Entering 2024, the new energy vehicle market will be mired in artillery fire due to price wars, and sales and growth have become key indicators to measure the strength of car companies. In the field of new energy vehicles, BYD is still a unique existence, leading its own brand of new energy. The cumulative sales in the first four months were 939,500 units, a year-on-year increase of 23.24%.
In terms of growth performance, BYD is seeking progress in stability. Looking at the performance of new energy vehicle brands, there are very few brands with a cumulative sales growth rate of more than 100% in the first four months, and they can no longer form a list. Even some new forces have not achieved rapid growth in sales despite obvious price concessions.
According to the data, Xpeng delivered 9,393 vehicles in April this year, which has not exceeded 10,000 units for four consecutive months. A total of 31,200 units were delivered in the first four months, a year-on-year increase of 23%. Only 11.1% of the sales target was achieved. It can be seen that in the continuous launch of market discounts, the market feedback of Xpeng Motors is not obvious enough.
On the side of the traditional new forces, as a high-end new energy brand of Dongfeng Group, there is a large gap between the sales volume of VOYAH and the head of the new forces, but the growth rate has been at the forefront of the industry. According to the data, in April, VOYAH delivered 4,003 units in April, a year-on-year increase of 19.9%, and the cumulative sales from January to April were 20,348 units, a year-on-year increase of 126%.
In the market where the independent brand gods fight, Jihu, which is also from a large factory (BAIC Blue Valley sold 13,000 vehicles in April, a year-on-year decrease of 34.59%), did not perform satisfactorily. VOYAH's ability to maintain growth is a reflection of the market recognition of its products. So how does VOYAH maintain its growth momentum under the involution?
Looking back to 2022, VOYAH delivered only 19,400 vehicles for the whole year, which was only 64% of the annual sales, just past the passing line. In January and February 2023, VOYAH sold 1,548 and 1,107 units, respectively.
Not only that, Yu Fei, the general manager of sales who had served for less than a year in May last year, was rumored to have resigned, and Liu Zhanshu, the deputy general manager of sales, was also rumored to have resigned.
As a high-end new energy brand under Dongfeng Group, VOYAH has high expectations. However, with such a market and performance, VOYAH may not be able to bear the heavy responsibility of the brand.
As for the problems existing in VOYAH, many analysts in the industry believe that the VOYAH brand has not yet been established, and from the perspective of price positioning, VOYAH seems to be overconfident.
Faced with the dilemma of transformation, it is difficult for VOYAH to succeed in the automotive market. However, after more than half a year of adjustment, VOYAH has found a breakthrough. First of all, the model has undergone a facelift and iteration, and the new VOYAH FREE, VOYAH Dreamer, and VOYAH Chasing Light PHEV have been launched. It is equivalent to the update of the whole product matrix.
For the new car, VOYAH has great expectations. Innovative configurations have been made and the price system has been readjusted.
For example, the new VOYANTO FREE is equipped with Baidu Apollo pilot assisted intelligent driving, and a number of self-developed technologies are applied to the light-chasing PHEV, including ESSA native intelligent pure electric architecture, and Tianyuan architecture (SOA centralized electronic and electrical architecture), etc., and is equipped with magic carpet air suspension + CDC chassis to improve luxury and comfort, so that the soft power of the vehicle has been improved.
The new VOYAH FREE was launched, and the price of the old model was 66,700 yuan lower than that of the old model of 333,600 yuan. In order to take care of the feelings of old car owners, VOYAH FREE provides replacement subsidies of up to 6-80,000 yuan for old car owners. It is equivalent to the old car owner can replace the new model with tens of thousands. According to relevant estimates, VOYAH will pay about 1.2 billion subsidies out of its own pocket.
In the end, in terms of sales results, the new car has become the direct driving force for the growth of VOYAH's sales. In 2023, VOYAH's sales exceeded 50,000 units, exceeding its annual target, and its monthly sales exceeded 10,000 units in December, entering the 10,000 units club.
In the past, most consumers bought cars based on the most basic standard of durable and easy to drive, but now the homogenization of model products is serious, and new models must have enough advantages to support if they want to go in volume. This requires long-term dedication and accumulation of car companies, especially for high-end brands, blindly piling up materials is destined to not go far. VOYAH is qualified to stay at the high-end new energy table only when the technology and cost are in place.
In addition to product iterations, the VOYAH management team is also constantly optimizing. In 2023, VOYAH Marketing will undergo organizational structure changes, with Shao Mingfeng, assistant to the general manager of VOYAH Automotive, temporarily assuming the position of general manager of sales, and the director-level management positions in the marketing field will also be adjusted. This round of adjustment has reduced a large number of first- and second-level management departments, and integrated the centralized to form a linkage between brands and products.
Shao Mingfeng
51 Jun believes that VOYAH hopes that after this adjustment, it will quickly build a flexible and efficient team and seize opportunities in the fiercely competitive market. After Shao Mingfeng took over, he broadened the channel market, adjusted the production rhythm, and stimulated resources such as communication and sales to change the inefficient operation in the past.
The organizational reform of the enterprise is directly related to the future development and operation management, abandoning the traditional inefficient operation to build an elite talent team, which provides an internal driving force for VOYAH's own sales breakthrough.
In 2024, VOYAH will update its marketing strategy again and begin to gather resources to seek cross-border breakthroughs between the brand and the market.
On January 22, 2024, VOYAH announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Huawei, which will bring Huawei's intelligent cabin and intelligent driving capabilities to VOYAH models. On January 29, VOYAH and JD.com signed a contract to cooperate in online and offline marketing.
VOYAH and JD.com officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement at JD.com headquarters in Beijing
VOYAH is interested in Huawei's continuous breakthroughs in the field of intelligence, and Huawei is interested in a number of world-first new energy technologies owned by VOYAH. For Huawei, it is also excellent to help car companies build good cars and expand their circle of friends without making cars.
JD.com has abundant online and offline channels and can provide solutions for new energy vehicles. With JD.com's commercialization model, VOYAH can broaden its channel advantages.
If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools. The cooperation between VOYAH and Huawei and JD.com is to make up for the shortcomings with the help of third-party forces in addition to its own capabilities.
However, the cooperation model between VOYAH and Huawei is the Hi mode, not the smart mode. The advantage of this cooperation model is that Huawei will participate in the design and function development of the car, and even provide intelligent cockpits for the products.
However, due to the fact that the intelligent solution is led by Huawei, there may be a deviation in the degree of convergence. At present, there is no successful case of Hi mode. Huawei and VOYAH are working hand in hand, and it is foreseeable that VOYAH's intelligent driving functions will be greatly improved, but it will also need to make greater breakthroughs in VOYAH's self-development capabilities.
On April 9, VOYAH officially rolled off the production line of its 100,000th vehicle at the plant, ushering in a milestone moment. Corresponding to VOYAH, 100,000 vehicles rolled off the assembly line and the cumulative sales growth of 126% in the first four months were the result of a certain stage of sales. It is undeniable that behind this is the joint promotion of every link in the process of VOYAH car building.
In 2024, VOYAH has set a new target of 100,000 units per year, doubling its annual sales from last year. There are many challenges to such a sales target, but now that VOYAH's product strength and team are no longer the same, VOYAH must have more confidence in the face of users and the market.
However, the road ahead is also unknown, and whether VOYAH, which uses external forces to improve itself, can make the brand truly break the game, it still needs the time and test of the market.
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Legal adviser
Beijing Weiheng (Fuzhou) Law Firm, Lai Chenglong, lawyer