As we all know, the domestic MPV market of about 300,000 yuan, Buick GL8 has been dominant, any model of the same level to achieve a breakthrough in sales, must compete head-on with Buick GL8, including the domestic indispensable Volkswagen is the same. However, volkswagen Weiran, which was listed in 2020, almost completely collapsed in the face of the Buick GL8, and only achieved more than 10,000 units in 2021, which was not as high as the single-month sales of the Buick GL8, and it was only a dime of the Buick GL8 2021 annual performance of more than 170,000 units. With the addition of more joint venture medium and large MPV models such as Toyota Xena SIENNA and Kia Kahua, Volkswagen Weiran's situation may be more difficult. To this end, SAIC Volkswagen accelerated the promotion of the mid-term redesign of Weiran, and opened the pre-sale of the new Volkswagen Weiran on February 22. So how much has the new Weiran changed compared to before? Can you find a breakthrough when facing the Buick GL8? Let's take a look at the comparison between the two cars.
Having more children is easy to fight, this new model can not do, it is difficult to turn over
Buick GL8 can firmly occupy the market dominance in the medium and large MPV market, a large reason is the perfect model price system, although it looks like there is only one Buick GL8, but in fact, at the price of 200,000-500,000 yuan, there are three different types of "Buick GL8", including the main 200,000-300,000 yuan market "onshore business class", the main 300,000-400,000 yuan "ES Lu Zun", the main 40-50 million flagship "Avenir Avia", And each series has several models to choose from, and the user's choice is enormous.
In contrast, the current Weiran model price system is relatively single, a total of 4 models in the whole series, of which the 2.0T low-power version of the starting price of 286,800 yuan, the 2.0T high-power version of the model starting price of 369,800 yuan, the same power of the model version between the price difference of 30,000 yuan. Moreover, according to our expectations, the new Volkswagen Weiran will most likely maintain the current price system, and there will not be too many models. In this way, users not only have a high threshold for buying a car, but also have less choice, compared to buick GL8 to choose at will, buy Volkswagen Weiran is more led away, it is difficult to meet every user, and the competitiveness is naturally reduced.
At the same time, buick GL8's three model series also have great differences in appearance, the design will become more luxurious and exquisite with the increase in price, and there is no cheap or low-end feeling of low-end models, and the temperament of each model is in place, which can also make users who choose high-end models subjectively feel "value for money". In this regard, Volkswagen Weiran still has a lot to learn from the Buick GL8.
The new Wei then has a large spare compartment, but the ride space is not as large as the Buick GL8
The new Weiran is consistent with the current model in terms of appearance design, the rear seat platform is still high, it still does not look like MPV, fortunately, it is still calm and business, and the aura that should be there is not lost. The biggest changes in the new Weiran are mainly concentrated in the interior part, using a new style of central control screen and interior decorative panels, and printing English letters in front of the co-pilot. Overall, the interior style and Volkswagen Tuon are still too similar, lacking novelty and vitality.
Buick GL8 interior design we are more familiar with, "land business class" and "ES Lu Zun" is the standard MPV style design, the gear is placed on the center console, saving a lot of storage space, but compared to the "land business class", "ES Lu Zun" large screen design is more scientific and technological, "Avenir Aivia" is in the color matching, materials to a higher level, to achieve the flagship level.
Space is an important indicator of the excellence of medium and large MPV, in this regard, the Buick GL8 has a very high standard, the length of more than 5.2 meters, wheelbase close to 3.1 meters; the body size of the new Weiran is expected to be consistent with the current model, the length of the car is more than 5.3 meters, the wheelbase is close to 3.2 meters, longer than the Buick GL8. According to the previous experience, the Buick GL8 has a more spacious ride space, especially the front and rear movement range of the second row is larger than that of Weiran, but the trunk space of Weiran is a little larger than that of The Buick GL8. Of course, if from a business point of view, sacrificing part of the trunk volume for ride space, I believe more people will be willing.
The one-sided sliding door is the bottom line, but the new Weiran may not understand
Since the new Weiran has not yet been listed, so we can not get the accurate configuration, but from the current understanding of the situation, most of the configuration will be consistent with the current model, at most in the car system and other technical configurations have been upgraded, the power system will continue, equipped with 2.0T high, low power engine, matching 7 wet double clutch, Buick GL8 is still the entire series of 2.0T + 9AT power combination. So we still take the cash Weiran as a reference.
First of all, the biggest shortcoming in the current configuration of the current Weiran is that the entry-level model priced at 286,800 yuan can only be manually double-sided sliding doors, which is unacceptable for a joint venture medium and large SUV that is not cheap and positioned as a high-end. In contrast, in addition to the lowest model priced at 232,900 yuan, the Buick GL8 is equipped with a manual double-sided sliding door, and the rest is at least a one-sided electric sliding door, which is more in place for consumer demand capture.
In addition, the current Weiran 2.0T low-power version of the high-end model, compared with the close price of the Buick GL8, the biggest disadvantage in the configuration is the lack of driving assistance and active safety, in addition, the car machine system can not OTA is also a problem that needs to be improved. In terms of high-end models, the current Weiran almost completed the previous problems, but there were problems in the most important rear seat function, such as the whole series is not equipped with a small rear table, which should not be for an MPV that focuses on business. Therefore, from a comprehensive point of view, the problems that occur in the above cash Weiran are also the places where the new Weiran must make changes and upgrades, otherwise it is difficult to win.
epilogue:
Through a multi-faceted comparative analysis, we expect that some of the problems existing in the current Weiran, some of which will continue to the new models, such as the price system, riding space, etc., even if the new interior design is used, the lack of configuration is made up, I believe it is difficult to win over the Buick GL8. The main reason for this is that Buick GL8 has been working the domestic MPV market for a long time, whether it is user demand or products, and even the price system, it can meet domestic consumers, more importantly, these need time accumulation, Volkswagen Weiran obviously has no advantage in this regard. Therefore, in the future, the new Weiran listing, if you want to find a breakthrough to increase sales from the Buick GL8, the fastest and most effective way may only be to give more discounts.