In order to reverse their path dependence and inertial thinking in the ability to define products, traditional OEMs have accelerated their transformation to electrification and digitalization; As new energy vehicles have become a major trend in the transformation and upgrading of the global automotive industry, a more radical strategy has also been introduced. However, many consumers still believe that the new energy vehicles produced by traditional car companies are a continuation of the thinking mode and concept of their fuel vehicle business, rather than fully following the electrification thinking from the initial stage like the new forces.
The concept of "information cocoon" proposed by American scholar Keith Sunstein believes that the information field that people pay attention to will be habitually guided by their own interests, thus shackled their lives to the "cocoon" like a cocoon. At the instigation of his colleagues in the editorial department, as a reporter of the Economic Daily - China Economic Network, who is a master of philosophy at Chinese Min University, he tried to observe the car market from a philosophical perspective. In this issue of "Yueyue Zhe Talk", we will discuss with you how traditional car companies can crack people's "cocoon" dependence on consumption habits in the era of electrification.
Affected by the epidemic and chip shortages, the performance of the domestic passenger car market in the first quarter of this year was significantly less than expected. However, new energy passenger vehicles continue to grow at a high rate. According to the data, in March, the wholesale sales of the passenger car market reached 1.814 million units, down 1.6% year-on-year; From January to March, cumulative wholesale sales reached 5.439 million units, up 8.3% year-on-year. In March, the wholesale sales of new energy passenger cars were 455,000 units, an increase of 122.4% year-on-year; From January to March, the wholesale number of new energy passenger vehicles was 1.190 million units, an increase of 145.4% year-on-year.
Although the new energy vehicle market as a whole shows a trend of rapid progress, the performance of different companies varies greatly. Among them, bydir, Great Wall, Geely and Changan and other independent brands, as well as the new forces of head car manufacturing, continue to maintain rapid growth in the field of new energy, and sales have repeatedly reached new highs.
In contrast, the sales of new energy models of mainstream joint ventures and luxury car brands have been unable to achieve breakthroughs for a long time. Among the top 15 (TOP15) car companies in the wholesale sales of new energy passenger cars released by the Association of Passenger Vehicles, only FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen were shortlisted, ranking last in march and march respectively.
In view of the current weakness of the joint venture brand in the field of new energy, the research report released by CITIC Securities believes that although the joint venture brand is inferior to the leading independent brand in terms of three electricity parameters and intelligent configuration, whether from the perspective of manufacturing process, chassis tuning or brand and channel, the competitiveness it presents should not be the current sales volume and order level. The root cause is also that its product definition capabilities have path dependence and inertial thinking, which may make it difficult for them to maintain the past product premium and excess profits on the smart electric vehicle track.
In order to reverse their inertial thinking, traditional OEMs have accelerated their transformation to electrification and digitalization. Taking the Volkswagen Group as an example, as early as 6 years ago (2016), when new energy vehicles were in the ascendant, Volkswagen proposed a change plan to transform from an automobile manufacturer to a "leading mobility solution expert" by 2025.
As new energy vehicles become a major trend in the transformation and upgrading of the global automotive industry, Volkswagen has launched a more radical strategy, hoping to change the original perception of consumers and the market. Volkswagen Group Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz recently revealed that "the lineup of more than 100 fuel vehicles will be reduced by 60%."
Even so, many consumers still believe that the new energy vehicles produced by traditional car companies are a continuation of the thinking mode and concept of their fuel vehicle business, rather than fully following the electrification thinking from the initial stage like the new forces.
The concept of "information cocoon" proposed by American scholar Cass R. Sunstein believes that the information field that people pay attention to will be habitually guided by their own interests, thus shackling their lives in a cocoon-like "cocoon". Users who have been in the "information cocoon" for a long time lack the opportunity to contact with heterogeneous people or views, and self-interest becomes the only intention of users to explore the outside world, and this intention hinders the transfer of users' attention through continuous polarization. In the process, users will continue to reinforce their inherent content orientation, thus forming a vicious circle.
In the era of fuel vehicles, traditional car companies are undoubtedly the hegemons of the industry, which makes many consumers generate a conceptual label of "fuel vehicles". This label is both the accumulation of achievements and the burden of history. In the era of electrification, it is difficult for consumers to change the inherent "fuel vehicle" cognition of traditional car companies, which leads to the formation of an "information cocoon" effect in the market. In the face of this situation, traditional car companies have to think about how to break people's "cocoon" dependence on consumption habits, and how to let consumers break through the shackles of "cocooning themselves" when choosing new energy vehicles. (China Economic Network reporter Wang Yueyue)