In the past, when we mention Lexus , many people will first think of striving for excellence, and think of Japan's " Craftsman Spirit ". At this time, a Lexus that often costs 30,000 or 50,000 yuan or a Lexus that needs to wait for a car for half a year can all be explained by "slow work and meticulous work", which turns complaints into praise for this brand.
However, by 2022, Lexus' "halo" in China has gradually retreated, and faith seems to slowly collapse. In August, Lexus' cumulative sales were 18,991 units. As a long-term positive growth, Lexus unexpectedly experienced a 6.8% decline; from January to August this year, Lexus' cumulative sales volume was 126,205 units, which was comparable to the sales level in the same period in 2019. The reasons behind
are the decline in the economic environment and the adjustment of Lexus' strategy (the price increase after ES facelift), but Brother Jiang believes that the most important thing is the changes in the current market structure and user needs.
In today's automobile market, new energy and new forces have broken through, which has gradually changed consumers' car use habits and the "evaluation standards" of cars.
You should know that in the era of traditional fuel vehicles, the "three major items" are the core technology of a fuel vehicle or a car brand. At the same time, most consumers judge a car to be "good" or "bad", which is a large part of the reason dependent on the performance of the traditional "three major items", the quality of the manufacturing process, and whether the materials are luxurious. The spirit of craftsmanship is regarded as the pursuit of excellent quality.
. In the era of new energy vehicles, on the contrary, the powertrain is far less complicated than the internal combustion engine. The commonality rate of related motors, batteries, electronic controls, etc. of three electric electric motors, batteries, and electronic controls is very high. Therefore, car companies can use to purchase with the help of 's current mature domestic supply system, and motors, batteries, and battery management systems.
its core selling point is the human-computer interaction, vehicle-machine, driving assistance systems, etc. attached to this vehicle body. These business departments are often also the core departments of new forces. product strategy such as
makes new energy products closer to "user thinking" and cater to consumers' usage habits and needs with the Internet's "user first" traffic model. This is also why more and more consumers are finding that the new generation of new energy products are more friendly to use, while traditional cars are a bit like the conservative " Nokia products". The craftsman spirit has become synonymous with slow response and insufficient technological content.
Does this mean that "user thinking" has defeated the "craftsman spirit" and has become the main development idea for future automobiles?
Jiang Ge believes that compared with consumer electronics , there are much more parts that constitute automobiles, and the industrial chain is obviously longer. Therefore, the future automobile market needs to organically combine "user thinking" and "craftsman spirit" in .
For a number of new forces, they did enjoy the benefits of rapid development brought by "user thinking" at the beginning. However, you should know that behind this is policy support (including new energy licenses, purchase tax and discount). Once the development is too fast and the control and awe of technology and manufacturing processes are lacking, design and quality problems are likely to arise. Moreover, as the number of ownership increases, we also need to face the same after-sales and channel problems as traditional car companies.
Compared with new forces who use losses to earn publicity, disrupt market rules after making large profits in the capital market, the operating methods of traditional brands are often more "stable". However, the competitive environment has changed. As a traditional car brand, you need to change your role and not continue to "work behind closed doors", but be good at listening to customers' needs and respond quickly from the perspective of users.
From the Lexus case, , as an old luxury model, now relies solely on brand and luxury to attract consumers, is not realistic. If a brand wants to develop steadily, it needs gimmicks and marketing to arouse consumers' desire and impulse to shop, and there are also countless craftsmen behind it that are continuously promoting it.In the process of the rise of China's automobile industry, how to maintain vitality and competitiveness is the direction that car companies need to think and study in the future. What do you think about this? Welcome to follow "Cheyu Wuwang" and leave a message in the comment section below to share your views.
