With the release of production and sales data of new energy brands in August, a change has attracted attention: after several years of development, the growth rate of most brands has slowed down.
Even if it is a new force like Weilai and ideal, after the expansion of the scale of sales, the year-on-year growth rate has generally dropped to about 30%, making it difficult to reproduce the glory of double growth in the past.
However, there are still a few brands that have achieved high growth.
Take the latest sales data in August as an example, the sales of Zero, Zhiji and Jihu have doubled compared with the same period last year.
Among them, Zero has broken through the 30,000 mark, becoming the third new power brand to join the monthly sales of “30,000 Club” after the ideal and the question.
Polar Fox also crossed the milestone of 10,000 vehicles for the first time, while Zhiji stood out with a year-on-year growth rate of 2.
4 times.
In the face of such a bright report card, it makes people wonder: why can these three brands achieve rapid growth in a highly competitive market? Which car contributed the main force? Where are they sold? For a while, in the field of new energy vehicles, the new energy brands of three cross-border carmakers such as Ulay, ideal and Xiaopeng, and traditional car companies such as Geely Polar Krypton and BYD Teng, have actually attracted more attention from public opinion.
However, this year, zero run, Zhiji and polar fox three brands to double the growth rate, the popularity of the rapid rise.
Among the three major brands, zero run was established the earliest.
Founded in 2015, Zero is founded by Zhu Jiangming, one of the main founders of Dahua.
Two years after its establishment, Zero invested 2 billion yuan to build its own factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang, with an annual production capacity of 250000 vehicles.
In 2020, Zero acquired the production qualification through the acquisition of New Foda (previously produced by Changjiang Automotive).
Photo source: zero-running car, however, the zero-running start is not smooth.
Due to its niche positioning in the two-door, four-seat pure electric sedan market, S01, the first model launched in 2019, was difficult to find a place in the highly competitive 100000 market, selling only more than 1000 vehicles in the first year, and finally withdrew from the market two years later.
This failure put Zero in financial difficulties for a time, and there was even news that senior executives were considering giving up building cars.
After learning from the bitter experience, Zhu Jiangming led the team to change the product strategy to the cost-effective route.
In 2020, Zero launched its second model, T03, aimed at the mini-car market, with a starting price of 65800 yuan.
In this market segment with good appearance, price sensitivity and low brand loyalty, Zero quickly opened the market by virtue of its more competitive pricing strategy and product strength, and crossed the threshold of annual sales of 10,000 vehicles that year.
However, the sales gap between Zero and Wei Xiaoli is still significant.
At that time, the first new power of car building was Weilai, with annual sales exceeding 40,000 vehicles.
The ideal of delivery in the first year is to win the first battle, reaching 30,000 vehicles.
Xiaopeng’s delivery volume in that year was also more than twice that of Zero run.
The breakthrough comes from the upgrade of the product matrix of zero running after the second half of 2021.
Through the launch of C11 and C01 two medium / medium-sized products, Zero successfully entered the 150000 mainstream market and achieved great-leap-forward growth in sales.
By 2022, the annual sales of zero running will exceed 100000, making it one of the top five new forces in car building.
This year, with the addition of C10 and C16, the cumulative sales in the first eight months of the zero run has reached 140000, an increase of 90.
5% over the same period last year.
In August, sales broke through the 30,000-vehicle mark for the first time, achieving a 1.
1-fold increase, firmly ranking among the top three sales of new forces.
Photo source: Zhiji Automobile, the rise of Zhiji Automobile is more like a counterattack than the steady rise of zero running.
As the high-end smart electric brand of SAIC, Zhiji didn’t really open up the situation until the launch of the third model, the LS6, in the fourth quarter of 2023.
With its good appearance, reasonable pricing and rich configuration, LS6 boosted the brand’s sales to more than 10,000 in December.
Despite a brief decline in sales at the beginning of this year, Zhiji has maintained sales of more than 6000 vehicles for three consecutive months since June.
Zhiji’s sales rose 2.
4 times year-on-year in August, with sales of 36000 vehicles in the first eight months, up 1.
