On September 10, SAIC Volkswagen Passat 380TSI family was officially launched. Together with the Tiguan L Pro, SAIC Volkswagen's "Pro Trilogy" has reached its second chapter.
The Passat 2025 Outstanding and Passat Pro have joined the battle of involution with marketing strategies commonly used by new energy brands such as "a fixed price for a limited time" and "lifetime warranty for the first owner of the powertrain".
In the words of Tao Hailong, Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of SAIC Volkswagen Co., Ltd., "We have used a more aggressive price strategy, which is to firmly establish the position of the top brand, and the top brand of the Passat is not only the top brand of fuel vehicles, but also the top brand of the whole market." ”
Tao Hailong, Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of SAIC Volkswagen Co., Ltd
In the 24 years since the Passat entered the Chinese market, it has always been a benchmark product in the B-segment car market. As an important part of SAIC Volkswagen's strategy of "oil and electricity together" and "oil and electricity together", its sense of mission is even greater.
Fu Qiang, executive deputy general manager of sales and marketing of SAIC Volkswagen and general manager of Shanghai SAIC Volkswagen Sales Co., Ltd., said that there is a big ambition behind all our initiatives, from 80,000 to 320,000 yuan in the entire price range, we hope to have good enough products, every 10,000 yuan in a range to strengthen the coverage of products in this price range.
At the communication meeting, the two who have not been in office for the first time made their joint appearance, and answered the development path of SAIC Volkswagen's future corporate strategy and product pedigree for the outside world.
Hybrid models are fully arranged
As of September 10, the day of the launch of the Passat Pro, SAIC Volkswagen's cumulative sales this year have reached nearly 750,000 units, a slight year-on-year increase. Although SAIC Volkswagen has not announced a specific annual sales target for this year, Fu Qiang previously revealed at the Chengdu Auto Show that he still hopes to stay in the million-unit club.
Since it is the middle of the year, it will face the test of the annual sales target of the golden nine and silver ten, and the time is tight and the task is heavy. Tao Hailong said in front of the media, "The Volkswagen brand is investing in both fuel vehicles and new energy, and oil and electricity are advancing together. The market share of fuel vehicles in July was 7%, 8% in August, and it is also moving in this direction in September. SAIC Volkswagen's full-year sales target, I personally want to work in this direction. ”
According to the data of the China Passenger Car Association, the wholesale penetration rate of new energy vehicle manufacturers in August was 48.9%, an increase of 13.3 percentage points from the same period last year. The performance of narrow plug-in hybrid and extended range models was particularly outstanding, with wholesale sales of 345,000 and 115,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 84% and 109%.
It is precisely because of the intensification of changes in the domestic new energy market that SAIC Volkswagen's transformation is also seeking to accelerate. SAIC Volkswagen will also comprehensively deploy hybrid models in different price segments, and hit the market in a serialized way, "oil vehicles are what we must adhere to, but we cannot be conservative, hybrid and pure electric vehicles must continue to be on, and intelligence must continue to be on." Tao Hailong said.
At the same time, SAIC Volkswagen's development strategy has become clearer and clearer by doing "addition and subtraction".
First, the product matrix is added, and the connotation of the Pro trilogy is to supplement the intelligent function of the king fried products, for example, the Tiguan L Pro is positioned as the "smartest oil car", and the Passat Pro adds comfort and luxury on top of intelligence. Fu Qiang revealed that Touron Pro will continue to add on the "smart + comfortable" of the Passat Pro.
The ID.3 and ID.4 X models have been launched in the ID. series, with a new look, interior upgrades, and software iterations.
The second is to optimize the cost and subtract. "I must investigate and see which directions can be optimized, and then I will place corresponding indicators. For any enterprise, cost is very important, and it is also the core competitiveness of an enterprise. In Tao Hailong's view, the prerequisite for reducing costs is efficiency, including the improvement of the company's operating efficiency and investment efficiency, but the prerequisite is that there can be no loss of product quality.
In addition to the Volkswagen brand's new energy process is steadily advancing, Tao Hailong also said at the communication meeting that SAIC Audi's product system and marketing system are being quickly established, and the current situation will be rapidly changed. "We are also seriously considering the strategy for future hybrid (products)."
There are still opportunities for intelligent combustion vehicles
Many intelligent functions of the car have gradually been recognized and relied on by the public, and intelligence is naturally strongly related to youth, how to meet the needs of young people is also a test of the new leader's skills.
Fu Qiang answered his understanding in front of the media: "The space shuttle burns space kerosene, the warship uses diesel, and whether the car is smart or not has nothing to do with the form of energy." ”
Fu Qiang, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing of SAIC Volkswagen and General Manager of Shanghai SAIC Volkswagen Sales Co., Ltd
The choice to cooperate with Baidu Wenxin Yiyan also gave SAIC Volkswagen a lot of confidence. He also said frankly, "When I first made the Pro trilogy, I felt that everyone in the market was no longer invested in traditional energy, but we felt that there was still a chance, if the intelligence of fuel vehicles can be done well, this is a blue ocean market." ”
Tao Hailong also said that in view of the current market situation, SAIC Volkswagen is still under great pressure, requiring our entire team to walk on thin ice and race against time to win the market. SAIC Volkswagen has a clear and clear layout in all fields of intelligence, and the subsequent products (oil, hybrid, and electric) will be at the leading level in the market in terms of intelligent technology.
According to the data of the Passenger Association, the current wholesale sales of the Passat from January to August are 147,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 15.7%, and the sales of the Pro series are still increasing.
When the Passat began to become younger and more technological, it also highlighted SAIC Volkswagen's determination to resolutely promote "oil and electricity with intelligence".
In terms of product styling, Passat has always insisted on providing a double-face shape and even a third look, while retaining the traditional black, white, and gray, it has also launched very jumpy colors such as pulse blue and cyber pink to meet the needs of young consumer groups.
"For example, the starlight face shape of the Passat Pro is generally welcomed by young consumers, and the average age of users is about 2~3 years lower than the average age of the pioneer face." Fu Qiang said.
In terms of function, L2++ level intelligent assisted driving technology, the intelligence of the intelligent cockpit, including the operation interface of the entire central control screen are all configurations that young users are very concerned about. "We have also made a lot of optimizations in these aspects, including the fragrance system and the ambient lighting inside, which is in line with both male and female young consumers." Fu Qiang added.
In addition, SAIC Volkswagen launched the ID.3 and ID.4 X smart models of the ID. series at the end of July, which not only have a new appearance and interior upgrade, but also support remote parking, paddle lane change, and intelligent driving L2++ functions after software iteration. The function of city navigation is "a little lacking, and we are still working on it." Fu Qiang said.
The cumulative wholesale sales of the two products from January to August were 56,000 and 20,000 units, an increase of 81.5% and 82.8% year-on-year.