Under the rising cost of batteries and the pressure of the supply chain, new energy vehicles have experienced 2 rounds + price increases. As a result, fuel vehicles are not willing to be lonely, Mercedes-Benz has taken the lead in raising prices, and fired the first shot of price increases. On April 12, Great Wall Motor's Wei brand raised 5,000-12,000 yuan for some models of the coffee series, which will officially take effect from 00:00 on April 15, 2022. The highest price increase of 12,000 yuan shows Wei Pai's anxiety and uneasiness.
Specifically, Macchiato DHT and Latte DHT increased by 10,000 yuan respectively, Macchiato DHT-PHEV increased by 12,000 yuan, Mocha 2.0T increased by 5,000 yuan, and the price of Mocha DHT-PHEV remained unchanged. In fact, the above is all models of Wei brand, that is, all models of Wei brand, including fuel vehicles, have been raised in price. The MOCHA DHT-PHEV is a new model launched this year, less than 3 months after its launch, and the price is unchanged.
Under the background of rising oil prices and car prices, the price increase of Wei brand is actually just a small ripple, and there should not be many waves. However, as a representative of independent high-end brands, Weipai's every move still touches people's hearts. In particular, a blog post posted by Weipai CEO Li Ruifeng on Weibo is also intriguing.
Shortly after Weipai released the news of the price increase, Weipai CEO Li Ruifeng forwarded the news and wrote with the text "The subsidy slope can still be quite strong, the chip shortage can still survive, even if we have been enduring losses, we have not passed it on to users and dealers." But now not only the continuous rise in the cost of chips and battery materials, but also the prices of steel, rubber, and aluminum alloys are rising, and they really can't hold back. ”
Among them, you can still appreciate a lot of information. In the context of the decline of subsidies for new energy vehicles, as well as the shortage of chips and the rise in battery costs, Wei Pai can still "endure and boil", and the prices of steel, rubber, aluminum alloys and so on are rising, which sounds a bit of a "robbery" taste, showing Li Ruifeng's helplessness and anxiety about reality.
Cars are a long supply chain, "a car is not a part can be produced." Weilai chairman Li Bin once said so. While the production of car companies is restricted, the entire industrial chain is also not immune. From the initial chip shortage to the rising cost of batteries, to the overall test of the supply chain, carrying such pressure has made car companies a little breathless.
In fact, Wei Pai's anxiety and uneasiness have been experienced by many people since 2022.
In 2021, after Weipai upgraded its brand strategy, the "Coffee Intelligence" platform became the main selling point of the brand, and three new products were launched successively: Mocha, Macchiato and Latte. Macchiato DHT is priced at 145,800-159,800 yuan, Macchiato DHT-PHEV is priced at 166,800-177,800 yuan, latte DHT is priced at 159,800-179,800 yuan, mocha is priced at 187,800-223,800 yuan, and mocha DHT-PHEV is priced at 295,000-315,000 yuan.
Among them, when the Macchiato DHT-PHEV was listed, it announced that it would break the monopoly of the hybrid SUV market for a long time by the 200,000 yuan class model of the joint venture brand. Mocha DHT-PHEV has rushed to the range of more than 300,000 yuan, it can be said that in terms of price, Wei brand automobiles have also collided head-on with the new car-making forces. While pushing prices up, Weipai is also getting farther and farther away from consumers.
Looking back at 2021, Weipai sold only 58,000 vehicles, down 25.65% year-on-year, and was the only sub-brand of the five major brands sold by Great Wall Motors. In March this year, Weipai sold only 4,755 vehicles, and the cumulative sales volume in the first quarter was 14,285 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of more than 40%. The new products opened high and walked low, and the thunder and rain were small, which made Wei Pai lose face.
For Weipai's main lemon hybrid DHT system and coffee intelligent platform, Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motors, is full of confidence and has sworn that "Weipai's products have no problems at all, which technology is leveraged." ", helpless is that the sales volume is not in contention. The queen mother sells melons to sell herself and boasts, which is understandable, but blind self-confidence will lose judgment.
In the face of Weipai's continued weakness, after the Mocha new car launch in early 2022, Wei Jianjun said: "Weipai did not sell well after the transformation, just because the ability to engage in marketing and sort out ideas is not as good as Wei Xiaoli." The product is no problem, the technology is leveraged, and the sales volume can only be a problem of marketing. Compared with brands such as Weilai and Ideal, with the "soul" figures with their own traffic such as Li Bin and Li Xiang, the disadvantage of Wei Pai's insufficient attributes of science and technology is undoubtedly revealed.
In the face of Wei Jianjun's statement, Li Ruifeng's pressure can be imagined. In fact, not only Wei Pai, many brands lack such a leader. Wei Jianjun attributed it to marketing failure, and since then Wei Pai and CEO Li Ruifeng have begun to "sword to the side".
Since the beginning of this year, Wei Pai has gone farther and farther on the road of rubbing heat, from the public Diss Weilai Li Bin, stepping on the new forces of car building, to rubbing the heat of "The Rest of Life"... Known for being gentle and elegant, Weipai CEO Li Ruifeng has begun to become extremely aggressive. In particular, Wei Pai has linked the "Wei" of "One Household and One Wei" in the heat of "The Rest of Life" to the Wei brand model, which has attracted many questions.
In this way, it can be seen that Wei Pai, who is committed to creating zero anxiety travel, has begun to be anxious and uneasy in itself.
In the face of Chairman Wei Jianjun's "marketing is not good", Wei Pai Li Ruifeng is a bit of a duck on the shelves, and it is a natural thing to do in "Wei Xiaoli", which is not used on himself. In the face of the target of 1.9 million vehicles in 2022, the Great Wall only completed 14.92% in the first quarter; in 2025, it achieved sales of 4 million vehicles, of which 3.2 million new energy vehicles, only anxiety is obviously in vain.
Imagine why the Haval brand is popular in the world? Why did the Haval H6 win the SUV sales championship? To make a product, you can't just feel that you can do it, and consumers don't say good. Just like being afraid of deep alleys, it is true to improve the marketing strategy itself, but it must be effective in line with its own reality. In order to win the trust of users, we must continuously improve technology and provide new products that satisfy consumers.
In 2022, after Weipai in the Mocha DHT-PHEV, the latte DHT-PHEV will immediately follow, and there will be a 6-seat SUV in the second half of the year, while the retro sedan will also be officially launched in 2022. In addition, in 2022, Weipai will also exert its strength in the MPV market, "This year we will launch two MPV, one is the main business market and the other is for the household market," Li Ruifeng said.
Instead of anxiety, focus and get products and marketing back on a serious track.