Luxury cars enter the mid-range market

The 17th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition (hereinafter referred to as "Shanghai Auto Show") is being held. All car dealers will not easily miss this opportunity to showcase their products to Chinese consumers, and luxury car companies are no exception. With the upgrading of automobile consumption and the new pattern of automobile sales in China, the practice of major luxury car brands to target Chinese consumers through compact models and other low-end models has become a highlight of the Shanghai Auto Show.

In the first quarter of this year, the top positions of luxury cars in China changed. Mercedes-Benz surpassed BMW and Audi for the first time to become the quarterly sales champion in China. The latest data shows that Mercedes-Benz's cumulative sales were 145,000 units, BMW's cumulative sales were 143,000 units (including MIMI), and Audi's cumulative sales in China in the first quarter were 108,000 units due to conflicts with dealers, falling from the top.

"Consumers may face the choice of buying a Passat or a smaller Mercedes-Benz or BMW." Roland Berger Executive Director Shu Chang pointed out to the First Financial reporter that the market pie itself will not expand rapidly, and mainstream luxury cars are exploring the market through compact models and other means, which is indeed conducive to their further expansion of market share.

Competing for the mid-range

"We are indeed not very satisfied with Audi's market sales in the first quarter of 2017." On April 18, Volkswagen Group CEO Muller said in an interview with the media that the decline in Audi's sales in China is an indisputable fact, but he does not think that Audi's top spot in China will be taken away by Mercedes-Benz or BMW.

However, facing the change in the ranking, Audi, which once held the championship for two consecutive years, had to speed up its strategic deployment. FAW-Volkswagen Audi brought more than 20 models to the Shanghai Auto Show, launching the world's first Audi e-tron Sportback concept car and 6 Asian first models, among which the new Audi A3 family made its debut in China. The main model of the new Audi A3 still uses the four-cylinder 1.4TFSI engine, while the original 1.8TFSI engine is replaced by a new 2.0TFSI engine, which improves power performance and further reduces fuel consumption. In addition, in terms of entry-level models, Audi's small SUV will also be produced in China soon.

In order to maintain its advantage, Mercedes-Benz also brought 47 models of its four major brands to the Shanghai Auto Show, including the global debut of the new generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan, the China debut of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class concept car, and the China debut of the new Mercedes-Benz GLA. In addition, there are also new cars such as the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe, Mercedes-Benz V260L Collector's Edition, AMG S63, AMG S65, AMG 43 series, and smart BRABUS tailor made exclusive customization. In addition, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class sedan concept car, positioned as a compact car, will be launched in the Chinese market at the end of 2018.

The BMW Group continues to strengthen its competitiveness in the large luxury car, high-performance car, U compact luxury car and other market segments. At this auto show, BMW made a grand debut with five world premieres, including the new BMW 5 Series Li, the new BMW M4 CS, the new BMW i8 Proton Matte Yellow Limited Edition, the new generation MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS COUNTRYMAN and the new BMW HP4 RACE motorcycle; at the same time, the BMW X2 concept car and the new BMW 4 Series family made their Asian debut.

At present, the total sales of BMW X models account for one third of the global sales of the BMW brand. In China, the BMW X family has also shown a strong growth trend. As of the first quarter of 2017, the overall sales of the BMW X family increased by nearly 13%, among which the BMW X5 led the market segment with a year-on-year growth of more than 23%, the BMW X1 increased by nearly 21% year-on-year, and the BMW X3 sales exceeded 10,000.

2016 to date can be described as a good year for luxury car brands. Many brands have achieved bumper sales in China, whether it is ABB (Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW) in the first camp, Volvo and Cadillac in the second camp, or niche luxury brands such as Maserati, all have achieved good results.

Mercedes-Benz regained the title of the global sales champion of luxury brands after many years, driven by the explosive growth of China, the world's largest single market in 2016. BMW's sales in China were also impressive in 2016, with a total of 516,355 new cars sold, an increase of 11.3% compared with 2015. This was also the first time that BMW's sales in China exceeded 500,000.

