At the moment when even BBA's electric vehicles are called "miscellaneous cars", is there still a chance for the electrification transformation of the joint venture brand? This question has a different answer at this year's Beijing Auto Show - first Honda released the Ye brand specially built for the Chinese market on the eve of the auto show, and then Toyota announced that it would join hands with the domestic head Internet companies and release two pure electric concept cars, Volkswagen Anhui based on the "in China, for China" to create the "gold standard Volkswagen" ID. UNYX and the public also made their debut, and the MAZDA EZ-6 built by Changan Mazda finally lifted the veil of mystery......
It can be said that the leading joint ventures have begun to deploy more localized new energy vehicles, combined with the experience of foreign car manufacturing and China's strong supply chain in the field of intelligence and electrification, it can also be called the 2.0 era of joint venture brands.
Among them, the Changan Mazda EZ-6, which debuted at the Beijing Auto Show, can be said to be the most typical representative. As Deng Zhitao, Executive Vice President of Changan Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd., said: "From the perspective of strategic positioning, EZ-6, as a new achievement of deepening cooperation between the two century-old car companies, integrates Changan Automobile's leading strength in the field of electrification and intelligence, as well as Mazda Automobile's profound achievements in the fields of design, control and safety. ”
Reshaping the value system of joint venture new energy is a grand topic.
As we all know, in recent years, with the development of China's new energy industry in full swing, the market share of Chinese brands has also increased rapidly, and has exceeded 50% this year. Therefore, if the joint venture brand wants to break through in terms of share, it must have better performance in the new energy market.
According to statistics, in 2023, Chinese brands will launch a total of 94 new energy vehicles, including 53 pure electric models, 31 plug-in hybrid models and 10 range extender models. On the other hand, the joint venture brand only launched 7 new energy vehicles in the same period, of which 5 are pure electric models and 2 plug-in hybrid models, while in the more popular range extender segment, the joint venture has no new products at all.
In this sense, the MAZDA EZ-6, which has two power combinations of pure electric and extended range, not only announces that the joint venture new energy has entered the era of pure electric platform, but also makes up for the gap in the joint venture new energy in the extended range market. At the same time, for Mazda, there is also a very important significance - can it win the glory of the market again with the arrival of this new energy vehicle, and let consumers "be fascinated by Mazda again"?
What kind of joint venture new energy vehicles are needed in the market?
In fact, in the past two years, as long as there is a new joint venture new energy vehicle on the market, some people will say, at the same price, why not buy an own brand?
This is actually the other extreme. Xu Changming, director of the State Information Center, said at the summit forum of "Linyuan Breaking the Situation - Force Exploration in the New Joint Venture Era" that at present, independent brands account for nearly 85% of the sales of electric vehicles, 5% of joint venture brands and 11% of luxury cars, while in the oil vehicle market, independent brands account for 30%, joint venture brands account for 50%, and luxury cars account for 20%. In other words, the joint venture brand is currently mainly losing in electric vehicles, and its competitiveness in the gasoline vehicle market is still relatively strong.
He judged that the joint venture brand is currently experiencing great difficulties and must make some major changes in order to continue to make a difference in the Chinese market. However, it is not completely without opportunities, because with the continuous increase in the proportion of new energy vehicle sales, its buyers have changed from early adopters to popularizers. "We did a survey, and 62.2% of people who buy a joint venture brand still want to buy a joint venture electric vehicle. Moreover, when they choose a car, they will consider comprehensive factors including quality, safety, reliability, interior, appearance and intelligence more comprehensively. ”
From Xu Changming's analysis, it is not difficult to see that in order to stand out, the joint venture new energy vehicle must first maintain its original brand and car-making advantages, and at the same time make up for the shortcomings in intelligence and configuration.
Deng Zhitao also said: "The change in the sales scissors difference between the joint venture brand and the independent brand has begun to gradually form, and I believe that the joint venture brand will make a great difference in the future market and find the second growth point of development." At present, the joint venture brand should not roll the price in the advantageous market of fuel vehicles, but should roll the product supply in the new energy market, and drive the secondary development of the joint venture brand by creating excellent new energy products. ”
THIS IS WHERE THE MAZDA EZ-6 COMES IN.
