In 2023, new energy vehicles will compete not only in product technology, but also in brand value, channel construction and service capabilities.
Recently, SMART announced the domestic delivery results for December 2022. According to data, 4,606 units were delivered in China in December 2022; Since the official start of the first batch of deliveries on September 23, smart Genie #1 has delivered a total of 9,212 units in China in 100 days.
As the first model of the smart brand after a comprehensive renewal, it has attracted much attention from new energy vehicle enthusiasts since its launch in June, and has achieved good sales results.
With the delivery of smart genie #1 in September 2022, users such as social media and smart community have generally responded well to the driving experience of using the car.
In addition, as early as the news that smart genie #1 is about to be listed, many users have paid attention to it, and were attracted by its appearance, and many users even directly chose to "blind" smart.
Why "grab" smart
It starts with appearance, and finally performance
Owner: Li Kun
CAR: SMART GENIE #1 BRABUS Performance Edition
"Without a doubt, appearance was one of the biggest factors in my choice of SMART." Many smart genie #1 owners, including Li Kun, have a "bond" with this car, all starting with appearance.
"I personally like cars that are niche and have a little personality, and after I had the idea of changing cars, I have been paying attention to the news of new cars on the market, and in April 2022, I accidentally brushed the smart electric car, and I thought it was a good choice."
On June 7, Li Kun went to the scene to see the exhibition car, "Although I initially preferred to buy a smaller and more flexible car, after seeing the smart car on the spot, I felt that the shape was round and flattering, and the space size was also suitable, and I could travel around Chengdu during my holidays or in my free time; And the design of Mercedes-Benz and the skills of the vast platform also make me feel guaranteed. So Li Kun paid the deposit on the spot.
Li Kun initially ordered the Premium version of smart Genie #1, and when he saw the BRABUS performance version on the market while waiting for delivery, he decisively chose to upgrade, "I still have requirements for the performance of the car." ”
Compared with the all-round praise of some car owners, Li Kun's attitude is more rational, but he is also full of praise for many functional designs of smart Genie #1. "The exterior and interior of the smart is excellent, in addition to the design, the driving and riding experience is the biggest advantage, the chassis is solid and pleasantly pleasant, the rear can be moved, the angle adjustable seat design is very commendable, including the seat material, the padding is very good."
The price is right, the configuration is full
Owner: Lin Qian
Car: Smart Genie #1 Premium Edition
At the beginning of 2022, Lin Qian was moved after seeing the promotion of smart genie #1 in Xiaohongshu, and then she kept her attention and waited for the official launch of this car. After receiving the news of "Xiaoding" and "Dading" on April 25 and June 6, she chose to pay as soon as possible.
During the two decisions, Lin Qian did not see a physical car, "I didn't even know what color the paint was and what the driving effect was, so I decided directly." ”
The quick decision also made Lin Qian the first owner to be delivered, "I received the car at the end of September, and after the National Day, I officially hit the road after I got my license plate." ”
The reason why I trusted and decisively placed an order was very simple in Lin Qian's opinion, "First of all, this car is built by the vast platform, so I am more assured of the quality of the tram; And the appearance is the Mercedes-Benz design team, and there is no need to worry that the car will not look good. Secondly, the price is right, in the range of 200,000, its configuration is very full, and it also meets my car needs. ”
"The user group of smart is so clear that you can even imagine what kind of people will drive this car when you see it. For me, I am very satisfied with the ambient lights and Beats sound of the Premium version, and the whole car is very stylish. Lin Qian said.
Confirmed look, this is the right car
Owner: Xiaojing
Car: Smart Genie #1 Premium Edition
On the basis of having a fuel vehicle at home, Xiaojing chose to buy a smart electric car when she added a second car, "the fuel cost is too high."
Xiaojing has a "glance at 10,000 years" feeling for smart genie #1. "The first time I saw the car, I decided that it was my favorite car and the smart fulfilled all my fantasies about the car. I have always wanted to buy a car with borderless doors, and after comparing many brands, I found that either the workmanship is not fine or the quality is not too hard, or the body is too long for me to drive. Because for me, parking is a big problem, the smart body is not long, there is an automatic parking assist function, the price is right, the brand is trustworthy and there is no need to worry about quality, after confirming the eyes, I decided that it was it. ”
In addition, Xiaojing is also very satisfied with SMART's sound and ambient lighting, "I like to listen to music, so I pay more attention to these configurations, and Smart just meets all my needs." ”
The perfect transition from fuel to electric
Owner: Mo Qi
Car: Smart Genie #1 Premium Edition
In order to pick up the car as soon as possible, the owner Mo Qi was still persistently refreshing and trying to log in in a few hours after the smart APP crashed on the day of Dading on June 6. "I waited from 8:30 p.m. until 0:30 a.m. to pay."
