Since its sales exceeded 20,000 units in a single month for the first time in July last year, Camry's market performance has been like a hanging.
From October to December last year, the average monthly sales volume exceeded 25,000 units for three consecutive months, and the cumulative sales volume exceeded 210,000 units throughout the year, which not only successfully ascended to the top of the 2021 mid-to-high-end sedan sales, but also set a record annual sales record for camry. What's even more surprising is that in December last year and January this year, Camry's monthly sales exceeded 28,000 units for two consecutive months! In the impression, this is unprecedented in the domestic high-end car market.
In March this year, in the case of a sharp decline of 12% in the overall sales of sedan terminals (according to the Association of Passenger Vehicles), camry sold 27,211 units, an increase of 78.9% year-on-year, far ahead of the middle and high-end cars.
The eighth generation of Camry has been listed in China for five years, in general, no matter how strong the products to this stage of sales will decline, manufacturers have to "price for volume" to survive until a new generation of products came out. However, Camry broke this spell, and in the case of the terminal price remaining relatively firm, sales did not fall but increased, repeatedly reaching new highs, making many opponents "look forward to the ocean and sigh".
A B-Class sedan that has been on the market for 5 years has become more and more aggressive, which seems unreasonable, but in fact, this "Camry phenomenon" reflects the progress of China's auto market and the maturity of consumers.
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What is a true "flagship"?
Camry's market performance stems from the recognition of more and more consumers for its "flagship mid-to-high-end sedan" status and value.
So, what is the ideal "flagship" in the minds of consumers?
This standard has evolved to some extent with the development of the market. In the past, many Chinese families did not have a car experience, they were buying a car for the first time, one look at the LOGO, two look at the appearance, three look at the size, and four look at the price - who is expensive and who is the "flagship", who is the "flagship".
However, as the increase in purchases becomes the mainstream, consumers are becoming more and more aware of cars, and the definition of "flagship" is constantly upgrading. Everyone began to understand that the value that a flagship should have is never reflected in any single dimension such as size and power, it should be the highest level of the industry in the comprehensive value dimension of the product - the most advanced technology, the most excellent quality, the most thoughtful service, etc., all of which are indispensable.
In the same class, the Camry is not the largest in size and the strongest in power, but it is currently the most technical B-class sedan on the market.
The current Camry is based on the Toyota TNGA-K platform, and toyota's flagship models sold in China are from this platform. The platform determines not only the size of a car, but also the technical and quality standards and grades of the car.
In the view of the young owner, TNGA is not so much a model architecture as a new set of ideas to create more advanced cars.
The previous Camry may have paid more attention to the comfort of the ride, and was indeed at a disadvantage compared with some competing models in terms of handling performance, but since the consumer chose the "flagship", he refused to compromise in any one dimension, and if the performance when driving slightly more vigorously was not advanced enough, it was not a real flagship.
TNGA architecture has the "low center of gravity", "high rigidity" of the remarkable features - the eighth generation Camry vehicle center of gravity dropped by 20mm, the use of GOA body structure to increase the static torsional stiffness of the vehicle by 30%, coupled with the rear suspension using the same level of unique E-shaped multi-link structure, as well as efficient powertrain, the eighth generation Camry's handling performance has been reborn.
Upgrading the optimized dual engine power makes the Camry more competitive in its class.
This flagship value is, of course, also reflected in the power.
Many models in the same class only provide 1-2 kinds of power, the eighth generation Camry not only provides 2.0L, 2.5L and 2.5L dual engine three different power for consumers to choose, more importantly, each set of power is based on the TNGA architecture upgrade of the new technology, more powerful and more efficient than the previous generation model. Taking the 2.5L TNGA Dynamic Force Engine engine as an example, compared with the previous generation, the power is increased by 15%, the torque is increased by nearly 10%, the thermal efficiency reaches the world's leading 40%, and the fuel economy is greatly improved by 25%!
Yes, fuel economy is also the proper meaning of "flagship" models.
Are they all "flagship", do you still care about that little bit of fuel consumption? In addition to being an economic indicator, fuel consumption is also an environmental protection indicator and an indicator of technical level. The official comprehensive working conditions of camry dual engine are only 4.1 liters of fuel consumption per 100 kilometers, which is 35%-40% lower than that of the same level of fuel vehicles, which also means that the same mileage emits 35-40% less carbon dioxide; it also means that it is the most technical powertrain in the same class at present.
