"As the brand flagship, the 7 Series has always been bold and forward-looking in design. So at the design stage, we decided to make the new BMW 7 Series a work of art that could even be exhibited in museums in the future. Shao Bin, president of BMW (China) Automobile Trading Co., Ltd., introduced the new BMW flagship model.
Compared with the controversy caused by the design at the time of the release of the new generation of Mercedes-Benz S, the new BMW 7 Series has caused more controversy. Some people even say: If it is not kept with a double kidney intake grille, it is difficult to believe that this is a BMW.
It seems that design innovations by luxury brands are often accompanied by controversy. Just like BMW's double kidney grille, this iconic design label alone has undergone several changes, from "large size" to "miniaturization" and then to "large size". Remember 2 years ago, after the release of the BMW 4 Series, the discussion about the car's "oversized nostrils" was overwhelming, some people thought it was amazing, and some people thought it was too hard.
Finally, by the market, last year's cumulative sales of the BMW 4 Series in the niche segment exceeded 10,000 units, an increase of 109.7% year-on-year. In the first quarter of this year, the global sales of bmw's 4 series almost doubled compared with the same period last year, selling 27,704 units.
For luxury brands, each design change is actually more like a change of the brand, a leap in the past product design and even the brand style. And each such change requires a process of adaptation for most people.
However, for BMW, the release of the new 7 series is not just as simple as product iteration. Along with the new BMW 7 Series is the pure electric BMW i7, in the face of two different energy eras, why does BMW use the same design language on both? What will BMW do for the future of the two cars?
Designed to be "too hard"? i7 and 7 series from the same design?
"The BMW 7 Series design is very impressive." In Shao Bin's view, BMW's original design intention is that the brand gene continues to break through itself, constantly change, and constantly innovate. "The whole exterior interior design, the shock comes from all aspects of innovation, in the large luxury car market, the momentum generated far exceeds the expectations of many customers and many people familiar with BMW."
The new car has undergone complete changes in appearance and interior. The familiar angel eye headlights, chicken leg stalls, and classic interior designs have all been replaced by new design elements, in exchange for a more aura-like exterior and a highly technological and luxurious interior. Overall, the new 7th-generation BMW 7 Series has a stronger sense of aura.
As mentioned at the beginning, the design of the new BMW 7 Series has attracted a lot of controversy, but in the view of Duke, the head of brand design at BMW Group BMW, it is not too much of a problem.
Duke said: "I really like the bold, avant-garde look of this car. Because this is our flagship model, the management including the board of directors, etc., hopes to avoid too much risk on such a heavyweight model. Yet we took the risk and boldly declared our design claims. We hope that through such a bold design, more customers will be brought into the luxury of large luxury cars. ”
As for why did the i7 and 7 series choose the same design language?
Shao Bin said: "If you are good enough in many fields, expand yourself to the limit, and innovate enough, it is irreplaceable." For example, in the field of large luxury cars where the 7 Series is located, the first thing customers need is the atmosphere and the feeling of grandeur, because it is a large luxury car. If we put enough effort into building the product to the extreme, we don't need two versions. Because the best thing is ALL IN. ”
So, why is there an i7 and a fuel car? Shao Bin explained: "Because in fact, large luxury car customers are very concerned about the concept of environmental protection, and hope that there are electric models to choose from at this level. ”
"At the same time, in fact, compared with fuel vehicles, electric vehicles have a more comfortable ride, it is quieter, and it is more attractive to large luxury customers who value the feeling of the rear seat." I believe we will be very competitive at this level. The product will be very competitive at this level. That's what we think. ”
How to balance the traditional and new car buyers at the same time?
"In fact, compared with fuel vehicles, electric vehicles are more comfortable to ride, it is quieter, and it is more attractive to large luxury customers who value the feeling of rear seating." I believe we will be very competitive at this level. The product will be very competitive at this level. Shao Bin said.
In the future, what are the values of electric luxury that BMW will pass on to its customers?
"We launched the BMW i brand very early. What is the definition of the BMW i brand? Shao Bin said: "i is ahead, i is innovative, i is driven by new energy, i is intelligent... That's where we're headed. When it comes to the BMW i brand, we've always talked about "beyond the electric". Electric is only the form of the drive, more energy is invested in innovative technology, human-vehicle interaction, intelligent level and so on. ”
Shao Bin, President of BMW (China) Automotive Trading Co., Ltd
Shao Bin took the BMW iX3 as an example, the BMW iX3 comes standard with the autonomous driving assistance system Pro, which gives customers a very different feeling in these aspects. Another example is BMW iX, there are customers after the trial evaluation is not only a BMW, but also a completely different concept. Human-computer interaction, driving feeling, the design of the whole vehicle is very different. This is the final result of the thinking behind it.
It is worth noting that compared with the practice of setting up a separate product sequence for new energy products with other luxury brands, BMW has obviously chosen a completely different development path, deriving pure electric products on the basis of the original product line. However, in the large luxury car market, will there be a difference between the new energy car buyers and the traditional population? How does BMW serve different user groups through the same model?
