Almost on the same day as the "cloud opening" of the Beijing Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz and BMW successively released their flagship pure electric models , the EQS SUV and the i7.
The EQS SUV, EQE and Vision EQXX concept cars are all all pure electric models recently released by Mercedes-Benz.
The difference is that the former is an SUV and the latter is a sedan. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz also launched the world's EQE, BMW launched the fuel version of the i7--- the new generation of the 7 series, before that, the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX concept car ran more than 1,000 kilometers.
Next to the pure electric i7, there is also a fuel version of the 7 Series, which offers a drive system that includes pure electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel engines, which is BMW's strategy.
In the era of fuel vehicles, mercedes-benz and BMW, the two major luxury car giants, can also go to the same destination. Entering the era of electric vehicles, the two began to diverge: Mercedes-Benz will be ALL IN pure electricity, while BMW will lay out a full-line strategy: fuel vehicles, pure electricity, plug-in and hydrogen fuel are involved, plug-in hybrids are classified into the category of large hybrids, with fuel vehicle genes.
Judging from the market performance in the past two years, it seems that BMW has seized the opportunity.
1
Mercedes-Benz bet on pure electricity, and fully turned in 2030
Mercedes-Benz has been planning in the field of pure electricity for a long time.
As early as July 22, 2021, Mercedes-Benz released the latest electrification transformation plan, which is more radical than the "electric first" proposed two years ago: by 2030, Mercedes-Benz will achieve pure electrification of all models, that is, "full electric". The plan is a full 20 years ahead of the 2050 deadline in the Paris Agreement.
Between 2022 and 2030, Mercedes-Benz plans to invest more than 40 billion euros in all-electric models, with all its brands electrified. By 2025, Mercedes-Benz will achieve 50% of its cars to be plug-in hybrid or pure electric vehicles, while introducing a "green charging" function. It promises to fully prepare the market for fully pure electric by 2030 in the market where conditions permit.
At the technical level, in 2025, Mercedes-Benz will release three pure electric model architecture platforms, including the MB.EA pure electric architecture platform, covering all medium and large passenger car products, to create a scalable modular system; the exclusive platform for AMG.EA performance electric vehicles; and the VAN.EA pure electric architecture platform to open the era of pure electric MPV and light commercial vehicles, contributing to zero-emission transportation and zero-emission cities.
"The electrification transition is accelerating, especially in the luxury car segment where Mercedes-Benz is located. The industry inflection point is approaching, and we will be ready as the global market achieves a pure electric transition by 2030. Mercedes-Benz CEO Conlinson said.
In China, the world's largest market, Mercedes-Benz's approach is a little different. Mercedes-Benz (China) related people said that in the Chinese market, as long as consumers have demand, various models will still provide PHEV versions until 2030 to achieve full purification.
2
BMW pure electricity, plug-in hybrid, FCV go hand in hand, fuel vehicles still have a market
Unlike Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and General All in pure electric technology, BMW has chosen the integrated route at this stage, that is, it is compatible with the three powertrains of internal combustion engine, plug-in and pure electricity.
The just-released BMW 7 Series is the first luxury sedan in the BMW luxury segment to offer multiple power versions of the internal combustion engine, plug-in hybrid and pure electric.
On the BMW X3 and BMW 3 Series, it can be seen that the three models of pure oil, pure electricity and plug-and-mix are unveiled on the same stage.
The iX5 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is BMW's FCV addition.
Not only that, BMW has also added a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle FCV. Recently, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle completed a rigorous extreme cold endurance test at the winter test center of the BMW Group in Arjepluge, Sweden, which means that the BMW iX5 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle has entered the late research and development stage before mass production, and the new car will be mass-produced on a small scale in the second half of 2022.
For this "multi-dynamic strategy", BMW Group CEO Chiptzer explained that it is up to the consumer to decide which drive to choose, rather than imposing on the consumer.
"By far the largest segment in Germany is the internal combustion engine, even if you look at the european and global markets as a whole," Ziptze said. Before you give up your internal combustion engine for the next 8 or 10 years, you have to be clear about what you're doing. If you try to abandon the internal combustion engine in Germany and Europe, but the global market is not so fast, then you will lose the advantage of internal combustion engine technology in the global market. ”
BMW GROUP CEO Chiptzer: "If someone can't buy an electric car for some reason but needs a car, would you advise him to keep driving his old car?" If you stop selling internal combustion engines, others will. ”
The senior management in charge of BMW's R&D shares the same view: "Completely abandoning the technology and platform of fuel vehicles, and going from scratch to develop and build an electric vehicle production line is too expensive and too long." ”
Mercedes-Benz E350eL sales have been on par with bmw 535LE, but the sense of presence is much lower, the reason you taste it.
