Open the WeChat circle of friends in the morning, the first message you brushed is the information about the price of the parallel import version of BMW X5 released by the parallel import car dealer in Tianjin Port. The comprehensive price cut is not a joke made by dealers on April Fool's Day, look at the domestic version of BMW Brilliance X5 released last night at a price of 60.50 million yuan - 77.50 million yuan, you will understand that now the pressure has come to all the competitors of X5, including parallel importers.
Lower prices do not only seize the competitive market
Last night we witnessed the important event of the luxury brand's high-end SUV being domestically produced for the first time, and since the establishment of a joint venture between BMW and Brilliance in 2003, BMW has been exploring the possibilities of the Chinese market. The earliest BMW model to achieve "domestic production" was the E46-generation BMW 3 Series, which entered the Chinese market as a CKD (three-piece import assembly). In the past 19 years, BMW has put more main products into China for domestic production, forming a product matrix to cover multiple market segments, and the domestic X5 will be a new milestone.
The products that directly compete with the BMW X5 are undoubtedly the Mercedes-Benz GLE and Audi Q7. In the high-end automobile consumer market, there is only a "difference" between the vast majority of competing models and there is no "gap", and everyone is almost the same in configuration, and the driving force for consumers to choose a product depends on the understanding and love of a brand or a product. As we often say , " drive a Mercedes benz and sit on a BMW " , different brand personalities group consumers into different camps.
Obviously, the domestic BMW Brilliance X5 model has become a spoiler in the high-end medium and large SUV market, in the same product force range, BMW Brilliance X5 full range of models than the official guidance price of competitors 100,000 lower, I believe many consumers are difficult to resist such a temptation.
In addition to the official trade import car market, There is also a "shadow market" in China's high-end SUV field - parallel imported cars, see the parallel import car price reduction information at the beginning of the article you can understand that this time BMW X5 domestic production has a violent impact on parallel import X5 models.
According to BMW's official sales statistics, last year's BMW X5 imported models have sold more than 50,000 units, in fact, the Chinese market will sell more X5, because the sales of parallel imported cars are not included in the sales list of the association, and are also classified as sales in overseas markets in BMW's system. In the future, if the sales volume of BMW's domestic X5 grows, the reason is that in addition to compressing the competitive market, it will also take back the sales volume in the "shadow market".
Whether it is domestic or official imports, BMW is the ultimate beneficiary, with the gradual upgrading of China's automobile consumer market, BMW's high-end SUV model X5 to achieve domestic production has also become a matter of course. Under the impact of BMW, I believe that because other luxury brands are thinking about whether to domestic high-end products or even flagship products, it is clear that the potential of the Chinese market has room for further development.
What else can consumers get besides lower prices?
After the release of the BMW Brilliance X5, it not only brings lower prices but also more space and richer configurations. Compared with the imported version, the most obvious change in the domestic version is that the wheelbase has been lengthened by 30 cm, from 2975mm to 3005mm, and the length of the vehicle has also come to 5060mm, and the rear space has been significantly lengthened. The inverted L shape on the front bar is also an exclusive symbol of the domestic extended version of the model. In addition, bmw brilliance X5 series comes standard with the M Performance sports kit.
We can compare the imported X5 (top xDrive 40i Premium) with the official guide price of 839,900 and the BMW Brilliance X5 (top with xDrive 40Li Premium) at 775,000. In terms of configuration, BMW Brilliance X5 is equipped with high and low, soft and hard adjustable air suspension as standard, while the imported version needs to be selected above the price. Standard touch LCD key worth $3500. Standard formula to the dish heating and front and rear heating, import version of the optional cost of 9,000 yuan to buy a winter comfort set. Equipped with china-exclusive luxury and comfortable seats.
In terms of some details, the imported version will be slightly better than the domestic version, such as more seat adjustment functions in the project, and the leather selection of leather. Through a simple comparison, we can find that the domestic version has comprehensively surpassed the imported version in terms of product strength, and the comprehensive advantages of price and configuration are undoubtedly the most favorable news for consumers.
In terms of intelligence, BMW Brilliance X5 has been localized. It is equipped with dual 12.3-inch high-definition display, BMW full-color head-up display system, BMW iDrive human-computer interaction system, BMW intelligent personal assistant, so that users can achieve a variety of personalized human-vehicle interaction mode, which can be optionally equipped with gesture control functions that are not available in the imported version. At the same time, third-party applications such as car Tmall Genie, Tencent Small Scene, Wireless Apple CarPlay, baidu CarLife and so on have also completed the car.
In terms of intelligent driving, in addition to the standard ACC full-speed domain adaptive cruise function, users can also choose bmw autopilot assist pro and automatic park assist plus two configurations.
The realization of domestic production of BMW's flagship SUV X5 is also an affirmation of the development results of China's production and manufacturing industry. Compared with the overseas version of BMW X5, BMW Brilliance X5 not only has the industry's leading 10,000-ton stamping workshop, but also sets up more than ten giant robots in the body workshop, known as "Titan", with a grip weight of up to 1.3 tons, which is customized for the largest body-in-white X5 domestically produced so far. Both the painting and final assembly workshops also use industry-leading production technology. During the R&D and testing phase before the model goes into production, a large number of computer virtual tests and real-vehicle tests ensure that each new BMW X5 after mass production can achieve first-class quality standards.
