Obviously, the sales volume of the overall MPV market is declining, why is this market getting hotter and hotter?
Obviously, most consumers are not users of high-end MPV, why are manufacturers still happy to get together in this field?
Obviously, the mid-range MPV market has great potential, why are manufacturers staying away?
Today, we will mainly talk about the current MPV field these puzzling and puzzling problems. As one of the three branches of the passenger car market, MPV seems to be too "modest" compared to cars and SUVs, whether it is the volume, the richness of the model, the importance of manufacturers, etc., or the consumer's car purchase trend, preference, model evaluation, etc., MPV can not be compared with the latter two, especially the prevalence of the 6/7 seat SUV market, so that MPV, which has more travel advantages, is "cool" on the side. Although there are two-child and three-child policies in the past, and there are 6 years of exemption from inspection, free high-speed passage on holidays, etc., many consumers seem to be unmoved. The typical proof is that since 2017, the sales volume of the MPV market in the mainland has shown a downward trend year by year.
However, we have recently seen many car manufacturers frequently increasing the MPV market, which is obviously smelling business opportunities, and we have generally summarized this information in order to make people have a clearer idea:
Let's start with the existing ones
Those "old" MPV that we are most familiar with may be the Buick GL8, Honda Odyssey, and then more Honda Airson, these models are deeply rooted in our impression; secondly, the more familiar MPV, low-end products or tool attributes are stronger, including Baojun 730, Dongfeng Fengxing Lingzhi, JAC Ruifeng M3/M4, etc., and later there are such models as BYD Song MAX, Trumpchi M6, Geely Jiaji, Wuling Capgemini and other models to join, in the passenger attributes strengthened a lot, became a one "Decent" MPV too.
Mid-range MPV products, in addition to the "old three", in recent years, there are Trumpchi M8, Roewe iMAX8 and other domestic brands, as well as Mercedes-Benz Vito, Volkswagen Weiran, Jiangling Ford Toureo, and last year added Toyota Xena, Kia Kahua, Beijing Hyundai Kustu and other heavy products. In addition to the Toyota Alpha that people love and hate in the high-end MPV market, there are also "twin" Wilfa, sister cars Lexus LM and Mercedes-Benz V-Class, as well as a number of modified models based on these models, which are not listed here.
Let's talk about being ready to join
Wuling Jiachen is expected to be pre-sold in late April, the first batch of real cars have been officially shipped to the national offline 4S stores, the new car is expected to be listed in the second quarter, the positioning is expected to be lower than Wuling Capgemini, the main practicality.
Dongfeng Fengxing Yacht has been officially released a few days ago and is expected to be officially launched within this month (April); new owners are home and positioning medium-sized MPVs.
Lantu Dreamer has officially opened the pre-sale on April 7 (pre-price: 38.00-60.00 million yuan), the new car positioning large MPV, body length / width / height are 5315/ 1985 / 1820mm, wheelbase 3200mm, equipped with pure electric or extender hybrid, and equipped with air suspension + CDC + magic carpet function, the main high-end.
SAIC Maxus MAXUS G90/MIFA 9, both cars have been unveiled, the former is the fuel version, has opened pre-sale, the latter is a pure electric version, has been listed (not delivered), both positioned in the medium and large MPV, in fact, can be seen as "one flower and two branches", both of which are mainly high-end. It is worth mentioning that the price of the two cars is basically in the same range.
Denza MPV has also officially released the official map on April 15, the new car positioning medium and large MPV, using a new design language, similar to Toyota Alpha, looks luxurious, or equipped with BYD DM and EV two powertrains, and Denza officially revealed that the new car is expected to be listed in the near future.
Wei brand MPV, although it has not yet seen the real car, but the frequent flow of mule car spy photos and information exposed from time to time, people have always believed that this MPV is coming, it is rumored that the Wei brand MPV is also positioned in the medium and large MPV, is expected to carry fuel and lemon DHT hybrid two power types.
Hongqi MPV is also a nail in the coffin, and Wei brand MPV, has been in the mule car spy photos from time to time out, Hongqi as a luxury independent brand, its MPV model is naturally also a high-end product, in addition to the design of the latest family language, the power is expected to be equipped with Hongqi self-developed 3.0T V6 engine, but also will have a 2.0T version and plug-in hybrid model.
Extreme Kr 002 (name not determined) has also been heard, although the name is not so called is still debatable, but it is certain that the Extreme Kr brand MPV is already on the road, and if there is no accident, this will also be a pure electric medium and large MPV, there are also media revealed or will be equipped with a range extender hybrid system.
Foreign brands are not idle. The first is FAW Toyota Granvia, the name may be unfamiliar, but this is actually GAC Toyota Syna's sister car, the two cars are almost identical in design, only slightly adjusted in detail. Also positioned as a medium and large MPV, equipped with Toyota THS Hybrid, it is expected to be added to the official Chinese name.