7 times year-on-year, almost in line with last year’s annual performance.
This achievement is in sharp contrast to its delivery of just over 5000 vehicles in 2022.
Take a look at the polar fox brand under BAIC Group, which also ushered in a turning point this year.
Polar Fox was founded in 2016, but the time to really enter the market lags behind.
Although the partnership with Huawei was reached as early as 2017, the delayed launch of the Alpha S.
HI version of the cooperative model made Jihu miss the opportunity.
Photo source: polar fox car, the first model of polar fox alpha T will not be available until 2020, when the market competition has become white-hot.
Before this year, the performance of the polar fox market has been tepid, with sales of only more than 30,000 vehicles last year.
This year, the performance of the polar fox market has taken a turn for the better with the large-scale delivery of the new car koala series targeting the Baoma family car market and the launch of the Alpha series equipped with Huawei’s latest Hongmeng car engine system.
Since June, monthly sales of polar fox have been stable at more than 8000 vehicles, and August is the first time to break through the 10,000-car mark, setting a new record in a single month.
Benefiting from the expansion of the new energy market and the good performance of its own market, the sales of these three brands are expected to usher in a major breakthrough this year.
Which car and which city contribute most? Who is responsible for the growth in sales of Zero, Zhiji and Jihu new energy brands? Which cities contribute the most? We can take a look at the risk data in the end market (it is worth noting that the sales mentioned in this paragraph are all risk data, and there will be a deviation from the sales data released by the brand, for reference only).
The total number of vehicles insured in the first seven months of this year reached 103000, double that of the same period last year.
This is related to the further enrichment of its product matrix.
In the same period last year, C11 topped the list, accounting for 64% of sales, with C01 and S01 accounting for 19% and 17%, respectively.
In the same period this year, with the addition of C10 and C16, the lineup of zero-running products has expanded to five models, and the pattern has quietly changed.
Although C11 is still the main sales force, its share of the total has dropped to 35.
6%, and the growth rate has slowed.
The “newcomer” C10, by contrast, grew strongly, accounting for 25 per cent of total sales of 26000 vehicles in the same period.
It is worth noting that the C16 delivered nearly 2000 vehicles in its first full month on the market.
From the perspective of urban distribution, zero running shows obvious “home court advantage”.
As a local enterprise in Zhejiang, Zhejiang occupies 5 seats in the top 20 cities in sales.
Hangzhou and Wenzhou topped the list, with combined sales of 9100 vehicles in the first seven months, double the year-on-year increase.
Total sales in the top 20 cities reached 44000, an increase of 20, 000 over the same period last year, accounting for 30% of total zero sales.
Zhiji’s sales growth was explosive, with 26000 vehicles at risk in the first seven months, compared with last year.
In the same period, the increase nearly tripled.
This is also closely related to the expansion of its product line, especially the launch of LS6 ushered in a key turning point.
In the first seven months of last year, Zhiji only had two models, the L7 and the LS7.
Due to the general competitiveness, the cumulative sales of the two models are less than 10,000.
With the listing of the highly anticipated LS6, Zhiji’s sales quickly broke through the 10,000-car mark.
In the first seven months of this year, LS6 accounted for 56 per cent of Zhiji’s total sales with 15000 vehicles.
At the same time, the newly launched L6 also performed well, with sales exceeding 8000 in the first July, injecting new growth momentum into the brand.
This multi-point blossom situation, let Zhiji see the hope of sustained growth of the brand.
In terms of geographical distribution, Zhiji also shows a typical “stronghold effect”.
Shanghai, as its base, sold 9400 vehicles in the first seven months, accounting for 30% of the total.
What is more noteworthy is that among the top 10 cities with Zhiji sales, the Yangtze River Delta region alone occupies six seats, with a total sales of 17000 vehicles, accounting for 65% of the total.
This regional concentration reflects Zhiji’s deep ploughing strategy in the core market.
The growth of the polar fox is also remarkable.
Its sales in the first seven months were close to 26000, up 2.
3 times year-on-year.
This also stems from the richness of its product matrix.