As the first new energy flagship sedan of Changan Mazda's comprehensive transformation to electrification, the MAZDA EZ-6 is also the first electric sedan based on a leading pure electric platform in the joint venture brand camp of the Chinese auto market. The new car will provide two power options: pure electric and extended range, making up for the gap in the field of range extension of the joint venture new energy. At the same time, relying on Mazda's profound tuning skills in the field of driving control, the MAZDA EZ-6 will reshape the belief of "human-horse integration" in the era of electrification, and become the "new E-generation cornering king".
As a former owner of the Mazda 6, I had a long-lost feeling of excitement after experiencing the MAZDA EZ-6 in a static state - it is the same as the Mazda 6, among the many new energy models at present, there is Mazda's unique "soul of motion" design aesthetics, and it is a model that can make people "once again, fascinated by MAZDA" at a glance.
Can Changan Mazda be the first new energy brand of the joint venture?
In fact, as early as last year's Shanghai Auto Show, Mazda held a brand night event, unveiled its electrification transformation strategy for the first time, and released a new brand proposition of "real me, by me", determined to create product 3.0, user experience 3.0 and digital 3.0.
One of the most notable is Mazda's transfer of the strategic functions of its Hiroshima headquarters in China to Shanghai, further promoting the rapid formulation and implementation of Mazda's strategy in the Chinese market. At the same time, in order to strengthen Changan Mazda's product development capabilities and promote electrification, Mazda and Changan Automobile will establish a new cooperation model beyond the framework of traditional joint ventures and promote the joint development of new energy vehicles.
At present, Mazda and Changan Automobile have started to dispatch a development team to Changan Mazda to fully integrate the essence and advantages of Mazda in design and driving, and Changan Automobile's advantages in the field of electrification and intelligent technology into the new energy models jointly developed.
There is no Changan, there is no Mazda, only Changan Mazda. I think this is the background of the development of the Mazda EZ-6 and the confidence to become the first new energy brand in the joint venture.
In the past two years, although many joint ventures have also expressed their desire to integrate the superior resources of both shareholders, in the actual implementation process, they have actually encountered various difficulties and slow progress, which is also the reason why the overall competitiveness of the joint venture new energy vehicles launched in the past two years is not strong.
The difference between the MAZDA EZ-6 is that while inheriting the design advantages of Mazda, it has also been qualitatively improved in terms of localized interior texture and intelligent configuration, which is not inferior to the current mainstream independent brands.
The first is the improvement of the intelligent cockpit. As we all know, the most criticized part of most joint venture models is: the interior plastic is very strong, and the car machine is not advanced enough. The MAZDA EZ-6 is not only equipped with a 14.6-inch high-definition touch LCD screen, equipped with a 7nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 car computer chip, which has a fast response speed, but also has 13 ultra-smart cockpit scenario modes such as nap mode and privacy mode.
In terms of interior texture and comfort configuration, the whole car uses leather or suede style materials, with exquisite matte chrome trims, etc., which looks full of luxury, and at the same time, it also has a high-end customized SONY advanced surround sound system, 64-color ambient lighting and the first zero-gravity seat in the joint venture new energy car, so that comfort is no longer just talking.
What's more worthy of praise is that although MAZDA EZ-6 also adopts the super-large panoramic glass canopy commonly used in new energy models, it provides two kinds of sunshade options, electric and ordinary, which really considers the actual use scenarios of users, which is really a killer of many new power car companies.
Although it is not yet in the test drive stage, the last thing I am worried about after driving the 7-year-old Mazda6 is its handling and safety, after all, this is what Mazda does best.
Therefore, although the MAZDA EZ-6 is not expected to be launched until the second half of the year, I believe that it is expected to redefine the standard of joint venture new energy sedans and drive the collective breakthrough of joint venture new energy vehicles.
epilogue
At present, joint ventures have not only lost the spotlight and been robbed of the "microphone" by their own brands, and even in some discourse systems, singing about joint ventures has become "politically correct", but in fact, whether in the past, present or future, joint ventures are an important part of China's automotive industry, not only contributing to employment and taxes, but also promoting the maturity and improvement of China's entire manufacturing and supply chain system.
For Mazda, it needs a popular model that everyone can "once again, be fascinated by Mazda", for the current joint venture car companies, it needs to be more resolute in the process of electrification transformation, and for the Chinese automotive industry, it also needs joint ventures to continue to work with independent brands to promote the sustainable development of the industry.
IN THIS SENSE, THE MAZDA EZ-6 CAME AT THE RIGHT TIME.