BYD Xia enters the MPV market. How should GL8, Senna, Dreamer and other previously advantageous models respond?

The trend of internal competition in the automotive industry has finally spread to the mid-to-high-end MPV field. On January 12, the mid-to-large intelligent flagship MPV BYD Xia was officially launched, with a price range of 249,800 to 309,800 yuan.

As the first MPV of the same name as BYD Dynasty Network’s sixth largest IP, Xia, the new car is equipped with BYD’s core technologies such as the fifth-generation DM, and its configuration is aimed at the industry’s first-class level.

In recent years, the Chinese MPV market has been dominated by traditional big players such as GL8, Toyota, and Dreamer. Although domestic brands have entered the market, most of them have not achieved much success.

Now a new disruptor has come, with Xia Yi entering the market. What kind of landscape will the mid-to-high-end MPV market take shape in the future?

When the Denza D9 entered the market two years ago, traditional MPV giants already felt the pressure. Take the GL8 for example, it is a veteran in the MPV field for 20 years. In 2021, it also set an annual sales record of 160,000 units.

But now, GL8 has lost its sales crown. If it had not launched a plug-in hybrid version later, its market position might have really declined.

From the known information, Xia is built on BYD's new generation plug-in hybrid vehicle platform and is equipped with a 1.5T engine with an output power of 115kW. With a maximum power of 200kW electric motor, EHS200 electric hybrid system and plug-in hybrid power blade battery, the comprehensive cruising range of full fuel and full charge is 1060km, and the NEDC fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is as low as 5.3L. At the same time, this car is also equipped with Yunni-C intelligent damping body control system and Yunni pre-aiming system as standard.

It is obvious that this car has excellent competitiveness in terms of technology, platform, safety, design, space and intelligence.

More importantly, the pricing of this car is quite different from that of GL8 PHEV. The more affordable price has brought a sense of competitive pressure to traditional MPV giants.

BYD's determination and strength to enter the mainstream MPV market are obvious. According to incomplete statistics from third-party platforms, there are more than 150 MPV models on sale, including Toyota's Sienna, Grevia, Buick's GL8 and Lantu's Dreamer, which are all competitors of Xia.

Although these traditional big players have been in the market for many years and have a certain brand foundation and a solid position in the commercial market, they still have their own pressures when the market is almost divided between fuel and new energy.

As new energy vehicles are becoming the dominant force in the market, models such as Senna and Grevia are not new energy vehicles, so their sales potential is limited. Even the Buick GL8, which was popular in the past, did not give mainstream users enough confidence in terms of design, intelligence, and configuration.

As a medium-to-large plug-in hybrid MPV, Xia is equipped with the DiPilot 100 intelligent driving assistance system based on the Eye of God technology architecture. The entire vehicle contains 5 high-precision millimeter-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic radars, and 12 high-definition cameras, totaling 29 sensors.

The DiLink 150 smart cockpit supports three-screen audio and video entertainment playback, intelligent voice multi-car connectivity, game controllers, AR glasses and other applications.

The car is equipped with a 15.6-inch ceiling-mounted entertainment screen, an onboard refrigerator with heating and cooling, and second-row double independent Nappa leather seats, including electric adjustment, ventilation and heating, massage and leg rest functions (second-row seats).

In addition, Xia's design is more elegant and in line with the aesthetics of the Chinese people. It is more attractive than the old designs that have not been changed for many years by traditional big brands. It can be said that its comprehensive product strength has great advantages.

From the perspective of pricing strategy, the starting price of Xia is only 10,000 yuan different from the Buick GL8 gasoline version. The price of the high-end version is also 10,000 yuan different from the entry-level models of Senna and Grevia, and is far lower than the Buick GL8 plug-in hybrid version.

Therefore, facing BYD Xia, traditional MPV big players must be under pressure. So, how should these traditional MPV big players deal with it?

At present, traditional fuel-powered MPV models have limited competitiveness. Buick GL8, Odyssey and others have experienced declines to varying degrees, and the sales growth of Senna has also slowed down.

Pure electric MPVs are not very competitive due to their high prices and range concerns. For example, the average monthly sales of Ideal MEGA and Zeekr 009 are around 3,000 units, which is far different from the sales volume and growth rate of plug-in hybrid MPVs.

In other words, plug-in hybrid MPVs are now the mainstream of the market. If traditional MPV manufacturers want to make a breakthrough in the current market, they still need to work hard in the mainstream energy direction.

In the past two years, our sales data has also confirmed this. In 2023, the overall sales of plug-in hybrid MPVs reached 164,000 units, a year-on-year increase of more than 430%, far exceeding the 170% growth rate of the overall new energy MPV market.

By November 2024, sales of B-class and above MPVs reached 531,000 units, a slight increase of 3% year-on-year. Thanks to the launch of plug-in hybrid versions, sales of Trumpchi E8 and Lantu Dreamer have achieved rapid growth.

Buick GL8 has also experienced the magic of the plug-in hybrid market. In April last year, Buick GL8 Luzun PHEV was launched. Despite the high starting price of 359,900 yuan, it still received considerable market response.

According to media statistics, Buick GL8 sales quickly rebounded after the delivery of the plug-in hybrid version, reaching nearly 10,000 units in August, and once regained the title of high-end MPV sales champion.

Obviously, if traditional MPV giants want to continue to gain a foothold in the Chinese market, it is crucial to seize the plug-in hybrid opportunity. At present, the domestic plug-in hybrid MPV has successfully risen from the early positioning of more than 100,000 yuan to more than 300,000 yuan, and the product pricing power in the MPV market is shifting from joint venture brands to domestic brands. Therefore, in the Chinese market with more and more competitors, whether the joint venture brands among the traditional MPV giants can play in the future MPV market is probably in danger.