Higher technical content, greater social responsibility, which is also a kind of consciousness of more and more "flagship" users.
Yatsushiro Camry won the IIHS 2022 Super Secure Choice TSP+Award with all-honors, and since the establishment of the "TSP+" award, the Camry has been selected for 9 consecutive years.
Safety is the most basic requirement for all models, but the requirements of the "flagship" will be more demanding.
IIHS (Association of Highway Safety Insurance) car crash test is recognized as the most stringent in the world, and being selected once in IIHS's "TSP+" (Super Safety Choice) has been enough for many brands to blow for a lifetime, but since the award was established in 2013 (before only the "TSP" top safety choice), Camry has been selected 9 times in a row from 2014 to 2022!
Active and passive safety have reached the best in the industry, it is possible to be selected as "TSP+", the eighth generation camry has just been listed in China on the "standard" - in addition to the minimum model of the whole series of standard - a set of Toyota TSS 2.0 intelligent safety system, which contains four major functions have basically reached the level of quasi-L2 level of automatic driving, greatly improving the active safety of the vehicle. In last year's redesign, the TSS 2.0 system equipped by Camry has also been upgraded, improving the applicability and fineness of the three functions of active braking, lane centering assistance, and ACC adaptive cruise, so that every trip can have a higher sense of security.
The upgraded TSS zhixing safety is "capable" a lot, such as recognizing pedestrians (and bicycles can be recognized during the day) day and night, adding intersection steering assistance and emergency steering assistance functions, assisting in controlling speed when cornering, keeping lanes centered, etc., greatly improving driving safety.
Better quality is the user's increasingly explicit demand for "flagship".
The first car of the young lord is an economic car, there are many small problems, but I do not particularly mind, because it is not expensive, more importantly, when I was young, it was relatively not so troublesome, but as I grew older, the quality of the young lord became higher and higher - now the quality has surpassed the performance has become my requirement for the car in the first place.
In the personal view of the young owner, quality is precisely the "flagship value" that the eighth generation Camry can rank first.
As Toyota's officially certified "overseas model factory", GAC Toyota plant has maintained a "zero defect" performance for three consecutive years, the production line has a pass rate of 98.9%, 10% higher than the industry average, and the quality control ability is recognized as the leading position in the industry - by the way, the hybrid Camry of the young lord has been open for 12 years, not only has never failed, but also has almost no performance attenuation, or so fuel-efficient, so smooth, so easy to open.
The retention rate is a manifestation of quality, and GAC Toyota strictly implements the Toyota QDR quality standard, so that camry's retention rate in China has always been ahead of the same level.
Stronger bodywork, more advanced chassis, more advanced powertrain, more comprehensive driver assistance, better quality... It can be said that these hard nuclear strengths are the biggest strength of the eighth generation Camry as a "flagship".
But that's not enough. For example, a hotel, if the room phone dials several times and no one answers, the answer can not provide the corresponding service in time, the room is large, the facilities are luxurious, such a hotel is not worthy of being called "superior". Similarly, if there is no good service, it is difficult to call a "flagship" no matter how good the hardware of a car is.
Behind the phenomenon-level hot sales of the eighth generation Camry is the quality service provided by the majority of dealers. In the 2018 China Automotive After-Sales Service Customer Satisfaction Survey (CAACS) hosted by the China Automobile Maintenance Industry Association, GAC Toyota ranked first in the customer satisfaction of the joint venture brand; and in the 2020 China Automotive User Satisfaction Evaluation (CACSI) results released by the China Association for Quality, GAC Toyota ranked first (tied) in the sales service and after-sales service of the joint venture brand, which is the 9th consecutive year that Guangfeng has won the "double crown" in this evaluation.
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Users want a young physique,
Not a youthful look
While The Camry has reached a new high in sales, the average age of car owners has also dropped significantly, and more and more young people have begun to choose the Camry.
It's not that young people's tastes have changed, but that Camry has become younger.
In a post on a car friend forum, the average age of the four Camry owners is only 22 years old.
Almost all brands, all models are emphasizing "youthfulness", so we see more and more "killing Matt" shapes, the car is a larger and larger touch screen, more and more so-called intelligent functions that cannot be used, what karaoke, Taobao shopping are installed in the car machine, the name is "young".
But is this the "rejuvenation" that users really want? In fact, this is a misinterpretation of "rejuvenation", even a misunderstanding, and a perfunctory and confused user's "youthful" needs.
