In the era when technology is king, the rise of extended-range vehicles is incredible.
To put it bluntly, it has no technology, and it doesn't take a low price, and it is whimsical to want to get ahead. And when I look at the sales, I always stand proudly at the top of luxury cars, which makes the pure electric/plug-in hybrid cry.
In this context, many people inevitably have a confusion:
Strange, strange! Since the technical content of range extension is low, the price should be lower, why is the actual price so expensive?
After consulting several practitioners, they said that it was not that it could not be cheap, but that it was decided for three reasons, and the price of a range-extended car could only be high, not low.
Why?
The first reason is that they don't think that extended range can be a cheap car
Strange to say, why can't you make a cheap car with an extended range? For example, if you click two knives, the price will come down.
Sounds reasonable, but the reality is, can't it be done?
First of all, we need to understand the significance of the existence of range extension.
It is because the range of the tram is not enough, and the engineer installed a "power bank" on it, so that the range can be extended.
Therefore, range extension, like trams, naturally requires a large battery and a large motor. Without these two things, it is nothing.
So, let's take a look at what the extended-range floor tiles look like today.
Today's most entry-level range extension is also Navy S7.
The car is constrained by cost and compromises too much.
On the one hand, there is no high-end intelligent driving, on the other hand, the range is 90 kilometers, and the motor is 175 kilowatts.
Let's talk about power first, you must know that the extended range can only be driven by electricity, and the ratio of 170 kilowatts to plug-in hybrid/pure electric is already very empty, but don't forget that there is also a "loss of power".
Speaking of batteries, you will know how outrageous 90 kilometers is, 7% off first, plus 20% of the power preservation strategy, and thank God for being able to run 50 miles.
The experience was already terrible. And if you cut it again?
For example, give a 50 km range, or a 150 kW motor.
As a result, the "power bank" is gone, and the motor is gone, which is simply funny. Therefore, cheap range extender is the real IQ tax.
After all, the range extension technology is simple, but it can't be lowered, even if it is higher, it won't be so outrageous as 300,000 at every turn.
Let's analyze this
The second reason is that the extended-range car insists on the high-end and does not relax
It's like opening a luxury restaurant, a bowl of luxurious noodles is to add two more abalones, and it will be sold for 100 yuan, so you can't lose the grade.
Taking the ideal and the world as examples, they are all taking the luxury route, and it should be hard and "BBA". This directly determines that the price of the car cannot be low.
To put it bluntly, once the estimated price is established at 300,000, the next thing to do is to sell this car for 300,000 no matter what.
The method is very simple and rude, that is, to add ingredients to you.
Taking the "originator of extended range" Ideal ONE as an example, it will increase and expand the screen, provide screen linkage, and add princess seats, car refrigerators and other configurations.
That's right, it's the familiar "refrigerator, color TV, big sofa".
Don't laugh at this set of no technology, in fact, the luxury car group is good at this.
As a result, Ideal ONE sold well, bringing Ideal back to life and pushing the range extension to the peak.
This is a reality that has already happened.
Of course, it's not bad, this three-piece set has no technology, peers will follow up immediately, you may feel that 300,000 is not worth it.
Even in this case, it is impossible to reduce the price reduction, and the only way is to continue stockpiling.
Therefore, last year, high-end intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit were born, which made people "wow". It's worth it again.
But now the technology iteration is too fast, for example, DJI will immediately put the intelligent driving into the 10-level model. It doesn't feel worth it anymore.
Dual-chamber air suspension + CDC shock absorption, intelligent chassis, Xuanwu body and other technologies are immediately stuffed into the range extender and become the standard.
What's more, the manufacturer has also come up with some "unconscious" new gadgets, such as projection headlights and star ring scatterers, which sound like alien technology, not to mention 300,000, and it is worth smashing the pot and selling iron.
In short, the result is that there is no technology, and after such a "feeding", the feeling is dazzling and full of black technology.
It's not expensive, and it feels a little unreasonable.
The third reason is that the marketing of extended-range vehicles is strong
Don't say that you don't feel the "marketing" of the extended range.
Just think about what is the source of "the best within 5 million" and "the best within 20 million" in the past two years? It is not an exaggeration to say that the effect has long been deeply rooted in the bone marrow.
This kind of marketing investment at any cost is enough to turn decay into magic, so that consumers can honestly pay for high-premium range extender cars.
And, don't think that the marketing investment of car companies is just a small fight. The data is eye-opening.
According to the public financial report, in the first three quarters of 2023, the marketing expenses of Cialis will reach 2.671 billion yuan, which does not seem to be much, but compared with the R&D expenses, it is only 1.091 billion yuan, and you will know what the concept is.
After all, this is not counting Huawei's investment, just take the Ubiquitous advertising of the Spring Festival Gala M9, which is not something that Cialis can afford to lose money year after year.
Another "range extension giant", Li Auto, is even better, with marketing expenses reaching 9.768 billion yuan in 2023. This concept is even more exaggerated!
You only need to look at BYD to understand that the marketing expenses in 2023 will only be 4.267 billion yuan.
Think about BYD's sales, think about the ideal sales, and compare this marketing fee.
There is no need to explain, it is clear where the range extender car is expensive.
To put it bluntly, if you don't make the price of a bicycle higher, you can't even afford marketing expenses.
In short, why is the price so expensive when the range extension is obviously low-tech? The main reason is that the range extension has caught up with a good time.
That is to say, due to the lack of battery life, the high-end route of pure electric is blocked, and it is difficult for plug-in hybrid to go to the high-end due to its own quality.
In this way, the extended range is like a pig on the tuyere, and the car companies are trying their best to support it in the high-end aspect.
Although the structure of the range extension system itself is simple, the peripheral configuration is dazzling and dizzying, and the resources invested in marketing and publicity are huge.
As a result, it gives a sense of being far ahead of the curve, and it's not surprising that the price is a little higher.