In the past many years, Audi has been one of the top three brands in the domestic luxury car market, and FAW-Volkswagen Audi is almost all domestically produced to produce best-selling Audi cars, so when SAIC Audi was established and determined that the A7 was domestically produced and upgraded to A7L, many comments were not very optimistic about the prospects of this car. One of the important reasons is that the A7 becomes A7L, and after the sports coupe becomes a sedan medium and large sedan, it will inevitably form a competitive relationship with FAW-Volkswagen Audi A6L, and lower prices, more ownership, and word of mouth are the advantages of A6L. So to a large extent, A7L as a product setting is relatively "deformed" medium and large luxury cars, in the market level is actually more embarrassing, we in this car pre-sale, listing time node, also expressed similar views.
Unexpectedly, in February 2022, the sales of SAIC Audi A7L were only 316 vehicles, the sales of imported A7s were 380 vehicles, and the sales of "brother" models Audi A6L were 10450 vehicles in the month, that is to say, the sales of SAIC Audi A7L in February were more embarrassing because it was not only less than a fraction of A6L sales, but even less than the sales of imported A7s, which was very embarrassing.
We also saw that the relevant person in charge of SAIC Audi responded to the relevant situation of the A7L's sales of 316 vehicles in the first month, and gave a reason, basically summarizing that the production capacity has not been fully released, the 2.0T model has not yet begun to be delivered, and the number of dealers in the domestic market is still too small. In the eyes of SAIC Audi related people, the sales of SAIC Audi A7L in the first month suffered embarrassment, basically due to other objective reasons, A7L is still a very competitive product. But in our opinion, this is not the case at all.
First of all, the Audi A7L is indeed larger than the A6L in terms of size, with an extra length of 38mm and a wheelbase of 2 mm, but from the perspective of the starting price, the Audi A7L is nearly 40,000 yuan more than the A6L. Of course, the entry-level A6L uses a 2.0T low-power engine, which has 55 horsepower less than the A7L entry-level model, but although the entry-level A7L is a little stronger than the overall book data of the A6L, the price is still higher.
However, in our opinion, although the A7L entry-level models are very strong, the price of nearly 40,000 yuan is exactly the "soft underbelly" of the A7L. The reason is actually very simple, although the A6L is much shorter in length and size, but the wheelbase size is basically the same. So from the driving space experience, the advantages of the A7L have almost been offset, we have also said in other content, the A7L's captain is basically contributed to the trunk, and has not greatly increased the wheelbase size, so from this point of view, the advantages of the A7L entry-level model are actually just power.
But there is another problem, that is, in fact, many consumers who buy A6L, choose four models in the price range of 419,800 yuan - 443,800 yuan, two 2.0T low-power models, two high-power models, and the current offer after the discount (Lanzhou) is 390,400 yuan - 412,700 yuan. It is still much lower than the price of 459,700 yuan for the A7L, and the A7L only has a minimum front-drive model, and the other 2.0T models are all four-wheel drive models, and the price is directly pulled up to 499,700. So in contrast, in fact, even if it is a 2.0T model, the purchase threshold of the A7L is very high, according to which we can determine that in fact, even if the 2.0T model is delivered, the sales volume will not be much better, and it is impossible to catch up with the A6L.
In fact, we have always believed that SAIC Audi's choice of domestic A7L itself is an embarrassing decision, if the original imported A7 and domestic, then as a sneakback sports model, in fact, it is still relatively niche, as a new brand, up on the domestic niche model, in fact, for the brand, revenue and other aspects are very unfavorable. But after transforming the A7 into A7L like now, the part of the customers who originally liked to import A7 will inevitably be lost, and after becoming a sedan, as we said above, the A7L will inevitably face the same situation as the A6L, and we can see from the price, size and other aspects of the A7L trying to create a high-end product style than the A6L. However, from a rational point of view, it is possible to buy A6L more cost-effective, and A6L product reputation is more stable, after all, A7L is SAIC Audi's first domestic new car, reliability, stability and need to be further verified.
So in our opinion, Audi A7L sales in the first month of listing is only 316 vehicles, even less than the sales of imported A7L, in essence, and the 2.0T model has not yet been delivered is not particularly large, A7L itself is a product of "survival in the cracks", the price setting of the A7L 2.0T model is significantly higher than the A6L, so even if the A7L's 2.0T model is delivered at the same time, the sales will not show a "reborn" performance, compared with the A6L. It is difficult to become a best-selling mainstream medium and large sedan.