Recently, Tianyancha APP showed that Nanjing Zhidou New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd. has undergone industrial and commercial changes, and its registered capital has increased from 25 million yuan to approximately 36.46 million yuan, an increase of approximately 45.8%. Four and a half years after bankruptcy and reorganization, with the support of Geely Automobile and Emma Electric Vehicles, the veteran electric vehicle brand Zhidou Automobile is ushering in its own “resurrection” moment.
Combined with the news that Yadi, the leading two-wheeled electric vehicle brand, was rumored to be building a car some time ago, has become a hot topic of discussion, and the sales of micro electric vehicles in overseas markets are stable, some insiders said: “Micro electric vehicles are the ‘hope of the whole village’. At the end of the day, only this market will grow, and it will happen all over the world.”
On the other hand, competition in the mini car market will intensify in 2024. After the Spring Festival this year, BYD took the lead in launching a major official reduction and shouted the slogan “Electricity is lower than oil”. Subsequently, many car companies followed suit and opened up the pure electric vehicle market with a price of less than 100,000 yuan, which led to the micro electric vehicle market suddenly becoming lively.
Recently, micro electric vehicles have burst into the public eye.
“Zhidou’s new car will be released in the second quarter of this year, and it will most likely use the sales channel of Emma (electric car).” Recently, an insider close to Zhidou revealed to the media.
As an early “electric shock” vehicle manufacturer, Lanzhou Zhidou, which obtained “dual qualifications” in 2017, has become a star enterprise in the domestic automobile market with its A00-class pure electric car. However, since the second half of 2018, with the adjustment of subsidy policies and changes in the internal and external environment, Lanzhou Zhidou finally went bankrupt and reorganized in 2019.
“In the process of Zhidou’s bankruptcy and reorganization, Geely Chairman Li Shufu and Emma Technology Chairman Zhang Jian played a key role.” The above-mentioned people familiar with the matter said that not only in terms of funds, the reorganized Zhidou also has significant advantages in research and development, supply chain, and sales channels. It also integrated the resources of Geely and Emma.
In the 379th batch of new car declaration information from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology at the beginning of this year, the Zhidou new car mentioned by the above-mentioned insiders and will be released in the second quarter appeared. In the long official announcement of Zhidou’s restart, this new car is still positioned as a micro electric vehicle and is of the same level as Wuling MINI EV and Changan Lumin, and is named “Zhidou Rainbow”.
Facing the huge market potential of new energy vehicles, leading two-wheeled electric vehicle companies are no longer content with the status quo. Before and after the “resurrection” of Zhidou, the “car-making incident” of Yadi electric vehicles spread across the Internet and triggered a lot of heated discussions.
It is understood that the news comes from factory footage captured by a truck driver while delivering goods to Yadi. In the video, Yadea technicians are dismantling the vehicle, and eagle-eyed users can even directly identify the vehicle as Lamborghini and Tesla model 3/model Y.
This rumor is not groundless. Yadi has been reported to be recruiting R&D and product personnel for multiple automotive-related positions. Judging from the screenshots that have been widely circulated, automotive electronic instrument engineers, chassis engineers, and senior product managers of smart cockpits are its main focus.
Although the official came forward to refute the rumors, Yadi also bluntly stated that the new energy vehicle industry is a direction for internal technical staff to discuss, and many aspects of the former require Yadi to study seriously. In this regard, there are still some opinions that the possibility of Yadi making subsequent cars cannot be ruled out. Some people in the industry believe that if Yadi builds cars, micro electric cars are the best way to test the waters.
The sales myth created by Wuling Hongguang MINIEV has made the public pay widespread attention to micro electric vehicles. It is undeniable that new energy vehicles are developing rapidly in China, but the huge consumption potential of the rural market with a population of nearly 500 million has not been effectively released.
The rural market cannot develop effectively due to multiple factors such as a limited number of applicable models, poor circulation channels, and insufficient publicity. With the hot sales of pure electric cars such as Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, 3rd to 5th tier cities and rural markets seem to have ushered in suitable main sales products.
Judging from the results of new energy vehicles going to the countryside in 2023, mini cars such as Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, Changan Lumin, Chery QQ Ice Cream, and Wuling Bingo are deeply loved by grassroots consumers. With the continuous advancement of charging infrastructure in rural areas, new energy vehicles, mainly micro electric vehicles, are also leveraging the huge low-tier urban and rural markets.