BMW i3, surprise Easter egg
Last night, in addition to focusing on the newly listed BMW Brilliance X5 model, we also ushered in the global debut of the new BMW i3 eDrive35L (only one model, hereinafter collectively referred to as BMW i3), and in the whole process, the most surprising moment was the moment when the official guidance price of BMW i3 349,900 yuan was revealed. If we only look at the official guide price, the BMW i3 price is close to the high-end BMW 325Li, which is 20,000 yuan cheaper than the entry-level 330i.
The BMW i3 uses the fifth generation BMW eDrive technology and excitation synchronous motor to ensure that the vehicle can burst peak torque at both low and high speeds, the maximum output of the model reaches 210 kW, the maximum torque reaches 400 Nm, and the single motor drive can make the vehicle achieve a 100 km acceleration of 6.2 seconds. The new BMW i3 is equipped with a high-nickel ternary lithium battery pack with a capacity of 70 kWh and a range of 526 kilometers under CLTC standards.
Combined with the sporty performance that bimmers care about most, this time you can completely spend 20,000 yuan less on the BMW i3 and get more power than the BMW 3 Series 330. However, the pure electric form brings the curb weight of the BMW i3 to 2 tons, and the fuel version of the 3 Series model is only 1.6 tons. Heavy is the most taboo feature of all sports-length models, in order to bring users a better handling experience, BMW has a rear axle air suspension as standard on the i3 model.
We found an interesting point when we test-drove the plug-in hybrid version of the BMW 530Le in 2020, when the 5 Series models sold in China, only the plug-in hybrid version was equipped with rear axle air suspension. Obviously, the handling is a reverse scale that BMW cannot be touched, and even if there is only one more motor and a small battery on the plug-in model, the increased weight will give engineers a headache. In this regard, BMW would rather increase the cost to solve the problem than deliver a car without character to the user.
In addition to the air suspension, BMW has slight adjustments on the chassis of the i3, and the front and rear suspensions of the new car are equipped with HRS hydraulic rebound shock absorption technology, which can make the driving of bumpy road conditions more smooth and comfortable. The rear chassis of the vehicle is also equipped with a rear anti-roll bar, and the engine compartment is equipped with a front suspension top tie rod.
In addition, the new BMW i3 has a 44 mm lower center of gravity than the 3 Series, a wider front and rear wheelbase, and is equipped with a DSC dynamic stability system including the ARB anti-slip stability control unit, providing the vehicle with better traction and grip, giving the new car better performance and cornering attitude. At the same time, the flatter chassis design is also conducive to air circulation under the vehicle, effectively reducing wind resistance, and playing a positive role in the dynamic performance of the vehicle.
Our final concern is who the BMW i3 competes in the market. Based on the above basic data, the first thing we think of is a blockbuster model that appeared at the end of last year - Weilai ET5, with a battery capacity of 75 degrees, a range of 550 kilometers, and a body size and wheelbase that is slightly less than the BMW i3, and the starting price of 328,000 yuan is also very similar to the starting price of BMW i3 349,900 yuan.
When we analyzed volkswagen ID.4 sales last year, we found an interesting market phenomenon. The sales distribution in the traditional automobile market is a decreasing trend of sales prices and positioning from low to high, but in the electric vehicle market, sales are distributed in a pyramidal manner. The "top stream" standing at the peak of the pyramid is the Tesla Model 3 in the B-class car market, and the sales of the Xiaopeng P7 and BYD Han EV of the same level as him are not weak.
The situation reflected in this market segment is a bit of a popular hot pot restaurant with a fire on the entire food street. Distributed on both sides of the pyramid sales are the traditional independent brands of Weilai, Ideal and less than 200,000 markets that target more than 300,000 markets.
The new BMW i3 is the first product among traditional luxury brands to tighten the price to nearly 300,000 yuan, and this price point is close to the peak of pyramid sales, which shows that BMW's understanding of China's electric vehicle market is the most profound among luxury products. Approaching the price range of many new power products, many people will feel that the biggest challenge in the BMW i3 market will come from the intelligent aspect, but I think it is a bit premature to conclude that this is too early, because there has not been such a product as the i3 in the mainstream electric vehicle market.
Whether it is "Wei Xiaoli" or an independent brand that follows the concept of Internet car companies to reform, their products are too rational, and everyone is fighting at the intelligent level, "today XX will put a certain function on the car, tomorrow XX will open up a certain ecology." The overlay function has become a hard indicator of the strength of the filling product.
However, BMW i3 is not such a product at all, BMW has a deep brand accumulation and a deep understanding of sports car products, these characteristics constitute the bmw i3 the core product force, but also the Ability of Chinese Internet car companies to go. Therefore, it is not wise to arbitrarily compare i3 with the products of new power car companies, after all, they are in different dimensions.
epilogue
BMW Brilliance X5 completed the domestic production to all parallel importers a downhill, and then compared with the competitors, those potential users who hold coins to be purchased are estimated to be like spiegels.
Before the BMW i3 announced the price, I was still joking with my colleagues that as long as it did not cross the threshold of 400,000, it was a stage success, and the real price was definitely a surprise, could the BMW i3 play a world in the Chinese market? Let's wait and see!