The competition among the top three luxury car companies is gradually narrowing

In the first quarter of 2017, Mercedes-Benz jumped to the top spot. Of course, this ranking of ABB may not continue, but no matter Audi, the former champion, Mercedes-Benz, or BMW, which is developing steadily, none of them will relax their vigilance. In fact, another battle for ABB has quietly arrived.

The latest data shows that in the first quarter of 2017, Mercedes-Benz sold 145,000 vehicles in China, BMW sold 143,000 vehicles (including MINI), and Audi sold 108,000 vehicles in China. However, Volkswagen Group CEO Mullen said in an interview with the media that Audi's top spot in China will not be taken away by any party. After all, even under the fierce attack of Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Audi still won the championship throne for nearly 30 years without any suspense.

Although the other two automakers have repeatedly stressed that sales volume is not the only goal, Mercedes-Benz and BMW will never show weakness. Mercedes-Benz's strong product power continues to ferment, and BMW has ushered in a big year for its products.

During the Shanghai Auto Show, Audi released the new domestic version of the A6L

"Close Combat"

The gap between ABB and the other three is gradually narrowing. In 2014, Audi's sales in China were more than twice that of Mercedes-Benz, but in 2016, Mercedes-Benz's growth rate was more than twice that of Audi. In three years, the gap between BMW and Audi's annual sales has also narrowed from 120,000 to 80,000.

Audi's growth rate has slowed down, and from the essence of the cooperation between SAIC and Audi, it is often interpreted by the industry as Audi's mentality of seeking change in China.

Mercedes-Benz has reversed its unfavorable situation in China since the S-Class sedan was launched in China. According to Daimler Greater China Chairman and CEO Troska, the Chinese market contributed 30% of the global sales of the tenth-generation S-Class sedan. In the past two years, the launch of Mercedes-Benz's domestically produced C-Class and E-Class cars has made Mercedes-Benz even more popular. As it is in the rising stage of its products, Mercedes-Benz's strong product strength will continue. Among the three, BMW's development in recent years has been more stable due to the replacement of its products. It is worth noting that 2017 will be a big year for BMW's products.

In fact, if we look at Audi's product layout, A3, Q3, Q5, etc. are still maintaining strong advantages. However, in the context of the slow growth of the entire C-class car market, although the domestically produced Audi A6L is still Audi's best-selling model in the Chinese market, it was slightly overtaken by the BMW 5 Series, which "traded price for volume" in the later period. The new generation of domestically produced Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which was only launched in the second half of last year, has a monthly sales volume of over 10,000, showing its strong product strength. In the B-class car market, although the Audi A4L ushered in a product upgrade last year, it was defeated by the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and the BMW 3 Series is closely following the Audi A4L.

However, Mullen's harsh words are not without confidence. You know, FAW-Volkswagen Audi even set the theme of the 2017 Shanghai Auto Show as "Creating Change", which is intended to show Audi's determination to defend its crown. The SUV model Audi Q2 will be produced in China in 2017, and the already strong A3 will usher in a mid-term facelift and the new Audi Q5 will be launched. These advantages may bring Audi a lot of room for growth.

In view of the performance in the first quarter, Audi's chances of success will depend on the market performance in the later period. In addition to facing the mid-term facelift of Mercedes-Benz GLA and other products launched in China, it also has to face the big year of BMW products. In 2017, BMW and MINI brands plan to launch a total of 14 new cars in China.

At the Shanghai International Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz announced that the domestically produced Mercedes-Benz C-Class C 200 L 4MATIC was officially launched.

Competition between entry-level models and SUV market

Faced with the trend of younger luxury car brand consumers and the rising market share of second-tier luxury brands, in order to further lower the threshold for consumers to buy cars, ABB has launched entry-level models to seize the market share of this segment. In addition, they have also accelerated their layout in the SUV market in the Chinese auto market.

In fact, Audi has seized the initiative in the entry-level car market segment. From the sales data, the total sales of the domestically produced Audi Q3 and A3, which are priced below 300,000 yuan, reached 174,000 units in China, accounting for more than one-third of Audi's sales in China. While Audi's B-class and C-class cars fell year-on-year, the A3, as an entry-level car, increased by more than 20% year-on-year, ranking first in this market segment. In 2017, Audi will continue to exert its strength in the entry-level car market and launch the mid-term facelift model Audi A3. The entry-level SUV model Audi Q2 will also be produced in China this year.

In order to compete with Audi A3 for the entry-level car market share, BMW's new 1 Series sedan was officially launched in Shanghai just over two months ago. At this Shanghai Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz debuted the A-Class sedan concept car in China for the first time, which will be mass-produced in China in 2018.

In the future, the entry-level models of luxury brands in the price range of 200,000 to 300,000 yuan will have the largest room for sales growth in the Chinese market. On the one hand, the trend of younger consumers is increasing, and their economic strength is more suitable for entry-level models; on the other hand, they are under pressure from the continuous expansion of the market share of the second camp of luxury cars. Relevant data shows that in 2016, the ABB market share of luxury cars was about 74%, while five years ago this market share was more than 80%.

In addition to accelerating the layout of entry-level models, luxury car brands are also growing rapidly in the hot SUV segment of the Chinese auto market. The sales growth of domestic SUV models of Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are all higher than the overall growth of their respective domestic models. For example, the BMW X1 under BMW Brilliance sold 53,000 units last year, a year-on-year increase of 27.3%. Even the Audi Q5, which was at the end of its product life cycle last year, had an annual sales volume of nearly 130,000 units. In the first quarter of this year, SUV models (excluding smart) accounted for 45% of the models sold by Mercedes-Benz.

Regarding the development of SUVs in the luxury car market, Duan Jianjun, executive vice president of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales and Service Co., Ltd., said in an interview with the First Financial reporter: "China's auto market is also gradually maturing, and the proportion of SUVs will continue to grow. Judging from the data from last year and now, the growth rate of SUVs has even exceeded that of sedans, and this will continue to be the case."

BMW released the new generation of BMW 5 Series at the Shanghai Auto Show

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.