Followed by Mercedes-Benz EQT, this car was unveiled at the 2021 Munich Motor Show in Germany, although it is hung with the Mercedes-Benz logo, it is actually a model developed by Mercedes-Benz in cooperation with Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Alliance, and is divided into commercial Citan version and home T-Class version, which is a pure electric medium-sized MPV, and the new car is expected to expand overseas markets this year.
There is also Hyundai STARIA, which can be seen as an alternative to the Hyundai H-1 Flavier, which was once imported into China, and is a commercial and domestic large-scale MPV that is available in multiple versions of 2-11 seats (of which the 11-seat model is only for the Korean market), equipped with a 2.2T diesel engine and a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 gasoline engine. The car was already on sale at the Macau Motor Show last year, but whether it will be introduced to the mainland market is still in the final discussion.
It can be seen that a large wave of MPV is coming, independent brands are rubbing their hands, foreign brands are eager to move, although the current domestic MPV market is not alarming, but I believe that with the addition of these MPVs, it will set off a wave of MPV fever, not only to ask, car manufacturers This is the opening of the trick?
MPV has a lot to offer
Back to the question mentioned at the beginning, we said that the domestic MPV market volume has been declining since 2017, which is actually not false, but why did it not extinguish the enthusiasm of the main engine factory to make MPV, but it seems to be more and more courageous? The reason is actually clear in one sentence, that is, the overall MPV sales decline, mainly because of the decline in the low-end MPV market, while the high-end MPV market has been rising rapidly in recent years.
To further illustrate this issue, it is necessary to start from the development of MPV in the mainland. In the early days, domestic MPV was divided into three major scenarios: passenger and cargo dual-use, home, and official reception/commuting, and the boundaries between these three types were obvious before. Later, with the acceleration of urbanization and the increase in automobile penetration, consumers began to pay attention to the comfort and functionality of MPV, which led to the formation of a relatively independent market positioning of MPV. Up to now, with various policy blessings, as well as the efforts of automobile manufacturers in the field of MPV, and the rise of 6/7-seat SUVs, users pay more attention to the quality experience of MPV.
From this, we can also guess that the future MPV market will continue to develop towards refinement, especially in recent years, or will usher in a wave of "blowout", the scale may not be as good as the SUV of the year, but it is enough to see; coupled with the background of synchronous transformation with electrification, it provides a new path and possibility for the vigorous development of the MPV market. For example, the upcoming MPV we mentioned above are electrified models, or simply new energy vehicles.
However, we must also admit that the development of MPV in China is not "healthy". Whether it is the current market of those hot, volume of MPV models, or planning or upcoming MPV, there is an obvious feature is that the high-end MPV that focuses on business commuting is extremely hot, and new cars are mushrooming; while the main low-end MPV for home use is lackluster, there are few new cars, and the structure of "one head is dominant" is not consistent with the normal "shuttle" structure of the car or SUV market. But to be honest, the mid-range household MPV in this market, especially in the range of 100,000-200,000, should actually be the most capable of moving MPV models that meet the needs of space, comfort, technology and fuel economy.
However, at present, the products in this range are either slightly weaker in brand power, or the comfort is not up to standard, or the commercial meaning is too strong, and consumers will obviously feel that these two models are more cost-effective and more selective when buying a car. Moreover, it is strange that even if the MPV in this range is made, it is not necessarily the product that consumers expect, so the car manufacturers are hesitant to open their mouths (because this cake is likely to be a "yolk pie"). Joint venture brands do not pay attention to it, and independent brands do not give strength, resulting in difficulties for ordinary consumers to choose a satisfactory MPV model.
But relatively high-end MPV, such as Buick GL8, Toyota Xena and the future of those MPV models that are often priced at 250,000 +, ordinary consumers are often difficult to reach, and most of these models have strong exclusive attributes, these models want to be on the volume, either have the experience of deep ploughing the domestic market like Buick GL8, or have the strong brand power and word-of-mouth blessing of Toyota Saina, or what to give like independent brands, but also to ensure the experience of value for money... Of course, the most important thing is that domestic consumers recognize it and have a certain purchasing power.
At present, the mainstream MPV market represented by Buick GL8 or Odyssey has not yet reached saturation, although ordinary consumers cannot reach it, but it is ideal for some users who "need to upgrade". In addition, for automobile manufacturers, the profit margin of high-end MPV is obviously much better than that of low-end MPV, and it is a good idea to take advantage of the fact that there is still room for growth in this market. It's just that ordinary consumers have to wait patiently for a while, or they can look at models such as Trumpchi M6, Wuling Capgemini, Dongfeng Fengxing Yacht and Buick GL6, although few, it is also a stopgap choice.
Written in the end: the MPV market is moving towards the hot, but during this period there will be a variety of irrational phenomena, just like the rise of SUVs in the past, once the outlet has passed, MPV really moves towards the stage driven by technological innovation and system capabilities, at that time, the spring of MPV will really come.