Advance notice of Shanghai Auto Show is more important than "price war" because it has the advantage of "differentiation".

The first quarter of this year ended in great confusion.

According to the data released by the Passenger Car Federation, on March 26th, 1-26, the retail sales of passenger cars market was 102 1 10,000 vehicles, down 1% and 17% year-on-year. Since the beginning of this year, the cumulative retail sales have reached 3.7 million vehicles, down 65,438+05% year-on-year; National passenger car manufacturers wholesale1146,000 vehicles, down 8% year-on-year and 19% quarter-on-quarter. Since the beginning of this year, a total of 42 1.2 million vehicles have been wholesale, down 14% year-on-year.

The second quarter, which has already started, is still full of many uncertainties: on the one hand, the "price war" has not stopped; On the other hand, many enterprises have returned to the track of positive growth in March, and the upcoming Shanghai Auto Show may bring new growth opportunities and changes to the auto market.

In fact, with the acceleration of the market rhythm, changes are happening all the time.

Recently, the most concerned is the various storms caused by "Huawei does not build cars". Because, a month ago, "AITO asks the world" has just become "Huawei asks the world", and with a paper ban, all the information of Huawei's flagship store has been rearranged.

According to Huawei insiders, the future should be called "ask the world", without a prefix, but the goal has not changed, and it is still an eco-car brand. In addition to Cyrus, Chery, BAIC and JAC will also produce models equipped with Huawei's complete solutions.

Yu Chengdong, managing director of Huawei, CEO of BG and CEO of BU, a smart car solution, still appeared at the 2023 China Electric Vehicle "committee of 100" last weekend and publicly responded to this matter. He said that "Huawei" should be removed, because the internal top management does not agree to expose the "Huawei" brand, but the content of Huawei's automobile business has not changed in essence. "In fact, Huawei's strategy has not changed. It does not build cars and helps car companies build good cars. "

Later, he left a message in the internal forum: "This era has changed, which will only make us more difficult! Everyone will understand in a few years! Leave time to test! " "For an industry, only in-depth insight and deep understanding can we grasp the right direction! Make a mark and come back in a few years! "

The fist is on the paper.

These days, there are many arguments and discussions about whether Huawei should build a car. I don't want to discuss this topic again. In fact, from Yu Chengdong's point of view, adding "Huawei" to the inquiry world is more about brand endorsement and marketing tactics than "Huawei makes cars" in the real sense.

Now, if Huawei brand is not allowed to speak for the industry, the sales volume of the industry will definitely be under pressure in the short term. However, in the long run, industries that already have many partners and many models will still be incremental brands that cannot be underestimated in the market.

This incident actually changed the impression of many people, including me, on Yu Chengdong's "big mouth" before. After all, it is not easy to stand up to the pressure and bravely express the direction and decision that I think is more conducive to the development of the company. I think this is also the reason why Yu Chengdong can lead the team to deus ex in European business, mobile phone business and other fields.

I hope that this man who dares to be the first since he was a child can, as he said before, "neither die nor live." There is no retreat. "

Although it is not as "sad" as Yu Chengdong, the current "involution" of the automobile industry has forced many people to hold the mentality of "desperately surviving" like Yu Chengdong.

For example, Wu Bing, who is the general manager of SAIC passenger cars and the CEO of Fan Fei Automobile, holds two posts.

On March 27th, Wu Bing gave a humorous 45-minute "open class" to remind everyone of the differentiated characteristics of Fan Fei F7 "every seat is in position C". Finally, I won the full amount at the price of 20.99-30.10.9 million yuan.

Later, in an interview with the media, Wu Bing said that the reason for setting the low price was "I hope more users can know the brand Fan Fei through F7, and I also hope that SAIC can play a great role in the market of high-end new energy vehicles, so that more consumers can know that electric vehicles are not only a new force, but also the traditional OEM has returned. In the track of rapid development of new energy in the future, the high-end new energy vehicle market is a place we must occupy. "

He believes that although Tesla is very strong, the new energy track in China is far from the final stage. "I believe that in the future, China's electric vehicle market can accommodate more brands. The key is whether it can meet the needs of users, whether it can find a unique brand proposition, whether it is operational efficiency, and of course whether the cost control is sufficient. Competitive advantage. "

This excellent marketer, who doesn't like to show his face, but is willing to hide behind the brand, suddenly grasped the two most critical elements of the current competition-attracting traffic with high cost performance and winning sales with differentiated product strength.

