On May 9, DPCA announced the completion of the 6.23 millionth vehicle officially rolled off the production line. DPCA's three production bases in Wuhan, Chengdu and Xiangyang held a simultaneous off-line ceremony to send a gift for the 30th birthday of DPCA.
More exciting than the punch card milestone is probably the market performance of DPCA. In this overall downward environment, the cumulative sales of DPCA from January to April this year reached 39632 vehicles, a cumulative increase of 58% year-on-year, which can be said to be very valuable, and various signs also show that DPCA is rapidly picking up.
What is the market strategy of DPCA today? Will it still have a chance to re-emerge? Let the kung fu car take everyone to see it together.
(1) After several ups and downs, the dragon is finally back on track?
As one of the earliest joint venture automobile manufacturers in China, DPCA has gone through 30 years in China and witnessed the rise and fall of the domestic automobile market. Correspondingly, DPCA itself has experienced too many ups and downs.
On May 18, 1992, DPCA Automobile Co., Ltd. was formally established, and subsequently officially became an important force in China's auto market. At that time, China had just come out of the torrent of "bus consumption-oriented", private cars began to gradually enter people's lives, and the representative model of Dongfeng Dragon Automobile, Fukang, was also known as the "old three" of China's auto market together with Santana and Jetta.
But unlike the other two, Beverly Wokon, which is based on the Citroën ZX model that has swept Europe, has injected a considerable amount of sports genes into the domestic auto market. Its rear-wheel steering technology is very impressive, this unique technology can reduce the transient turning radius of the vehicle when cornering at low speed, but also increase the understeer when cornering at high speed, which makes it more easy to drive.
I remember that after Han Han dropped out of school to write books and developed, the first car he bought was Fukang, because he felt that this was a driver's car with enough personality.
Subsequently, DPCA produced a series of popular models such as Triumph, C2, new Picasso, Peugeot 206, Peugeot 307, etc., and their power performance, driving experience and safety performance are impressive.
But with the upgrading of domestic consumption, DPCA is a bit out of step with the times. Because the dragon has a big "disadvantage", that is, to insist on what he feels good about. For example, Fukang Mingming is only a domestic model, but it has made adjustments to the engine compression ratio, engine air filter, wheels, and suspension on the basis of the prototype car. This allowed Beverly Wilshire to have greater ground clearance and better adapt to the bumpy sections of the country at the time and the relatively low quality of gasoline. For example, the safety of the dragon has always been very good, and the material has always been at the leading level of the same level.
But these users are often "invisible", "visible" space is large, vehicles light and fuel-efficient, it is not good enough.
There is nothing wrong with these features, but when users see that the space of the Shenlong model is not as large as the level, and the price is not advantageous, the Shenlong is at a disadvantage. Coupled with the fact that the marketing ability is not enough out of the circle, it is quickly marginalized by the market.
Fortunately, in the past two years, the Dragon has lost its way, especially the Versailles C5 X and other models launched last year, which is quite eye-catching.
(2) Make up for the shortcomings, and the dragon will set off again
The launch of the Versailles C5 X can be said to be the key to the recent recovery of the Dragon, and its achievements are largely dependent on the adjustment of the Dragon strategy.
First of all, at the configuration level, the dragon chose "full match". The upgraded 360THP turbocharged engine and Aisin 8AT transmission, combined with Citroën's original PHC adaptive hydraulic stabilization technology, make it feel the best in driving. Combined with its crossover design, it has a width of 1865mm and a height of 1505mm, which makes it more space and better passability than the average car. The large size of the slipback design gives it a unique style.
Standard panoramic sunroof, standard keyless entry and start, standard main and co-pilot electric seat, standard reversing image, rear radar and multi-airbag, combined with a price of 143,700 yuan, so that its cost performance is directly full.
In short, the high security and excellent control performance of shenlong in the past have been inherited, and there is a large space, a high match for entry and an ultra-low entry price, which is indeed difficult to refuse.
In addition, Shenlong has also become closer to users, for example, in April, Shenlong launched the theme activity of "no test drive, no car purchase". It gives users the opportunity to experience the Versailles C5 X for free for 48 hours, and truly long-term contact with new cars. This not only reflects the manufacturer's confidence in the quality of the vehicle, but also greatly reduces the user's experience cost. During the May Day holiday, dealers around Shenlong also held live shows to lead consumers to "cloud" to appreciate good cars and carry out all-round immersive explanations, which also won the praise of users.
On April 25, the Versailles C5 X FM version created by Shenlong officially and fans was officially launched, and it also made enough money. More comfortable. A smarter, more personalized ride experience has pushed its popularity to new heights.
Compared with the previous cold technical house, today's DPCA is gradually transforming into a "temperature" brand, closer to users, and pay more attention to the information feedback of the market line.
(3) Made in China, sold globally, can the dragon work?
The past few years, or before the Versailles C5 X was launched, was definitely the darkest period in the 30-year history of DPCA. Many companies with similar experiences have finally left a sentence of "there is no grandfather left here", and then silently withdraw from the market.
But Shenlong did not do this, although the profit contribution of China is far less than that of the European base camp, but the choice of Shenlong is still to face the difficulties and vow to revitalize the Chinese market. At the same time, we must also choose to start from China's manufacturing and launch an impact on the global market.
Its Wuhan production site has become one of the world's "best factories" for The Stellantis Group (PSA Group has merged with the FICK Group) and a new generation of lean green benchmark factories. The Chengdu plant, which was completed and put into operation in 2016, is well-known within the Stellantis Group. Among the 22 global vehicle plants of the Stellantis Group, the Chengdu plant has been evaluated as the first in comprehensive performance fifteen times, which has been well received.
Versailles C5 X is based on DPLOON's latest third-generation EMP2 efficient modular platform production, and its manufacturing technology and quality control management technology are world-leading. For example, the stamping fully automated production line can control the noise below 83 decibels, the automatic intelligent welding of more than 5,000 solder joints in the whole vehicle is realized by 491 robots, and the assembly molding of the body side is automatically switched, and these equipment are very advanced in China.
With such resources, the Divine Dragon naturally had to make full use of it.
In September 2021, Shenlong shipped a batch of Versailles C5 X exhibition vehicles to Europe, so that European consumers can feel the charm of the new model for the first time. In March 2022, 1222 Versailles C5 X vehicles were successfully launched to sea, which refreshed the record of a single vehicle export of Dongfeng Dragon Automobile, and the model of "Made in China, Sold Globally" was unanimously praised.
This is also seen as a new starting point for DPCA, which will occupy a higher position in the future strategy of The Stellantis Group.
(4) Kung Fu shooting
As a witness to the rise of the entire Chinese auto market, DPCA has experienced many ups and downs in the past 30 years. However, from the current state, in such a period of sharp market decline, it still maintained a good growth, indicating that the "Versailles" style of high-profile, high-matching model is still recognized by the market.
Today's DPCA has gradually become the bridgehead of Stellantis Group in China and even the Asian market, paying more attention to bringing in the thinking of Chinese users, and bringing this into its global system, such a gesture is undoubtedly very welcome to users.
Can the dragon rise again? No one can say for sure. However, in the struggle with the market, the introduction of more conscientious products and the strength of Japanese and German cars are also very much needed by our ordinary users.