According to the data of the China Passenger Car Association, the retail penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles in China will reach 35.7% in 2023, an increase of 8.1 percentage points year-on-year, and it will be even worse in 2024. In this situation, the independent brands that are fast and fast have made efforts in the fields of electrification and intelligence, creating a scene of "the domestic scenery is unique here".
In the face of such an offensive, the strategy of the joint venture brand to stick to the fuel vehicle is obviously untenable, and the mainstream joint venture car companies with big businesses and deep technology and product heritage have shown a strong desire to actively seek change and integrate themselves into the tide of electrification in China under the development of the new joint venture era, which is the case with Dongfeng Honda.
Recently, Honda China released a new electric brand "Ye", a total of three models including Ye GT concept car, Ye S7 and Ye P7, of which Ye S7 and Ye P7 will be launched at the end of the year. In line with Honda China's strategy of actively embracing electrification, Dongfeng Honda strives to kick off the counterattack through "new brand reform, stable product development, and marketing innovation".
Triple hit of new electric products Dongfeng Honda wins the future with value
In July 2023, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Dongfeng Honda, it released a new strategy of "Creating the Future 2030", making it clear that it will fully devote itself to the wave of "electric moment". Moreover, this time it has further clarified the development blueprint of Dongfeng Honda in the new era, whether it is from brand building or product layout, or production system to technology research and development, Dongfeng Honda has a clear plan.
According to the "Create the Future 2030" strategy, Dongfeng Honda will achieve the joy of "tens of millions" by 2030, and launch more than 10 pure electric models by 2030.
In 2024, Dongfeng Honda will successively launch three new models belonging to three brands in the new energy market, namely Lieguang e:NS2, Lingxi L and Ye S7.
Among them, e:NS2, the Chinese name Lieguang just announced the pre-sale information at the Beijing Auto Show that opened on April 25, and the new car has a strong pre-sale price of 159,800-179,800 yuan, a total of four versions have been released, and the rights and interests of users in the pre-sale period have been announced at the same time. From May 1st, users log in to the Dongfeng Honda e-motion applet to place an order, only 520 yuan, you can lock in a 5,000 yuan value of 8,000 yuan of Hunting Light Exclusive Bag or Comfort Package, to meet the personalized optional needs of different users. It is worth mentioning that "Hunter Light" also joined hands with MUJI to customize an exclusive special edition model, which was also available for users to taste at this Beijing Auto Show.
Lieguang is positioned as a pure electric hunting coupe, and it can be seen that this car is based on the strategy of image occupancy, aiming to strengthen the bold and enterprising electrification brand image of the Dongfeng Honda brand in the hearts of young consumers. The design concept of Hunting Light is advanced and bold, and the shape integrates the sport and beauty of GT, the feelings and practicality of the crockpot, which can be more "loaded" than the GT, and looks better than the crockpot, presenting a very futuristic and technological style. The launch of Lieguang not only injected new vitality into Dongfeng Honda, but also set a new benchmark for brand electrification in the market.
As a new joint venture model actively explored by Dongfeng Honda, Dongfeng Honda has been entrusted with the important task of expanding brand recognition. The Lingxi brand will form a "significant differentiation" from the e:NS series in terms of product positioning, target users and market pricing. The first product, Lingxi L, is aimed at the most competitive pure electric A+ class car market, or will be equipped with a half-spoke steering wheel and a super-large integrated curved screen, and the overall temperament is very futuristic. As a new attempt to build a new energy brand by a joint venture brand, Lingxi may be expected to change people's inherent impression of joint venture electrification and bring new cognition and dawn to Dongfeng Honda's transformation.
As the latest pure electric brand, the Ye brand has expressed a strong willingness to "embrace China", and the first Ye S7 will fall into the Dongfeng Honda camp, and its models have been comprehensively improved in terms of performance, intelligence and technology, which not only demonstrates Dongfeng Honda's deep strength in the field of new energy vehicles, but also successfully creates a sense of high value for electric vehicles. This model will become a banner for Dongfeng Honda in the new energy vehicle market, leading the brand to move towards a greener and smarter future.
In addition, as a hybrid technology that Honda has been cultivating for many years and has a huge basic disk, and as the pioneer of electric drive hybrid, it has a history of more than 20 years. In the future, Dongfeng Honda will rely on the e:HEV/e:PHEV technology to continue to provide consumers with an energy-saving, efficient, safe and reliable car experience.