At the launch conference of MG MG7 two days later, he continued to do the same thing and set the price of this fully equipped B-class car at11.98-169800 yuan. Differentiated product strength and high cost performance once again made MG7 a hit.

Wu Bing himself said with a smile, this is "buying a car with a configuration". But he doesn't agree that this is the practice of "lifting the table". First, he is not so cruel and doesn't want to kill anyone. Second, in his view, the automobile market is not a winner-take-all market, and different brands meet different needs.

"We have always said that we want to sell a product well, and the price is only part of it. We still have a lot of work to do in terms of channels, corporate brands, popularity and reputation. Today's price announcement is just the beginning for us. In order for customers to truly accept this car, more detailed work is needed to gain the recognition of users. " Wu Bing said after the F7 meeting in Fan Fei.

Really sober.

Similarly, Zhang Mingxia, vice president of sales, marketing and after-sales of Smart Brand Global Company, is also sober.

It is difficult for any brand to dare to say that it is better than smart in tapping the advantages of differentiation. This brand, which has gone through its 25th anniversary, announced on 20 19 that it will no longer develop fuel vehicles and turn to electrification in an all-round way, becoming the forerunner of electrification in the automobile industry.

In 2020, with the joint venture and cooperation between Geely and Mercedes-Benz, smart also ushered in a new historical opportunity. On September 23rd, 2022, smart's first new car wizard # 1 was announced. Up to now, Elf # 1 has delivered more than 20,000 vehicles in China market, of which 59 1 1 vehicle was delivered in March, up 63% from the previous month.

The joy of selling out on the first day of listing stems from smart's differentiated brand positioning, unique design language, warmer sense of science and technology, and the network development model of D2C direct selling agents. In Zhang Mingxia's view, the two most important keywords of smart are "inheritance" and "innovation". How to grasp the intermediate degree is very important.

As she said in the interview: "Will smart continue to grow? My answer is please look forward to it, there will be surprises later. However, although we are constantly' growing', constant iteration and evolution will not make smart break away from the original' I', but appropriate iteration and growth. "

In this answer, there is actually the secret of smart's present and future development.

Among domestic automobile brands, Lexus is the most prominent differentiated advantage. Whether it is brand tonality or the creation of product selling points, there are many remarkable places.

On March 30th, Link 08 held an "Unbounded Ecological Conference" with Meizu. Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding Group and founder of Jixing Meizu Group, personally stood on the platform: "The technological innovation and ecological integration of the consumer electronics industry and the automobile industry are imperative. In the future, smart cars and smart phones will no longer be fragmented, but will integrate multi-terminal, full-scene and immersive user experiences. Whether a mobile phone company starts to build a car or a car company tries to build a mobile phone, the ultimate goal is to create a better user experience and win more respect for China manufacturing through collaborative optimization and upgrading of the industry. "

Lin Jie, senior vice president of Geely Automobile Group and general manager of Lectra Automobile Sales Company, also said that Lectra's cockpit system will enter a new development stage from Lectra 08. In addition to cooperating with Meizu to develop Flyme Auto intelligent cockpit in-vehicle system, LYNK OS N cockpit system is also developed by ourselves. The two systems will learn from each other and evolve a product form that is more suitable for users' needs.

This is somewhat similar to the internal horse racing mechanism commonly used on the Internet. "involution" is not only reflected in the competition between different brands, but also in the evolution speed within the enterprise.

In ten days, the highly anticipated 2023 Shanghai International Auto Show will officially kick off. However, for the automobile industry, the whole March seems to be a preview of the Shanghai Auto Show. From Geely, Great Wall, Chery to BYD, from SAIC, Changan, GAC to FAW, the listing of each new car or the release of brand strategy are all threats of bottoming out.

Chaos will not be the normal state of the market, but I hope that on the day when the market returns, you and I can still "laugh at the clouds and the wind."

This article comes from the author Hao of Huashan on Sword, and the copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author if reproduced in any form. The content only represents the author's point of view and has nothing to do with the car reform.