What is more worth celebrating is that K5 Kaiku, which has been "buried" for a long time in the passenger car market, has finally returned to the first-line market that consumers pay attention to. After the listing, the brand-new K5 Kaiku, which is still in the climbing period of production capacity, returned to the order of 4,000 monthly sales, soaring year-on-year.
For Dongfeng Da Yue Kia, the significance of the new K5 Kaiku is not limited to sales. This car is not only a strategic product for the younger generation of consumers, but also the biggest reliance for this enterprise to "eliminate" low-end models and gradually realize brand promotion. It can be said that the success of the new K5 Kaiku is related to the future development pattern of Dongfeng Da Yue Kia. This article will taste the brand-new K5 Camaro with you and see what product strength upgrades this car has brought. And around this product, how will Dongfeng Da Yue Kia fight a "turnaround"?
Rotating-phasing out low-end cars
There is an old saying in the marketing circle: there is no product that cannot be sold, only the price that cannot be sold. On the other hand, it is not easy to sell products at ideal prices. As an "old man" who has worked in the automobile marketing circle for nearly 30 years, Li Feng naturally knows the truth.
2065438+In September 2009, Li Feng took office. This is the first time since the establishment of 18 that a senior executive from China has taken charge of the top management. No doubt, Koreans are willing to decentralize because they have encountered insurmountable difficulties in the China market. In the first interview after taking office, Li Feng told the camera that the current situation of Dongfeng Da Yue Kia is "sick as a mountain, sick as a silk reel".
Where do the difficulties come from? From the time line, in 20 16, Dongfeng Da Yue Kia was still in high spirits, with annual sales reaching 650,000 vehicles, up 5.5% year-on-year. In 20 17, the sales volume of this enterprise decreased by 45% year-on-year to 359,500 vehicles. Many people are used to attributing the decline of Korean cars to the "Sade incident", but objectively speaking, this is at best a fuse. Behind the decline in sales volume is actually a series of problems such as price-for-volume, pressure on the library, and slow pace of new products.
Who is Li Feng? He is probably one of the local marketing talents who know Korean brands best. In 2008, Li Feng joined Beijing Hyundai as executive deputy general manager. As a result, the company's sales in 2009 quickly reached 570,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 93%. In 20 13 years, Beijing Hyundai created a sales volume of/kloc-0.03 million vehicles, becoming the third enterprise in China to rely on a single brand to achieve an annual production and sales breakthrough of/kloc-0.03 million vehicles after North and South Volkswagen. At that time, this speed was called "modern speed" by the industry. With the above achievements, Li Feng was promoted to the president of Beijing Automobile Co., Ltd., and comprehensively coordinated the independent sector of BAIC Group and related businesses of Beijing Benz and Beijing Hyundai.
As soon as he joined Dongfeng Da Yue Kia, the veteran who knew the Korean department saw the problem of this enterprise. However, the final solution-eliminating the low-end models (no more models with a price below 6,543.8+10,000 yuan) was formally put forward after K5 Kaiku started the pre-sale, mainly because the low-end models (models with a price below 6,543.8+10,000 yuan) still account for a high proportion in the sales of Dongfeng Da Yue Kia at this stage. If you want to "take it off", you must first have a model to "support".
At present, the models of Dongfeng Da Yue Kia that are sold below 6,543,800 yuan are KX? Cross, Huan Chi, Freddy, Yi Run, etc. According to the data of the Federation, these models contributed 70 1 169 vehicles in 2020, accounting for 30.5% of the total sales of 229,752 vehicles. Before eliminating these models, we must first ensure that the sales trend of Kia brand, which is difficult to pick up, will not decline. In other words, we must find new growth points.
Undoubtedly, in the heart of Dongfeng Da Yue Kia, the new K5 Kaiku is the growth point, which is also the courage to gradually replace the low-end models.
K5 Kaiku's "Bypass" Tactics
When the leader tells you that a job is "both ... and ...", so is K5 Kaiku.
In the Korean market, the average monthly sales volume of the new K5 Kaiku is about 1 10,000 vehicles. Considering the market capacity, this is a pretty good result. But in the China market, the situation faced by this car is obviously more complicated. Brand recognition in the past is a problem, and so is the new market environment.
"K5 Kaiku"
The new K5 Kaiku did not attack directly, but bypassed the mainstream market and moved forward step by step. As a medium-sized car, "cost performance" is still an important label of K5 Kaiku. From the price point of view, the official price of K5 Kaiku is 16 1800, which is a package price, including vehicle purchase tax and 5,000 yuan commercial insurance. At the same time, KIA officials also gave six other benefits, such as the replacement subsidy of up to 20,000 yuan, lifetime maintenance/warranty of powertrain and free traffic, 10% discount on the original price within 1 month/1 year, five-year zero interest, and three-year vehicle warranty policy of//kloc-0.5 million kilometers; 5 years /65438+ million kilometers; 7 years/70,000 kilometers), it is recommended to buy a reward (5,000 yuan insurance reward). As a result, the cost performance of K5 cool open soared.
