It’s no good having everything. Born with a silver spoon in their mouth but rolling in the mud, when will the second generation of startups like Lantu, Zhiji, and Avita be able to make a comeback?

At the beginning of July, all major new energy manufacturers released their results. According to the China Passenger Car Association, the domestic new energy sales in June are expected to be around 860,000, a year-on-year increase of 32.7%, and the penetration rate is expected to increase to 49.1%. The situation is still very good.

Even five fingers have their lengths, let alone an industry, and the new energy vehicle market is no exception. While BYD, Geely, and Huawei are leading the pack, many new forces have already shown signs of falling behind, and those "second-generation entrepreneurs" who rely on large state-owned auto companies have gradually fallen behind in this not-so-long but thorny race.

Let's first look at a set of data. In June, Lantu Auto sold 5,507 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 83%. From January to June, the cumulative sales reached 30,376 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 102%.

Zhiji Auto sold 6,015 vehicles in June, up 200% year-on-year and 41% month-on-month.

Avita's sales in June were 4,682 units, a year-on-year increase of 167%. The cumulative deliveries from January to June reached 29,030 units.

Judging from the growth rate alone, these brands have performed well and have outperformed the market. There seems to be an unstoppable trend.

But if we look at the sales volume and compare it with the data of competitors, this result is not impressive. Even after doubling, the monthly sales volume is still hovering around 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles. This can only prove that their base last year was too low.

In fact, the growth rate of the new energy vehicle industry in June was only 32.7%. The growth rates of the two giants, BYD and Tesla, have also slowed down and are no longer as rapid as before. This is a normal performance after the base has increased and is also a manifestation of the increasingly mature market.

The market has developed to this stage, proving that the elimination round has begun. The second generation of startups born with a silver spoon in their mouths, such as Lantu, Zhiji, and Avita, are still stuck in the stage of "low base, high growth", indicating that their development rhythm has actually gradually drifted away from the pace of the entire industry.

Being out of sync means being unsocial, and being unsocial means becoming other, nobody.

Not only are sales out of sync, these second-generation entrepreneurs also seem to be out of shape in terms of product lineup and new car launches.

So far, the VOYAH brand has three models on sale: Dreamer, VOYAH FREE and VOYAH Chasing Light. The sales of VOYAH Dreamer in May were 2,826 units, while the sales of the other models were all below 1,000 units.

The Zhiji brand has a total of four models on sale, namely L6, LS6, L7 and LS7. Among them, the sales volume of L6 in May was 3,417 units, and the monthly sales volume of the remaining models were all below 500 units.

The same is true for the Avita brand. In May, the sales of Avita 12 were 2,704 units, and the sales of Avita 11 were 643 units. You know, Avita is jointly created by Huawei, CATL and Changan, which can be said to be a strong combination. But facts have proved that Huawei's golden signboard can make Seres soar, but when facing Avita, it can only spread its hands and say sorry.

These three brands have one thing in common: they all originated from large automakers, they all focus on the high-end mid-to-large car market, and their product mix is ​​almost identical, with one model taking the lead while the rest are just for show. Interestingly, as if they were using the same script, these three different brands have all followed the same path in the market.

There are many reasons why a new energy brand has poor sales. Lack of money, lack of technology, lack of talent, etc. are very common. So since the new energy wave, hundreds of brands have died one after another, and finally only a dozen or so are left, temporarily forming a situation that seems relatively stable.

Everything follows the law of increasing entropy, from order to disorder. If we extend the timeline, the same is true for new energy vehicle companies. What seems to be an orderly state now is actually accumulating energy for the next disorder. This is how price wars come about. "If you can follow, follow. If you can't, just pass. If you don't play well in this round, there will be another round."

The process of entropy increase is lossy, which is what we often call cost. In the Shura field of China's new energy vehicles, no one wants to be this cost.

But once you enter the world, you have no choice.

The second generation of the founders of Lantu, Zhiji, and Avita clearly have everything they need. They have never lacked even money. Zhu Ronghua, chairman of Changan Automobile, once told the media, "Avita is Changan's high-end brand. As long as Avita needs it, Changan Automobile will fully support it, providing money, people, and technology." A few months later, Avita really gave a huge return of 3.7 billion yuan in losses.

