After the fall of the Ruifeng S3 legend, JAC's sales volume can no longer catch up with Zotye

The most glorious time for JAC was when the Ruifeng S3 created a legendary myth. I remember that in 2015, the annual sales of Ruifeng S3 approached 200,000 units, ranking first in the small SUV market segment. But now, JAC is having a hard time. In 2017, the annual sales of JAC passenger cars were only 222,174,000 units, far from the sales target of 400,000 units. In fact, at the beginning of 2017, Zotye Auto also set a sales target of 400,000 units. Although it did not complete the task, the performance of 317,036 units seems to be much better than JAC.

The myth of Ruifeng S3 collapsed

In 2017, JAC achieved sales growth in both sedan and MPV segments, but failed in the SUV market, with sales of only 121,334 units, a year-on-year decline of 55.96%. This makes people wonder: Where has the former Refine S3 gone? It can only be said that in the rapidly developing Chinese SUV market, the small SUV market has long gone from being dominated by the Refine S3 to a flourishing market with both independent and joint ventures. Perhaps the victory of the Refine S3 has made them less sensitive to subtle changes in the market, and therefore they have slowed down the pace of upgrading the Refine S3.

Moreover, in terms of product strength and after-sales service, the Ruifeng S3 also began to decline. According to the "Car Quality Network" and major complaint websites, the main problems of the Ruifeng S3 are engine noise, vehicle rust, vehicle deviation, and after-sales service buck-passing. How much impact will this have on JAC? (Official Account: x91play) At that time, with the huge market sales of the Ruifeng S3, for every 10,000 Ruifeng S3s sold, 10,000 car owners would complain, which not only had a great impact on the reputation of the Ruifeng S3, but also made consumers lose confidence in the JAC brand.

At that time, the Baojun 510, the Southeast DX3, and the joint venture brand small SUVs such as Binzhi and XR-V were all at the doorstep of the Ruifeng S3, but JAC still did not upgrade its products to improve its product strength and market competitiveness. Finally, surrounded by the joint forces of independent brands and joint venture brand small SUVs, the Ruifeng S3 lost its former charm, and its monthly sales were only maintained at around 5,000 units.

Ruifeng S7 was ordered to take charge but it was difficult to complete the mission

In order to return to the glorious days of Ruifeng S3, JAC launched the new compact SUV Ruifeng S7, hoping to save the situation. However, the living environment of Ruifeng S7 at this time is very different from that of Ruifeng S3. In such a fiercely competitive compact SUV market, the price cuts of joint venture brands and the rise of other independent brands have made Haval H6 worry about declining sales. How can Ruifeng S7 ensure that it can survive and thrive in such a harsh environment?

Once the sales figures came out, JAC was probably dumbfounded. Although the sales of Ruifeng S7 exceeded 3,000 units in June when it was first launched on the market, it has been declining since then and later stabilized at around 1,000 units. Such results are nothing compared to its rivals such as Haval H6, Changan CS75 and Honda Binzhi.

The reason why Ruifeng S7 failed to sell well is related to its poor product strength, which can be seen from the complaints of consumers. For a car brand, if there is no strong product strength as a prerequisite, no matter how creative the marketing is or how accurate the market positioning is, the brand cannot survive for a long time. Even if sales increase in a short period of time, it will bring more complaints from car owners. This is why JAC has taken a series of measures, such as official price cuts, but they have not been able to save the sales decline.

What will happen to JAC’s financial report after the subsidy reduction?

According to the announcement released by JAC Motors, JAC Motors and its subsidiaries received a total of 392 million yuan in government subsidies in 2017, of which 227 million yuan were related to the company's profits. It can be said that government subsidies account for a large part of JAC Motors' revenue. Imagine if JAC Motors maintained the status quo during the period when subsidies gradually declined and eventually disappeared, would its future financial reports still be good?

However, JAC's performance in the new energy vehicle market is still impressive. In 2017, JAC's pure electric passenger cars sold a total of 28,263 units, a year-on-year increase of 53.86%. Although the proportion of annual sales is not very high, with the establishment of JAC-Volkswagen, the joint venture will achieve a sales target of 400,000 new energy vehicles in China in 2020, which is undoubtedly a timely help for JAC.

Recently, the road test spy photos of the new generation Ruifeng S3 were also exposed, and it is expected to be put on the market soon. It seems that JAC has begun to fight back and actively update new products. But in 91che's opinion, the most important reason for JAC's failure is still its product strength. Now all major domestic brands have their own R&D technology. Compared with them, is JAC's knife still fast enough?

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.