From fuel vehicles to electric vehicles, owner Mo Qi said that his transition was very smooth, "I have been driving smart for a while now, and the overall feeling is that the car starts fast, the sound is light, the vehicle-machine interaction can also be achieved, the functions such as assisted driving are relatively intelligent, and the operation operation after the OTA upgrade is more silky." ”
From anxious waiting to "real fragrance"
Although there is a waiting time for picking up the car, most owners report "real fragrance" after the smart genie #1 actually arrives.
After the comparison, it is still smart fragrance
Owner: Zhang Jin
Car: Smart Genie #1 Premium Edition
Zhang Jin, who "passed by" with the first batch of deliveries, also directly chose blind determination. Before officially buying a car, Zhang Jin hesitated between a certain brand and smart, "At that time, a certain brand had notified me to deliver, but the suggestions of friends around me, and I didn't like its single-pedal mode and other factors, I finally gave up a brand." ”
Although there is no smart genie #1 display in his city, out of trust in the brand, Zhang Jin did not go to a nearby city to test drive.
"Although I was also anxious before delivery, I felt that the car was 'fragrant' when I got it." He believes that smart Genie #1's intelligent driving can reduce the burden on drivers to a certain extent, "I tried its assisted driving when driving smart for long distances, and it will indeed make my journey much easier." Because it helps me correct the road, follow the car, and after setting the speed limit, it also helps me adjust the distance, etc., reducing the pressure on me to keep a high concentration on the front. ”
I didn't have a choice, I bought it right
Owner: Zhang Bin
CAR: SMART GENIE #1 BRABUS Performance Edition
Zhang Bin, a smart car owner and automotive industry practitioner, is also the first owner of smart Genie #1, "Before buying a car, the first thing I paid attention to was actually Extreme Krypton 001, and then I found that the smart Genie #1, which is also based on the vast platform, not only has a strong endorsement, but also does not worry about smart in handling." And from the point of view of styling, price, battery life, intelligence level, interior, etc., smart can be said to be the 'hexagonal warrior' in this price range, blind determination can be. ”
After mentioning the car, Zhang Bin summarized his process of buying a car as "no choice, buy the right one". "Because of my work, I started to buy and use electric vehicles very early, and before buying and changing cars this time, I hesitated between many old brands and new forces, but they didn't feel suitable, and finally chose smart. Originally, I wanted to drive it for my wife, but after I got it, because I liked it so much, I changed it to drive this BRABUS performance version. ”
As an old tram user, Zhang Bin expressed satisfaction with the driving quality of smart Genie #1: "Whether it is a highway or a city road, the sound insulation and overall driving texture of smart are not bad, worthy of its price; The main scenario where I use smart is urban commuting, and in Shanghai in winter, the SMART's range can also be maintained above 400 kilometers, so I don't have any mileage anxiety. I drive a lot of long distances, and I can feel that intelligent driving exceeds my expectations, such as good lane centering ability, and of course, there are some things to be optimized, which can be continuously improved through OTA upgrades. ”
As the first car owner, Zhang Bin clearly felt that the ability to assist driving was gradually improving during the OTA minor version upgrade during these months of driving, which is why Zhang Bin expressed his trust in the potential of the smart Genie #1 assisted driving function.
At the end of December 2022, smart successively pushed the first major version OTA upgrade to car owners. This OTA upgrade covers five major areas: cockpit, connectivity, intelligent driving, body, and power, including 24 ECU optimizations, 16 new functions, and 21 experience optimizations. Zhang Bin also said that after the OTA upgrade, he felt that the stability of Bluetooth connection, the accuracy of seat memory, and Beats sound effects have been significantly improved.
In terms of interior facilities, Zhang Bin and his family believe that the cabin comfort and design sense are not faulty, "The lumbar support of the seat is very good, more comfortable than the car I drove before." ”
This also led to Zhang Bin directly incarnating the brand "tap water" and recommended two of his friends to buy smart genie #1 together, one of whom mentioned the car at the end of 2022. "Because the APP crashed for a while, she stayed up until the early hours of the morning that night to decide, and recently the car was delivered, she was also very happy, and occasionally took pictures of friends on the street when driving out."
Because he liked the color scheme of the BRABUS version, Zhang Bin changed his original matte gray roof to red, "Take a sign of 'good luck', my family and friends also say it looks good." Not only Zhang Bin, but also many car owners have made certain modifications to the exterior or interior of the car, and the "one-stop industry" of smart interior configuration recommendation, production and sales has also been born on social platforms.
