Next year, 1 million luxury car companies will be attacked in China (2)

High-grade A-class car market grows rapidly

China's high-end A-class car market has always been a relatively niche market. In 2009, the total sales volume was only 8,000 vehicles, which was lower in previous years. Due to the size of the market, the sales of high-end A-Class cars such as the BMW 1 Series and Mercedes-Benz B200 have not seen much improvement, so major luxury car brands have been hesitant to wait and see. More models have not yet been introduced.

However, compared to the luxury cars giants are pleased that the past year or two high-end A-class car market has grown rapidly, last year it sold more than 8,000 cars, this year will be able to pass 20,000, the growth rate has doubled. “In the past, the annual sales of the premium A-class car market were equivalent to the sales for the current month. So I think the development is still very fast. It's like China's overall market is as fast as China’s economic development.” FAW-VW Audi Zhang Xiaojun, executive deputy general manager of the Sales Department, told reporters that it was precisely because of the rapid development of the market that Audi finally decided to introduce A3 to China.

Actually, as early as three years ago, the media and consumers began to be concerned about when Audi would introduce A3 into China. However, until the middle of this year, after the BMW 1 Series and Mercedes-Benz B200 had been sold for some time, the Audi A3 was officially launched. Chinese market. Zhang Xiaojun told the reporter, “We have been looking forward to the Audi A3. We have been following the market for the past few years and have been researching. We always feel that the previous high-end A-class car market is not big enough because you want to introduce a product into domestic sales. Not only is the product used to be sold off, but after-sales service, such as the dealer's equipment, spare parts procurement, personnel training, etc., there is a lot of work to be done."

"If there is not a sufficient amount of a product in the country, we will not introduce it." Zhang Xiaojun said that the main reason for the introduction of the Audi A3 is the market. The high-end A-class vehicle market has seen rapid development in recent years, letting Audi know that. "Time is up." Zhang Xiaojun predicts that China's high-end A-class car market will exceed 25,000 units this year, even reaching 30,000 units.

The market size determines the product sales, and facts have proved that Audi's considerations are reasonable.

The BMW 1 Series came to the Chinese market as early as two years ago. Although the model configuration just introduced was a bit shabby, it still attracted a group of young consumers by virtue of its small and stylish appearance and the BMW brand. However, limited by the size of the market, the sales of the BMW 1 Series have not been satisfactory for more than two years, far from being expected to “beyond the 3 Series”. In more than two years, BMW has been upgraded with a series of models and has a lot of configuration. BMW said that it is believed that sales of the 1 Series will start to grow faster this year.

At the beginning of last year, Mercedes-Benz introduced the B-class luxury sports wagon into the Chinese market. With its distinctive appearance and pure Mercedes pedigree, the Mercedes-Benz B200 made many young consumers excited. But also limited by the size of the market, the sales of the Mercedes-Benz B200 are also relatively limited. However, after the reporter visited the dealer, he learned that since the beginning of this year, the number of consumers concerned about the Mercedes-Benz B200 has started to increase, which has given dealers confidence in the future market development.

The development speed of the high-end A-class car market has allowed major luxury car brands to see business opportunities and have accelerated the introduction of models. The domestic issues of these high-end A-Class vehicles that Chinese consumers are more concerned about are also put on the agenda by major luxury car companies. Zhang Xiaojun said that although it is not yet possible to confirm the domestic time of the Audi A3, it is certain that as long as the market size is large enough to reach a certain amount, manufacturers will consider domestically produced goods. The situation of other brands is similar to that of Audi and they are observing the development of the market.

"If you want to make domestically, the investment is very large. After a lot of equipment and equipment are invested, if there is not enough market size to support, manufacturers will not do it. Then it will be imported. So whether it can be made domestically depends on the future. The development of the market.” Zhang Xiaojun said that he is very optimistic about the development prospects of China's high-end A-class vehicle market. It is believed that in addition to accelerating the introduction of models, major luxury car companies will soon begin to consider domestic issues.

Low-elevation luxury cars "flock to"

In order to seize the market, luxury cars finally completely bow their heads. Recently, Lexus launched a small-displacement market and launched the RX270, IS250 and IS250C models with 3.0L or less. Just the day before the three low-emission models of Lexus went on the market, Audi A3 went on the market and drove directly to 1.4T.

Zeng Lintang, head of Lexus’s China operations, believes that in September 2008, after China drastically increased the consumption tax on vehicles with displacements of 3.0L or more, Lexus’s days were once very difficult. When Lexus introduced the ES240, it gradually reversed the situation. The ES240 has also become a major Lexus model.

It is understood that at present, China imposes a high-grade consumption tax of 25%-40% on passenger vehicles with a displacement of 3.0L or more, and 1%-12% of consumption tax on vehicles of 3.0L or less. This shows that the government aims to implement energy-saving emission reduction policies.

“Lexus used to rely heavily on large-displacement vehicles. Most of the previous models had displacements of 3.0L or more. After the domestic consumption tax adjustment, the sales of these models were greatly affected.” Car analyst Jia Xinguang told reporters, It is easy to see that Lexus is accelerating the adjustment of its product structure with the introduction of three models of 3.0L or less.

The reporter learned from the Beijing Infiniti 4S shop that Infiniti, the luxury brand under Nissan Motor Co., launched two 2.5-liter models of the G25 and EX25 at the beginning of the year. Prior to this, Infiniti had only a displacement of 3.5L or more. Since it had only two or three years to enter the Chinese market, it was very passive in its competition with Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

“The 2.5L model was launched by the manufacturer in due course, not only reducing the emission, but also lowering the price range. The sales of the two models are very good. It is definitely the main model for sales.” The head of an Infiniti 4S store told reporters .

“In the past, luxury vehicles with large space and large displacement were more of a symbol of status and status. With the maturity of the domestic automobile market, the concept of consumers has changed.” Su Hui, Vice Chairman, China Automobile Dealers Association, Tangible Automobile Market Branch It is believed that major luxury car companies are constantly enriching their product lines. Low emission means high sales, and which manufacturers do not want their share more?

In a Mercedes-Benz 4S shop in the capital, the sales staff in the shop told reporters that the Mercedes-Benz C180K with a 1.6T engine was just listed, and its car resources are in short supply. Mercedes-Benz C180K is currently the only luxury brand sedan that can enjoy the government's auto purchase tax incentives. The reporter learned from the BMW 4S shop that the BMW 3 Series, BMW 1 Series, and MINI Series are currently in the state of order sales.