWER, etc., making the niche market lively.
MG XPOWER makes youth more energetic
The topic of "steel cannon" has actually been not low, the reason why it is classified as a niche category is really because of its poor sales, in the embarrassing situation of "you buy me recommended, I buy I don't buy", MG did the opposite, and at the end of May last year launched the first official original modification brand in the domestic automotive industry - MG XPOWER.
MG6 XPOWER, as the brand's first model, has won a high degree of topic after its launch. Combining the sporty characteristics of TCR racing, the ultra-wide body design with the original aerodynamic kit, the aggressive appearance supplemented by the interior contrast stitching design, the XPOWER sports seat also ensures practicality, light luxury, and balances the needs of young people for sports and daily use.
Perhaps manufacturers have found that the serious homogenization of the family car market, not has been crowded to accommodate niche performance cars, on the contrary, in the emphasis on in-depth communication with consumers, who will say that one more personality choice is a bad thing.
The owner group also generally recognizes the modification potential of the MG6, so it has always been popular in the modification culture, just like every JDM owner wants his car to be unique, which is an excellent stage to show his taste. MG6 this time with the owner to play with the car owner to modify, this kind of interesting dialogue touched many current MG6 car owners "save money to pay for love."
Compared with the civilian modification, the texture of the official modification is self-evident, and after professional power tuning, the performance of mg6 XPOWER has improved significantly. The views expressed by riders are also very representative: "The restrictions on domestic modified cars are very strict, and it is too embarrassing that a modified car that has poured out its efforts cannot be filed and cannot be on the road." ”
Another MG6 XPOWER owner is a racing fan, has always wanted to have their own car, rather than the "four unlikes" of the low-quality sports kit patchwork on the Internet, "the original modification kit self-width body effect, while using short springs to reduce the height of the body, the professionally tuned suspension system effect is definitely several levels stronger than the outside modification factory." Plug-in hybrid compared with the traditional 2.0T, but also has a faster power response, the motor full torque output can increase the speed in an instant, and unlike the traditional powertrain, the hybrid system not only has a stronger push back feeling, but also no frustration. ”
MG is a brand that is recognized as "playful", and it interacts with users to interact and play together. Since 1949, the brand, which has been founded for nearly a hundred years, has gathered fans from all over the world to revel in it. Nowadays, MG plays with car fans in many fields such as e-sports and modified cars, and this century-old brand is rejuvenating with youthful vitality.
Lynk & Co+ takes performance further
Under the surface of its own brands pouring into the niche model market, it is the ambition of Chinese automobiles to seek brand maturity and sustainable development. In fact, Ashkenazi car brands have already tasted the sweetness, and BBA's outstanding sales and considerable profits provide too much reference significance.
High-end is not the wishful thinking of manufacturers, if simple consumption behavior can rise to highlight the means of independent consumption attitudes, picky users are naturally willing to pay for this sense of brand identity, who want to stand like BBA to make money. Obviously, telling cultural stories well is the consensus in the circle, and the arena has long been recognized as a must-fight place.
In 2019, Lynk & Co participated in the WTCR for the first time and achieved three consecutive championships. At the same time, it also held a high degree of user participation such as the "Peak Rider Program" and other offline driving training courses similar to those done by BBA performance brands, so that more people can participate in the construction of auto sports culture, which has a huge role in promoting the development of domestic auto sports culture and the construction of user thinking.
Last year, Lynk & Co, which celebrated its fifth anniversary, exceeded its annual sales record of 200,000 for the first time, and the brand's total sales reached 650,000 units in the five years of its establishment. As the vanguard of the brand, 03+ has received a high degree of attention, whether in the second-hand car market or the new car market, 03+ is difficult to find. Last year, 03+ launched the Cyan version of the model, once again raising the topic. Driven by it, 03 has also become the main sales model, with sales exceeding 10,000 units in more than 10,000 months last year, and 70% of the buyers are former consumers of joint venture cars.
What should be seen more is that the price ceiling of Lynk & Co models is constantly increasing. The official guidance price of the newly launched flagship model, the Lynk & Co 09, is already close to 400,000. Compared with the "high-end" that is constantly circulating in the slogan, the price reflects that the value of the real is more real, and domestic consumers are gradually reaching a consensus that Lynk & Co is worthy of high-end.
It is foreseeable that although the sales of performance cars cannot have explosive growth in a short period of time, Chinese car companies are still constantly innovating, because they play a sharp knife role in brand upwards and impacting high-end. With the maturity of the concept of consumption, the concept of quality and personalized consumption is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and may face criticism or questioning, but everyone should also respect the brave attempt of Chinese brands.
Once upon a time, domestic car brands were like a bowl of white rice, and consumers had to choose "helplessly" and "will be". However, in recent years, under the performance car strategy of MG and Lynk & Co, consumers have a variety of choices in sour, sweet and bitter, and the brand has a heat, and it has a taste of happiness.