Text\Blue Cham
Sales data show that from January to March this year, Dongfeng Lantu's cumulative sales volume was only 3693 vehicles, only 8% of its sales target of 46,000, if this situation continues, then Lantu will continue to fail to achieve the sales target this year.
In 2021, Landu CEO Lu Fang had set a small target of 13,000 units for Lando, but at that time, Landu only had one model, Lando FREE, and its sales reached more than 6,000 units that year. The Lantu FREE sales peaked at 3330 vehicles in December, which once made the industry think that the Landu FREE was about to open a new normal of 3000 monthly sales.
However, the dream was quickly shattered, in January, Lantu FREE sales were directly cut off month-on-month, sales fell to more than 1500 vehicles again, down 53% month-on-month, and february sales fell below the 1000 unit mark, back to the rhythm of monthly sales of hundreds of units, sales in March picked up, back to more than 1,000 units.
Such sales are also disappointing and frustrating.
In the author's view, Lantu's sales are not good, and the delay in rushing high is not only related to the product, but also closely related to the lack of brand power.
First of all, as far as products are concerned, Lantu's current main sales model is not scarce. Positioned in the high-end electric SUV Of lantu FREE in the price and the ideal ONE close, its extended range version of the model can be and the ideal ONE to compete head-on, while Wei brand mocha DHT-PHEV, the M5 and other models can compete with the Lantu FREE, consumers can choose from many models, which means that the fungibility of the Lantu FREE is still very strong.
As for the newly listed Lantu Dreamer a few days ago, although it is the blue ocean of new energy high-end MPV, its sales performance is also not optimistic. Its excessive pricing, limited space and average mileage will all be its minus. At the same time, although the new car has good performance such as 100-kilometer acceleration, for an MPV that pays attention to space and comfort, such handling performance is obviously a surplus design.
In addition, the high-end MPV market is a niche market, the 300,000-level Lantu FREE is still poor sales, and whether the 400,000-level Lantu dreamer can sell well is even more doubtful.
Secondly, as far as the brand is concerned, Lantu has obviously not established an image that convinces the market enough. On the one hand, as far as the native ecology of Lantu is concerned, dongfeng motor group brands have not successfully created high-end brands or the precedent of explosive passenger car models, including Fengshen, Fengxing, scenery, etc. belong to the second- and third-line independent brands, and the explosive models have not been created, let alone the high-end brand image, and the lack of innate accumulation of Lantu naturally has no advantage in word of mouth.
In fact, high-end brands are by no means reflected in products and high pricing, but in various aspects such as R&D and production supply and marketing, customer service, after-sales treatment, and brand reputation. Landu ChongGao has not been successful, a large factor is that it lacks the necessary brand genes, and the superimposed product is not powerful, so it is difficult to achieve results.
It is worth noting that under the premise of the unsuccessful rush to the high, Lei Xin, the third person of Lantu, was also exposed to leave the scene, and the industry pointed out that Lei Xin's transfer may be carrying the pot for Lantu to rush high and unsuccessful. As the chief brand officer of Lantu Automobile, his transfer also shows from the side that the senior management of Dongfeng Group is not satisfied with the current brand performance of Lantu.
In order to boost sales, Landu is also trying to make some compromises, such as from the initial direct sales model to the introduction of traditional franchise stores, Landu began to reduce the standard in sales channels. But the question is, compared with the direct new retail of new forces such as Ideal and Weilai, will the "interest first" of Lantu franchisees have an impact on their original brand vision? This may be another hidden concern.
Write at the end:
Obviously, the senior management of Dongfeng Motor Group has high hopes for Lantu, but from the current performance, Lantu's achievements are unqualified, and it is inevitable to make some necessary adjustments in this context. However, with the intensification of competition in the automobile market, there may not be too much time left for Lantu, and how to change the status quo is a serious issue left for Lu Fang.
(This article is originally produced by the editorial department of [Auto Industry] New Media, the author of this article is Lan Zhan, and the source should be indicated when reprinting)