Introduction: As a high-end new energy brand under Dongfeng, Landu FREE has only embarked on the journey for more than half a year, and now the situation is not optimistic, I hope that Landu will not become a blueprint.
In December 2021, Lantu automobile sales reached a peak since its listing - 3330 units, an increase of 236.36% month-on-month, surpassing the previous sales since the listing of Lantu FREE (total sales before December 2021 was 3101 units), ranking fourth in the sales ranking of high-end electric SUVs in December. This figure makes Dongfeng Motor Group feel excited, and also allows the industry to see the hope of Dongfeng breaking the situation in the high-end field.
However, the days of happiness are so short. With the recent announcement of Dongfeng Motor Group's February sales results, Lantu has made people worry - what happened to this new brand and product that has taken the strength of the whole group and invested heavily to build? People's ideal ONE can play the world with only one model, why is the gap so large?
1) The two "waist cuts" in the previous month are worrying
In January 2022, The sales volume of Lantu Automobile was only 1553 vehicles, down 53.36% month-on-month, and it was tragically cut off, ushering in the New Year's "opening black". Just when people thought it might be an accident, in February 2022, Lantu car sales were cut down again, falling below the 1,000 mark, and sales were only 740 vehicles, down 52.35% month-on-month.
Last year, the water rose all the way, and the sales volume rose very sharply in December, but the sales volume in January and February this year took a sharp turn for the worse, and it was "cut off" twice in a row. In the face of the sales performance like a roller coaster, and considering the current situation of electric vehicle companies generally "lacking core and less electricity", the author's first reaction is that the supply side of Lantu Automobile has encountered trouble.
However, lantu car production does not seem to have made any mistakes. The company produced 3,579 units in January, 2.3 times the month's sales, and in February it produced 1,083 units, 1.46 times the month's sales. In the two months at the beginning of the year, Landu produced a total of 4662 Landu FREE, but only sold 2293 vehicles, which was obviously oversupplied. What's more, as the "No. 1 Project" of Zhu Yanfeng, chairman of Dongfeng Motor Group, Lantu's supply chain must be a key guarantee.
Well, I'm afraid the problem is on the demand side.
Is it because of the resurgence of the epidemic and the Spring Festival holiday that has affected the demand for Landu FREE?
Indeed, in February, affected by the epidemic and the Spring Festival, the sales of Xiaopeng, Ideal, Weilai and Nezha all showed double-digit declines month-on-month, but few car companies like Lantu sold waist, Xiaopeng Automobile is counted as one, but people are because of the technical transformation of zhaoqing base, affecting the normal delivery of new cars.
Not to mention the situation in January, the month-on-month decline of "Wei Xiaoli" did not exceed 20%, and the sales volume of Nezha and Zero Run in January increased compared with its December. It seems that lantu's sales of the pot can not all be thrown to the epidemic and the Spring Festival. In contrast, new energy vehicle companies such as Nezha, Extreme Krypton, and BYD, the sales performance fluctuation is not very large, and there is even a big rise.
Lantu FREE positioning is a high-end electric SUV, the main sales force is the extended version of the Lantu FREE, is it difficult to be that this type of car is not popular in the market? Compare that with the ideal ONE that also uses extenders.
In February, Ideal Cars delivered a total of 8,414 Ideal ONE units, up 265.8% year-on-year. With only one ideal ONE, the ideal car successfully sat on the throne of the new domestic car-making force in the month. According to official data, the cumulative delivery volume of ideal ONE since its delivery has reached 144,770 units - this is a figure that has made new energy vehicle companies of the same level look red.
Ideal ONE and Landu FREE belong to the same high-end electric SUV; both are close to the price, both use range extender technology, and just happen to be the "only seedling" of their own brand, and Landu FREE also has a pure electric mode. But why is the gap between the performance of the two cars so large? After all, Lan Tu has been rubbing the heat of the ideal ONE before, and there is a competitive relationship between the two. The author believes that the main problem of Lantu FREE is probably the blurring of marketing and market positioning.
