Car Insights | Seeing Trumpchi’s pragmatic genes from GS3·Shadow Speed

Bitauto Original Recently, the domestic auto industry’s crazy “suicidal” collective price cuts have stirred up a storm. The "French President's car" Citroen C6 and a number of Dongfeng brands were the first to light the fuse, with prices reduced to 120,000 yuan. Then more than 30 car companies were involved in this wave of price cuts. Some people concluded that fuel vehicles are really going to collapse.

Is it really broken? Just recently, GAC Trumpchi's brand new GS3 Shadow Speed ​​was officially launched, clearly stating its position.

Trumpchi GS3·The foundation of shadow speed

The newly launched Trumpchi GS3 Shadow Speed ​​is priced at RMB 85,800-111,800. It is equipped with the popular 1.5T engine of the Trump "Shadow Series", and the RMB 100,000 version is fully equipped with L2-level driving At the same time, in this price range of around 100,000 yuan, new energy vehicles abound.

In the field of cars, BYD Dolphin and Euler Haomao have received rave reviews. Later, Wuling Bingo and BYD Seagull have dropped to less than 100,000 yuan and will be launched soon; in the field of SUVs, there are Nezha V, Geometry E is a fledgling.

So in the era of switching between gasoline and electricity, what is the foundation of Trumpchi GS3 Shadow Speed?

"Yingsu targets first-time buyers, starting from demand, and exploring the rigid needs of some groups in terms of handling performance, value retention, and space experience. Although new energy vehicles are good, they are not as good as fuel in terms of size, safety, value retention, etc. car." Zhang Tianshi, marketing director of GAC Trumpchi, told the author.

Indeed, the existence of batteries profoundly affects the space design, safety, cost, and value preservation of new energy vehicles. Among them, space and safety problems have been gradually alleviated with the continuous iteration of new energy technologies, but the two core issues of cost and value preservation still hang over our heads.

Battery accounts for about 50% of the total cost of a new energy vehicle, and car companies have to make choices in other aspects such as quality and configuration. In addition, the cruising range of 300-400km is claimed on the surface, but in reality it can only run a little over 200km. Many new energy vehicles priced at around 100,000 yuan have been relegated to the role of short-distance scooters.

On the other hand, the high cost of the battery means that when its performance declines, the value of the entire vehicle will be greatly reduced.

Data from the "2022 China Automobile Value Preservation Rate Report" released by the China Automobile Dealers Association shows that for the pure electric A0 SUV, the highest one-year value retention rate is 83.65% for Nezha V, Yuan Pro (77.55%), Weibo Blue VELITE 7 (59.75%) comes second, with a three-year value retention rate of about 50%, which is significantly lower than that of fuel vehicles.

When the various shortcomings of new energy vehicles have not been resolved, there is still rationality for the existence of fuel vehicles.

This rationality is particularly obvious in the Trumpchi GS3 Shadow Speed. The new generation of Shadow Speed ​​has its main selling points in the three aspects of "saving, large and powerful". The whole night launch conference directly focused on these three aspects. Let Internet celebrity bloggers and KOL become the scene of bringing goods.

The general understanding of "province" is to save fuel and save money. The 1.5TGDI high-efficiency engine in the Trumpchi GS3 Shadow Speed ​​adopts 350bar high-pressure in-cylinder fuel injection and other technologies to achieve high efficiency and low consumption. The official claims that its fuel consumption (WLTC) is 6.18L/100km.

Based on the current price of No. 92 gasoline of 7.78 yuan/liter, the Trumpchi GS3 Shadowspeed costs less than 50 cents per kilometer to drive. Even commuting 30 kilometers back and forth in the city every day costs less than a cup of milk tea.

The second meaning of "saving" is to help consumers save money when buying a car and to help consumers preserve value when replacing a car. Trumpchi GS3·Yingsu has launched a 20% off value preservation and redemption policy for up to 3 years. Although this policy also has restrictions, it is something that new energy brands dare not even think about, because it will cause losses to investors and they will withdraw their investment. According to GAC Trumpchi Judging from the value retention rates of previous models, it does have the confidence to make such a promise.

"Big" means big space. The Trumpchi GS3 Shadow Speed's length of over 4.4 meters and wheelbase of 2.65 meters has reached the size of an A-class SUV.Horizontal, the rear row can be folded down completely to form a "lying flat" space like a 1.8-meter luxurious king bed.

"Power" means high performance. Trumpchi GS3·Yingsu is equipped with GAC Julang Power's third-generation 1.5TGDI high-efficiency engine, with a maximum combustion efficiency of 40.48%, a maximum power of 130kW, and a maximum torque of 270N·m, which is enough It is on par with many A-class SUVs.