At this year's Beijing Auto Show, Dongfeng Honda exhibited the all-new CR-V and the all-new Inspie plug-in hybrid model. So far, Dongfeng Honda has set up three pure electric brands, namely e:NS brand, Ye brand, and Lingxi, and created a strong green brand matrix together with the strong electric intelligent hybrid brand.
Seek progress in stability, pre-sales and after-sales all-round escort
The strategic blueprint has been completed, Dongfeng Honda has also carried out a major transformation for the supply side, as the saying goes, "the soldiers and horses have not moved, the grain and grass first", Dongfeng Honda new energy intelligent factory will be put into operation within the year, according to the plan, the new factory covers an area of 630,000 square meters, with an initial annual production capacity of 120,000 vehicles. The new plant is planned to be built into an efficient, intelligent and sustainable new generation of electric vehicle factory, with a complete process of electric vehicle production such as stamping, welding, painting, final assembly, vehicle inspection, etc., and will introduce new automation technologies in welding, final assembly and other processes, with a level of automation.
Under the guidance of Dongfeng Honda's 2024 new energy strategic layout, the new smart factory will provide a strong production guarantee for the three new energy product sequences, so as to provide consumers with high-quality, high-performance and high-value new energy vehicle products. In addition, Dongfeng Honda is also accelerating the upgrade at the level of user operation and brand services, striving to make the Dongfeng Honda electric brand quickly form a deep understanding in the hearts of users.
In terms of sales volume, Dongfeng Honda does not set a lofty target at this stage, but plans to maintain the overall market share of the company at 3.0%, so that the sales of electrified models will account for more than 20%, and the brand recognition of electrification will increase by 5%, so as to achieve full coverage of diversified power forms such as fuel, gasoline-electric hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and pure electric. Seeking breakthroughs step by step and steadily is an excellent path for Dongfeng Honda to continuously consolidate its leading position in the industry.
Dongfeng Honda technology empowers and adheres to excellent quality
From strategy to brand, from pre-sales to after-sales, from service to operation, Dongfeng Honda's new electrification brand aims to give users a high-value brand perception and occupy a place in the offensive and defensive battle between electrification and intelligence.
In 2023, Dongfeng Honda ushered in the highlight moment of cumulative sales of 8 million units, bucking the trend in a severe environment, precisely because Dongfeng Honda has always adhered to the value orientation and long-term concept of "customer first, quality first".
On March 15, 2023, in the "2023 China Auto Brand Quality Ranking (Fuel Vehicles)" released by China Automotive Quality Network, Dongfeng Honda stood out from 68 auto brands and topped the list with results far exceeding the industry average.
Excellent product quality is inseparable from the empowerment of leading technology, relying on the world's leading technology accumulation, Dongfeng Honda's products are born with high-quality genes, and with the blessing of electrification and intelligent technology, it has the strength and value of leading products in the same class.
Specifically, the fourth-generation i-MMD technology is closer to pure electric models in terms of driving quality and energy consumption, and has the characteristics of high smoothness, quietness and ultra-long battery life, and this year, the Honda SENSING 360+ system, which is based on the L3 intelligent driving assistance system, will also be the first to be applied to Dongfeng Honda's products, bringing users a more secure travel experience.
There is also the just-released intelligent and efficient pure electric W architecture, which is equipped with a "three-in-one" high-power drive motor, as well as a large-capacity, high-density battery, and a split isolated battery cooling system. In addition, the "W" architecture provides two drive forms: single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor four-wheel drive, in short, the new pure electric architecture will strongly empower Dongfeng Honda's pure electric models, bringing users high-quality, high-performance medium and large products, and further sublimating the fun of electric driving.
Summary:
Electrification and intelligence have impacted the dominant market of fuel vehicles that joint ventures have been sticking to for nearly 40 years, but the mainstream advantageous joint venture car companies that seek long-term and active changes have the ability to reconstruct the competitive landscape in the complex changes. Dongfeng Honda has opened a comprehensive new 2024 with a more open mind, more forward-looking innovative thinking, and the value orientation of "customer first, quality first".
In 2024, Dongfeng Honda will focus on three major directions: "stabilizing the sales base of fuel vehicles", "improving brand awareness of electrification", and "expanding the whole journey experience of users", and move forward to become a value-creating enterprise. The three pure electric brands, the new energy intelligent factory and the diversified user operation will bring us a unique Dongfeng Honda!