Third-rate design follows the trend, second-rate design leads the trend, and first-rate design rapes the trend.
The so-called first-class design is obviously caused by a lot of public opinion controversy, but both the supply and demand ends are "mouth to say no, the body is very honest": consumers say ugly while paying for it; suppliers say ugly while moving imitations.
The right-angled bezel that the iPhone 12 began to return to is almost unique to today's flagship phone, and many people have commented that the feel has become worse. But if you look at Apple's sales, and then look at how many thousand-dollar mobile phones have also followed the trend and made right-angle borders, you will know that public opinion controversy is not a matter for Apple at all. Even, when the store sales sell a thousand-yuan machine with a right-angle border, they must add a sentence: "This design is the same as Apple, high-end." ”
The beauty and ugliness of design has always been subjective. But brands that allow users to achieve "I am the design standard" are, without exception, a strong brand in an area. Apple is a strong brand in consumer electronics, and in the automotive field, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are also (or they think) strong brands.
So, when you're discussing why mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series are "ugly", their consideration may be precisely "I am what the flagship sedan of the next decade should be".
Never go with the flow of flagship sedans
BMW does not want to, its own 7 series is called the big 5 series or even the big 3 series. However, the sixth generation of BMW 7 Series listed in 2015, that is, the generation of models on sale, has all the classic elements of BMW, stretched lines, elegant posture, set sports, luxury in one, but even if the mid-term redesign deliberately enlarged the area of the net, it is still far from the top flagship sedan, some feelings. Compared with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, both sales, terminal prices and market reputation can prove this.
After the launch of the new generation of Mercedes-Benz S-Class in 2021, despite the design controversy, the subversive impression created by the new car, the willingness of users to move from the back row to the front row, and the innovation in digital technology have made its potential buyers further firm in the idea of pocketing. The capital of the BMW 7 Series and mercedes-Benz S-Class competition has invisibly become cost-effective.
However, the transformation of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has left another space - the executive-level luxury flagship sedan.
The king of this market segment deserves to belong to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. However, the new generation of Mercedes-Benz S-Class is no longer a pure administrative positioning, and the Porsche Panamera has always been for the driver. As for the Audi A8, before the complete replacement, this generation of models and Mercedes-Benz BMW's flagship sedan should not have much intersection.
Therefore, the new BMW 7 Series has chosen a seemingly traditional, but de facto blank market.
Because of this, the new BMW 7 Series will have a length of nearly 5 meters 4 meters, a straight and thick body line, a towering nose that looks quite majestic, and a relationship with Rolls-Royce intentionally or unintentionally. Moreover, just when other flagship cars are thinking about how to create an experience for the front driver, the BMW 7 Series has also done the opposite, once again playing a big screen for the rear, and even the touch screen that was originally on the central armrest has been transferred to the handles of the door panels on both sides. Obviously, the BMW 7 Series is aimed at the rear buyers in the luxury flagship sedans who cannot be ignored.
Moreover, in the field of luxury pure electric flagship cars that represent the next generation, the BMW i7 is almost the only option for the current executive class sedan. The Mercedes-Benz EQS is similar to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, with even stronger de-administrative thinking, and the buyers of the Porsche Taycan have never been administratively irrelevant. From this point of view, BMW has instead taken the lead, and it hopes to become a "quasi-Rolls-Royce" position.
Executive-level rear buyers don't really care if a car looks good in the absolute sense. What they want is majesty, momentum, differentiation, and the side eyes of others. If the new generation of BMW 7 Series is also like other luxury flagship cars, transferred to the front, in fact, there will be no mistakes, insurance and safety, but whether in the eyes of Mercedes-Benz, or in the eyes of consumers, BMW 7 Series may be a mediocre model. Do not follow the trend, in order to be worthy of the name of the flagship.
The Chinese market determines the life and death of the luxury flagship sedan
About 40% of mercedes-benz S-class sales are sold in China, the Maybach S-class accounts for 70% of Sales in China, and the BMW 7 Series has almost half of Chinese buyers. Moreover, whether it is a Mercedes-Benz S-Class or a BMW 7 Series, their average age of Chinese consumers is only thirty-eight or nine years old, which is a group of post-80s and even post-85 social elites.
Therefore, the trends and preferences of the Chinese market are the most concerned demand inputs for Mercedes-Benz and BMW flagship cars. On the one hand, they need to make products that best meet the emotional needs of the target consumer population, and on the other hand, they must clearly identify the high-net-worth users who are most likely to spend money.
The fluctuations of the economy and the recurrence of the epidemic have led to the phenomenon that the rich are richer, which has further enhanced the net worth of the luxury flagship car consumer population. If we look at the share of high-end models in each price segment in the first quarter of this year, we will find that the sales volume of models above 1 million yuan is basically the same as the sales volume of 500,000-700,000 yuan and 70-1 million yuan. Moreover, in the price segment of 500,000-700,000 yuan, consumers will be more inclined to personalized niche models, such as Porsche Macan, BMW X4, Mercedes-Benz E-class coupe, etc.; in the 70-1 million yuan range, Mercedes-Benz BMW's quasi-flagship SUV and Toyota El Rule are the leading models.
In other words, even if the luxury flagship sedan is willing to put down its body and compete for the market of less than one million yuan with terminal discounts, in fact, the consumer population that can be covered is very small. The high sales volume after the replacement of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class proves that price is not the decisive factor of this level, and the rich are even willing to choose to increase the price for the sake of spiritual satisfaction.
Any luxury flagship sedan other than mercedes-Benz S-class, taking the cost-effective route is undoubtedly a dead end. Only by conforming to the preferences of high-net-worth people, exerting efforts to high-end product lines, and making the focus of the product line biased towards high prices, can high-net-worth people get psychological satisfaction.
Therefore, even if August Horch, the founder of the Audi brand, has little visibility in China, Audi will be a live horse doctor, customizing an Audi A8L Horch founder version with a pre-sale starting price of 1.3 million yuan for the Chinese market. And BMW also wants to move the new BMW 7 Series to the Rolls-Royce style infinitely, put the priority of the back row still at the highest, and make a product that subverts the inherent cognition.
Getting rid of the quagmire of cost performance is the only way for luxury flagship cars. Although they cannot eliminate low-income customers by direct price increase like luxury goods, they can use more stacking and technological innovation to achieve the improvement of product value, and then gradually increase the proportion of consumption of more than one million yuan. Otherwise, the market for luxury flagship cars will only become smaller and more concentrated.
Write at the end
There should be a tacit understanding between the luxury flagship car and the target group. This tacit understanding lies in the fact that the brand provides luxury that meets the user's expectations, and the user can spend the least amount of time to understand the brand's intentions. Not to mention, China's luxury flagship car users are the youngest in the world and are even more disgusted with routines.
Therefore, what the luxury flagship sedan has to do is to get rid of the burden of inheritance, make a more subversive and original design, and a more futuristic high-tech. It can make high-net-worth buyers willing to pay money and always put it first in the luxury flagship car, as for the beauty and ugliness discussed by the general public, let it stay at the discussion level.