Honda Accord, as the former "king" of the mid-level car market, has gradually "fallen out of favor" among consumers, and since this year, it has been directly put into the "cold palace", which makes people have to sigh.
According to relevant data, the cumulative sales of the Honda Accord in 2023 will be 168,800 units, ranking fourth in the sales ranking of mid-class sedans. If Accord's results in 2023 are acceptable, then the performance of Accord this year is even more surprising.
According to public data, the sales volume of the Accord in March this year was only 8,462 units, a year-on-year decrease of 58%, and it slipped to 8th place in the sales ranking of mid-level cars. On the other hand, the sales of Passat and Magotan in March were 18,000 and 12,000 respectively. It has to be said that the Accord has not only fallen behind in the mid-level car market, but also is getting closer and closer to its previous rivals.
Not only that, but the sales of Accord in February this year were even more "miserable", with sales of only 6,519 units that month, a year-on-year decline of 50.6%. In the same period, the sales of Passat and Magotan were both more than 10,000 units.
The sharp decline in the sales of the Accord has to start after the launch of the new 11th generation Accord in May last year. After the launch of the new generation of Accord, sales have declined sharply, especially in June, July and August last year. Obviously, consumers are not too happy with the eleventh generation Accord.
First of all, after the new Accord has been adjusted in appearance, the overall appearance is very stingy, and there is no business style of the old Accord at all, and even some netizens bluntly said that the new Accord's smaller size grille with slender taillights gives people a sense of incongruity. Although it is said that radish and cabbage have their own love, the continuous decline in sales is also a result of consumer voting.
Second, the new generation Accord has canceled the mild-hybrid (HEV) model and replaced it with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model, and the starting price of the new energy model has also been increased from the previous 199,800 yuan to 225,800 yuan. Although PHEV models can be listed on the green plate, the price has increased by more than 20,000 yuan at the same time, which makes it difficult for consumers to accept. Moreover, the Accord e:PHEV model does not support fast charging, and at the same time, the battery is installed on the trunk, which seriously affects the storage space and aesthetics of the trunk.
In the eyes of many consumers, the Accord e:PHEV is a "semi-finished product", after all, a mature plug-in hybrid car, in the early stage of research and development, consider different powertrain layouts, rather than simply and rudely put the battery on the trunk, and make the trunk appear "bulging". And such products are obviously not enough to impress more demanding consumers in the current new energy market.
As a result, the Accord e:PHEV has not been well received by consumers since its launch. Since its launch, monthly sales of the Accord e:PHEV have not exceeded 1,000 units, hovering around the level of several hundred units.
In addition, the power system of the fuel model of the 11th generation Accord is still equipped with a 1.5T + CVT system, while the new generation of Magotan will replace the previous 1.4T engine with a 1.5TEVO engine, which means that the power system will be upgraded. In contrast, the power system of the new generation Accord remains unchanged, and the Accord is slightly insincere to consumers.
In addition, in the current era of new energy, the degree of intelligence of automobiles is getting deeper and deeper. In terms of intelligence, the eleventh-generation Accord also has no bright advantages at all.
I have to admit that at present, Accord is still struggling to support sales by relying on fuel models. However, the replacement of the Accord fuel model makes consumers unable to see how much the product power of the new car has improved, so there is a situation where the Accord has "fallen out of favor", and it is not difficult to understand the decline in its sales. Furthermore. In the context of people's enthusiasm for new energy vehicles, the Accord e:PHEV not only failed to bring an increase in sales to the Accord, but also appeared in a situation where it was difficult to protect. It has to be said that the launch of the Accord e:PHEV has been a bit of a failure.
Write at the end
As the "disruptor" of the automobile market, new energy vehicles have made the automobile market "involuted" seriously, and the knockout competition has intensified. Against this backdrop, the Accord, which is still struggling to rely on gasoline models, has fallen into a sales bottleneck, and the Accord e:PHEV launched after the replacement is not competitive, making it difficult to contribute to the sales of the Accord. At present, Accord has not only seen a sharp decline in sales, but also a serious decline in its market position. On the other hand, the opponents, Passat and Magotan are thriving, it is time for Accord to reflect on itself, is there still a chance to turn over in the future?
(This article is originally produced by Wenwu Lane New Media Studio, please indicate the source: Wenwu Lane, the author of this article: Hefeng, personal opinion, for reference only)