Can you play games and sing karaoke in the car is "youthful"? This is not "youthfulness", but "childishness".
More fashionable, cooler, more fashionable interior and exterior styling design, more synchronized with the times of technology, is part of the user's demand for a car "young", but the main part is the ability to "young". A truly "youthful" car must not only look "young", but also drive "young" - more sporty, more energetic, more fun.
Therefore, true "rejuvenation" is not only external, but also a state - a state that appears naturally based on ability. This is the same as people, if there is no youthful body function support, just by dressing, by styling, by pulling, by beauty, that is just dressing up, and will not make you really young.
The eighth-generation Camry has become more stylish and sporty inside and out, but what makes this car really young is its greatly improved overall performance.
Academician Zhong Nanshan is more than eighty years old, but he has a younger state than many 60-year-olds, not because he wears trendy clothes or has skin care skills, but because he insists on exercising and studying on weekdays, so that his body and mind are kept in a healthy and positive state.
The basis of Academician Zhong Nanshan's "youthful state" is physical function, which cannot be pretended.
A few days ago, the DA editorial department collectively made a "driving fun" topic in Huadu Prince Mountain, and when we were taking a nap on the side of the mountain road, a Yashiro Camry suddenly stopped, and the big brother who drove asked us: "Can you play with you?" ”
In addition to being surprised, we also sighed that now the Camry is already a car that can run mountains and play!
What makes this huge change inside and outside the Camry is TNGA.
As mentioned earlier, the eighth generation of Camry of the TNGA architecture has a lower center of gravity, higher body rigidity, and stronger power, and for ordinary users, the Camry is already a car that can provide driving fun.
More and more users also find that the true meaning of driving pleasure is not how fast the absolute speed is, the curve can make a greater lateral acceleration, while maintaining the stable posture of the body, which is much more fun than driving on the straight. Therefore, a low center of gravity, high rigidity of the body, a more advanced suspension, a set of more responsive power, is a car's youthful "bottom".
Without such a foundation, it is impossible to be young just by relying on food!
Whether you are young or not, the focus is not on appearance, but on function. True rejuvenation should be premised on a substantial increase in basic performance.
Of course, visual rejuvenation is also very important, the eighth generation Camry is the first in China to provide "one car and two faces" of the high-end sedan, to meet the different aesthetic needs of users.
The "physique" of the vehicle enhanced by TNGA makes the Camry more aggressive and dynamic, and the combination of the two makes the Camry's mid-to-high-end sedan flagship glow with a real youthful look from the inside out.
As soon as the eighth generation camry was launched, it provided a "one car and two faces" shape, two different styles can be sweet and salty, which can better meet the personalized needs of young people.
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Make "flagship" and "youthful" compatible
The "rejuvenation" of the eight generations of Camry is a classic case worth learning and learning from the whole industry.
"Rejuvenation" is not only aimed at young users - users of all ages have requirements for the rejuvenation of automotive products;
"Youthfulness" should not change the product positioning of a car - the B-class family car is still a B-class family car, and it cannot be "young" into a coupe...
Too many failures tell us that we can't be young for the sake of being young, for example, a flagship should not lose its atmosphere no matter how young it is; a home MPV should not sacrifice its interior space in order to pursue a younger look...
Although the eighth generation camry is young and reborn, its positioning as a high-end flagship sedan has not changed - exquisite and atmospheric shape, spacious and comfortable space, high-grade smooth power, more textured workmanship materials, as a flagship sedan should have these characteristics, not only not because of the loss of youth, but has been strengthened.
The eighth-generation Camry is younger, but its product positioning as a mid-to-high-end flagship sedan has not changed.
Of course, this is difficult, in essence, to continuously improve the comprehensive value of the product to meet the increasing requirements of users.
In a fashionable way, the industry is becoming more and more "inward-rolled".
This kind of "inner volume" forces enterprises to continuously improve their system capabilities, and a little slack may be ruthlessly abandoned by the market.
Camry can create new sales in a relatively weak market environment, this is not luck, not accidental, but the inevitable result of GAC Toyota's continuous improvement of system capabilities and brand upgrading in the past 16 years since its establishment.
What has achieved Camry's "flagship mid- and high-end sedan" industry position is not only the total sales - in 2021, camry models of more than 200,000 yuan will account for 57%, and 2.5L+HEV models will account for 52%.
Text | Green Lord
(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