The BYD Qin PLUS Glory Edition, which starts at 79,800 yuan, has started a counteroffensive of "electricity is lower than oil" with a very low entry threshold. In the past, joint venture cars in this price range, such as Honda Fit, Toyota Vios, Volkswagen Polo, etc., have been questioned about the necessity of their existence.
Is the oil car really at the end of the road? About 100,000 yuan, new energy vehicles are better than oil cars? Unlike the "sound of pouring oil" on the Internet, more than half of the people still prefer oil cars when buying cars. Including car companies, they are also continuing to develop fuel vehicles and maintain the established product rhythm.
Recently, the official picture of Nissan's new Jinke overseas version was exposed, which also proves the support attitude of car companies for fuel vehicles.
New powerhouse, trumpet exploration?
Objectively speaking, the popularity of Nissan Jinke in the domestic small SUV market is not low. Brother Yu Lu checked the relevant data and found that since Jinke entered the Chinese market in 2017, the cumulative sales volume has been around 750,000 units. During this period, although it has undergone a mid-term facelift and an annual upgrade, it has also reached the end of the product cycle, and the replacement is on the way.
As can be seen from the official picture of the new car, the front face of the new Jinke is very similar to the Nissan Tanlu that has just been launched, and the changes are huge. The large front grille features a multi-spoke horizontal grille, replacing the previous V-Motion design. The headlights on both sides are also connected to the grille, giving the front end a stronger sense of unity.
On the side, the dynamic body posture is retained, the two-tone design highlights the personality, the wheel shape is unconventional, and the waistline is also very forcefully described. The shape of the taillights echoes the headlights, and the straight lines and new bumper shape emphasize the power of the new powerhouse.
Although it is positioned as a small SUV, with the blessing of the new design, the new Jinke gives a larger sense of volume and has enhanced its momentum a lot. In addition, the body size of the new Jinke has also been expanded, with a length, width and height of 4366/1801/1626 (1631) mm and a wheelbase of 2657mm.
As for the changes in the interior, the new LCD instrument + central control screen is integrated, the material workmanship is also visible to the naked eye, and the top model also has BOSE audio. At the configuration level, there are also Nissan Safety Shield 360 system, as well as ProPILOT Assist driving assistance and other functions, which are more competitive in intelligent driving.
In terms of power, it has been upgraded to a 2.0-liter engine with a maximum power of 141 horsepower, which continues to be mated to a CVT transmission. It is worth mentioning that the new Jinke will also add a four-wheel drive system, which provides a snow driving mode that can better cope with the complex driving environment.
As far as the new car information revealed so far is concerned, the upgrade changes of the new Jinke are not small, and it has brought more surprises as a replacement model. The only problem is that fuel vehicles are now declining, and the price range of about 100,000 yuan has squeezed the living space of joint venture models. Even if the new Jinke is also replaced in China, it is still lacking in attractiveness for consumers.
Fuel vehicles are going down, is there still a chance for the new Jinke?
Brother Yu checked the latest sales ranking of small SUVs and found that Geely Binyue and GAC Trumpchi GS3 ranked first and second, and models such as Lynk & Co 06 and Tiggo 5x also ranked relatively high. However, the market share of small SUVs has shrunk significantly compared to a few years ago, and it is very rare for small SUVs to sell more than 10,000 units per month.
Although Honda XR-V, Honda Binzhi, and Nissan Jinke are the top three joint venture models, their monthly sales performance is also relatively average. Taking Jinke as an example, the best result in the past two years is in January 2024, with monthly sales of more than 3,000 units. In addition to the dimensionality reduction blow of compact SUVs in terms of space and cost performance, many consumers have chosen new energy small SUVs.
For example, in the price range of less than 100,000 yuan, there are pure electric small SUVs such as Nezha V, Yuan PRO, and Baojun Yueye. However, these new energy vehicles also have a fatal shortcoming, that is, the cruising range is generally not long, and the CLTC pure electric range is basically less than 400 kilometers. According to the calculation of 7% discount, the daily travel is about 280 kilometers, or even lower. This also means that choosing a pure electric small SUV cannot travel long distances, and it is better to have the conditions for installing a home charging pile, otherwise it is quite inconvenient to use.
For reference, the official guide price of the 2023 Jinke is 89,800-103,800 yuan, and the terminal discount is small. With the purchase tax, etc., about 100,000 yuan can get a new car. Compared with the price of Jinke in 2017, the price range of the current Jinke has been lowered a lot, and after all, it is to put down the figure of the joint venture car. If the new Jinke is launched in China, the new car will have certain advantages in terms of design, configuration, power, etc., and there is no range anxiety of pure electric small SUV, so there is still a lot of opportunity to hit the new sales peak.
In addition, independent brands are tilting resources to new energy models, and the new Jinke, as a fuel small SUV that can be won for about 100,000 yuan, and the endorsement of Nissan's major manufacturers, may be able to fight a victory battle of "Tianji horse racing".
Today, with the strong rise of new energy vehicles, traditional car companies such as Nissan and Toyota are still pushing fuel vehicles, which seems to be bucking the trend. But don't forget that the penetration rate of new energy vehicles has not exceeded 50%, and fuel vehicles still occupy half of the country. If it were you, would you choose a new energy vehicle or a fuel small SUV?