Seeing this, some friends may ask: I said I wanted the brand to go up. How did they come here and start to improve the cost performance? In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang had a passage when discussing with Confucianism: "People are addicted, first drink it with porridge and take it with medicine;" Zang-fu organs are reconciled, and the body is gradually safe, and then supplemented with meat and treated with fierce medicine. "To save lives, we must first restore the patient's body, and then take strong medicine when he has physical strength. For Dongfeng Da Yue Kia, if the price rises too fast and too fast, the possible result is not to cure the disease but to kill people.
Dongfeng Da Yue Kia's strategy of "eliminating low-end cars" does not conflict with its high cost performance. In any case, giving consumers a higher cost performance is the most direct and effective means to enhance the competitiveness of products. And cost performance does not mean price reduction. Reducing "price" and improving "value" are both means to achieve cost performance. In terms of product strength, the new K5 Kaiku has also made a lot of efforts.
The first is practicality. The length, width and height of the new domestic K5 Camaro are 4980* 1860* 1445mm, and the wheelbase is 2990 mm Compared with overseas models, its length is increased by 75mm, and the wheelbase is lengthened by 50mm, which is more in line with the preferences and usage scenarios of China consumers. In addition, compared with mainstream products of medium-sized cars such as Accord, Camry and Magotan, or directly competitive products such as Sonata and Mai Rui Bao XL, its size is relatively dominant.
The new K5 Kaiku is based on the third generation platform i-GMP of Hyundai Kia Group, and the model also born on this platform is the tenth generation Sonata. From the perspective of enterprise perception, modular platform can further improve production efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs and R&D costs, while from the perspective of consumer perception, the strengths of the platform are mainly security and operability. (For details, please refer to Incorporating Modern New Technologies? KIA K5 Kaiku Technology Analysis ")
In terms of safety, the engine compartment of i-GMP platform adopts multi-frame structure, which can disperse the force during collision and reduce the impact on passengers in the car. In addition, due to the adjustment of the body frame structure and the use of ultra-high tension steel in some key parts, the overall weight of the car born on this platform is 55kg less than that of the same class, but its average strength can be increased by 65,438+00%.
From the handling point of view, i-GMP platform has adjusted the powertrain layout and front and rear suspension systems while making the whole vehicle lighter. Engine compartment, seat position, etc. They are all designed in the rear row position, which reduces the center of gravity of the vehicle. Although it is still a front McPherson/rear multi-link independent suspension, Kia has increased the caster angle of the front suspension, optimized the suspension arm configuration of the rear suspension to control the wheel movement, and improved the high-speed stability and steering maneuverability of the vehicle.
In addition, during vehicle design, heavy accessories such as batteries are also moved to the position closer to the center and downward of the vehicle body by designers, which makes the weight configuration of the vehicle body more ideal and improves the stability of the vehicle when turning.
In terms of power, the new K5 Camry 1.5T engine is equipped with CVVD continuously variable valve technology, and the effective compression ratio can be flexibly adjusted in the range of 4: 1 to 10.5: 1, realizing the free switching of Miller cycle, Otto cycle and Atkinson cycle, taking into account performance and fuel economy. According to the engine data, its 1.5T power version has a maximum power of 170 HP and a peak torque of 253 Nm. Its 2.0T power version has a maximum power of 240 HP and a peak torque of 353 Nm.
Is differentiated positioning enough to meet the enemy?
Even if the product is good enough, if the brand is not differentiated, it will often become empty talk. Especially in the medium-sized car market, any of the old models such as Accord, Magotan, Regal and Camry has a deep accumulation. Cancel K5 library opening If you want to really open up the situation, you must find your own personalized label.
Dongfeng Da Yue Kia's answer is youth and sports. Kaikuo's product slogan is "Cool Generation Z", which is obviously geared to young people from product to marketing. This can be seen from the appearance first.
Starting from the first generation of 20 1 1 products, the designer of KIA K5 is Peter Schreyer, who has worked on famous models such as the second generation Beetle and the fifth generation Golf. He is also known as one of the "three major automobile designers in Europe". The new K5 Kaiku continues the low-key and growling front face of the previous generation K5 Kaiku, and continues the "Lingxi aesthetic design", with a strong sense of fashion, personality and luxury.
