At the end of last year, we visited the Lynk & Co 4S store on the terminal performance of the Lynk & Co brand in the context of the chip shortage in the automotive industry. At that time, Lynk & Co was in the process of accelerating its impulse in October and November to compensate for the previous impact on production capacity by the supply chain. Finally, in 2021, Lynk & Co achieved a year-on-year increase of nearly a quarter of a year with a total sales volume of more than 220,000 units. It's just that the car market in 2022 doesn't seem to have fully come out of the haze of chip shortage, and how will Lynk & Co perform in the new year? We also went through a field visit to the store to find out.
Inquiry Lynk & Co = wasted emoticon?
Due to the pandemic, we only visited a relatively young Lynk & Co 4S store that we visited last time. And its location is reflected in the local Lynk & Co dealers, which can only be regarded as an intermediate. In addition, it is a weekday afternoon, and there are not many customers in the store. In addition to a group of customers who are delivering cars, there are also a group of customers who are watching cars. The exhibition car situation in the store is still as complete as the last time, Lynk & Co 01, 02, 03, 05 and 06 are exhibited, of which Lynk & Co 01 has two exhibition cars. At the same time, there are still no new energy models on display.
As for the preferential situation of the hot models, there are still no surprises. For example, the main Lynk & Co 03 and Lynk & Co 01 models have a cash discount of about 5,000 yuan. The small SUV Lynk & Co 06, which has a relatively low threshold, has a preferential margin of about 5,000 yuan. Compared with the last time the salesman introduced about 8,000 yuan of preferential strength, it seems to be narrowed a little. But as far as our experience of the terminal situation of Lynk & Co is concerned, these thousands of yuan can basically be negotiated. In most cases, the terminal discount is difficult to exceed 5,000 yuan. Considering the identity of the Chinese brand and the pricing level of the naked car, this price performance has always been very eye-catching.
In terms of vehicle source, in fact, Lynk & Co's product line is quite concise. Like Lynk & Co 01, if you exclude the difference in design elements, in fact, the distinction is the standard power of the two-wheel drive, and the high-power four-wheel drive two choices. When Hua dan Lynk & Co 03, in addition to 03+ and customized versions and other personality choices, the "ordinary version" is 1.5T and 2.0T each have two models, and the main attention is also the high-end version of JinPro. As for the Lynk & Co 06, it is also in addition to the pink special edition, and the conventional configuration is three. Therefore, the supply of vehicles is also relatively "easy", as long as it focuses on providing more configurations or colors.
Specifically, models such as the above-mentioned Lynk & Co 01, Lynk & Co 03, Lynk & Co 06 and other models, the inventory of each is basically within 10 units. It doesn't sound like much, but combined with customer orders and car source to the store, in fact, it can basically ensure that the main model has a current car or a "quasi-existing car" supply. On the basis of my repeated "lifting the bar", sales also introduced that if there is a special "personality" model or color, the cycle of pick-up after booking is about one month. This is also basically the general speed of the main engine factory for logistics from receiving orders to shipping.
Lynk & Co's 2022, domestic and overseas grab production capacity?
At present, the sales performance in February 2022 has not yet come out, and judging from the performance of Lynk & Co in January, its terminal sales exceeded 18,000 units. Referring to the results of more than 25,000 units sold in January 2021, there is a clear difference. However, combined with the impact of the Spring Festival in 2021, the relationship between February and the Spring Festival in January this year, which is more affected by the Spring Festival, this difference in sales data is also traceable. Interestingly, if the annual sales of Lynk & Co last year are averaged to each month, then the sales performance of Lynk & Co in January this year is basically consistent with it. This also shows that at least at the beginning of 2022, Lynk & Co is still stepping on the rhythm of its own high-speed expansion. Although it is not very aggressive, it is also a steady start in the first gear.
However, Lynk & Co's expansion is not only in China, Lynk & Co's own overseas rhythm, which is also one of the important sectors of Lynk & Co's expansion. By the end of last year, Lynk & Co already had 7 experience stores in Europe, including Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Gothenburg and Stockholm in Sweden, Antwerp in Belgium, Hamburg, Berlin and Munich in Germany. In 2021, Lynk & Co will ship less than 12,000 new vehicles to overseas markets. This is only the first natural year of implementation since the opening of Lynk & Co's "European Plan".
According to the plan, in 2022, Lynk & Co will also open experience stores in Barcelona, Spain, Paris, France, Milan, and Rome in Italy. In addition to the European plan, Lynk & Co also launched the corresponding "Asia-Pacific Plan" at the end of last year, the first batch of Lynk & Co 01 has been officially exported to Kuwait, and in the future, Lynk & Co will continue to enter the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Israel and other markets. Obviously, in terms of growth rates, the pace of the European and Asia-Pacific plan is more prominent. The continuous expansion of overseas markets will also increase the pressure on Lynk & Co's production capacity to a certain extent.
Write at the end:
As a successful representative of the high-end of Chinese brands, the development rhythm of Lynk & Co is still in the stage of rapid expansion. The supply chain problem once put a "brake" on Lynk & Co last year, and finally relied on the strength of the end of the year to turn the tide, but still ensured the overall speed. Judging from the situation at the beginning of this year, Lynk & Co is basically still maintaining the development trend at the end of last year. Although it is a young and well-positioned brand, many of the rhythms and rules of Lynk & Co are "step-by-step" like mature brands.