Li Jinyong, vice president of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce Automobile Dealers Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the New Energy Vehicle Committee, has been firmly optimistic about the micro electric vehicle market for many years. “This market segment will definitely grow explosively in the future.”
However, judging from last year’s sales, micro electric vehicles are the slowest growing segment in the new energy vehicle market.
Li Jinyong analyzed that on the one hand, from 2022 to 2023, the price of lithium carbonate will remain high and battery prices will continue to rise. The most direct impact will be on electric vehicles under 100,000 yuan. Taking an electric vehicle with a range of 300 kilometers as an example, the battery cost was as high as about 50,000 yuan due to the high price of lithium carbonate at the time. Micro electric vehicles have low prices and thin profits. As a result, many models are almost unprofitable, leading some car companies to switch to producing models worth 200,000 to 300,000 yuan in order to survive in 2022-2023. At the end of 2023, the price of lithium carbonate dropped sharply, reducing battery costs by almost half, giving “cost-sensitive” micro electric vehicles a new lease of life.
On the other hand, historically, whenever there is an economic downturn and lack of consumer confidence, the market that is most affected is often the market below 100,000 yuan, while the impact on mid-to-high-end improved models is not obvious. In 2023, the economy is still recovering, and the income of the general public is not high, which has seriously affected the automobile consumption demand of consumer groups below 100,000 yuan.
“As the economy gradually improves, battery costs fall, and vehicle prices return to rationality, the micro electric vehicle market will start quickly. Of course, the speed of start-up depends on the speed of economic recovery, and the recovery of consumer confidence is very important.” Li Jinyong said.
Low price, small size, easy parking, high cost performance and precise market positioning are the basis for the popularity of micro electric vehicles.
Cao Guangping, partner of Chefu Consulting, believes that low-priced electric vehicles are the car products that ordinary people need most to protect themselves from wind and rain as consumption is downgraded.
Cao Guangping analyzed that the bottleneck of the electric vehicle industry is the battery, that is, the technical level of power batteries is still difficult to meet the technical requirements of large vehicles, and it is easier to meet the technical requirements of low-level small electric vehicles. “Be careful and special, and the battery will be better.” Micro refers to small cars with low mileage, low speed, small body and small interior space. Congte means that the promotion of electric vehicles is temporarily restricted by battery technology and requires the support of special policies, special subsidies, special technical routes, etc. Taking Tesla as an example, it uses “special intelligence” to attract users to buy electric cars.
Micro electric vehicles are easy to promote, which is essentially determined by the power calculation theory of the vehicle. The lower the overall energy consumption, the fewer batteries required, and the cheaper the vehicle price. At the same time, it is also determined by my country’s urban-rural dual consumption structure. There is a huge demand for mini-cars in third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities.
“Judging from the severe price cuts of domestic automobiles, micro electric vehicles will be the bottom line of the price war when the car companies finally come face to face with each other, and will be the dagger for the price war to enter the decisive stage.” Cao Guangping said.
Luo Jianfu, an automobile dealer in Wenshan, Yunnan, a fifth-tier city, is deeply aware of the popularity of micro electric vehicles. In his store, models such as Wuling Hongguang miniEV, Changan Waxy Corn, Geely Red Panda, and Chery QQ Ice Cream are very popular. . Especially during the back-to-school season in March, the demand from consumers who buy this type of car to transport their children to and from school is very concentrated.
Luo Jianfu said that the cost of buying and using micro electric vehicles is very low, and they are convenient and affordable. Moreover, the quality of today’s micro electric vehicles is not inferior at all. The driving range has been increased from the original 120 kilometers to 200~300 kilometers. The configurations are also constantly improved and improved. Taking Wuling Hongguang miniEV as an example, its third-generation model Maca Long has matched fast charging while keeping the price low.
However, Luo Jianfu also bluntly said that the micro electric vehicle market, which seems to have unlimited potential, is actually very highly concentrated in brands, and its degree of “volume” is no less than that of other market segments. Models backed by large groups have a strong and stable supply chain and sales network, which makes it easier for them to win the favor of consumers. However, models such as Dongfeng Xiaohu cannot find the market rhythm and can only run with them. New players such as Lingbao, Punk, Redding, etc. “have long been photographed on the beach.”
Post time: Mar-29-2024