Recently, Sihao Auto released a new compact SUV, Sihao X6. Its biggest feature is that it adopts a design similar to the NIO ES8. I think it was a big flop! Not only is it not conducive to the development of Sihao brand, but also the first blow to Weilai Automobile!
[1] The brand of the appearance cottage has almost disappeared in China
Chinese car brands in the early stage of development almost all rely on the development of cottages, whether it is Chery QQ, BYD F3, or the Great Wall pickup, in fact, can find the shadow of the cottage. But when these companies become bigger and stronger, the first thing to do is to abandon the cottage and take a positive product development route.
Enterprises that rely on the development of cottages and do not adhere to independent design can only eventually go to extinction. The most typical example is Zotye Automobile.
In the current Chinese auto companies, I think Sihao is not without original design capabilities, from Jianghuai Automobile inherited Sihao X7, Sihao A5, are very recognizable models, how to X6 cottage up? And it's a cottage.
[2] Sihao X6 cottage Weilai ES8 is to give Weilai a blow
We all know that WEILAI Automobile is a JIANGHUAI OEM, so the two companies are inextricably linked. As the first product of NIO, I don't think the NIO ES8 is particularly mature in design. From the NIO ES6, NIO ET7, ET5 after the NIO ES8, I think it is better than the ES8 in terms of design maturity.
However, as NIO's flagship SUV, the ES8 still bears the heavy responsibility of brand image and sales. So you can't delist very early. Under such a premise, the Sihao X6 came out, and I think it was to give weilai ES8 a blow. Because it makes the WEIO ES8 look even uglier.
As a media person who deals with cars every day, you can actually tell the difference between the two cars at a glance. But as someone who is not familiar with cars, it is easy to confuse the two cars. Just like this part of the people can't tell the difference between Maiten and Passat.
Whether it is to take Sihao X6 as Weilai ES8 in the future, or to take Weilai ES8 as Sihao X6, I think this is unfavorable for the Weilai brand.
Therefore, I think that Weilai Automobile actually needs to wake up with Sihao and clear up the relationship with itself during product development, otherwise it will be harmful to the Weilai brand and will not be beneficial.
As far as Sihao is concerned, from the X6 product, it can actually be seen that it has not yet found its own brand positioning and product development positioning. Although from the naming of the model, X6, X7, X8 seem to have continuity, but the product does not have a unified family design style. Because I think what Sihao has to do at this stage is not to launch more uncompetitive products, but to improve the existing products again and enhance the competitiveness of products. In this way, the enterprise can develop in the long run.