"We want to communicate and pass on what it's like to drive an electric car, so that customers can be curious about it, so that he can experience the driving pleasure of electric vehicles." Shao Bin said: "The segment of large luxury electric models does not look very big right now, but I believe we can broaden our customer base. I believe that through continuous dissemination, let customers personally experience and understand our electric vehicles, the customer group that likes BMW electric models will continue to expand, and more and more customers will like BMW electric models including BMW i7. ”
Shao Bin believes that consumers of all ages in China are actually very young in psychology, as long as they have the opportunity to contact products and have the opportunity to communicate with them, they can dig out unique consumer groups. Shao Bin said: "BMW pays special attention to experiential marketing, providing customers with experience opportunities. We hope to enhance our understanding of each other through this experiential marketing. After understanding, we actually found that our car can impress people of all ages. ”
As for the future market performance of the pure electric version of the BMW 7 Series, Shao Bin believes that it is not yet possible to aggressively pursue sales data, he said: "We will not deliberately pursue sales, not just BMW i7. If you do a lot of things that are contrary to market demand just to pursue sales, it will often bring a lot of negative problems, so we will not deliberately pursue quantity. ”
Sales continue to win the top BMW what is going on?
Previously, the BMW Group announced that it successfully delivered 208507 BMW and MINI vehicles in the Chinese market in the first quarter. This also means that the first quarter luxury car sales champion has been won by BMW, followed by Mercedes-Benz. BMW is also the only BBA brand with positive year-on-year growth.
In the Chinese market in 2021, BMW delivered a total of 846,000 BMW and MINI vehicles, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year, accounting for nearly 34% of the total global sales, and the best-selling model was the BMW 3 Series, which won the first place in luxury car sales with a performance of 170,000 units in the whole year.
Globally, the BMW Group delivered a total of 2,521,525 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles worldwide in 2021, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year. Among them, the bmw brand's global sales reached a record high of 2,213,795 units, an increase of 9.1% year-on-year. Sales of pure electric vehicles doubled to 103,855 units, up 133.2% year-on-year.
Throughout the past two years, BMW's sales performance has remained strong despite the impact of the epidemic and unstable factors such as the supply chain, so what has BMW done right in these two years or longer?
In Shao Bin's view, BMW's recent performance in the market has mainly benefited from several levels such as products, customers and brand operations.
First of all, at the brand level, Shao Bin said that so far, products still play a very important role, whether electric vehicles or internal combustion locomotives, so in recent years we have continued to enhance product strength and continue to enrich the product lineup. We launch more than 20 new products every year and perform well in all market segments.
Shao Bin said: "For example, the M3, M4, M5, X5M, X6M of the BMW M family have been recognized by the majority of consumers; the market performance of the 4 Series is also obvious to all, and even when buying a new car, it takes a while to wait; i4 is also like this, many customers are very persistent and waiting for it." There is such a market performance because the product has a unique selling point and attractiveness, and only when the needs of the customer group are truly understood can such a presentation be made. “
In the field of customer service, BMW has done a lot of very specific things in this field in the past two or three years, so that we can get closer and closer to our customers and meet the needs of customers in the first time. Shao Bin said: "We create a better car purchase environment for customers through the 'BMW Network Leadership Project', and promote the transformation of dealer service concepts and business methods, so as to provide customers with more intimate and convenient services." ”
In addition, BMW also uses digital technology to approach customers and listen to the most authentic voices and needs of customers. Take the My BMW App, for example, which is an important tool for us to interact with our customers. At present, the number of My BMW App users has exceeded 3.4 million, and the number of monthly active users has exceeded 1.4 million.
At the same time, BMW is a luxury brand with a history of more than 100 years, which has spent a lot of thought on brand building and operation and maintenance, and has also formed a strong resonance with users in terms of brand spirit and brand philosophy. Therefore, reasonable brand management is also an aspect that makes our sales performance better and better. Shao Bin said.
Thinking about user operations will also continue on top of the BMW i7. Shao Bin said: "The importance attached to china by large luxury cars is also reflected in the in-depth insight into consumer preferences, tastes, preferences and usage habits. The sales volume of the 7 series in the Chinese market is so large, if you want to achieve greater success, you must understand the customer, and the basic disk of the customer is also increasing, so I think BMW should pay more attention to the understanding of the customer and the change of customer demand. ”
Che Yun Summary:
Whether it is BMW Mercedes-Benz or Audi, luxury brand cars are speeding up the introduction of new energy vehicles in order to catch up with the falling progress bar. Judging from the official data, the proportion of BMW's overall sales in the new energy market is constantly increasing.
Next, how to use the heritage of luxury brands to once again lead the era of electrification is a difficult problem that BBA needs to answer. Attaching pure electric models to traditional product sequences, BMW may hope to better empower and pure electric products with brand influence, and also show its determination to transform into new energy. After all, the BMW 7 Series represents the BMW Group's innovative strength and enterprising spirit, and after more than 40 years of glorious history, it will lead the next era with BMW i7 in the future.
In the words of CHIP, Chairman of the BMW Group: "The innovative BMW i7 is the strongest 7 Series and the latest example of BMW's successful development and determined electrification transformation." ”