From last year's NIO Day's "5 is greater than 3" to the recent Weilai ES7 benchmark BMW X5L, we can see that Weilai is really ready and BMW bar. In the recent "WEILAI all-weather marketing" Q&A session, Mr. Qin Lihong, president of WEILAI, also said: "In the matter of high-end new energy vehicles, I think we and BMW are not backward elements. ”
Subsequently, Qin Lihong also gave a set of data: last year, in more than 300,000 high-end brand electric vehicles, Weilai's insurance number accounted for 40.8%. Such a market segment sounds fresh at first, but after careful consideration, it feels not so simple.
New energy vehicles should indeed be divided into grades
In recent years, the development of the new energy vehicle market is obvious to all, from 5.4% in 2020 to 13.4% in 2021. In fact, the market share of new energy in the fourth quarter of last year reached about 20%, that is, one in every 5 new cars is a new energy vehicle. China's new energy vehicle sales in 2021 exceeded 3.5 million, and by the end of 2021, The number of new energy vehicles in China reached 7.84 million, which cannot be ignored.
A mature automobile market should be divided into categories, just like the traditional fuel vehicle market, divided into compact SUVs, medium-sized SUVs, medium and large SUVs, cars, MPVs, luxury cars (more than 300,000 models) and other market segments. After such a segmentation, consumers can quickly find the model they are interested in through various lists, and use the performance of the model in the list as a reference for their car purchase.
From another aspect, the positioning, pricing and target group of each model are different, so there will be large differences in sales. For example, in the 100,000-priced civilian car market, some hot-selling models have tens of thousands of units sold every month, while high-end models like bmw X5 have annual sales of only 50,000, but can you say that it sells badly? In the same way, there are 30,000 or 40,000 yuan of Hongguang MINIEV in the new energy vehicle market, and there are also models such as Weilai with higher prices. When the market is relatively mature, it is obviously inappropriate to mix all new energy vehicles together.
Why did WEILAI steal BBA's 170,000 users?
Nio's sales in 2021 are 91,429 vehicles, which is at the top of the list even among second-tier luxury brands. More critically, the average transaction price of Weilai reached about 440,000 yuan, which is not much compared with BMW, and it can be said that Weilai snatched away the middle and high-end users of BBA. Since its delivery in 2018, NIO's cumulative delivery volume has reached about 170,000 vehicles.
When Weilai first started delivering, there was no shortage of doubts in the industry, but when weilai's delivery volume has reached 170,000, we should think more rationally about this question: Why does Weilai benchmark BBA? The essence of the reason why luxury cars are regarded as luxury cars is that they can let users feel respected. Since Weilai has compared BMW more than once, we may wish to compare Weilai and BMW to see what are the differences in the experience brought by the two brands to users.
BMW is known for its sport, in fact the brand did not develop smoothly after World War II, until the birth of BMW in 2002, the brand was revived. What really put BMW on the right track is the first generation of BMW 3 Series code-named E21, and for a long time, the BMW 3 Series was used as a sports benchmark in luxury cars.
Weilai is well known as the first car of Weilai - Weilai EP9. The 2017 EP9 set a new Lap Record in New North with a time of 6 minutes 45.90 seconds, and it can be said that like BMW, Weilai actually carries sports genes in its bones. This brand gene is also reflected in Weilai's subsequent mass production models, such as Weilai's earliest ES8, ES6 and other models, all of which have more than 4 seconds of zero hundred acceleration, and the soft and hard adjustable air suspension also brings good handling to these SUV models.
It can be said that at the product level, Nio's performance is not inferior to BMW, and even if the scope is reduced to the field of new energy vehicles, Niolai still has certain advantages. And from the perspective of product layout, BMW is constantly laying out to the low-end market after launching mid-range products, which inevitably has some negative impact on its luxury brand impression. After launching medium and large SUVs, medium-sized SUVs, medium-sized SUVs, medium-sized cars, and medium-sized cars, NIO did not launch compact car products like other luxury brands, but launched a large five-seat ES7. Therefore, from the perspective of this product layout, Weilai gives consumers and old users the impression that this is a brand that has gained a firm foothold in the luxury market.
Bringing high-value experiences to users is not only manifested in the product, but also in the supporting system capabilities. BMW's luxuriously decorated 4S stores and store personnel with good temperament and attitude are indeed not picky. But often after the user delivers the car, this noble service comes to an abrupt end.
Weilai's service revolves around the user's all-use car cycle, and after the user delivers the car, it does not mean the end of the luxury experience, but a new beginning. Weilai has specially created a user-specific APP, in which users can not only experience car-related services such as door-to-door tire repair and door-to-door maintenance, but also give advice to manufacturers or join their own circle of users.
It is worth mentioning that Weilai's peripheral products are also very rich, covering all aspects of car life such as food, small home appliances, outdoor appliances and so on. And these products are not only reasonably priced, but also of excellent quality. When I chatted with a Weilai user before, I learned that after he tasted Weilai's cereal, he has been eating this cereal at home. Nowadays, NIO Life has grown into a relatively mature Weilai sub-brand, which is a big plus for the brand.
The BBA can't give you, maybe you have to find Wei lai
Luxury brands like BMW, immersed in the luxury car market for a hundred years, have their own unique advantages in the underlying technology of fuel vehicles. But in the field of new energy vehicles, as Qin Lihong said, Weilai is really "not a latecomer", and even some BBA can't give you, you have to find Weilai.
For example, the environmentally friendly materials and color-changing paint of BMW iX are amazing, and the ultra-large screen and ultra-luxurious interior of Mercedes-Benz EQS are also enviable, but as a difficult pain point for new energy vehicles, the two brands have said very little. And Weilai not only gradually pushed the power exchange mode that many brands can't play on the right track, but also deployed a five-vertical and three-horizontal high-speed power exchange network in just a few years, so that most Weilai users can experience the convenience of comparable to oil trucks. At the communication meeting, Qin Lihong also said that the replacement power station, supercharging pile and the destination charging pile will have a relatively high growth rate in recent years.
Maybe some people will say, "I don't care about what you say, I bought the BBA because I liked the LOGO, and there will be more cards when talking about business." This is true, many people buy luxury cars not only for a better car experience, but also to create more value for themselves. So can WEILAI create similar value for users? Yes! In fact, there are quite a few.
Weilai's cow house will have a relatively large area is the user's exclusive space, which is not only a good place for leisure and reading, but also will open some seed sharing classes from time to time to make the user's life more fulfilling. In addition, at nio day last year, NIO also released the owner welfare partner project. That is to say, when you become the welfare partner of Weilai car owners, it is equivalent to adding a high-value platform such as Weilai in addition to the traditional platform. Since you are to help you when talking about business, why not choose Weilai, which can directly bring business?
Write at the end
A few years ago, when Li Bin shouted to benchmark BBA, many people were dismissive, but as more and more BBA users threw themselves into the arms of Weilai, this voice gradually decreased. Although Weilai, which has only been established for seven or eight years, is a very young brand, it has built a strong new energy system around users, and the future first-line luxury brands may not have a place for Weilai.