In the mid-level car market, many mainstream models claim to have been adjusted for young users when they are replaced, but compared with K5 Camry, the changes are obviously not so "out of line". Kia officially claimed that K5 Kaiku "subverted the tradition of moderate design of medium-sized cars", and "high face value" has always been the advantage of Korean cars. Personally, Kaiku's looks deserve this praise.
In fact, the brand-new K5 Kaiku can best reflect the designer's skill, neither the roaring front face nor the rear of the car which is highly echoed with the headlights of the front face, but its side lines. As mentioned earlier, in order to cater to the preferences of consumers in China and the demand for cars, the wheelbase and length of the new K5 Camcool made in China have been lengthened. How to keep the original design style, at the same time, keep the proportion of the car body coordinated and the lines not bloated is a huge challenge for Kia China's designer team.
Fortunately, the new K5 Camaro has a non-slip design. Although the body is long, the integrity of its rear shape is still very high, and it is not abrupt at all. At the same time, Kia China's team of designers connected the car from the A-pillar to the trunk with chrome trim strips, and then connected it to the A-pillar on the other side in an encircling way. This treatment greatly stretches the vision and makes the car look long, but the transition between various positions is more linear.
However, the second problem after this design comes again. Although the slip-back style is more sporty and fashionable, it will squeeze the head space of the second row of passengers, which runs counter to the original intention of lengthening domestic models. In order to solve this problem, the designer team hollowed out the interior of the car and reserved as much head space as possible for the rear passengers. In addition, this car also adds a side window at the C-pillar position, which helps to relieve the depression of the rear passengers.
From the interior, the designer replaced the overseas version with two 12.3-inch dual screens. In detail, this dual-screen can even adjust the corresponding UI design according to different driving modes, and the indoor ambient light also adopts segmented light groups, and the color selection can be customized, which has a strong sense of technology.
In addition to the appearance and interior, the "lining" of the new K5 Kaiku that impressed young people is his sportiness, which was mentioned in the last part when talking about products. In addition to the advantages of engine and platform, KIA formally cooperated with Hyundai N brand, which specializes in building performance cars/racing cars, at the beginning of developing this car, and applied a lot of experience of the latter in some chassis debugging work of this car.
In product promotion, Dongfeng Da Yue Kia also adopted a communication method that is more in line with the habits of young people. For example, intelligent networking services that emphasize localization, together with intelligent networking products such as Baidu DuerOS and MapAuto, attract young people with a sense of science and technology. Provide customized services for users, and users can complete registration and transaction online. The one-step marketing method of "package price" is also a simple and direct style that young people like.
K5 cool open has also used many younger marketing methods this year. For example, doing short variety videos with Tengger singer singers; Looking for brand spokespersons from young circles such as photography, e-sports and fitness; Hold K-Pose challenges, etc. Brand rejuvenation is most afraid of blind "catering": enterprises do not adjust their attitude and play, but only please young people in communication, which often backfires. The new K5 Kaiku captures the psychological needs and product preferences of the younger generation, which is quite rare.
Judging from the data released by Kia before, the above-mentioned changes in youthfulness have actually achieved certain results. From the analysis of the order volume announced in September, the proportion of customers who buy this car is very low, and the number of users who buy it for the first time reaches more than 70%. It shows that the brand-new K5 Kaiku has attracted a certain number of brand-new consumers. Judging from the age structure, there are almost no consumers over 35 years old in the new K5 Kaiku, and the rejuvenation strategy is quite successful.
abstract
If let me evaluate the brand-new K5 Kaiku, my answer is that under the existing conditions of Dongfeng Da Yue Kia, K5 Kaiku has given the best solution. In the most competitive mid-level car market, relying on young differentiated positioning and cost-effective competitive strategy, in the traditional mid-level car market, the brand-new K5 Camcool is quite attractive to a new generation of consumers. From the sales volume of the association, although the production capacity is still in the climbing stage, since September, the sales volume of Kaiku has continued to grow, with the annual cumulative sales volume increasing by 365,438+06% and the monthly growth by 65,438+065,438+0%. Of course, this is related to the low base last year. Compared with the overseas mainstream brands of medium-sized cars, the new K5 Kaiku is far from the "mainstream", but its growth momentum shows some stamina.
More important than sales is the brand. Li Feng has made it clear that in the future, Dongfeng Da Yue Kia will not fight price wars, but will focus on optimizing the proportion of vehicle models and reshaping the dealer relationship. It is the core purpose of the new K5 Kaiku to adjust the brand strategy of Dongfeng Da Yue Kia and seize the younger generation of consumers. Since its establishment, KIA K5 has sold more than one million vehicles in the global market, and it has also sold more than 10,000 vehicles in China market in a single month. When the personalized "Z generation" stands in the position of the main consumer, who can say that K5 Kaiku has no chance to return to the peak? (Text/car home Industry Commentator? Chengnanhou Garden)