China people pay attention to the golden mean, ranging from dealing with others to details of life and even aesthetics.
Taking cars as an example, the design style of moderation is more likely to be recognized by most people, especially for those who are difficult to choose, or when family members disagree, the "moderation" will often become the last choice.
And too avant-garde design, it is easy to cause polarization, like especially like, don't like.
The end result is that the latter is more topical, but the former can win the market more.
In my opinion, this is also one of the main reasons why the sales of Volkswagen brands have remained high.
In the eyes of many people, "rear drive" is synonymous with sports and manipulation, and it is also one of the subsidiary labels of luxury cars. However, in recent years, the people-friendly rear-wheel drive has become more and more difficult and almost extinct in the market. The rear-drive Reiz and Crown have been discontinued, and BMW, which advertises sports, has actually changed the rear-drive 1 series of the hatchback into a front-drive sedan.
The reason, in my opinion, is that the advantages and disadvantages of rear drive are too obvious. The advantages are good control, more accurate steering and more uniform front and rear weight. Disadvantages are: high cost, inferior internal space, slippery in rainy and snowy days, large power transmission loss and higher fuel consumption than the predecessor. Comparatively speaking, the predecessor is simpler and more "moderate".
When many brands compromised to the market, Cadillac still went its own way. After ATS-L faded out of the market, two brand-new products, CT5 and CT4, were created based on the vertical rear-drive platform, which were completely opposite. XTS used to be the forerunner.
In my opinion, maybe Cadillac thinks that even if a car with a lot of front space is introduced, it can't compete with BBA. After all, the consumption atmosphere of the domestic luxury car market is very mature, and the results of BBA's deep cultivation for 20 or 30 years can not be taken away overnight.
Therefore, instead of learning to walk in Handan, it is better to stick to your own label. After all, in the long run, building a brand is more important. In case in a few years, when it comes to sports and manipulation, Cadillac is your first thought, not BMW, and the profit will be great. Of course, this possibility is relatively small, but there are still dreams.
Jaguar, also labeled as "Sports", launched XFL and XEL on 20 16 and 20 17 respectively, hoping to build a new pattern of "ABB+J". But now it is 2020, and Jaguar is still108,000 miles away from this goal. XEL sold about 654.38+200,000 vehicles last year, while XFL sold less than 5,000 vehicles.
XFL is a luxury medium and large car. In this market segment, the attributes of luxury and comfort are more than other factors, which are not mentioned here for the time being. At the lower level of XEL, Jaguar positioned it as a new British sports car, targeting the BMW 3 Series, which is famous for its handling and sports. However, one year's sales of XEL is equivalent to one month's sales of Series 3.
Jaguar XEL is also a front and rear drive. The 2.0T high-power engine is stronger than the data of BMW 325, and it is also a double wishbone front suspension. Why is the market performance so unsatisfactory? There are of course many reasons, so I won't discuss them here. Let's just say that Jaguar XEL failed to challenge the BMW 3 Series. Can Cadillac CT5 and CT4 do it?
CT5 has proved itself. In the two months after its listing in June last year, its sales volume exceeded 665,438+000 vehicles. By June this year, the sales volume had reached nearly 4,700 vehicles. It can be said that CT5 gained market recognition in a short time. There is still room for improvement in the case of large terminal concessions.
So, can CT4 be the same blockbuster? What are the distinctive features of this car?
Product positioning differentiation, accurate market positioning!
It is difficult for you to determine what level CT4 is. The wheelbase of 2775mm is not as long as that of Mercedes-Benz A-Class sedan, but the body length reaches 4760mm, which is equivalent to that of Volvo S60. In my opinion, it can be said to be both large and compact, and it can also be said to be a pseudo-medium-sized. Cadillac officially calls it a small and medium-sized luxury car.
I have seen some media speculate that the price of CT4 is expected to be 265,438+0,000, which is a little far from the final price. However, it is understandable why people give CT4 such a low forecast price. First, no one will think that there are only two models of CT4. Second, we are worried that CT4 and CT5 will grab the market from each other, so we have to open the range.
As can be seen from here, Cadillac is very thoughtful. At first glance, these two cars are medium-sized cars, but in fact, their positioning is completely different. CT5 focuses on luxury, comfort, high configuration and large space, which can be seen from that brainwashing advertisement-it is not luxury without rear drive.
So here in CT5, the rear drive emphasizes luxury. CT5 is also obvious to the target models, namely BMW 3 Series Long Axle, mercedes benz c Class Long Axle and Audi A4L. The competition is more about the above points.
And CT4 emphasizes movement, complete movement. The wheelbase of CT4 is the same as that of ATS imported before. ATS became ATS-L after being made in China, but CT4 kept itself. Different from jaguar XE, the domestic rear wheelbase has been lengthened, and the sportiness has also been emphasized.
If you look closely, you will find that CT4 does not have a double appearance like CT5 and other Cadillac models. Why treat it differently? Because CT4 wants purity and does not need fashionable design style, the sports version is enough.
So for Cadillac itself, CT4 and CT5 are aimed at two market segments, so don't worry about grabbing customers from each other. On the contrary, these two cars are working together to kill the enemy. CT5 focuses on social elites who take care of family and career, while CT4 focuses on young people and female consumers who emphasize individuality.
Yes, female consumers, this is actually what I didn't expect. In the online party on the evening of April 8th, CT4 not only invited Guan Xiaotong, Mabel Yuan and other stars to help out, but also invited Li Jiaqi to bring goods for a group of female fans on its live broadcast platform. This operation is really admirable.
Think carefully to understand where Cadillac's "heart" is. Female consumers don't care too much about whether a car is moving. What they care about is the face value, technology configuration and whether the car is easy to drive. Needless to say, Cadillac's new generation of product designs are numerous. Compared with those models with a wheelbase of nearly 3 meters, CT4 has smaller turning radius, easier parking and meets the requirements of female consumers.
