At 0-24:00 on March 22, 31 provinces added new local cases "2591+2346" yesterday. The Beijing Auto Show in April this year may be postponed again. Some media broke the news that the 2022 Beijing Auto Show will be postponed until June this year.
In 2020, the last Beijing Auto Show was affected by the new crown epidemic and postponed to September 26 of that year.
Although the official information has not yet been officially released, from the current epidemic prevention policies for entering and returning to Beijing, it is unlikely that it will be held as scheduled. According to the latest regulations on people entering Beijing in March, people with a history of residence in the county where more than 1 case of new coronavirus infection are located within 14 days are strictly restricted from entering (returning) to Beijing.
This alone is enough to restrict most foreign exhibitors and attendees. At the same time, Beijing continues to strictly control the holding of offline national conferences, training and other gathering activities in Beijing. Therefore, the postponement of the Beijing Auto Show is already a high-probability event, and the specific time also depends on the national epidemic situation.
Meet the future, although it is too late
As one of the four major A-class auto shows in China, the Beijing Auto Show is held every two years. With the development of China's automobile industry, the Beijing Auto Show has been successfully held for 16 sessions, becoming one of the largest auto shows in China and attracting great attention from global auto manufacturers and all sectors of society. At the same time, it has also played a positive role in creating an atmosphere of automobile sales and boosting the confidence of china's automobile market.
According to the data of the Organizing Committee of the Auto Show, a total of 785 vehicles were displayed at the 2020 Beijing Auto Show, including 82 first cars in the world, 36 concept cars and 160 new energy vehicles. At the Guangzhou Auto Show in the same year, a total of 980 vehicles were displayed, including 38 world premieres, 20 concept cars and 142 new energy vehicles. It is enough to see that the influence of the Beijing Auto Show on the entire automotive industry is very large.
The 17th Beijing International Automobile Exhibition with the theme of "Meet the Future", as the first A-class auto show in the beginning of the year, is self-evidently important to car companies. Judging from the relevant new car release plans that have been announced, many brands will arrange for the listing of blockbuster new cars during the Beijing Auto Show.
Blockbuster new cars such as the Ideal L9, Gaohe HiPhi Z, Avita 11, WM E.5, BYD Seals and Lantu Dreamer have all chosen to debut or be listed during the Beijing Auto Show. The postponement of the Beijing Auto Show has caused some disruption to the promotion of new cars of car companies, but the pace of new car releases of car companies will obviously not be postponed, after all, the form of online conferences after the epidemic has been very popular.
There are three auto shows in half a year, and the rhythm should be adjusted
If the national epidemic is controlled, the Beijing Auto Show will be held as scheduled in June according to the established date, but it is not ruled out that it will be adjusted for another 1-2 months, which will bring a lot of pressure to the Chengdu Auto Show in September and the Guangzhou Auto Show in November. Holding three large-scale models in just half a year is also a headache for automakers.
According to the original plan, the three major auto shows this year have a certain interval. Whether it is brand display or product exposure, it is more reasonable for car companies to carry out according to planning. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, the time interval between the three major auto shows is too short, will car companies make a choice and only participate in the Beijing Auto Show and the Guangzhou Auto Show, so as to skip the Chengdu Auto Show or reduce the scale of participation?
Taking the 2021 Guangzhou Auto Show as an example, Tesla, SAIC-GM-Wuling, Dongfeng Fengshen, FAW Besturn, Haima and Evergrande Automobile were absent from the auto show. Like Tesla, which is obviously a wayward performance, the brand aura is placed there, and it really doesn't mean much to it not to participate in the exhibition. There are also such as Haima and FAW Besturn and other overall sales are not high, itself is facing greater development pressure, may give priority to the development of products and core technologies.
In 2021, although the Chinese auto market ended a three-year decline, the start of 2022 is still difficult. Global lack of cores, rising raw material prices, rising oil prices caused by international tensions and other unfavorable factors, car companies have been facing greater survival pressure. There are also many people who believe that the role and significance of the auto show are declining, and the influence on the auto market is limited, which is also a problem worth thinking about by car companies.
Under the shadow of the epidemic, always prepare for Plan B
In fact, holding three auto shows in half a year is still an ideal idea, and whether the postponement of the Beijing Auto Show will cause a chain reaction, resulting in the subsequent postponement of auto shows around the world, which is still unknown. In general, the pace of new product release and promotion operation of car companies will definitely be disrupted, and what car companies have to do is to prepare Plan B at all times.
Looking back at the past few years of the epidemic disturbance, the entire automotive industry has been affected a lot, and there have been certain changes and upgrades in marketing, sales and promotion methods. In the past, the physical conference has been released on the line; users cannot go out to the store to see the car, and the 4S store has opened the VR online car viewing mode, and even launched the operation of live car sales.
Whether the auto show will be displayed in a new form to the eyes of users, facing reform and upgrading, Uncle Zhong believes that this will be a small probability event. After all, cars are always a bulk item, a product that pays great attention to the sense of experience, and only a very small number of people will make an order before they have tested a new car.
Moreover, the auto show meets the consumer's desire to be in the same place, in a short period of time to contact different auto products, whether it is a car enthusiast or a car to be purchased, the auto show is a good scene that can provide viewing and communication, with its significance and irreplaceable role.
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In the past, auto shows had a certain positive effect on driving brand sales, but with the impact of the "new four modernizations" and the arrival of a new sales model, this sales pulling effect may be weakening. However, for brands, this is a rare scene that can be in close contact with consumers, a good opportunity for in-depth interpretation of brand strategic content, and a great opportunity to understand the relevant development strategies and product layouts of opponents, and the role and significance of these auto shows may be eternal.