Affected by the epidemic, the Beijing Auto Show, which was scheduled to be held in the near future, has been postponed. However, there are still many brands that use online global live broadcasting to ensure that new cars can be released as scheduled. Among them, the arrival of new pure electric products launched by luxury brands is quite interesting, mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, BMW i7, Audi urbansphere electric concept car, Lincoln Lincoln Star concept car, Lexus RZ and other heavyweight models, making the competition in the new energy track more intense.
Among these luxury brand new energy vehicles, Brother Yuan found that "sinicization" has become a key word. For example, the Audi urbansphere concept car is a typical model of cross-border cooperation between the two design teams in China and Germany, and for the first time, the ideas and opinions of Chinese consumers have been integrated into the model design; the new BMW 7 Series/i7 was developed in Germany, and the design was inspired by China. That is to say, these new cars fully consider the aesthetic taste of Chinese in the specific design, and the localization operation of "China for the world" is becoming a new way of playing the electrification of most luxury brands. With the acceleration of the electrification process of luxury brands, luxury new energy vehicles will have a stronger Chinese flavor, which is bound to trigger a series of effects.
Luxury brands get together to release new trams: full of Chinese flavor
The world's first all-new 7 Series and pure electric model i7 on April 20 became the right focus, both of which are based on the upgraded next-generation CLAR architecture. It is reported that at the beginning of the design of the new car, BMW fully investigated the needs of a large number of Chinese consumers to join the design of the new car. "The new BMW 7 Series was developed in Germany and the design was inspired by China. We believe that today's China's movements will lead the world's direction tomorrow. Mr. Gao Le, President and CEO of the BMW Group Greater China, said.
In order to meet the needs of Chinese car owners as much as possible, the new 7 Series/i7 has appeared on the creative crystal daytime running lights and ring-shaped flare grille; and the rear suspension giant screen and entertainment system in the interior are also designed based on the high standards of Chinese users for the in-car entertainment experience; as an executive-class sedan, the new 7 Series body size has been further increased, becoming the largest car in the history of the 7 Series, which is also fully in line with the thinking of Chinese like "big".
Coincidentally, the Audi urbansphere concept car is also a model full of Chinese flavor. The car was jointly built by the Sino-German Design Center, and was jointly designed by the Audi China design team in the 798 Art District of Beijing and the design team in Ingolstadt, Germany, of which the interior part of the car was fully responsible for the Audi China design team. It is worth mentioning that the urbansphere concept car is also the first time that Audi has invited Chinese customers to participate in the design of the concept car, highlighting the Audi brand's increased R & D and investment in the Chinese market.
The Mercedes-Benz EQS pure electric SUV, which has also just completed its global debut, will also be launched in the Chinese market at the end of this year. This car not only has the most pleasing large space (three rows of 7 seats), but also optimizes the navigation system for Chinese users, as well as highly intelligent car machines, which are the specific manifestations of product localization, and Mercedes-Benz's ambition and deep meaning for the Chinese market are self-evident.
Around the Chinese consumers, the road is getting wider and wider
Luxury brands represented by BBA can continue to sell well in the era of fuel vehicles, which is inseparable from its emphasis on the needs of local Chinese consumers, and is also carrying out localization "tailor-made" while localizing models. For example, the use of rear seats by domestic users is significantly higher than that of overseas users, so it will be easier to win the favor of domestic consumers by lengthening the wheelbase to increase the riding space and equipped with localized intelligent interconnection.
As the saying goes, the market is the best inspector of products, and in 2021, high-end brand passenger cars sold 3.472 million units, an increase of 20.7% year-on-year, higher than the overall growth rate of the passenger car market (6.5%). Luxury brands that achieved good results last year have made a lot of investment in the active transformation of the "new four modernizations" and localization. Under the decline of the global auto market falling into negative growth, while luxury brands still maintain a high growth trend in China, China has become an important market for the stable performance of many luxury brands.
As sales continue to grow, China is not only an "important market" for major luxury brands, but also their most important "production center" and "R&D center". Many luxury manufacturers have set up or upgraded R&D centers in China, which will feedback the car habits of Chinese consumers to the headquarters and integrate some localization elements into new models.
Taking BMW as an example, its localization strategy from "in China, for China" to "China first, home in China" has been upgraded, giving priority to the needs of the Chinese market in new product development. This also allows BMW to quickly respond to market changes and create more "Chinese-flavored" products.
Where is the future of luxury brand new energy vehicles?
However, compared with the smooth sailing in the fuel vehicle market, luxury brands can be described as slow to improve in China's new energy vehicle market. Why is it that obviously having strength is not doing a good job of electric vehicles? This is related to the luxury brand's previous electrification transformation is more cautious, its electric vehicles are "oil to electricity" products, many people think that luxury brands have not come up with enough sincerity to treat consumers and the market.
In the era of fuel vehicles, the biggest advantage of luxury brands is "engine and gearbox", but in the era of electrification, we find that the moat of luxury brands has suddenly become "shallow". This has also led to a large number of new players pouring into the track, not only Tesla's factory in Shanghai to open full horsepower production, but also New car-making forces such as Weilai and Ideal, and more independent brands such as BYD, Great Wall, and Geely have transformed to high-end with the help of new energy.
In order to gain a foothold in the Red Sea-like Chinese market, luxury brand electric vehicles not only need to come up with advanced technology, but also find a more local path. If you still operate in the way you make a fuel vehicle, your performance may be reduced. The reason is very simple, in the field of new energy vehicles, Chinese consumers are well-informed, have become more picky, not easy to be loyal to a brand.
However, China's new energy vehicle market is still in a period of development, and the space for luxury brands to expand is still very broad. Judging from the current product layout, luxury brands have begun to act. Brother Yuan believes that as long as it can truly tailor products for China and dare to try new technical concepts, luxury brands may still occupy a place in the development of new energy vehicles. In particular, the recent release of new models is still very worth looking forward to.
Given the unparalleled potential of the Chinese market and the benefits of comprehensive transformation, I believe that no luxury brand is willing to give up this tempting cake. Therefore, it can also be seen from the recently unveiled luxury new energy vehicles that basically each model will fully consider the demand for chinese consumer vehicles. China's auto market is having more participation and discourse power in the design and sales of a new generation of luxury new energy vehicles. As for whether luxury brand electric vehicles can be overturned with the help of localization strategy, let's wait and see.