The wheelbase lengthening battle of luxury mid-size SUVs will be started by BBA

On September 6, 1999, the Audi A6L officially rolled off the assembly line at FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun. This was the first luxury sedan with a longer wheelbase for China, which marked the beginning of the lengthening of the wheelbase of luxury sedans. Now, almost all luxury brands have their own extended models in the Chinese market. Today, with the news that the BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Mercedes-Benz GLC will launch long-wheelbase SUVs in the next generation of models, it seems to be telling us that SUVs will also usher in a round of lengthening.

It’s all the fault of BMW X1

To talk about why BBA is considering making extended SUV models in the mid-size SUV market, the most important point has to start with the new generation of domestically produced BMW X1 launched in May 2016. On this latest generation of BMW X1, although we did not see any "L"-related logos, it was built on BMW's UKL front-wheel drive platform, changing BMW's previous rear-wheel drive layout.

The biggest advantage of front-wheel drive models over rear-wheel drive models is space. The X1, which was born on a front-wheel drive platform, will naturally achieve a huge improvement in body size. It is not only far ahead of the Mercedes-Benz GLA and Audi Q3 of the same level, but is even catching up with the higher-level Mercedes-Benz GLA and Audi Q5, and there is also some overlap in price range with them.

The new generation of BMW X1 not only makes its rivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi tremble, but also makes its big brother BMW X3 feel uneasy. With similar body size and price range, some car owners who originally wanted to buy X3 will definitely hesitate after seeing X1. In order to prevent X1 from taking away the jobs of its brothers, the new generation of X3 must be lengthened when it is introduced into China for domestic replacement. But Mercedes-Benz and Audi will not be content to surrender, they want to fight back, so the birth of "Q5L" and "GLC L" is not surprising.

The Chinese market is still enthusiastic about "L"

I remember when China and Germany were discussing the lengthening of the Audi A6, the German side expressed their incomprehension. The A6's interior space was enough for the big Germans, but why did the skinny Chinese think it was not enough and needed to be lengthened? Moreover, lengthening the prototype meant changing the wheelbase, which meant secondary development, and the subsequent large amount of money, time and manpower investment. Is this worth it? However, FAW-Volkswagen insisted that the Audi A6 must be "lengthened", the wheelbase must be lengthened, and the entire vehicle must be lengthened. Because in China in the 1990s, 90% of car owners sat in the back seat when traveling.

What finally made the German side make up their mind to "lengthen"? There may be many reasons, but a joke circulating within FAW-Volkswagen can explain the problem to a certain extent: It is said that an engineer working at the Audi headquarters in Germany could not understand why the Chinese had to lengthen the car. So his leader gave him a suggestion, asking him to switch with his wife every day when he went to work, letting his wife drive while he and his children sat in the back seat. Two weeks later, the engineer took the initiative to find his leader and said that he finally understood the Chinese's insistence on lengthening. Everyone knows the story that followed. The Audi A6L achieved good market benefits in the Chinese market, and major brands also rushed to follow suit, which completely dispelled the Germans' doubts about lengthening.

Obviously, the Chinese market is very enthusiastic about stretched cars, because when people buy cars, they care a lot about whether the space is spacious. An ordinary Chinese family often has only one car, which must be able to meet all the needs of family travel, and the rear seat utilization rate is much greater than in Europe and the United States. In ancient Chinese society, when there were no cars, people mostly used sedans to go out. The larger the sedan, the more noble it seemed. The ancient thought has been inherited to this day, and the sedan has become a sedan. So it is easy to understand why people like stretched sedans, because they feel that their identity and status have been improved!

The future of stretched luxury SUV

Perhaps in the eyes of some consumers, the lengthening of sedans makes the steering of the vehicle cumbersome, affecting the driving experience and losing the original driving pleasure. Although these are not reflected in daily driving, unless you go off the track or go to Akina Mountain to drive through five consecutive hairpin turns, this is an objective fact. What about SUVs? They were not born for driving control. Their biggest advantages are space and passability. Now that they are lengthened, they can play to their strengths and avoid weaknesses. It is also a good choice. Moreover, judging from the performance of the new generation of domestically produced BMW X1, the monthly sales volume has been fluctuating around 3,000 units. Now the monthly sales volume has exceeded 6,000 units, which has doubled. Mercedes-Benz and Audi can't help but be jealous.

If the new generation of domestically produced "X3 L", "Q5 L" and "GLC L" are successfully put into mass production, it will surely set off a lengthening war in the luxury mid-size SUV market. Cadillac, Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo in the same class will all launch their own lengthened mid-size SUV models, and the luxury mid-size SUV market will usher in a round of reshuffle. Presumably, by then, the domestically produced Audi Q3 and Mercedes-Benz GLA, which have not yet been replaced, will have to catch up with the X1 in terms of body size in the next generation of replacement models, right?

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.