When the market competition pattern of micro-new energy vehicles is reshaped

The market pattern of micro-new energy vehicles, known as "national scooters", is quietly changing.

According to the data of the National Passenger Car Market Information Association (hereinafter referred to as the "Passenger Car Association"), a total of 49 miniature cars sold in the domestic automobile market in 2021 ranked first with 52,798 units, Chery QQ Ice Cream and Changan Benben EV ranked 5th and 6th with 16,426 and 15,412 vehicles respectively, and Chery eQ and new energy vehicles, with sales of about 898,500 units, accounting for 30.1% of the sales of new energy vehicles in the mainland, which is the largest single subdivision category.

However, at the same time as sales are booming, affected by factors such as rising raw material prices, some car companies are making changes to A00-level new energy vehicle brands, and the market has also seen a trend of continuous upgrading of low-end products. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, said in an interview with the China Business Daily reporter that although the differentiation and upgrading of A00-level new energy vehicle market products will be a trend, only from the price point of view, the terminal sales price of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan is still attractive, "For new energy vehicle owners, there is no concern such as fuel price changes." ”

Demand continues

It is understood that driven by the hot sales of Wuling Hongguang MINI EV, many domestic car companies are vigorously laying out the A00-level new energy vehicle market and have achieved good sales results.

Statistics show that the cumulative sales of Wuling Hongguang MINI EV in the whole year of 2021 exceeded 420,000 vehicles, and the sales volume reached 55,742 units in December 2021 alone, an increase of 73.67% over the same period in 2021. In addition, models such as The Reading Mango, Zero Run T03 and Clavi CLEAR also achieved good sales results.

It is understood that the growth of travel demand is one of the main factors favored by consumers for the current A00-level new energy vehicles. The relevant person in charge of Reading Automobile said in an interview with reporters that at present, the model with a 200Km endurance in Reading Automobile products is the best-selling, "The purpose of consumers choosing products is to better meet the short- and medium-distance travel." ”

Cui Dongshu also told reporters that the people's demand for travel and transportation is growing rapidly, and A00-class new energy vehicles can just meet this part of the market demand, but also let the car companies open up a new market space.

In addition, the high cost performance also makes consumers favor A00-class new energy vehicles. The reporter combed and found that the sales price of A00-class new energy vehicles is mostly between 30,000 and 50,000 yuan, and the mileage is mostly 100 to 300Km. Taking the 2021 sales champion Wuling Hongguang MINI EV as an example, the maximum price of the whole series is only 62,800 yuan, and the cruising range has reached about 300Km.

The relevant person in charge of SAIC-GM-Wuling also said in an interview with this reporter that saicel-GM-Wuling GSEV (Global Small Electric Vehicle) new energy models have the characteristics of "fun, easy to drive, low travel costs", which has a high attraction for urban residents to solve the problem of daily travel needs.

According to reports, GSEV is a global small electric vehicle architecture established by SAIC-GM-Wuling, covering Wuling Hongguang MINI EV, New Baojun KIWI EV and Baojun E100/E200 and other series of models.

Competition in the industry has intensified

The A00-level new energy vehicle market, which is not decreasing in popularity, is also attracting more and more new entrants.

According to the data of the Association, in February 2022, the sales volume of A00-class new energy vehicles reached 67,700 units, an increase of 105% year-on-year. In addition, in addition to strong brands such as Wuling Hongguang MINI EV and Chery QQ Ice Cream, sales of models in the top ten of the sales list, such as Sihao E10X, Lingbao BOX, Clavi CLEAR and Zero Run T03, also showed a significant increase.

It is understood that as the first molded product of SAIC's "new travel" strategy, CLAVI BRIGHT is a typical micro pure electric vehicle, and it is also the main pure electric model in the current Roewe product sequence. In 2021, Clavi BRIGHT sold nearly 46,600 units, an increase of 343% year-on-year, accounting for nearly 50% of Roewe's new energy vehicle sales.

Some analysts pointed out that due to the advantages of the cost-effective and easy replication of A00-class new energy vehicles and the ability to meet personalized needs, many vehicle companies have been attracted to enter the market, and the "inner volume" of the industry has intensified. To this end, car companies have begun to make efforts in personalized customization and other aspects to seek differentiated competitive advantages.