"We are very satisfied with our sales performance in China in the first quarter of 2017, which has increased by about 12% compared with the same period last year." Robertson, the BMW director responsible for BMW sales and brand, said in an interview with the First Financial reporter at the Shanghai Auto Show that more models and more activities will definitely be launched in China in the future.

Shu Chang analyzed that the development trend of the Chinese automobile market that luxury cars need to face is that, on the one hand, the luxury car consumer population is getting younger. The current Chinese luxury car consumers are nearly ten years younger than before, and the younger people prefer compact models; on the other hand, traffic in China's first- and second-tier cities is becoming increasingly congested, and consumers' consumption attitudes have shifted from being face-saving to being more practical, and many consumers are buying a second car for the family and are more willing to choose a more compact model.

Luxury car market share is limited

According to Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association, "The Chinese market represents huge sales and considerable profits, so luxury brands all hope to increase sales in the Chinese market in order to consolidate and enhance their global status. This time, Mercedes-Benz launched the A-Class sedan concept car, BMW's 1 Series has been launched, and the market performance of Audi A3 is also allowing consumers to cross the luxury threshold faster. Luxury cars have gradually shifted from the competition of C-Class business models to private B-Class sedans and SUVs, and then accelerated to A-Class SUVs. On this basis, luxury car giants are competing in A-Class sedans. This is also a major opportunity and challenge to change the status of luxury car brands. Therefore, this auto show officially opened a full-scale showdown of luxury cars."

In fact, the reason behind the first camp of luxury cars extending into the entry-level market is that they are facing the reality of the continuous expansion of the market share of the second camp of luxury cars. Although the pattern of the first camp of luxury brands has not changed in the short term, its market share is gradually being eroded. The future battle for position is about to enter a stage of bloodshed.

"Now super luxury brands have also launched models priced below 1 million yuan. Traditional luxury brands began to launch new entry-level models five or six years ago. Our A-class and B-class cars are also favored by young customers." Duan Jianjun, executive vice president of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales and Service Co., Ltd., told the first financial reporter.

In addition, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW have also deployed in the areas of intelligent driving and electric vehicles. Duan Jianjun said that in the future, Mercedes-Benz will launch more than 10 pure electric-powered vehicles in 2022, and most of these products will enter the Chinese market. According to the plan, Mercedes-Benz will make layouts in intelligent interconnection and autonomous driving. For example, Mercedes-Benz will launch the new generation of S-Class sedans for the first time in the world during the Shanghai Auto Show. The car is equipped with Mercedes-Benz's most advanced autonomous driving technology and has made many enhancements in the semi-autonomous driving system. For example, the new generation of S-Class sedans uses maps and navigation data for the first time to obtain the driver's driving habits, and the car will automatically adjust the speed when it reaches a curve or a three-way intersection. In order to cope with the remote control parking function of the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz has also added the function of remote control by mobile phone, which can be parked through the system or by self-operation.

Recently, Mercedes-Benz also announced a partnership with Bosch, declaring that they will jointly develop self-driving cars in the next decade. The focus of the cooperation between the two parties is to improve the software and system algorithms of the self-driving system and predictability. According to the plan, Mercedes-Benz will launch a fully self-driving car that can be put on the road in 2020.

The new BMW 5 Series, which debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show, will be equipped with a new iDrive system that focuses on gesture control and voice control. It is also equipped with Apple CarPlay and in-car Wi-Fi. Earlier, BMW worked with Mobileye and Intel to develop autonomous driving, and BMW also announced plans to launch 40 autonomous driving cars for road testing in the second half of this year.

"Audi will shape the future of transportation from the perspective of digitalization, sustainability and urbanization. The era of Audi's pure electric vehicles is about to begin. China has long been regarded as the most ideal choice for Audi's strategic development. In the future, China will become Audi's most important market in the field of electric vehicles worldwide." Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, said that Audi's current focus is still on L2 and L3 autonomous driving. This autumn, the new Audi A8 will be equipped with L3 autonomous driving.

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.