The "reward" of life
In addition to meeting basic needs such as commuting, for smart car owners, smart is also an important tool to bring them to enjoy life, entertainment and leisure.
On social media platforms such as smart APP, car friend group and Xiaohongshu, many car owners posted their rich leisure life, such as participating in car friend activities organized by the smart experience center; During the lunch break on weekdays, watch dramas, eat, take a nap, and even watch the World Cup in the car; Driving out for sightseeing on holidays; There are also car owners who drive to participate in public welfare activities.
Lin Qian drove to camping with a friend not long ago, "We don't have to worry about battery life and energy replenishment during the process of playing, on the one hand, Guangzhou and surrounding cities have complete supporting charging facilities, smart charging is fast, no need to worry about wasting too much time; On the other hand, the smart has an outward discharge function, so there is no need to equip additional power generation devices when camping, and you can directly insert a discharge gun into the charging port to generate electricity. In addition, the SMART's rear seats can be reclined, making it very convenient to ship a full set of camping equipment. ”
Mo Qi drove smart and his girlfriends to Yunnan to play, "smart not only assumes the role of transportation, but also our best tool for taking photos, we stop and go along the way to enjoy the scenery and take photos, driving smart is very 'pulling the wind'." After arriving in Yunnan, I went to many Internet celebrity restaurants and cafes to check in, and then chose to live in a homestay by the Erhai Sea, and I was very happy to eat, drink and have fun. ”
Li Kun drove to Xiamen with his family during the New Year's Day holiday, "Thankfully, I chose the BRABUS version, whether it is a highway or a mountain road, the driving quality has skyrocketed."
Smart for "overtaking in corners"
With the advent of 2023, new energy vehicles have entered a stage of fierce market competition. Many automobile brands compete not only for better products and technologies, but also for channel construction and service capabilities.
Although it has received praise from most car owners in terms of quality, smart is still a "new player" in the field of new energy vehicles. New and old players are constantly merging into the "battlefield", and smart is also facing challenges.
From fuel vehicles to electric vehicles, "SMART's most valuable asset is its nearly 25 years of brand accumulation." Mr. Tong Xiangbei, CEO of smart brand global company, said. What we need to do is to continuously build a differentiated competitive advantage around the brand. ”
Different from other "friends" who emphasize technology or high configuration, the logic of smart is that from product development to scene experience, it is driven by a consistent internal line, which is the brand concept of "new luxury, technology, and trendy fun co-creation".
And this is also the reason why the smart was snapped up and recognized by the owner.
On the other hand, SMART's services also occupy an important part of user choice.
Some car owners said that the staff of the smart experience center or sales service will organize some related activities such as holiday gifts, small sports competitions, parent-child interaction, pets and other related activities from time to time, and some activities have also received positive feedback from car owners. Che Zhijin also said that he would take his family and children to participate in some interesting car friends activities during the holidays.
In addition to these efforts, smart is also constantly getting better for services during and after sales. Lin Qian said, "Once I thought there was a problem with the car, and asked the agent to help me send it to the manufacturer for inspection, their attitude was very good, the car was okay after the inspection, and they helped me wash the car for free." I also heard that another car friend in the same city, once the car was suspected to be unable to hang up, but in fact, it was later found that it was caused by him not stepping on the brakes, and the agent who docked at that time went to check the system log overnight to help find the cause. ”
For brand services, Mr. Tong Xiangbei also said that in 2023, on the basis of shortening the delivery time, he will focus on improving the service level of the terminal.
Ms. Zhang Mingxia, Vice President of Sales, Marketing and After-sales of Smart Brand Global, also said: "For the SMART brand, users are our most valuable asset, which is also the cornerstone of our 'user center' operation philosophy. In the face of the voice of users, we always listen humbly and strive to meet the personalized and diversified needs of users. In the future, we will continue to optimize the overall operation and bring users a smarter brand, product and service experience. ”
Written at the end:
If according to Maslow's theory of needs, the post-70s work is to meet physiological needs and safety needs, and the post-80s gradually transition from safety needs to social needs and respect needs, while the post-90s and 95s grew up in the era, their needs have been directly to social needs, respect needs and even self-realization. Smart car owners are such a group of people, they respect their inner feelings, like equal communication, simple and direct expression, love themselves, are more willing to grow efficiently, do not waste time, and are unwilling to wronged themselves. The new smart genie #1 can't precisely define its avant-garde, but it's so eclectic that it is, and the life smart brings is one of exploration, experimentation and challenge.
(The names of the owners in the article are pseudonyms)