Recently, Nezha cars have been a bit difficult.
On the one hand, this difficulty stems from the extreme "involution" of the entire automobile market, but this external factor is unavoidable by every enterprise, and is not the main reason for Nezha's predicament; On the other hand, the current public opinion and marketing environment are even more challenging for Nezha Automobile, which is originally "strong products and weak marketing".
This is also a major problem that all car companies have to face at present - if they do not grab traffic, it is difficult to open up their popularity; And once you get off the market to grab traffic, you will face a "hard encounter" with Internet companies, and it is easy to hurt yourself by the power that rebounds.
Nezha is like this, and so is Zhiji.
In the current marketing environment, how to better to C is a difficult problem that all OEMs cannot avoid, and it was vividly demonstrated at this year's Beijing Auto Show. As strong as Chang'an, Great Wall and Chery, etc., they have also opened the "volume boss" mode; Nezha, who is facing greater survival pressure, as a "pioneer", not only Daniel Zhang frequently appears, but also often pulls Zhou Hongyi, an investor and known as a "car circle Internet celebrity", to give Nezha a "platform" together.
It's just that Zhou Hongyi's outspokenness, although it brought the traffic of the sky, did not bring the wealth of the sky, but made Nezha fall into the criticism of public opinion again and again. In order to get rid of the current predicament, Nezha once again offered two "killer features" -
First, on April 15, Nezha Automobile announced that its parent company, Hezhong Automobile, has received an investment of no less than 5 billion yuan, and the three investors have state-owned backgrounds, and this investment will help Nezha Automobile accelerate the IPO process and expand R&D investment. This round of financing is also the second round of financing announced by Nezha Automobile in the past month, and in March, Nezha Automobile just received support from the Hong Kong government.
At the moment of the "cold winter" of capital, Nezha was able to obtain an investment of no less than 5 billion yuan with a state-owned background again, which on the one hand demonstrated the confidence of the capital market in it, and this confidence can also be transmitted to the consumer market to further boost its sales; On the other hand, this fund can also help it achieve IPO as soon as possible, and further increase investment in product research and development and technological innovation.
It can be said that almost every previous fallen car-making brand was due to a broken capital chain. Nezha, who is "not short of money", can be said to be much luckier in this regard.
Second, on April 22, Nezha Automobile announced that its most important product this year, Nezha L, was officially launched, with a price of 129,900-159,900 yuan. The car is positioned as a family intelligent super extended range SUV, mainly for independent young families with a new consumption concept.
Compared with the competing models on the market, the biggest product advantage of the Nezha L extended range version is: in terms of battery life, which consumers are most concerned about, the flash charging large battery equipped with 40-degree CATL cells has a pure electric range of more than 300 kilometers, a comprehensive range of 1300 km, and a charging time of only 19 minutes from 30% to 80%; At the same time, in terms of intelligent configuration that is closely related to user perception, Nezha L is not only equipped with a "refrigerator color TV sofa", but also has the only zero-gravity massage seat at the 150,000 level, as well as one-key SPA and other functions.
Equal rights in science and technology has always been the original intention and concept of Nezha's car manufacturing.
The highest Nezha L is not more than 160,000, which can be said to be the re-landing of this concept. As the first SUV of the Shanhai platform, the strong product force and high cost performance have also allowed the cumulative orders of Nezha L to exceed 10,000 units within 72 hours of its launch, and the current orders have exceeded 15,000 units.
But whether this kind of confidence recovery and sales growth can be sustained, frankly speaking, it is not easy to conclude at present, it can only be said that the short-term crisis has been lifted, and the next more test is Nezha's self-"iterative upgrading" ability.
For example, in terms of products, although the Nezha L that has just been launched is complained by Zhou Hongyi that the name is not easy to remember, it can definitely be called Nezha's car that best understands the target consumer group and has the highest adaptability after years of experience in car manufacturing.
On this basis, Nezha L not only retains the advantages of high cost performance, but also has a very clear crowd positioning and product selling point. Even if there are already very competitive products such as Song PLUS and Deep Blue S7 in the current compact new energy SUV segment, Nezha L, as a "latecomer", is still remarkable in comparison.
For example, in terms of battery life and use cost, which users are most concerned about, Nezha L extended range version has a pure electric range of more than 300 kilometers, which can basically meet the needs of a week's commute in the city without charging, which is also the model with the highest pure electric range among the current models in the same class. The comprehensive range of up to 1300km also enables car owners to "walk away" on weekends or holidays and avoid the pain of queuing for charging.
What surprised me even more was that Nezha "grasped" the user needs of young and small families very well. Not only does it have the "Queen's Co-Pilot" - the only zero-gravity massage seat in the 150,000-level class, but it is also equipped with a dual BOE full HD screen "color TV" + a double-door independent compressor refrigerator with integrated cooling and heating. This refrigerator not only has a large volume of 6.6L and a double-door design, but also has an ultra-wide temperature zone from minus 6 °C to minus 50 °C.
You see, the same "refrigerator", most brands do not have compressors, they can only be regarded as "pseudo refrigerators", but Nezha L has achieved the extreme. No wonder even Zhou Hongyi lamented that Nezha L's products have a lot of commendability, but they don't let users know better.
