is the declining overall market sales; on the other side is the growing potential consumer demand. At present, the "Song of Ice and Fire" is being staged in the domestic MPV market.
For the Buick brand, with the absolute advantage of GL8, it naturally belongs to the "fire" side. However, soldiers are impermanent, water is impermanent, and there is no permanent strong, only younger opponents. SAIC Volkswagen's upcoming Viloran is regarded as the strongest rival of GL8. The news of Toyota's upcoming production of Senna has also been circulated in the public. In addition, the hybrid version of the Odyssey continues to increase the price.
In short, as the dominant player in the high-end MPV market, GL8 must do something if it wants to keep its position.
So, the new GL8 Avenir is here!
On the evening of April 12, the new generation of Buick GL8 Avenir "Cloud" was launched. Three models of four-seater, six-seater and seven-seater versions were launched, priced at RMB 529,900 and 46.59 respectively. Ten thousand yuan and 459,900 yuan.
seize the blue ocean of high-end MPV market
Although the high-end MPV market is not a "new" blue ocean, it has always been a blue ocean. When the market of 100,000 yuan or less than 200,000 yuan has been killed, the market above 200,000 yuan where GL8 is located basically has no rivals.
data shows that in 2019, the overall domestic MPV market sales fell by 20% year-on-year, but Buick GL8 bucked the trend and increased by 3%, with a total of 148,100 vehicles delivered. This result has to be amazing and highlights again. Develop the growth potential of the high-end MPV market.
In the first quarter of this year, affected by the new crown pneumonia, the MPV market sales collapsed in a large area. However, if you look at it by level, the negative growth rates of A0 and A MPV are -53% and -64%, respectively, while B and C are only -33% and -30%. Although this argument is not straightforward, it also highlights the relatively stable consumption of the high-end car market from another angle, and it is less likely to be affected by the external environment and fluctuate sharply.
As the best-selling high-end MPV model in China, Buick GL8 has always been popular since its launch in China, with cumulative sales of more than 1.23 million vehicles. This achievement envied many auto brands. After all, high-end cars mean high profits, and the colder the market is, the more "gold and precious" such products appear.
In fact, Buick has already formed a three-wheel-drive product layout consisting of GL8 Avenir, GL8 ES and GL8 commercial wagons before, achieving full coverage of the high-end MPV market of 200,000-450,000 yuan, and, In the MPV market of more than 300,000 yuan, GL8 occupies an absolute leading position.
This time, the launch of a new generation of GL8 Avenir will further consolidate this advantage.
When the Odyssey increased the price with the hybrid version, and the upcoming Volkswagen Viloran will also erode the GL8 market map, the GL8 raised its "identity" with a more high-end Avenir model and pulled it out, so it cleverly avoided Opened the upcoming melee situation.
In the domestic MPV market, independent brands have crowded the market below 150,000 yuan. There are also strong rivals such as Odyssey and Ailisent in the range of 150,000-300,000 yuan. Further up, Toyota Alpha and Lexus LM Must start at 800,000 yuan. In other words, the Buick GL8 is left with a very broad market space. Therefore, it is an inevitable move to achieve upward exploration with the Avenir model.
In fact, the emergence of the Avenir sub-brand is for Buick to continuously improve its brand image, avoid the chaos of joint venture cars, and to have better products when the price of luxury cars continues to drop. Anti-risk ability.
This sub-brand was officially launched in 2016. In French, it means "future" and the expectation of a bright future. As of today, this sub-brand has completed the layout of its flagship models in sedan, SUV and MPV series. LaCrosse Avenir,The combination of Angkeqi Avenir and the new GL8 Avenir will work together to enhance the Buick brand's premium ability and bring the Buick brand's high-end process to a new level.
redefines the high-end MPV with a four-seater version.
Although Buick launched a GL8 Avenir in November 2018, it is clear that manufacturers think it is not high-end enough. Because it has seven seats and there is only one model, it feels like "testing the water".
If the 2018 GL8 Avenir is an appetizer, then the three models listed this time-four-seater premium version, six-seater xianli version, and seven-seat pro-gift version, are the dinners. Among them, the four-seater version is defined as the flagship. Obviously, Buick is trying to bring the GL8 brand image to a position comparable to that of luxury brands.
Lexus LM also has a four-seater version, but its price is much more expensive than GL8Avenir. Therefore, while redefining high-end MPVs, GL8Avenir also fills the gap in the market between joint venture cars and luxury brands.
The new GL8 Avenir has a body size of 5219×1878×1799mm and a wheelbase of 3088mm, which is roughly the same as the regular GL8. There is no problem with such a "body" squeezing into seven seats, but what kind of luxurious experience can four seats bring? It's not hard to imagine.
The sense of luxury and nobility is reflected throughout the body of GL8Avenir. For example, the exclusive three-dimensional mesh grille inspired by the chain mail of the nobles in the Middle Ages, the exclusive 18-inch crown-shaped aluminum alloy wheels, the Avenir exclusive car logo beautifully decorated on the fenders and the rear of the car, and the elegant color of the interior ivory white With the extensive use of luxurious materials, the seats are made of Nappa premium leather and hand-stitched with the "Fang Sheng pattern" in Chinese culture, which symbolizes auspiciousness and happiness, as well as exclusive dynamic concierge lights, Bose premium audio, etc., all of which show noble bearing .
The new car is equipped with GM’s eighth-generation Ecotec 2.0T variable-cylinder turbocharged engine and 9-speed HYDRA-MATIC smart gearbox. The maximum power is 174kW, the peak torque is 350Nm, and the combined fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is 7.9L. .
It is also the first to introduce Buick’s advanced intelligent driving assistance technology, and 20 driving assistance functions bring a smarter and safer driving experience with more intelligence, reliability, stability and high scene coverage. These technologies not only meet higher-level safety requirements, but also support OTA remote upgrades and have the ability to expand to higher-level driving assistance functions.
In addition, GL8 Avenir is also equipped with Buick eConnect 3.0 interconnection technology, which not only integrates dual 12.3-inch full LCD meters and central control joint screen, HUD full-color head-up display, HD streaming media rearview mirror and other hardware, as well as smart Voice interaction, dynamic display, touch screen control and other technologies also support OTA remote upgrade, bringing a better and newer intelligent interconnection experience.
钟述
High-end cars mean high profits and high brand image. In the current market environment, high profits are extremely important to SAIC-GM and even GM as a whole. In 2019, GM's equity income obtained through the Chinese joint venture was US$1.132 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 42.8%. At an important moment of GM's transformation, cash flow will be the key to its success.
On the other hand, when Volkswagen continued to refresh the brand's high-end image with models such as Phaeton, Hui Ang and Tuon in China, the Volkswagen brand has always been in an unbeaten position in the market. Therefore, Buick's approach is naturally reasonable.
Moreover, Buick not only used GL8 Avenir to elevate the brand's high-end position in the MPV camp, but also used GL6 to continue to erode the market space of less than 200,000 yuan, open the bow from left to right, and keep itself in the leading position in the market.
