BYD attacks the hinterland of the Great Wall! Seven major car companies have started a battle for new energy hard-core SUVs
New energy has rejuvenated the hard-core off-road segment.
Author | Mingcheng
Edit | Zhihao
New energy breaks through the off-road position, and domestic hard-core SUVs are on the battlefield!
Che Dongxi reported on February 6 that at the beginning of 2024, the hard-core SUV market is very lively, with the tank 400Hi-4T and Formula Leopard 5 in front, and the U8 facelift and Mengshi 917 in the back, and the hard-core SUV market rarely ushers in a new car tide.
However, a closer look can find that these new hard-core off-road models have added a little "electricity", Leopard 5, Tank 400Hi-4T and Mengshi 917 new cars are all hybrid or pure electric models, and even the Tank 300, which exploded in previous years, has a hybrid version, and the trend of new energy will finally sweep the hard-core SUV position in 2024.
With the gradual decline of traditional hard-core SUVs such as Land Cruiser, Pajero and Wrangler, imported hard-core models have gradually faded out of the Chinese market, and joint ventures and domestic hard-core off-road have gradually developed and gradually formed a trend.
According to the 2023 China Hardcore Off-road Vehicle Industry Market Research Report released by Zhiyan Consulting, the domestic hard-core off-road represented by the Tank 300 has subverted the stereotype of high price, high fuel consumption and roughness of traditional hard-core off-road, and activated the needs of more users. The hardcore off-road vehicle market has been recovering since 2021 and is gradually showing a growth trend.
With the expansion of the hard-core off-road market demand and the development of "soft" and practical, new energy has entered the position of hard-core off-road with the advantages of low cost, intelligence and comfort.
Some industry insiders pointed out: "The track of new energy cars has been saturated, high-end, large models are an inevitable trend, with the development process of domestic automobiles, new energy off-road can be said to be an inevitable trend." Just like more than 20 years ago, the emergence of urban off-road vehicles was also considered a paradox at the beginning, and the city and off-road did not blend, but later the continued popularity of this segment proved that people are tolerant of off-road. ”
Perhaps, the new energy hard-core off-road will become a new blue ocean market in the hot speculation of car companies and the demand of consumers, and open up a new track for the new energy market.
01.
7 major car companies have launched 10 cars in a row, and new energy hard-core off-road is on the right track
At present, in addition to the Great Wall, BAIC and other old hard-core off-road players, BYD, Chery, Changan, Jishi, Dongfeng and other car companies have also launched their own new energy hard-core off-road models.
▲Some new energy hard-core SUV parameters
It can be seen that basically all of these hard-core off-road models are hybrid models, and the official comprehensive fuel consumption is basically less than 10L/100km, and some models have pure electric models, and the cost of daily use is low. In terms of off-road performance, the four-wheel drive differential lock has basically become the standard, and the passability is not bad.
▲ Tank 400 Hi4-T interior
Moreover, in terms of comfort and intelligence, these models are also remarkable, most of the models are equipped with a standard "sofa color TV" combination, large screen car machine and large space are standard; vehicles are basically equipped with ACC adaptive cruise and other L2 level of assisted driving, comfort and practicality are good.
In addition, the price of these vehicles is concentrated between 300,000 yuan ~ 600,000 yuan, compared with the Wrangler, Prado and other old-school hardcore off-road models that often cost more than 600,000 yuan and basically have no comfort and intelligence, these models can be regarded as cost-effective.
At the same time, Changan Automobile has also recently released the test spy photos and official images of the dark blue G318. It reveals that the advent of the dark blue G318 is just around the corner, indicating that this new domestic hard-core off-road vehicle is about to appear, which has attracted the attention of the industry.
▲Deep blue G318 test spy photos
In addition to these models that are biased towards the word "hardcore", there are also some models with "hardcore" appearance and functions that are actually biased towards SUVs, and the price is relatively lower. For example, the Harvard Raptors with load-bearing body, plug-in hybrid, four-wheel drive with rear axle lock, and sold from 165,800 yuan, the Chery iCAR 03 with a pure electric four-wheel drive version sold at 159,800 yuan, and the Jietu Shanhai L9 with plug-in hybrid, large space, and 166,900 yuan.
▲Harvard Raptors
There are also such as the Pole Stone 01 that emphasizes off-road performance when it is advertised, extends the range, can support the NOA function with lidar, and is sold at 339,900 yuan, BAIC Motor also has a BJ60 that focuses on off-road ability, and the Tank 300 is also rumored to add a hybrid version of the model. The news of these models will appear in the second half of 2023, and car companies are devoting themselves to the track of new energy hard-core SUVs.
02.
Hard-pie to "soft" new energy integration broadens the use scenarios
Why do car companies "get together" to build new energy hard SUVs?
Under normal circumstances, the off-road performance of the vehicle is not just a travel need, and the main use environment of off-road vehicles is not much; although the demand for family travel is growing, family travel puts forward higher requirements for vehicle comfort. Coupled with the high cost of high fuel consumption and high vehicle prices, the audience of traditional hard-core off-road models is small.
However, hardcore off-road and new energy and fusion have further broadened this incremental market. The fuel consumption of 100 kilometers of new energy hard off-road models counted earlier in the article generally does not exceed 10L/100km, but it brings large space, comfort, off-road performance and other functions, which can be said to be both comfortable and economical.
Hard-core off-road has also achieved new energy. When the appearance of the new energy market models gradually converges, the tall body and flamboyant appearance of the hard-core SUV give people a different visual experience, and with the continuous promotion of China's off-road culture, more and more enthusiasts are invested in it, and the vehicle's strong off-road ability can become a talking point when the owners gather. To put it mildly, the keyboard value is full.
