·The luxury car market has entered a new era of "standing together"

Since September, the Chinese luxury car market has changed dramatically. The growth rate of the traditional German top three ABBs (Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW) has dropped significantly, while the second-line luxury cars have swarmed, eroding the market that originally belonged to ABB, the ultra-luxury brand. It also began to explore, occupying ABB's market share, and the "three strong singles" luxury car pattern will change and enter a new era of "coming together."
After the “second-line” brand entered the Chinese market around the 1990s, the German luxury car top three sings all the way, and has long been ranked among the top three in China's luxury car sales list, holding more than 70% market share. However, "the ultimate will decline." After entering September, the growth rate of the three German luxury cars in China has slowed significantly. In September, the BMW Group's sales in China were weak, up only 3.7% year-on-year to 37,111 units, and the increase in September was only one-fifth of the total sales growth in the first three quarters.
Although Audi still ranked first in the Chinese luxury car market in September, it increased by 13.4% year-on-year, a drop of nearly 15 percentage points from the same period last year, a record low this year. In comparison, Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales in September increased by 23.9% year-on-year, but this rate is still lower than the total increase in January-September sales.
Why did the German three strongest slow down? It is related to the slowdown in macroeconomic growth and the suppression of luxury consumption by the state. The German luxury car consumption grade is relatively high. Especially since the implementation of the eight regulations, this part of consumption has been significantly suppressed.
At the same time that the growth rate of the top three Germans slowed down, the second luxury car camp was “anti-day” growth; the second-tier luxury car brands such as Infiniti, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover are becoming new growth engines for the luxury car market. Data show that in the first three quarters, Infiniti's cumulative sales in China reached 20,787 units, an increase of 91% year-on-year, leading the luxury car brand; Jaguar Land Rover sales in China reached 92,300 units, an increase of 38.7%. Thanks to the pull of domestically produced models, Volvo's sales in China in the first three quarters surged 36% year-on-year. The slowdown of the top three Germans has undoubtedly created an excellent opportunity for the latecomers to open up the territory. After Volvo and Cadillac have been domestically produced, Infiniti and Jaguar Land Rover have also begun to strengthen marketing efforts to accelerate the introduction of domestic models.
Dongfeng Infiniti recently announced that it will launch two domestically produced models, Q50L and QX50L, in the next three months. The market segments of these two models account for 40% of the luxury car market and still maintain a very high growth rate. After the launch of the Infiniti domestic model, it is expected to continue to grow rapidly next year.
The Chery Jaguar Land Rover factory in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, was officially opened in October. At the same time, Jaguar Land Rover's first domestically produced model, Land Rover Range Rover Aurora, will also be launched. In addition, the localization of second-tier luxury cars such as Volvo, which was acquired by Geely, is also in full swing.
According to a report released by McKinsey, China’s luxury car sales will reach 2.25 million units in 2016, thus replacing the US hegemony and becoming the world’s number one. By 2020, China’s luxury car sales are expected to reach 3 million units. . According to other data, the proportion of luxury cars in Europe and the United States is as high as 30%, while the proportion of luxury cars in China is only 7%.
China's huge luxury car market has placed great emphasis on ultra-luxury brands such as Maserati, Rolls Royce, Bentley, McLaren and Porsche. At present, China is in the midst of upgrading automobile consumption, which provides space for the development of ultra-luxury cars. Although the growth rate of ultra-luxury brands is unlikely to increase several times, the market potential is still there. In order to get a share of the cake in the Chinese market, the ultra-luxury brand even zoomed in. The sinking of the channel is the first move. At present, the sales network of major ultra-luxury automobile manufacturers has expanded from the first-tier cities in the past to the second- and third-tier cities in the eastern coastal areas. In the first half of this year, 15 ultra-luxury dealers have opened, among which Maserati and McLaren are the most newly opened brands.
In addition to the sinking of the channel, the ultra-luxury brand is also implementing a product downswing plan to launch a lower-positioned model. Maserati's new car G hibli, which was listed at the end of last year, has a price range of 989,000 to 13.98 million yuan. The price is relatively close to the people. In July this year, Porsche launched a lower-positioning Macan in China, with a minimum of 600,000 yuan for the Audi Q5. The best-selling models such as the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLK pose a threat. In addition, Bentley, Ferrari and McLaren are expected to launch at least three low-threshold models within five years, and this type of model is very popular with the rich second generation of China's young gold.
From a global perspective, the traditional "German three strong" has long dominated the luxury car market. This pattern is not normal. As China's automobile consumption culture matures, people will seek more "personalized" brands. More second-tier luxury cars and ultra-luxury brands will become consumers' choices. The latecomers are aiming at this huge market, and the speed of grabbing the "cake" can't be underestimated.
Pattern adjustments have recently been repeatedly questioned by ABB, the top three Germans who have long occupied the top three in China's luxury car sales charts. The problems of product quality, after-sales service, and decline in customer service satisfaction are constantly exposed. At the product level, the “family face” is prevalent, the homogenization problem is becoming more and more serious, and the Chinese luxury car market, which has become increasingly strong in individualized demand, is gradually drifting away. . The adjustment of the ABB pattern in the luxury car market is inevitable.
In the ABB market, many consumers face the choice of non-A or B when buying a car. The only two or three options are obviously difficult for consumers to experience the feeling of “God”. Consumers need more choices than C, D, and even L, Z, etc. outside of A and B. Diversified goods are also an inevitable trend to meet their needs.
More diversified luxury car brands that can be selected by consumers can directly promote the improvement of the competitive environment in the luxury car market. For a long time, the market competition environment is not enough, so that the German luxury car ABB “only me alone”, without challenges, there is no progress, fierce and full competition, in order to let consumers experience better and more advanced Hao in the ever-changing life. Car products.
It is foreseeable that with the strong rise of the brand of the second camp of Infiniti, Cadillac, Lexus and other luxury cars, the luxury car market pattern will change and enter a new era of “standing together”. The Japanese and "Panmei" luxury cars in the second camp began to exert their strength, and challenged the existing pattern with comprehensive advantages such as innovation, product strength and brand power. Younger and smaller, it has become the "secret weapon" for the German three strongest to resist the slowdown in growth, while localization is the trick for second-tier luxury car brands to increase sales in China. Industry insiders expect that the lower selling price after domestic production will boost the sales of luxury cars, and the more personalized and emotional characteristics of the brand will also increase people's choice of luxury cars, and ultimately benefit consumers; and the major luxury cars will In the new round of competition, we will redraw the sphere of influence and build a new pattern.

Commercial Treadmill