The high-end R-STYLE version priced at just over 110,000 yuan can also provide an even more extreme pleasure. It accelerates from 100 kilometers to 100 kilometers in only 7.5 seconds. It is as fun as a small steel cannon of an electric car, and there is no anxiety about battery life or charging. trouble.

In fact, saving money and affordability, large space, and performance control are the three most basic considerations when buying and choosing a car.

In particular, first-time buyers with a budget of 100,000 yuan are basically price-sensitive consumers. They may be young people who have just graduated, or they may be newlyweds. While they want to spend their money wisely, they also have "both Improve your life with the consumer mentality of "want and want".

From this perspective, Trumpchi GS3 Yingsu has clearly understood this type of young people: making "younger" more than just a simple label, but tapping into young people's desire for high performance, energy saving Money is the core need, thus accurately hitting the excitement points of young people.

Just like many pragmatic Cantonese people, who wear shorts and flip-flops as standard when going out, they only spend money where necessary and plan carefully. The same goes for Trumpchi GS3 Shadow Speed, which focuses on the most valuable and core selling point - fun and inexpensive.

GAC Trumpchi’s sense of pragmatism

Trumpchi GS3·Shadow Speed ​​is just a microcosm of GAC Trumpchi’s pragmatic gene.

On the smart + electrification track, many business partners are exchanging words and exchanges for traffic, making the entire market full of hustle and bustle. In comparison, GAC Trumpchi does not show off its power in a high-profile manner, but is more like a low-key hard worker.

GAC Group handed over the heavy responsibility of pure electric power to Aian early, and GAC Trumpchi chose to move forward firmly on the dual hybrid technology route of Toyota's THS+GMC hybrid system. Currently, hybridization covers GS8, M8, Shadow, Leopard, Shadow Cool and many other models.

In fact, as early as 2009, GAC began to develop its own hybrid technology; in 2014, GAC Trumpchi launched the GA5 REV, becoming one of the originators of extended-range electric vehicles. In 2017, GAC proactively changed its original range-extended technology direction to series-parallel technology, which is the technical solution currently adopted by most Chinese brand hybrid vehicles.

In January 2023, GAC Trumpchi’s sales reached 34,400 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%. Among them, the cumulative sales of the hybrid family exceeded 5,000 vehicles, leading the independent brand HEV market.

Trumpchi's pragmatism does not mean remaining unchanged, but constantly rebuilding self-order and innovating.

GAC Trumpchi relied on its biggest hit GS4 to go it alone many years ago. In the past year, it has frequently launched a number of new products such as GS8, M8, Shadow Leopard, Shadow Cool, Shadow Speed, etc., holding high the youth flag with its left hand and high-end with the right. The great sword of transformation.

In 2022, GAC Trumpchi M8 will sell 65,000 units annually, and the second-generation GS8 will sell 57,000 units annually. They will conquer the MPV and SUV markets respectively, making Trumpchi's sales structure more balanced.

In addition to improving the sales structure, more importantly, the emergence of the M8 and GS8 has made the brand's average transaction price exceed 150,000 yuan for many months, continuously accumulating potential for the brand.

The Yingbao, Yingku, and Yingsu series of boxing combos are constantly refreshing the market.Trumpchi's brand recognition has stabilized its fundamentals; the dual-hybrid technology route has built a wide moat in the era of electrification and developed a new growth curve.

High-end, youth and hybridization are becoming the three fulcrums of GAC Trumpchi. However, in the changing environment, Geely, Great Wall, and Changan, which are at their peak, are still making drastic changes. GAC Trumpchi naturally cannot satisfy the current situation.

At the ceremony when the 3 millionth new car rolled off the production line last year, GAC Trumpchi officially launched its "second entrepreneurship" and officially transformed into a new energy technology enterprise. This year, the first new car based on Xingling electronic and electrical architecture will be officially unveiled, entering new markets with real guns.

It’s just that In the ever-fast cycle of change, it is difficult for two fists to defeat ten. GAC Trumpchi still needs to accelerate, and then accelerate!

Write at the end

The GS3 · Shadow Speed, which focuses on the three major selling points of saving money, performance and space, has a clear and pragmatic approach. It is quite attractive in the 100,000 yuan market and may go its own way.

As the brand’s first all-new model this year, its significance to the entire Trumpchi brand is self-evident. The Trumpchi brand is in urgent need of a hit product that sells over 10,000 yuan a month to take sales to a higher level. From this point of view, the pressure on GS3 Shadow Speed ​​is no lower than that of Shadow Cool and Shadow Leopard.

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