In fact, I have always felt that the current domestic new car companies are developing towards high-end, whether it is Wei Xiaoli, or Xiaomi, Huawei, etc., almost do not make models below 200,000, because the more high-end products are more likely to be profitable, but this is unfair to many ordinary families.
The concept of "equal rights in science and technology" alone is why I have always supported Nezha.
More than 20 years ago, Geely Li Shufu, Chery Yin Tongyue and other old Chinese car people also started to build cars with the original intention of "making good cars that ordinary people can afford", so that the original price of Jetta and Santana sold for more than 200,000 yuan was lowered, so that cars entered the family. Nowadays, new car companies, including Nezha, are also committed to providing better intelligent networking, super range extension, and "refrigerator color TV sofa" to young ordinary consumers through their own efforts.
This is very encouraging.
At present, many "keyboard warriors" like to follow the trend and cyberviolence, once the enterprise manager says the wrong thing, it is the beginning of the "carnival". Actually, I personally strongly disagree with this approach.
For example, Daniel Zhang, I have known him for more than ten years, and he is a straight man in science and engineering. I sometimes have a "headache" when interviewing him, because he usually asks and answers something, and rarely "adds value", and this kind of interview script is actually difficult to write brilliantly.
But people are not sages, like Lei Jun is as professional and strong, after all, there are very few people with high emotional intelligence, most people, including you and me, have their own advantages and disadvantages, I personally think that as long as he does not do things that hurt nature and reason, and his words do not challenge "public order and good customs", he should not be ridiculed or even whipped.
A mature society should be more inclusive, respect diversity, maintain independence, and pursue harmony. Take 10,000 steps back and say, does Nezha's bankruptcy have any benefits to society, car owners and even "keyboard warriors"? When people are at a low point, it doesn't matter if you can't help, don't "step" on it a few more times.
You must know that at present, Nezha has more than 400,000 owners around the world, nearly 10,000 employees, and countless upstream and downstream industrial chains. Such an enterprise, which has made great contributions to the economy, employment and tax payment, cannot be "beaten to death with a stick" because of the words and deeds of the leaders.
What's more, Daniel Zhang is resilient, can listen to persuasion, and self-"iteration" is very fast. For example, Zhou Hongyi and netizens called on him to learn marketing like Lei Jun, and at the first batch of Nezha L user delivery activities on May 10, Daniel Zhang not only personally delivered the car for the first batch of users, but also bowed 60 degrees to users on the spot and personally explained the product.
After the handover ceremony, I saw a lot of praise on the Internet, saying that Daniel Zhang "can handle this person".
Many people are easily annoyed and angry when criticized, but Daniel Zhang will not, he has a very precious quality of an entrepreneur, that is, his heart is very strong - where you think I am bad, I will change; As long as it is conducive to the development of the enterprise, I will change.
For another example, some people think that the name Nezha is not good, so he really launched a voting campaign on the Internet, and Nezha won in the end. And Daniel Zhang also admitted that he personally does not want to change the name Nezha, after all, since June 1, 2018, Hezhong New Energy officially released Nezha Automobile in Beijing, a full 6 years have passed, and feelings and brand foundation have been established.
Just yesterday afternoon, Zhou Hongyi posted on Weibo again, first praising Daniel Zhang's progress in marketing and live broadcast performance, but also said that he had a different opinion from Daniel Zhang on the matter of "changing the name", he believes that the sample of voting should be more, not limited to Nezha's car owners, and should allow more potential consumers and industry experts to participate in the vote.
A netizen said: "It doesn't matter whether you change it or not, what you want is topicality, and what users need is the attitude of the boss." ”
I especially agree with this netizen's statement. The discussion of the topic of name change has given Nezha Automobile enough exposure, and it also reflects the company's attitude of listening carefully to the voices of users, which can be said to "kill two birds with one stone".
In the past 6 years, Nezha has experienced various setbacks and many "highlight moments", which can be said to be an important promoter of the rapid development of China's new energy vehicle industry. In particular, in 2022, Nezha Automobile will sell a total of 152,073 units, a year-on-year increase of 118%, and a positive year-on-year growth for 29 consecutive months, becoming the first new power brand with annual sales exceeding 150,000 units, and winning the sales crown that year.
Behind the ups and downs, the ups and downs, what is spelled is the Nezha spirit of "my life is up to me".
I still remember that two years ago, on the fourth anniversary of the establishment of the Nezha brand, Daniel Zhang issued an open letter entitled "Keep the original intention, the brave are not alone" - "make cars for the people", which is Nezha's original intention; "Make high-quality smart electric vehicles within reach" is Nezha's vision; "We may have a bloody head, but we are fearless", is Nezha's spirit......
I think that the employees, partners and car owners who have walked together for more than 2,000 days and nights will have a deeper affection for this name, and can better understand the energy and emotional value behind it.
Especially at the moment when new energy enters the knockout round, every enterprise is struggling, and the name, original intention and vision of "Nezha" are easier to lead this enterprise through the darkest moment before the dawn.
The young man is fearless, his original intention has not changed, and he will fight again.
Nezha L can be said to be the first shot of Nezha Automobile's "turnaround". And I also hope that no matter how difficult this process is, Nezha Automobile can truly adhere to the "equal rights of science and technology" to the end, build good cars for the people, and build smart new energy cars that the people can afford and use.
As long as we can adhere to this bottom-line thinking, then I believe that "the brave are not alone".