The mid-to-high-class car market is fiercely competitive and the first group army has been disbanded

Mr. Wang of Guangzhou now owns a certain brand of mid-size sedan. By the end of the year, he wanted to replace the existing car with a medium-to-high-class sedan with a bigger space, a more abundant configuration, a higher grade, and a louder brand. . He started with the new Passat in April and later tested K5 and the new Sonata. He recently aimed at the upcoming Dongfeng Peugeot 508 and the new Magotan, and Mr. Wang’s car plan has not yet been finalized. How about?

Mr. Wang’s “difficulties” in fact reflect two major features of the mid-to-high-class sedan market this year.

On the one hand, as the market shifts cars and increases the number of people buying, mid- to high-end cars have a good opportunity to upgrade the consumption of automotive products; on the other hand, due to the increasing number of brands and models entering the market, the high-end sedan market Competition has become more intense.

The prospects for the high-end sedan market are promising. Related statistics show that last year, the domestic sales of mid-to-high-class cars were approximately 1.35 million, accounting for approximately 12.2% of the passenger car market share. In the first four months of this year, the sales volume of domestically produced mid- to high-class cars totaled nearly 470,000 units, which represented a year-on-year increase of approximately 3% and a market share of approximately 11.7%.

It is worth noting that in the first four months of this year, the growth rate of the midsize sedan market was lower than the growth rate of mid-size sedan and economy sedan. One important reason is that since June of last year, the mid-level sedan and economy sedan with the most energy-saving models have been available. 3000 yuan energy subsidies. However, with a year-on-year increase of about 3% in sales, the market share of about 11% of the passenger car market is still basically the same as last year, but it shows from another aspect that the relative growth advantage of the high-class car market in the first four months of this year is actually More obvious.

As mid-to-high-class cars contribute much more to corporate brands and profitability than mid-range cars and economical cars, the space in this market segment is clearly favored by major passenger vehicle manufacturers. This year, Dongfeng Yueda Kia launched its first mid-to-high-class sedan K 5, and Dongfeng Peugeot will also be listed on the domestic 508 next month. Shanghai GM will launch the Malibu later, and Beijing Hyundai, Shanghai Volkswagen, FAW-Volkswagen and GAC Toyota have also or will launch new models of their mid- to high-class cars this year.

“At present, more than half of the consumers who buy mid- to high-class sedans as family cars have purchased cars for the first time, but about one-third of them are consumers who are renewing vehicles!” said a manufacturer source last week.

The practice of auctioning the "highest bidder" for Shanghai vehicle licenses is to take care of the policy of the high-end sedan market. Obviously, consumers who spend 450,000 yuan to obtain a license plate will consume more expensive cars than consumer cars. The odds are much greater.

The product structure in the market segments is also changing. From the perspective of market share, mid-to-high-class cars will undergo structural changes in the coming years.

Over the past few years, Japanese brands have dominated the domestic mid- to high-end sedan market as Accord, Tianzhu, Camry, Ma 6, and Reiz took the lead in entering the market. In the first five months of this year, even in the case of Japan’s “3.11 earthquake” hitting the supply chain of domestic Japanese joint-venture automakers, the top three sales of mid- to high-class cars were Japanese brands such as New Accord, Xintiandi and Camry. The sales of the three major brands in the first five months were 61,819, 59,851 and 52,724 respectively.

Since the beginning of this year, with the entry of the new Passat, the new Sonata and K 5, the relative superiority of Japanese mid- to high-end cars has been threatened.

Judging from the impact of the earthquake, sales of the new Accord, Xintianhao and Camry fell rapidly in April. Sales of new Accor and Camry brands in May were not enough for half of March sales.

In addition, the impact from Korean, European and US-based brand models also hit Japan's mid to high-end cars. The K 5 was launched in March, followed by the new Sonata and the new Passat. Next month, the Dongfeng Peugeot 508 and FAW-Volkswagen New Magotan will also Official debut, in addition to the second half of the Chevrolet Malibu from Shanghai GM.

In the first four months of this year, the top five models in the mid-to-high-class sedan market accounted for about 50% of the market. However, due to the impact of the New Japan Accord and the Camry’s earthquake in Japan for several months, the market concentration of the mid- to high-class sedan has dropped significantly this year.

In addition to the increasing number of brands and models. Pressure from other markets is also a major cause of changes in the product structure of mid-level cars in the last few years.

When the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan and the BMW 3 Series entry-level luxury sedan market were sold for a price of 230,000 yuan and 240,000 yuan, the impact of the entry-level luxury sedan market models on the mid-to-high-end sedan market was not attributable to any manufacturers and brands. ignore. From the current situation, to resist the price of an entry-level luxury sedan, the most skilful tricks in the mid-to-high-class sedan market are still to “price-price-balance”, that is, “I've lowered the price since you started!”