Author: Guan Hongye
3 years ago it was just a legend, and 3 years later it became a legend, which is the difference between before and after the domestic Asian dragon was listed.
In March 2019, FAW Toyota Asia Dragon was launched, and the Chinese auto market added a familiar stranger. For most domestic consumers at the time, the Asian Dragon was only known for its name and did not see its car. After all, more than 20 years ago, the price of 500,000 yuan of Asian Dragon was almost equivalent to mercedes-Benz E and BMW 5, which belonged to the pyramid tip of consumer goods.
Until recent years, the price of AVALON has not been cheap, on the Toyota U.S. website, the 2020 Limited edition starts at $41,800, which is already able to buy entry-level German luxury cars.
It is also the brand gene that tends to luxury, so that Asia Dragon has established a high-level positioning at the beginning of the listing, providing the experience and service of B+ class mid-to-high-end cars.
Actuarial consumers find that buying an Asian Dragon is a good deal. Under the label price, there is also hidden value - the Asian Dragon is the first medium and high-end model in the domestic car to enjoy 4 years and 100,000 kilometers of free warranty maintenance. In addition, the dual engine version of the power battery also provides an additional 8 years 200,000 kilometers free warranty policy.
Compared with the market price, this policy will save customers more than 10,000 yuan in car maintenance costs, that is, the price of the Asian dragon includes a large koi equivalent to more than 10,000 yuan.
Practice over the past three years has proven that the high-half-level strategy is indeed effective. In the domestic white-hot competition in the middle and high-end car market, the latecomer Asia Dragon is hard to kill out of a blood road. The data shows that in the past year, the sales volume of Asia Dragon reached 117188, an increase of more than 110% year-on-year. Over the past three years, cumulative sales have reached 300,000 vehicles.
It can be said that in just three years, Asia Dragon has changed the B+ market pattern in one fell swoop, achieving a double harvest of quality and value in parallel, sales and word of mouth.
On the one hand, the domestic mid-to-high-end car market capacity has shrunk rapidly in recent years; on the other hand, the oligopolistic phenomenon is more obvious.
In February this year, for example, including the Asian Dragon, only six models sold more than 5,000 vehicles a month, all of which were occupied by Japanese and German cars. In addition to the Japanese top four can grow against the trend, even the former sales king Maiteng and Passat are falling sharply. The three models of the Shanghai GM series, two models of the Ford series, and a number of Korean and French cars, which once ranked at the forefront, all showed a downward trend, and the former main models with monthly sales of less than four figures abounded.
From the perspective of the total number of market segments, mid-to-high-end vehicles have continued to shrink in recent years. Among them, the erosion of the SUV sector, the downward pressure of luxury brands, and the replacement of electric vehicles by new forces have become the three most important factors. In the long run, the three mountains will be pressed on the head of the middle and high-end cars for a long time, and it is difficult for the total market to have a big breakthrough. The B-class sedan market has become a winner-take-all game and the strong are always strong.
Apparently, the Asian Dragon entered the Chinese market at a not-so-booming time. A number of new models of the same class that entered the market with it, including the Honda INSPIRE, Peugeot 508L, Hyundai Sonata, etc., have been defeated. It is not easy for the Asian Dragon to gain a foothold in the cruel market situation.
How to achieve the successful localization of a new model, I think, FAW Toyota has written a version of market teaching materials worth learning for the market through the Asian Dragon. In my opinion, in addition to benefiting from the increasingly sharp Toyota killer of "TNGA+Dual Engine", accurate brand positioning, intimate service strategy, and effective marketing promotion are the keys to The Asian Dragon's future at the core.
Not long ago, the Asian Dragon has once again taken on a new look, ushering in a mid-term redesign, and more product highlights.
At the press conference, Mr. Wang Linhu, deputy general manager of FAW Toyota Motor Sales Company, passionately performed and upgraded the flagship sedan in many places. Through comprehensive breakthroughs in design, configuration, safety and intelligent interconnection, we have further realized a leap in product strength and consolidated the value model of B+ Class sedans.
In terms of design, adhering to the concept of "wisdom and beauty re-evolution", the new Asian Dragon integrates more design sense into the front grille, providing two different styles and styles; in terms of technology configuration, the whole series is equipped with a new generation of Toyota Safety Sense to create a full range of peace of mind experience; in addition, the new three-screen linkage, wireless charging, full LCD instrument and other configurations are convenient for people with technology.
What is particularly heartwarming is that the price range of the new Asian Dragon is 199,800 yuan to 279,800 yuan, and the starting price is 10,000 yuan lower than before, which is undoubtedly more affordable for consumers.
Despite the restrictions of the epidemic control, the conference was changed to online, relying on virtual reality technology and live shooting, across the screen, the audience can also feel a unique immersive experience.
With more and more sophisticated product strength to ensure, there is a more people-friendly price temptation, there are 300,000 vehicles in the past 3 years to base the word of mouth, it can be expected that the new Asian Dragon has the ability to fly higher.
In my opinion, the success of the Asian Dragon is not only about the success or failure of a car, but also the main attacker for FAW Toyota to promote the upward trend of the brand.
In 2021, with the listing of Crown, "Crown" officially opened a new journey as a brand. As a brand new sub-brand, it has achieved hot sales on the market. The Asian Dragon + Crown land release, the dual flagship matrix molding, not only help to complete the product lineup upgrade, but also help FAW Toyota brand value greatly improved.
If in the past 12 months, new models such as Lingfang and Corolla Ruifang have been listed one after another, so that FAW Toyota has shown a beautiful scenery of a hundred flowers; in 2022, with the asian dragon renewed, the electric vehicle bZ series and a high-end MPV model on the market, FAW Toyota has the ability to further refine the brand, enhance the value, and polish the "annual sales of millions, scale of tens of millions" to shine more brilliantly.