In early March, after the Acura Beijing Jingang store of Beijing Acura 4S store was rumored to stop selling, a number of media such as First Finance and Economics and Upstream News followed up with reports to verify whether Acura would withdraw from the Chinese market, but the official has not given a clear response. The relevant person in charge of Honda China responded that "no statement has been issued" and "Guangqi Honda is exploring the integration of brand resources".
On March 28, the Red Star Capital Bureau noted that Wu Pei, a major automobile V@, said on Weibo that a dealer in Acura had begun to sell its related models at low prices. According to the promotional information released by dealers, GAC Acura's two domestic SUV models CDX and RDX dropped by 60,000 and 70,000 yuan respectively, starting at 169,800 yuan and 258,000 yuan, and also gave 5 years of maintenance, 5 years of warranty, and 5 years of compulsory insurance.
On March 29, Red Star Capital Bureau asked Guangqi Honda for the news of Acura's withdrawal from the Chinese market, but there was no response as of press time. Some dealers told Red Star Capital Bureau that the current sales are inventory and no longer purchased. "Discounts can also be discussed", up to 90,000 yuan.
Dealer clearance poster screenshot from Weibo
Dealers "fracture" clear inventory
Is it time to bottom out of print?
Recently, some dealers said that Acura has stopped production in China and is now selling stock cars, waiting for the manufacturer's final notice.
Red Star Capital Bureau noted that in addition to the official Weibo of the Acura brand side is still being updated, almost all dealer authentication accounts have stopped updating.
In response to the news that Acura will withdraw from China, the relevant person in charge of Honda China said: "No statement has been issued" and "Guangqi Honda is exploring the integration of brand resources".
Before acura news of the delisting, dealers had already begun to clear inventory. The original price of 300,000-400,000 yuan of Japanese luxury cars, straight down 40,000-50,000 yuan. Now it has increased the intensity of preferential treatment, and the price reduction has reached 60,000-90,000 yuan.
A Gac Acura 4S store in Beijing gave a cash discount of up to 90,000 yuan to the 22 Acura RDX models in stock, and gave 20,000 yuan of decoration gift packages, foreign customers to Beijing have a car free shuttle, and successful car purchase can be reimbursed for one-way travel expenses to Beijing of 2,000 yuan.
Some consumers are beginning to consider whether they should make a bottom before Acura is delisted?
Red Star Capital Bureau learned from a number of dealers that at present, GAC Acura stores are sold on-site, and most of them no longer accept customer bookings. However, some dealers said that they could still order cars, and Acura did not stop production, saying that "the new GAC Acura CDX will be officially listed at the end of June, with a pre-price of 230,000 yuan." ”
In addition, although most dealers say that the inventory is sufficient, the in-store inventory models are not complete, such as few top-of-the-line RDX, so consumers may not be able to buy satisfactory configurations and colors.
For the maintenance and after-sales service that consumers are worried about, Red Star Capital Bureau learned that Acura's after-sales service is responsible for Guangqi Honda. The relevant person in charge of Honda China clearly stated, "In terms of after-sales, GUANGQI Honda will continue to provide after-sales service for existing users. Under the premise of good cooperation, GUANGQI Honda will communicate with the special stores, suppliers and other related parties one by one, properly handle relevant matters, and protect the interests of the special stores and suppliers. ”
According to domestic and foreign operating practices, even if Acura withdraws from the Chinese market, spare parts will continue to supply for 10-15 years.
Acura Car picture according to Visual China
Sales continue to decline
Acura in China "water and soil unsatisfactory"
Although the official has not yet given a clear response, the rumors of Acura's withdrawal from the Chinese market are not unfounded.
Acura is Honda's premium brand, like Lexus' Toyota and Infiniti's Nissan. In 1986, Acura was born in the United States, became famous as the "Japanese Ferrari" NSX, and flourished in the United States, and was even the exclusive car sponsor of "Avengers".
In 2006, Acura entered China in the form of imports, and sales were dismal. In 2016, Acura was localized by Guangqi Honda, and its debut was its peak, and its sales have continued to decline in recent years.
According to the data, from 2017 to 2020, GAC Acura's sales in China were 16,300 units, 10,000 vehicles, 14,800 vehicles and 11,200 vehicles, respectively. In 2021, it is close to the waist, with cumulative sales of only 6554 vehicles in the whole year, of which 3264 are CDX and 3290 are RDX. Lexus, which is also a Japanese luxury brand, will sell 227,000 vehicles in China in 2021, which is 37 times that of Acura.
Acura is a different story in the U.S. market. In 2021, Acura sold 157,400 units in the U.S. market, up 14.9% year-on-year and ranked 5th in the U.S. luxury car market.
Why is Acura unsatisfied in China?
Some dealers told The Red Star Capital Bureau that Acura not only lacks a sense of luxury in appearance and interior, but more seriously, it will be mistaken for Changan Automobile when driving out.
Acura's logo is based on a caliper as the logo prototype, adding a small horizontal bar in the middle, and the overall pictographic letter "A" as the brand logo, which is very similar to the logo of Changan Automobile and is ridiculed as "Chang'an King". In the face-saving Chinese luxury car market, it is difficult for people to recognize the identity of its luxury car.
In addition, the performance of Acura's domestic products is not worthy of honda's upgraded image, and the honda owners who are most likely to convert are reluctant to upgrade to Acura.
Even in the face of "fracture" price reduction, most netizens are still not interested in Acura. Some consumers told Red Star Capital Bureau, "Why should I spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a 'Chang'an King'?" Isn't The Honda fragrant? ”
Industry insiders pointed out that Acura lacks promotion in China, and brand awareness has not been established. At the same time, there are few models, the design lacks luxury, and it also converges with Honda. Logo and Changan Automobile (000625. SZ) is similar and is often mistaken for "Senior Chang'an". Coupled with the fact that the BBA is deeply rooted in the Chinese market and is regarded as a benchmark for luxury cars, Acura has not formed the influence of luxury cars in China. "This is fatal to the brand-oriented luxury car consumer market, and it has also led to the dismal sales of Acura in China."
The industry insider told Red Star Capital Bureau, "At present, whether Acura withdraws from the Chinese market is yet to be officially announced, and may also be included in the sales system of Guangqi Honda." Like Dongfeng Infiniti, which was merged into Dongfeng Nissan, GAC Acura originally took the form of a business unit. ”
Not only is the product strength insufficient, Acura is also weak in publicity. Its well-known advertisements in China are only brand micro-films starring Andy Lau and Gui Lunmeng, and there is no excessive publicity in addition to participating in major auto shows. Compared with the BBA's overwhelming propaganda offensive, Acura is quite high and low.
In 2021, the Acura brand suspended all imported car business and car business. At present, Acura only has two domestic SUV models on sale, GAC Acura CDX and RDX, with pricing ranges of 229,800-349,800 yuan and 328,460,000 yuan respectively.
Before there are BBA and other German and Italian luxury brands that are deeply rooted in the Chinese market, and then there are domestic new energy luxury cars such as Weilai and Ideal, Acura has no advantages to speak of, and its electrification planning is just starting, and the first product will not be launched until 2024.
Sales in China are dismal, brands are marginalized, electrification is uncompetitive, and acura exits or it is only a matter of time.
Red Star News reporter Wu Danruo
Edited by Yang Cheng
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