The hunting car, which is not popular in the era of fuel vehicles, seems to have been favored by fate in the new energy era, and ZEEKR 001 has achieved relatively good results in the market. Now more and more car companies are making efforts in the field of hunting vehicles, including Denza, Buick, Nezha, etc. At the 2024 Beijing International Auto Show, the DENZA Z9 GT was officially unveiled, and the Buick ELECTRA-LT hunting coupe concept car was also exhibited.
The concept car may not be mass-produced, but the Denza Z9 GT and Nezha S Hunting Edition have made it clear that they will enter the market. However, because the market sales scale of hunting vehicles is not as large as that of the sedan and SUV markets, and even less than MPV models, few manufacturers will be involved in the field of hunting vehicles.
Why has the hunting truck not been moving?
First of all, I want to tell you the difference between the hunting car and the station wagon, generally speaking, the station wagon has a long and square tail, and the tail of the hunting car is a slip-back design. The hunting car is evolved through a coupe, and the foundation is a high-performance sports car, which will basically have the sporty shape and performance of a coupe, and on this basis, the cargo space capacity is strengthened, so this type of model will also have a sexy butt.
Therefore, in the era of fuel vehicles, hunting cars have always been synonymous with high-end luxury, such as Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Porsche, etc., have launched hunting models specially built for the European rich. Of course, ordinary brands also bring hunting cars, such as Volkswagen CC hunting cars, Ford Focus Active, etc., but some models are just station wagons, but car companies insist on labeling hunting cars. But no matter which brand of hunting vehicles, their fate is basically the same - whether they are popular or not.
Hunting car in the Chinese automobile market can be described as a niche in the niche, although there are many models on sale, but the overall sales are always tepid, because hunting car is more exclusive as a luxury brand, the price is high, so it is destined to belong to a small number of players, and for domestic mainstream luxury car users, the space performance of better luxury SUV, as well as a sedan luxury car with certain social attributes, is a more cost-effective choice than hunting car.
In the era of fuel vehicles, there are only a few hunting cars with brand premium bonuses, which can break through in the market, and the typical representative is the Porsche Panamera is a typical representative. This car has become the sales pillar of the Porsche brand, and the addition of the brand's halo, as well as the more practical cabin space and excellent driving performance compared to the Porsche sports car, have become important reasons for the Panamera's popularity.
The turning point in the market fate of ordinary brand hunting vehicles appeared in the era of new energy vehicles. ZEEKR 001, which entered the market before, received a good market response. According to statistics, from its launch in October 2021 to February this year, the total sales volume of ZEEKR 001 has exceeded 160,000 units. This year, the new ZEEKR 001 has exceeded 30,000 units in the first month of its launch. These achievements are quite outstanding in the field of hunting vehicles. After ZEEKR 001, DENZA and Nezha have also set their sights on the field of hunting vehicles, so what is the specific strength of DENZA Z9 GT and Nezha S hunting version?
Is there an opportunity in the new energy hunting vehicle market?
As we all know, with the rise of independent car companies, their models have reached a high level in terms of design. The same is true for the Denza Z9 GT, which adopts the new Elegance in motion design concept, has a very sexy appearance, more 1000 horsepower, 100 kilometers of acceleration in 2 seconds, and easy tripartite technology, etc., the future benchmark models are mainly Porsche panamera, Audi A8L, etc., and the price in China may start at 600,000 yuan.
In comparison, the market price of Nezha S hunting version is expected to be much cheaper, and this car is a derivative version of Nezha S, and with reference to the design of Nezha S, I believe that Nezha S hunting version has a good performance in terms of space practicality, functional configuration, and high-end sense of materials. At the same time, Shanhai Platform 2.0 empowers Nezha S hunting version, and it is also expected to be effectively controlled in terms of cost, so Nezha S hunting version is worth looking forward to in terms of cost performance.
The market positioning of the Denza Z9 GT and the Nezha S hunting version is different, and the people they face are also different, but they both face a common problem: can they tap the development space of the new energy hunting vehicle market?
In his view, the Denza Z9 GT has a higher cost performance ratio and richer functional configuration than Porsche Panamera, Audi A8L and other million-level luxury cars, and with reference to the performance of the U8 in the million-level SUV market, it is not difficult for the Denza Z9 GT to be recognized by a small number of consumers after entering the market. However, given the high price threshold of the vehicle, it is not realistic to go in large quantities.
As for the Nezha S hunting version, although the price is relatively low, the cost performance and practicality are good, but the brand influence of Nezha Automobile is a short board, and it is not realistic to gain a large number of consumer recognition like Zeekrypton 001 in the short term. Judging from various factors, it is not easy for the Denza Z9GT and Nezha S Hunting Edition to become popular models in the market.
However, for car companies, estimated sales performance is not the only reason for their R&D and manufacturing of hunting vehicles, but also a significant significance is to establish a brand image. The luxury label on the body of the hunting has become a major help for them to raise the height of the brand, and this type of model can not only sell at a higher price, but also enrich the product matrix to meet the needs of more consumers.
The performance of hunting vehicles in the domestic market is similar to that of MPV models, and the market performance of independent high-end MPV models has been relatively sluggish for many years, but after the rise of new energy technology, the market popularity of independent new energy MPVs has been rising. Nowadays, the number of consumers of hunting vehicles in the market is not high, but with the empowerment of new energy technology, the attention of independent brand hunting vehicles has really become higher, among which ZEEKR 001 has achieved good results.
In the future, what kind of performance the Nezha S Hunting Edition and Denza Z9 GT can have after entering the market can only be told by the market. But it is certain that now more and more car companies will focus on the development of the field of hunting cars, the future market is also expected to have more affordable new energy hunting vehicles, when everyone chooses more high-value models will become more, the car market model types and prices have become more perfect, which is a good thing for consumers and the development of the automobile market.