BMW has not slowed down in the electrification of models, and in 2022, the BMW Group will mass-produce and trial-produce 15 pure electric vehicle models, covering about 90% of the market segment, and by the end of 2025, it plans to deliver 2 million pure electric vehicles worldwide. In 2030, it plans to deliver 10 million pure electric vehicles to customers.
According to the plan, by 2030, the other three brands of the BMW Group will also be fully electrified, the Rolls-Royce brand will complete the electrification of all products, the BMW Motorrad urban mobility series will be fully electrified, and the MINI brand will also move towards full electrification.
3
BMW leads the way in sales and growth
From the actual market point of view, BMW has temporarily taken the lead, not only in total sales but also in electric vehicle sales; but Mercedes-Benz has an advantage in turnover and profit.
BMW leads in sales and growth, and Mercedes-Benz dominates in turnover and profits.
In 2021, the BMW Group won the global luxury car sales championship with a record of 2.52 million units, with a growth rate of 8.4%, while Mercedes-Benz lost 2.055 million units, down 5%.
In China, the world's largest market, BMW's lead is even greater. BMW delivered a total of 846,000 BMW and MINI vehicles in 2021, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year and accounting for nearly 34% of total global sales; Mercedes-Benz totaled about 760,000 vehicles.
Entering the first quarter of 2022, the gap between the two has further widened. BMW sold 596,907 new vehicles (including MINI and Rolls-Royce) worldwide, and the cumulative sales volume in the Chinese market was 208,507 (including the MINI brand), down 9.2% year-on-year.
Mercedes-Benz delivered 501,600 units worldwide, down 15% year-on-year, and delivered 192,000 new vehicles in china, down 14% y/y.
As for the electric vehicles that everyone values more (including pure electricity and plug-in), BMW seems to be ahead. In 2021, BMW sold 276,000 electric vehicles worldwide, ranking fifth; Mercedes-Benz followed with 228,000 units.
In the first quarter of 2022, the BMW Group delivered 35,289 pure electric vehicles (BMW and MINI) worldwide, an increase of 149.2% year-on-year, and Mercedes-Benz's global sales of pure electric vehicles reached 21,900 units, a 210% year-on-year increase.
4
Pure electricity is not a substitute for fuel vehicles
In the first quarter of this year, Mercedes-Benz PHEV sales were 45,900 vehicles, which means that within Mercedes-Benz, the sales of plug-in hybrids are still far more than pure electric.
It is not difficult to understand that before the revolutionary breakthrough in battery technology and the difficulty of charging have not been solved, pure electric cannot fully replace fuel vehicles, and its more suitable positioning is the second car for urban commuting, and it is more suitable for small cars, especially in the case of battery raw materials soaring.
Pure electric smart pre-sale of 19-23 million yuan, the announcement of the pre-price of 24 hours to get 10,000 orders, more than Mercedes-Benz in the past any pure electric vehicle, it seems to show that the positioning of pure electric vehicles should be more small and fine, rather than large and expensive.
Mercedes-Benz is now selling most of the big cars, the path of electrification is more suitable for PHEV, because it has both the driving texture of the tram, and there is no mileage anxiety of pure trams, more importantly, it also has the genes of fuel vehicles, and can enjoy the brand premium of the original luxury car.
In the first quarter of this year, the market share of mainland BEVs was about 15%, and the remaining 85% of models were still with internal combustion engines (including pure fuel vehicles, HEVs, PHEV, etc.).
According to the statistics of the China Automobile Association, in the first quarter of this year, the mainland pure electric vehicle sales reached 1.007 million vehicles, an increase of nearly 1.3 times year-on-year; plug-in hybrid models completed sales of 249,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of twice.
Not only in China, but also in Europe, another major market, the market capacity of PHEV is almost the same as THATV; Toyota and Hyundai Group, which are currently performing well in the global market, are all BEV, PHEV, HEV and FCV routes.
50,000 units sold in 13 months, Volkswagen felt that it was a performance worth showing off; the average monthly units were less than 4,000 units, which was contributed by 3 IDs, and the average monthly sales of a car was only more than 1,000. It can be said that how brilliant Volkswagen is in fuel vehicles, how lonely pure electric vehicles are.
On the other hand, after all in pure electricity, it seems to have lost its original sharpness, which may have some inspiration for Mercedes-Benz.
Text | DA Bin
(This article is the author's personal opinion only and does not represent the position of DearAuto.) )
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Mr. Li Guoyong of Guangdong Green Law Firm