Not only Avita, but other second-generation brands are also in a similar situation, it’s just a matter of how much loss they suffer. From a technical perspective, Lantu, Zhiji, and Avita all have a complete set of solutions. They have never worried about funding, nor do they worry much about survival, but their sales are not going up.

In addition, starting from March this year, they have also been relaxed at the policy level, and their businesses have been subject to separate assessments, which means that they can break away from profit orientation and engage in price wars.

However, despite everything being ready, their momentum still failed to take off. The second generation of entrepreneurs, who had everything they needed, still fell far short of public expectations. In today's new energy market, they have yet to enter the club of monthly sales of 10,000 units. This is a euphemism, but in fact it means that their sales are too poor. In comparison, the latest data shows that BYD received 410,000 orders in June.

So, what is the reason why the sales of these second-generation entrepreneurs have collectively plummeted?

91che believes that the first problem is attitude. This is not a cliché, but a real judgment. Previously, Chen Hong, the former chairman of SAIC, publicly stated that cooperating with Huawei would lose the soul. It shows that they are still high above in terms of resource weight, market direction and product layout, and basically do not look down at the real situation of the world, or in other words, they disdain to stand with the needs of the people.

In recent times, some CEOs have repeatedly publicly called for the so-called "equal rights for oil and electricity", intending to give their "brother a helping hand". Just like in the past thirty years, the performance has been boosted by joint venture fuel vehicles. As for the development of independent brands, that is not the first consideration. Selling an Alfa worth 300,000 yuan for 1.2 million yuan is the serious matter.

The root of this attitude is traditional path dependence. The main source of profit for these second-generation entrepreneurs is the joint venture sector, relying on Camry, Tiguan, and Sylphy to contribute profits. But in the new energy era, these models have fallen behind. As a result, these fathers are more anxious than the foreign capital.

Driven by this logic, it is actually difficult to say how much support they can provide to their new energy sectors.

Secondly, the second generation of entrepreneurs seem to have everything, but in fact they lack everything. They seem to have everything, but not much.

Over the past year or so, several technological disputes have erupted in the domestic new energy market. From AEB to 800-volt fast charging, from lidar to smart cockpits, almost every segment is undergoing fierce technological upgrades, but it is regrettable that none of them was led by these second-generation entrepreneurs.

Choose any model from the second-generation Chuangye models such as Lantu, Zhiji, Avita, etc., can you find their special advantages?

Hongmeng Zhixing's intelligent driving and smart cockpit, Ideal's extended-range electric, NIO's battery swap model, BYD's three-electric system, these selling points have never been pioneered in the industry by the second generation of entrepreneurs.

In fact, the product concepts of Zhiji and Lantu’s cars are very similar. They seem to be able to do everything and their product performance is good, but it is difficult to leave a particularly deep impression on users.

Not only that, slow product pace and procrastination are also major problems for these brands.

The product lineup of Lantu has three cars, Zhiji has four cars, and Avita has two cars is very thin; and these models are all focused on niche models such as mid-to-large sedans, mid-to-large SUVs, mid-to-large MPVs, which directly discourages most potential users.

In addition, the second generation of entrepreneurs also need to improve their brand influence.

SAIC and Dongfeng are well-known, but consumers may not know Zhiji and Lantu. The lack of brand influence has caused their models to be in a state of being well-received but not popular for a long time, wasting a lot of time.

If the second generation of entrepreneurs like Lantu and Zhiji want to truly turn things around, the first thing they need to correct is their condescending attitude.

When your monthly sales don’t even reach 10,000, stop talking about long-termism and long-term value. The premise of the long term is to survive in the short term. Without this foundation, how can there be a bright tomorrow?

Secondly, these brands should get rid of their dependence on joint ventures as soon as possible. At present, the penetration rate of the domestic new energy market is close to 50%, and the market share of domestic brands may exceed 70% within three years. In other words, the deadline for foreign fuel vehicles is getting closer and closer. As the second generation of entrepreneurs from state-owned enterprises, they have no reason to fall with these foreign brands. The right thing to do is to seize the time to create their own brands.

There were times when Wang Sicong couldn’t afford to pay for milk powder. The identity of a second-generation child has never been a get-out-of-jail-free ticket.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.