▲坦克400Hi4-T“硬核”外观
Moreover, the off-road ability of hardcore off-road models has become a way of life in itself. The advertisements of hard-core off-road models of car companies have repeatedly emphasized the daily practicality of such models, and the functions of home, long-distance travel, camping, urban use, and pulling goods are constantly promoted. Car companies are even more willing to emphasize that the vehicle can be "wild" once in a while, and go to the wilderness, jungle, glacier and other landforms that are difficult to reach by ordinary vehicles, so that car owners can take their families to explore nature. This part of the propaganda has a huge appeal to some of the urban middle class who are "trapped" in the office on a daily basis.
▲ Hardcore SUV camping scene
Mu Feng, president of Great Wall Motors, once said that if you look at the use scenarios of Tank 500 consumers, more than 98% of them are cities, and some users of Tank 300 and Tank 500 do not have an off-road once, not even light off-road, so there is a demand for an off-road lifestyle in the hearts of consumers. "We want to meet the inner demands of consumers, not as functional products, but as emotional products. ”
Finally, from a technical point of view, large displacement engines, complex four-wheel drive systems cause high manufacturing costs, the price of hard-core off-road vehicles is generally high, domestic fuel hard-core off-road vehicles in the power system and transmission system matching with traditional foreign-funded car companies There is still a certain gap, new energy hard-core off-road can reduce a certain traditional technical threshold, while reducing vehicle production costs.
At the same time, due to the existence of battery packs, new energy hard-core off-road vehicles have more room for operation in improving the strength of the body. The electric motor can make the vehicle more powerful, the low-torque output is more rapid, and at the same time, it can also flexibly distribute torque, simplifying complex components such as transmission and differential lock.
▲Formula Leopard 5 chassis
Taking the BYD Equation Leopard 5 as an example, its electric four-wheel drive system does not have a traditional four-wheel drive transfer case and intermediate drive shaft, so there is no traditional difference lock. But he has a controller that controls the front and rear power output, and quickly and intelligently distributes the front and rear axles optimally according to the total torque demand at the wheel end. Moreover, it responds faster, for example, it can achieve torque transfer between the front and rear axles in less than 10 milliseconds, which is 30 times faster than a mechanical center lock.
03.
The hard-core off-road increment is obvious, and the market is further expanded
At present, the market for local brand hard-core off-road vehicles has grown significantly.
As mentioned above, with the gradual decline of traditional imported hard-core SUVs, the high-end breakthrough of Chinese auto brands and the decline in prices, the market has gradually begun to form a scale effect.
For example, in the sales results released by Great Wall Motors in 2023, it is mentioned that the Tank 300 launched in 2021 sold a total of 123881 units last year, and the current average monthly sales can basically stabilize at 6,000 units, the Harvard Raptors launched in September last year bought more than 17,000 units in three months, with an average monthly sales of 5,000+ units, and the Formula Leopard 5 launched in November last year also reached the level of 5,000 units a month with the ramp-up of production capacity. From small to large, the market size of new energy hard-core SUVs is increasing.
▲Sales volume of four vehicles (data source: Pacific Motors)
Mu Feng, President of Great Wall Motors, pointed out, "Whether it is new energy off-road or traditional off-road, it is a small market in itself. In fact, regardless of the success of the tank 300 or the increase of the tank 500Hi4-T, if you look at the entire off-road market, everyone is doing an incremental market. ”
In today's fierce battle between the traditional new energy car and family SUV market, the new incremental market of hard-core off-road has brought more opportunities and hope to car companies.
▲The scale of the hard-core off-road market is on the rise (Source: Zhiyan Consulting)
Some people in the industry believe that "the track of new energy cars has been saturated, high-end, large models are an inevitable trend, in terms of the development process of domestic automobiles, new energy off-road can be said to be an inevitable trend." Just like more than 20 years ago, the emergence of urban off-road vehicles was also considered a paradox at the beginning, and the city and off-road did not blend, but later the continued popularity of this segment proved that people are tolerant of off-road. ”
According to data from Northeast Securities, a total of 224,000 hard-core off-road vehicles will be sold in China in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%.
▲Northeast Securities: The proportion of China's hard-core off-road vehicle sales
According to the "Market Status Survey and Investment Strategic Planning Report of China's Hardcore Off-road Vehicle Industry" released by Zhiyan Consulting, the market size of China's hardcore off-road vehicle market in 2022 will be 72.774 billion yuan. According to the report, thanks to the Tank 300 launched at the end of 2020, it has given thinking from product shaping, selling point presentation to target group demarcation, the relatively low price and can bring intelligent and safe travel experience to car owners, coupled with comfortable seats and good quietness adjustment, etc., which have activated the off-road enthusiasm of more users. The development of corresponding hard-core off-road vehicles for off-road enthusiasts has also become a new trend in the development of the automobile industry.
▲Zhiyan consults China's hard-core off-road vehicle sales table
According to the report, China's hard-core off-road vehicle market has picked up after 2021 and has shown a year-on-year upward trend.
At the same time, the hard-core off-road vehicles of domestic enterprises are constantly improving, and the level of use is rising, which makes the sales of domestic and joint venture hard-core off-road vehicles continue to grow, and the number of imports is decreasing. Coupled with the trend of new energy and intelligent vehicles, the category of new energy hard-core off-road vehicles has begun to emerge.
04.
Conclusion: The new track of the new energy market has begun
On the whole, driven by the dual factors of enterprise competition and user demand, the new energy hard-core off-road vehicle market is emerging and becoming a blue ocean market full of potential.
And 2024 may mark the beginning of the era of new energy hardcore SUVs, as more and more automakers enter this fast-growing market segment and compete in the new track.