This is not Geely's first PHEV, but it is the first PHEV that has the opportunity to go.
On April 26, the Thor Hi· X Super Electromix System Emgrand L Thor Hi · X was officially listed, and the price after subsidies was 129,800-145,800 yuan. It is a clear-eyed person who knows that this price is aimed at Qin PLUS DM-i.
However, those familiar with Geely should understand that the ambition of this Chinese car company is by no means the first in the civil war.
Leaving aside the past, just since the launch of the "China Star" series last year and the subversive slogan quite bluntly, it is clear that its goal is directly aimed at the joint venture brand and aimed at the global market.
Thus, the ostensible god Howe L. Thor Hi · X and Qin PLUS DM-i are a fateful duel against each other, but they are essentially like-minded opponents and teammates.
After all, fate does not have to be a matter of life and death, but may also be hand in hand.
The opportunity to overtake the joint venture car has come
Don't look at the fact that since 2014, independent brands have exhausted the SUV dividend, and now occupy nearly half of the SUV market, and help independent brands increase the passenger car market share to 48.1% in 2021, the highest level in history. But as netizens complained, will independent brands only do SUVs?
This question is true until 2021. Taking the data of the association from 2018 to 2020 as an example, independent brands have always had nearly half of the SUV market share, which are 24.9%, 23.3%, and 22.2%, respectively, but the share of cars in the same year is only 10%, 9.5%, 9.6%, far lower than that of German and Japanese, so it is not too much for netizens to complain that their own brands will only do SUVs.
But in 2021, the situation changes. While the market share of SUVs remained basically unchanged, the market share of self-owned brand cars surged by 5.5 percentage points to 15.1%, surpassing the German and Japanese systems. The growth rate reached a considerable 66.8%, ranking first among all country market segments. It should be known that in 2020, this indicator of independent brand cars is still a negative growth of 8%.
The reasons for this result are naturally manifold, but the most important point is that Qin PLUS DM-i has been out of control since it began to exert its strength in August last year, not only has the potential to become a new generation of national car, but also began to encroach on the market share of mainstream joint venture cars of the same level.
This market phenomenon is a successful demonstration that independent brands have the opportunity to surpass joint venture brands in the car market through the new energy track by developing PHEV cars that can achieve the same price of oil and electricity at the same cost.
For these reasons, Geely did not debut Thor Hi· X Super Electromix System, but the reason for choosing Emgrand L is self-evident. In public and private, the first model must only be emgrand L.
Emgrand L is just the first step in super electromixing
After decades of development, independent brands have come to the upward development stage of the brand, and as China's auto market has changed from an incremental market to a stock market, the price positions of independent brands and joint venture brands in the past are now blurred, and after mutual testing, it is even more "a big fight", and even shouted out the radical slogan of "independence and joint venture must have a war".
Just how to fight, has always been a problem that independent brands are thinking about.
In the past, independent brands could rely on cost performance to exchange space for time, but with the price of joint venture brands falling and the consumer market upgrading, this road has become narrower and narrower. The low-end market is shrinking, and Wuling's positive transformation is evidence.
Now, BYD took the lead in the technical iteration of DHE+DHT, through the launch of long-endurance PHEV models, the market segment that was originally spat upon as a policy product and transitional technology became a new favorite of the market in one fell swoop, and after the user experience was completed, it also shouted true fragrance, including Geely, major independent brands came one after another, and the main direction of attack was instantly clear.
At this moment, the joint venture brand is making great efforts in the pure electric market. PHEV and pure electric, these two are originally complementary routes to carbon neutrality and carbon standards, so coincidentally have become the main fronts of independent brands and joint venture brands at this stage.
At present, although there are more independent brands involved in the PHEV market, they have the ability and courage in a short period of time, and as fast as BYD in its main products, there are not many independent brands that fully popularize PHEV, geely is one of them.
According to the information released earlier by the official, Geely will launch more than 8 models of Thor Hi · this year. X hybrid models, 5 of which will carry Thor Hi · X Super Electromix System. About a year after the release of the BYD DM-i system, 6 DM-i models were launched, which shows the speed of Geely's catch-up and the firm determination.
In the next 5 years, it is important to take a preemptive position
With bydir DM-i receiving unanimous praise from consumers in the market, PHEV has demonstrated its strong potential to the market. From the perspective of economy, energy replenishment system, driving texture, driving habits and other dimensions, PHEV is likely to become the protagonist of the new energy market in the next 5 years.
We give technical reasons for this judgment.
First, the battery capacity of the PHEV is now larger, and the pure electric mileage has been significantly improved, which can easily cope with the daily commuting needs of the city. For example, Emgrand L Thor Hi · X, pure electric endurance of 100km, can cover the vast majority of people's daily commuting range, the market commuting experience and pure electric vehicles are the same.
Second, in the state of power loss, the current PHEV fuel consumption is also economical, such as Emgrand L Hi · X's power loss fuel consumption is only 3.8L, even if it is not charged, there is no need to worry about the surge in fuel consumption, and its comprehensive endurance can reach 1300km, compared to pure electric vehicles without energy replenishment anxiety, let alone mileage anxiety.
Third, the general momentum is not weak. For example, Emgrand L Thor Hi · X, equipped with a new 1.5TD turbocharged cylinder direct injection engine, the maximum power of 133 kW, the maximum torque of 290 N·m, 100 km/h acceleration can run in 7 seconds, and most of the same level of single-motor electric vehicle performance.
It can be said that the fuel economy is excellent, the driving experience is not lost to pure electric vehicles, the driving habits are consistent with the fuel vehicles, the green card can be on, the new energy policy can be enjoyed, and there is no energy anxiety, the value preservation anxiety of the PHEV, has gradually surpassed the trend of pure electric vehicles at the market level, because it is more in line with and meets the real car needs of consumers.
The data from the Multiplication Association also proves this. Taking March as an example, whether it is production, sales volume or wholesale data, the growth rate of PHEV is significantly higher than that of BEV (pure electric vehicle). This phenomenon has been around since October last year, and the gap between the two is widening rapidly.
Although the current PHEV is not as large as a pure electric vehicle in terms of scale, it is foreseeable that with the full entry of independent brands such as Geely, BYD, Changan, Great Wall, Chery, GAC, Dongfeng, SAIC, and FAW, the market ownership of PHEV will increase at a speed visible to the naked eye. If traditional fuel vehicles will be replaced by new energy vehicles within 5 years, then the vast majority of the share is very likely to be occupied by PHEV.
Therefore, for Geely, with the help of the technical advantages of its own architecture and car building 4.0 era, the rapid entry PHEV can preempt the position and gain the opportunity. This is crucial to achieving the sales target of 1.65 million vehicles this year, or achieving the 2025 strategic goal of maintaining the market share of Chinese brands in 2025, catching up with mainstream joint venture brands, and reaching sales of 3 million vehicles.