Recently, Bill Hayes, vice president of sales in The Asia Pacific region of Stellantis, announced to the media that Jeep is formulating an electrification strategy for the brand and plans to upgrade the brand positioning to a luxury brand.
When I heard about Jeep's plans to become a luxury brand, my first impression was that mazda announced that it was going to become a luxury brand, which was essentially the same as that people wanted to laugh but it was not so easy to laugh.
It is true that Jeep has models priced at 400,000-700,000 yuan, such as the now imported version of the Wrangler and grand Cherokee, which are all high-end model routes. However, as a car brand that started with off-road vehicles and was first born to meet the needs of the US military in World War II, Jeep now wants to "makeover" and take the luxury brand route, which is not very dramatic in my opinion.
Not to mention its solidified brand image of hardcore off-road vehicles, it is difficult to say that the luxury attributes currently possessed by Jeep's models are also difficult to relate to luxury. After all, whether it is a domestic guide, a grand commander, a free light or a foreign Wrangler, a grand Cherokee, in fact, there is no luxury atmosphere, so when you hear that Jeep will become a luxury brand in the future, it naturally gives people a feeling of not measuring up to their own strength.
Of course, Jeep's desire to become a luxury brand does not mean now, but after formulating the brand's electrification strategy, he plans to elevate the brand positioning to a luxury brand. However, Jeep may have overlooked that in the era of electrification, traditional luxury brands led by Mercedes-Benz and BMW have been innovating, and even weaken their own luxurious atmosphere, and then emphasize the trend of more emphasis on the atmosphere of science and technology. And Jeep plans to become a luxury brand in the era of electrification that pays attention to the sense of technology, is this reasonable at such a point in time?
Returning to the domestic market, according to the April production and sales express released by GAC Group, gac FCA Jeep's production and sales in April were zero, which seems to mean that the current Jeep in the Chinese market has been completely shut down. Based on the current situation of Guangfiq in China, people have to worry that Jeep may really be only one official announcement away from withdrawing from the Chinese market.
The failure of the domestic market does not mean that Jeep is a failure in the global market, but the reason why the domestic market will gradually marginalize the Jeep brand is definitely related to the rise of our domestic car brands and Jeep's own inaction.
Take the Jeep brand itself, the slow product update speed in the domestic market, the many alternatives in similar models and the continuous decline in quality reputation are all important reasons for gac FCA Jeep to become today. It can be said that Guangfik fell into such a field as it is today, and it is not a day's work.
Therefore, the Jeep brand, which is still mixed into such a "miserable" in the domestic market, now wants to become a luxury brand in the era of electrification, to be honest, I am definitely not optimistic. Even if Jeep does announce its transformation into a luxury brand in the future and is fortunate to continue selling in China, I don't think sales may be much better. After all, the Chinese market really has no shortage of luxury brands, not to mention, whether Jeep has the ability to become a luxury brand, but also a big question mark, isn't it?
Finally, do you think there is a future for Jeep's plans to become a luxury brand in the era of electrification? And can it really compete with the BBA in the future? Leave a message in the comment area to talk about it, let's exchange and discuss it together. (Text/Univision Auto Dazhuo)
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