SAIC-GM-Wuling said in an interview with reporters that 70% of the entire body area of the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV can be customized, "72% of the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV users have carried out certain Tidal Chuang modifications." ”

In addition to personalized needs, A00-class new energy vehicles are also an attempt to "electrocute" for car companies. Due to the differences in the technical reserves and strategic planning of various car companies in the electrification transformation, the use of low-end market preconceptions has also become an effective transitional means for some car companies to electrify the transformation.

In fact, the intelligent configuration of high-end new energy vehicles has not fallen behind A00-level new energy vehicles. According to SAIC-GM-Wuling, SAIC-GM-Wuling currently has advanced scientific and technological achievements including the electro-hydraulic coupling system of the second prize of the National Industrial Invention Award, the industry's first standardized battery cell, and also has the self-developed vehicle and machine system LINGOS Lingxi System. "Armed with advanced scientific and technological achievements, GSEV's product strength will be further improved in the future."

The relevant person in charge of Reading Automobile revealed in an interview with this newspaper that with the continuous improvement of the penetration rate of new energy vehicles, the acceptance of consumers is also increasing, and the company will apply more intelligent technology to new models in the future, so that new energy vehicles will gradually become civilian and further improve the cost performance.

The time for reinvention is here

With the increasingly fierce competition in the industry, the competitive landscape of the A00-level new energy automobile industry is also being reshaped.

A few days ago, Great Wall Euler announced that it will stop selling its hot models such as Euler black cat and white cat. In the eyes of industry insiders, this move is also related to the environmental changes facing the current A00-level new energy vehicle market. Affected by factors such as rising raw material prices and chip shortages, the production cost of new energy vehicles has risen, making the low-price competition strategy adopted by A00-level new energy vehicle brands face certain difficulties for a long time.

Xiangcai Securities Research Report also believes that such as Wuling Hongguang MINI EV and Chery Small Ant and other high-quality and inexpensive "national scooters" have sprung up, sales continue to be hot, driving new energy vehicle sales to increase significantly, becoming a new phenomenon in the new energy vehicle market since 2020, and the heat is still continuing. However, the recent A00-class new energy vehicle market has seen a trend of high-end models sinking and low-end models upgrading.

The relevant person in charge of Reading Automobile said in an interview with reporters that China's automobile consumer market is layered, which requires both high-end, high-endurance new energy vehicle products and cost-effective products that can solve the basic travel needs of the people in the sinking market. "With the continuous maturity of technology and the market, the mini car market should have a relatively large space for development, and Reading Automobile will continue to focus on deepening this market and doing a fine category."

Ping An Securities Research Report pointed out that in 2022, the growth rate of the A00-level new energy vehicle market will be under pressure, the price of raw materials will rise, the core accessories will be in short supply, and the decline in the price of superimposed points will be expected to be determined, and the willingness of car companies to produce A00-class new energy vehicles may be greatly reduced, and the relatively high proportion of micro-car sales will no longer be conducive to the shaping of car companies' brands.

In this case, the mid-range model market has become the focus of the layout of new energy vehicle companies. According to the data, the mileage of the EX3 under Geometry Automobile has reached 322Km, and the price range has risen to 65,800 to 108,800 yuan, all of which exceed the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV.

For future product layout and other issues, the relevant person in charge of SAIC-GM-Wuling told reporters that the needs of the people are the baton of the market and the baton of the company's future product research and development. "In the future, the company will continue to follow the needs of user consumption upgrades and launch more products that meet the needs of the people."

However, it remains to be seen whether these changes will be effective. Luo Lei, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said in an interview with reporters that in the future, relatively low-priced micro-new energy vehicles may have more advantages in terms of market share, and micro-new energy vehicles with excessive prices may compete with other entry-level similar products.

In Cui Dongshu's view, although product differentiation is a trend in the current micro-new energy vehicle market, only by raising prices and other means can not solve the problem, car companies also need to do enough work in technology. "The cost-effective advantage is one of the main reasons for the continued heat of the current A00-level automobile market, but under the disturbance of factors such as rising raw material prices and chip shortages, relevant car companies should improve the design level, optimize product design, make products more integrated, and then increase prices on this basis to gain consumer recognition."