In the same period last year, only Alpha S and T models were on sale, with cumulative sales of less than 10,000 vehicles.
In the same period this year, with the addition of three new cars, Alpha T5 and 5 and koala S, the market performance of Jihu has changed.
Among them, the koala S, which locates in the 100000-level market, has become a new growth engine of the brand by focusing on the Baoma market to form differential competitiveness.
In the first seven months of this year, cumulative sales of the koala S exceeded 5000, accounting for 20 per cent of the brand’s total.
Alpha T5 has emerged as a new force and has become the main force of the brand with sales of 13000 vehicles.
However, the difference between products is also obvious, with sales of the Alpha T, which is also a medium-sized SUV but more expensive, falling to more than 1000 vehicles.
The sales distribution of polar fox also shows distinct regional characteristics.
As the stronghold of BAIC, Beijing is at the top, with sales of 7000 vehicles in the first July, accounting for 30% of the brand’s sales.
Shanghai, closely followed, sold only 1/7 of Beijing’s, just over 1000.
With the exception of these two major cities, the performance of Jihu in other regions is relatively lacklustre, with sales in a single city not exceeding 1,000.
In addition, the sales of polar fox are highly concentrated, with a total of 19000 vehicles in the top 20 cities, accounting for 70% of the total sales We can clearly see that their sales growth shows distinct regional characteristics.
In their respective strongholds, they have not only the highest sales but also the strongest growth momentum.
Why is it growing? The similarities of the sales growth of Zero, Zhiji and Jihu lie in the continuous enrichment of product matrix, unique differentiation competitive advantage, and accurate market strategy.
The expansion of product matrix has become the core driving force for the growth of the three brands.
Zero has expanded from three models last year to five this year, with the new C10 and C16 performing well, especially the C10, which has become the second-largest sales force after the C11.
Photo source: Zhiji Automobile, Zhiji’s product strategy has also undergone significant adjustments.
In the same period last year, Zhiji only had two 300000-level models, L7 and LS7, which directly competed with powerful new brands such as Ulay and ideal, resulting in unsatisfactory market performance.
This year, Zhiji launched LS6 and L6, which focus on the 200000-tier market, which not only improved the product exchange chain, but also brought considerable sales growth.
Jihu also achieved a breakthrough through product line expansion.
With the addition of four new cars: koala S, Alpha T5, Alpha S5 and koala, the product matrix of Jihu has expanded to six, and the price range has fallen to 100000-150000 yuan, further opening up the mass market.
It is worth noting that this price range accounts for 33% of the total market share, making it the largest market segment.
In addition to the expansion of the product matrix, the differentiated competitive strategies of the three major brands also play an important role.
The increase of Zero’s share in the 150000 mainstream market is due to the cost-effective, strong competitiveness of its products, as well as the advantages of extended range technology.
With the exception of T03, the four C-series models with zero running are all medium-sized or medium-to-large products.
In particular, the C01, with a 5-meter-long car and a wheelbase 2930mm, starts at less than 140000 yuan.
Zero has won the reputation of “ideal parity” in the 150000 level market, which has successfully attracted some tanker consumers.
Zhiji quickly gained a firm foothold in the 200000 yuan market by virtue of the eye-catching design and powerful configuration of LS6 and L6.
LS6 has been recommended by insiders by virtue of its excellent product strength.
However, Zhiji still needs to improve the quality of sales and service and speed up the iterative speed of intelligent update in order to maintain its advantage in the fierce competition.
The growth of Jihu is mainly due to two factors: one is to increase the terminal discount, such as 5000 yuan for koala S and 20, 000 yuan for Alpha series.
the other is the listing of new product enjoyment S9.
As the first car jointly built by BAIC and Huawei, the Hengjie S9 has attracted a lot of attention, with sales of 3000 vehicles in the month of its launch, pushing polar fox sales past the 10,000-car mark for the first time in August.
However, in the current fierce market environment, whether the three brands can maintain rapid growth will depend on the speed of their technological updates, the competitiveness of new products, and whether their marketing strategies can accurately grasp consumer demand.
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