Under the general trend of intelligence and electrification, in the face of the dividends of the hard-core off-road market, many new energy brands are vying to enter the game, and the "square box" car will reappear in a hot situation in 2024. BYD is also interested in the popularity of the new energy off-road market, last year it brought the main off-road market of the equation leopard brand, I wanted to rely on BYD's technology and the popular square box shape to continue to dominate the off-road market, but I didn't expect to be able to play in the off-road market.
According to the recently released sales data of hard-core off-road vehicles in April, the tank brand sold 20,469 units, ranking first in China's off-road SUV sales for 40 consecutive months, and occupying more than 50% of the market share of the hard-core off-road market. In addition, the tank brand New Energy sold 8,759 units in April, of which 2,106 units were sold in the tank 700 Hi4-T.
On the other hand, the Leopard 5, which is highly expected by consumers, sold only 2110 units in April, and the monthly sales volume is only one-tenth of the tank brand. In December last year and January this year, the Leopard 5 sold 5,000 units for two consecutive months.
However, since February, the sales of the Leopard 5 have been declining overall.
Sales in February were 2,310 units, 3,550 units in March, and then sales plummeted in April. The poor sales in February can be said to be in the Spring Festival, but in March and April, it is also this sales, and the production capacity problem can definitely be ruled out, and it is very likely that the stamina of the Leopard 5 is insufficient.
Off-road prowess doesn't match the price
Formula Leopard Leopard 5 is the first mass-produced model equipped with BYD's DMO super hybrid off-road platform, which was officially launched on November 9 last year, and the new car is a new energy hard SUV, with a price range of 289,800-352,800 yuan.
Its direct competitor is the tank 400 Hi4-t, which was launched a month before the Leopard 5, with a price of 279,800 yuan and 289,800 yuan, but its sales in April were 3,646 units, which is significantly ahead of the Leopard 5 in sales.
The poor sales of the Leopard 5 are mainly related to its level of off-road strength and the controversy about the Formula Leopard on the Internet.
The first thing that started was the 18L/100km fuel consumption of the Leopard 5 at high speed, followed by the wrench tearing the girder of the Leopard 5 chassis. The two things add up, the former directly refers to BYD's proud DMO professional hybrid off-road platform, the main core is to take into account performance and fuel consumption; The latter directly refers to the safety and off-road ability of hard-core off-road vehicles, which has a great impact on a car company that is new to the field of off-road vehicles.
At the same time, in a domestic media comparison and dismantling experiment, it conducted a comprehensive and in-depth test and disassembly comparison analysis of the equation Leopard Leopard 5 and the tank 400 Hi4-T in terms of safety design, chassis architecture, powertrain and other dimensions. In the end, it was found that the Formula Leopard Leopard 5 is more outstanding in terms of electrification and intelligence, but in terms of off-road performance and chassis design, the tank 400 Hi4-T seems to be superior.
In particular, the Leopard 5's battery pack is arranged in such a way that it may increase the risk of battery damage when off-road. And after a total of just over 300 kilometers of the test car, the engine piston coating wore out.
Industry insiders said that in just a few months, Equation Leopard has gone from an Internet celebrity brand to a mediocre brand, and the reasons are also many, on the one hand, the competition in the new energy off-road market is fierce, on the other hand, Equation Leopard itself does not know so much about the off-road market, and is eager to seize the market and launch it quickly, resulting in the product in terms of off-road strength and quality control have not met consumer expectations.
According to the off-road vehicle sales data, in April, 10,049 Jietu Travelers, 4,940 Haval Raptors, and 2,597 Beijing BJ30 sales, these are the main cost-effective square shell off-road vehicles, and the off-road strength is not bad, the key is that the price is almost half of the Leopard 5, which can better help consumers realize the hard-core off-road dream.
The steering rod bending manufacturer does not have a warranty
Although many people buy hard-core off-road just to satisfy the heart that loves freedom, and rarely drive to really go over the mountains, many off-road owners usually do not go off-road, or hope that the off-road vehicle can play off-road strength in special circumstances, even if it can't trek through mountains and rivers, it is at least reassuring in terms of quality, but the Leopard 5 has not satisfied the owner in terms of quality.
An equation leopard leopard 5 owner to the "car talk" said that their leopard 5 in the 4000 meters altitude normal highway driving, after a pit steering rod was broken, barren mountains and mountains stayed overnight, 4S shop said that artificial not to give warranty, let him report insurance, hard off-road this pit can not pass, the driving record also called out the speed of 60, they have no fierce driving and no off-road, but the pit steering rod can be bent, this quality is really not reassuring.
The owner said helplessly, although the steering rod is not much money, but the 4S shop does not talk about the problem of the car, saying that I am artificial, the after-sales experience of the formula leopard is very bad, it seems that the future can only be a great god for the sake of it, driving it out will throw you on the road at any time, it is really fatal.
A veteran off-road person said that 60-80 speed over potholes is the basic way to test whether an off-road vehicle is pure. This speed is over the pit, the main hard-core off-road vehicle can basically do, and most pickup trucks can also, although it may be scratched, but generally will not appear the steering rod bending, the hard off-road vehicle requires the vehicle steering rod to be rigid, Leopard 5 This situation is likely to be caused by the car is too heavy, and the strength of the design materials is not enough.
With the popularity of the new energy off-road market, in 2024, all automobile brands have taken plug-in hybrid and pure electric as the "key" to breaking the hard SUV market, and BYD also wants to build Formula Leopard into the trump card of this market segment.
However, judging from the declining market performance of the Leopard 5, it is obviously too much pursuit of market performance and ignores off-road strength and quality control, but the equation Leopard is a new brand, and it is understandable that there are problems with the product, and I only hope that the follow-up facelift and the Leopard 8 that will be launched this year can reassure consumers in terms of off-road strength and quality.