2) No short board, no highlights?
Lantu Automobile positioning Lantu FREE is a "zero anxiety medium and large intelligent electric SUV".
At a glance, the description that most interests the author is "zero anxiety". From the publicity of Lantu, we can indeed see the pride of Lantu FREE of its own endurance.
"Co-oil and electricity, I can run 860km in one breath." The long-distance running model in the electric industry is none other than me. After your travel freedom, I will contract! Lan Tu wrote on his official WeChat public account.
In addition to the long cruising range, Landu FREE also has two major characteristics: "100-meter acceleration fast" and "equipped with air suspension".
The extended-range version of the car is equipped with a 1.5T four-cylinder engine, as well as dual motors in front and rear, which can provide a maximum power of 510kW and a peak torque of 1040N·m, which can achieve 4.5 seconds of acceleration over 100 meters, and the power performance is indeed better than many competitors at the same price. The upper and lower 100mm adjustable air suspension is also rare in luxury cars of the same grade.
However, can this be the main reason for consumers to buy a car? What will be the user base with this performance requirement? Can they support the sales target of Lantu Automobile?
The author believes that at least at this stage, for a medium-sized high-end SUV, the car is still used to drive, not to "play". Consumers who value car performance do exist, but they are ultimately niche. In order to "eat well" in the fiercely competitive domestic automobile market, household attributes cannot be disregarded.
A customer who has patronized lantu direct sales stores said that he chose a medium-sized SUV to facilitate the travel of a family, and the number of people that the vehicle can carry is what he is most concerned about. After giving birth to a second child, the five Lantu FREE is obviously not enough for the family to sit.
The Lantu Dreamer, which will go public on April 7, seems to have the same problem. The MPV, which claims to take into account both family and business travel needs, mainly emphasizes its own power performance - the acceleration of 100 meters can reach 5.9 seconds, but the most important home function of the MPV is not mentioned.
As a luxury electric SUV, Landu FREE achieves long-term battery life, ensures the safety of the power battery, does not spontaneously combust, and only completes the basic task. Air suspension and 100-meter acceleration capabilities can only be the icing on the cake. Lantu still has not formed a core competitiveness that can truly attract customers. Although the configuration is full, unlike the recognized "Daddy Car" ideal ONE, the author cannot see its brand characteristics in Landu FREE. OTA vehicle upgrades and advanced intelligent driver assistance systems are really good, but most of them are also available to others. This makes Lantu FREE appear indistinguishable and ambiguous in the market positioning in front of "Wei Xiaoli" products. It feels like a "mediocre person" who has no shortcomings but lacks characteristics.
Speaking of marketing, Lantu Automobile can be described as "congenital deficiency".
First of all, the historical baggage of Lantu Automobile is not light. Although dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd., the parent company of the car company, ranks 85th in the 2021 Fortune Global 500 list, its own positioning of "business strong and weak" not only cannot help Lantu improve its brand awareness among consumers, but may also lower the brand image of Lantu Automobile.
Secondly, although Dongfeng Motor Group has more than 30 new energy vehicles, the sub-brands of Fengshen and Fengxing are not powerful, and no explosive models have been produced at present. Landu FREE is the first model of Landu Automobile, and no other model of the same brand has accumulated word of mouth for it before.
In this case, the problem that Lantu Automobile has a luxurious configuration and does not have its own characteristics is likely to be infinitely magnified. Reflected in the automotive market, once the heat dissipates, subsequent sales will grow weakly.
At present, the monthly sales volume of Lantu Automobile has been less than 1,000 vehicles. For a car company that has been on the market for more than half a year, this is a very dangerous signal. Therefore, how to be more grounded, to do the popularity, reputation, obviously Lantu still has a lot of things Lantu decision.
If the Lufang team cannot "turn things around" in time, it will be difficult to obtain incremental customers in the high-end new energy vehicle market. Dongfeng hit the high-end dream of Lantu, fear Lantu Lantu Lantu a blueprint.