Recently, Jiangling Group announced that the first batch of Renault Jiangling models "Yi" were officially exported to Europe, and it is worth noting that the new car was replaced by Renault's new LOGO.
It is understood that this car is named Renault Mobilize Limo EV in Europe, with a range of up to 450km and is used in the European ride-hailing market.
As a re-label model exported to Europe, Yi's sales in China can be described by the word "dismal". The data shows that since its launch in September last year, yi has accumulated sales of less than 1,000 units.
Why Yi's performance in China is average, we have to find reasons from it.
Strong sense of patchwork, was complained about by netizens "plagiarism"
In terms of appearance design, Yi does not bring a sense of surprise, but has a sense of déjà vu that is patched together by multiple models. The front face of the Yi adopts a closed air intake grille, and is matched with a daytime driving in the shape of a figure 7, which is quite recognizable. Industry insiders said that the front face of Yi is simply a copy of Hechuang 007, and the similarity is extremely high. In addition, the design of the body and rear of the car is exactly the same as tesla.
Nowadays, netizens see such an appearance design, and naturally complain continuously.
In the interior design, Yi also presents a style of great integration, and many details can see the shadow of other brands. Such as Mercedes-Benz's Dalian screen, BMW's air conditioning outlet, Volkswagen's steering wheel and so on.
At present, when consumers buy new energy vehicles, in addition to paying attention to the appearance value, the configuration is undoubtedly the object of everyone's attention. Xiaobian selected the same level, the same price of Xiaopeng P5 2021 550P (manufacturer guidance price: 218,900 yuan) and Yi 2022 long-endurance dual motor luxury version (manufacturer guidance price: 218,800 yuan) for a reference comparison, to see how the configuration of Yi.
In the interior configuration, the steering wheel material of Xiaopeng P5 is leather, and the size of the LCD instrument is also 2 inches larger than that of Yi; the steering wheel position is adjusted, and the Steering Wheel is more adjustable than Xiaopeng P5.
In terms of seat configuration, Xiaopeng P5 provides seat materials, front seat functions are optional, and equipped with electric seat memory functions, and Yi only provides imitation leather seats.
In the active/passive safety equipment, Xiaopeng P5 provides a reminder that the seat belt is not fastened in the whole car, and the game only provides a front row reminder, while in the fatigue driving prompt, the game is better.
In terms of battery life, the battery capacity of the two is different, and the mileage is not the same.
From this point of view, the configuration of the game can only be regarded as relatively mediocre.
The weak and weak alliance cannot support the growth of Yi
Why is it so bad to look at this car, it is not unrelated to the investors behind it. Yi is the first car released by the joint venture company established by French car company Renault and domestic Jiangling New Energy, and both sides hold 50% of the shares. In this fiercely competitive automobile market, the cooperation between Renault and Jiangling New Energy is not optimistic in the industry.
Since Renault entered the Chinese market in 2013, it has reached a cooperation with Dongfeng Motor and successively launched two passenger cars, Colega and Cresto. However, these cars only brought growth to Dongfeng Renault in 2017, and the data shows that dongfeng Renault sales reached 72,188 units in 2017. After that, sales began to decline, selling 50,112 units in 2018 and falling to 18,281 units in 2019.
This decline continues. It wasn't until a 1.068 billion yuan loss was placed in front of Renault that Renault had to withdraw from the fuel passenger car market in China, and Dongfeng Renault's fortunes stopped on February 14, 2020.
In the age of variables, things are uncertain. On December 30 last year, Renault's commercial vehicle joint venture in China, Renault Brilliance Jinbei Co., Ltd., was also rumored to have filed for bankruptcy reorganization, which means that Renault has also lost in China's commercial vehicle field.
I thought that Renault's story in China would end like this, but it was not the case, and it still had an electric car heritage in the country. Renault, Dongfeng and Nissan established EasyJet New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd. for the development and production of electric vehicles, and exported the whole vehicle to foreign countries. According to the data, from the opening of pre-sales in March last year to the end of October, EasyJet's Representative Model Dacia Spring, led by Renault, ordered more than 40,000 units in just 8 months, and such a bright result was only in foreign markets.
Renault urgently needs to make achievements in the field of new energy in China, so it has established a joint venture with Jiangling New Energy. So, what about Renault's partner Jiangling New Energy?
According to the data, Jiangling New Energy was established in 2015, launched the first pure electric car E100 in the same year, officially embarked on the road of new energy, and put forward the goal of 100,000 units of sales in 2020 at the brand conference in 2017.
The ideal is very full, the reality is very bone. Jiangling New Energy sold 45,000 units in 2018, and it is worth mentioning that the sales volume of 45,000 units is mainly due to the new energy subsidy policy. With the decline of subsidies, the sales volume of Jiangling New Energy began to decline. The data shows that sales in 2019 are only 6383 units, and sales in 2020 have fallen to 3842 units, which also means that it is still far from the target of 100,000 units.
Not only has the goal not been completed, but the models under Jiangling New Energy are also mired in quality quagmire such as spontaneous combustion and power battery failure.
Only the strong have the right to speak, and the weak can only hold their heads and squirrels. The cooperation between Renault and Jiangling New Energy can only be said to be a weak and weak alliance, and it is difficult to support the growth of Yi.
Conclusion: Yi's bid change to the European market can be seen as a strategic shift of Renault, but China is a huge market that cannot be ignored. If Renault does not readjust the strategy for the domestic market, the sales of this car will still be very dismal, and even disappear from the public vision, it is not difficult to imagine, after the defeat of the game, Renault's new energy road in China can still go on?