Because of the differentiated product positioning, Cadillac can portray two different user portraits for CT4. At the same time, these two types of user groups are just beyond the coverage of CT5. In my opinion, Cadillac has good intentions for the layout of these two models.
After talking about the positioning within the brand, let's talk about the external market.
It's hard for you to find out who CT4' s competitors are at once. If you look at the body size, the long axis of Mercedes-Benz A-Class sedan is the closest, but the product positioning and market positioning of the two models are completely different.
The wheelbase and price can be reduced to compact level, and the length, power and price can be challenged upwards. But if you don't consider these hard indicators and only consider the target users, you will find that the market positioning of CT4 is very accurate. From this point of view, BMW 3 Series Axis is the most suitable opponent.
Is it reasonable for CT5 to mark 3 series long axis and CT4 to mark 3 series long axis?
Some people may ask, why not position the CT4 directly to the compact level, so that the layout of CT4, CT5 and CT6 models is more reasonable, which can not only differentiate but also exercise. In this regard, although I haven't had a chance to communicate with Cadillac insiders yet, I have some guesses.
In the domestic auto market, the market share of joint venture brands and compact brands is much larger than that of intermediate brands, and the top sales are compact brands, such as LaVida, Sylphy, Corolla, Bora, Sagitar and Yinglang ...
As for luxury brands, the market share of medium-sized cars and medium-sized cars is much higher than that of compact cars. Take the sales performance of 20 19 as an example:
Medium and large: Mercedes-Benz E-Class 157500, BMW 5 Series 135900, Audi A6L? 654.38+0.3 million vehicles, adding up to about 423.4 million vehicles.
Medium: mercedes benz c 154600, BMW 3 Series 109 10000, Audi A4L? 167700, which adds up to about 43 1400.
Compact: 68,800 Mercedes-Benz A-Class cars, 43,700 BMW 1 Series cars and Audi A3? 84,600 vehicles, adding up to about 19.75438+0 million vehicles.
The sales volume of BBA is very representative. It can be seen that the compact level is not the main market segment of luxury brands. This is easy to understand from Chinese consumption habits. With a small budget, more than 200 thousand can barely buy a compact car with a luxury brand. It is better to buy a medium-sized car with the same price as a joint venture brand, with more space and higher configuration.
If the budget is sufficient, you will naturally choose a car with a larger level. Only a few people, or an extra car at home, buy a small car to facilitate transportation, or young people who have just graduated, single dog doesn't need much space, or it's a gift from her husband to her wife, and she doesn't like driving a big car …
A little off topic, back to CT4. The reason why Cadillac didn't put this car in the compact market, in my opinion, is because the compact luxury car market itself is not big, which is basically a situation in which BBA has three points. As a second-tier luxury brand, the cake that can be divided after entering this field is really too small.
At present, only Lexus has a layout in this market segment, and other luxury brands have not set foot in it, which also proves that everyone does not want to try their best to compete with BBA for food in a small bowl.
And if Cadillac positions CT4 as compact, the price will inevitably drop. After all, the official starting price of Audi A3 is only 654.38+089.2 million yuan. Small market and low pricing. How to ensure profits? Instead of this, it is better to upgrade the level by half, let CT4 and CT5 complement each other, and * * * compete for the medium-sized car market together, and have the best of both worlds.
I think CT4 will definitely have a market, except for its clear portrait of target users and strong product strength.
It is customary to look at the price first.
The official pricing of CT4 and CT5 is much lower than that of Series 3. Judging from the terminal price, although the 3 Series and CT5 have not been listed for a long time, they all have discounts at present. According to the preferential margin of CT5, CT4 is likely to drop to about 265,438+0,000 after 3 or 4 months. So in terms of price, Cadillac Brothers has a great advantage.
The reason why I brought the A-class sedan long axle for price comparison is because, in my opinion, for female consumers, this car and CT4 are likely to become rivals in the alternative list.
At first glance, CT4 has no price advantage compared with the long axle of A-class cars. But in fact, CT4 is the power of 2.0t, and the opponent only has a top model with 2.0T power. The official price is 299,800, and the terminal price is more than 240,000, so CT4 still has advantages.
Let's look at the power.
The CT4 is equipped with a 2.0T turbocharged engine with variable cylinder, and the maximum power is 174kW. When the speed reaches 65,438+0,500 rpm, it can output a peak torque of 350 Nm, matching with an 8-speed automatic manual transmission, and it only takes 6.9 seconds to accelerate from standstill to 65,438+000 km/h..
Compared with its two competitors, CT4 is a complete victory, if not an overwhelming victory. Even for the 325 model, the power of the 3 Series is still not as good as that of the CT4, not to mention the low-power 320 model. Series 3 wins earlier when the turbine is involved in the work, which seems to be more fuel efficient.
CT4 engine has Tripower variable valve management technology and intelligent start/stop function, which can switch between "four-cylinder high performance mode", "four-cylinder economy mode" and "two-cylinder super economy mode", and the fuel economy is obviously not bad.
And what about Class A 220? The power parameters of L are similar to those of 325i, but the driving mode is four-wheel drive, so it will cost more oil.
Let's talk about configuration first.
CT4 is equipped with a new generation of general electronic architecture, and its information processing speed can reach 4.5TB per hour, which is five times higher than that of the previous generation. At the same time, CT4 can perform remote OTA upgrade like a smart phone.
CT4 is equipped with Cadillac's new generation mobile Internet experience CUE, supports CarPlay and CarLife, and provides OnStar Anji Star information communication system, 4G? Wi-Fi function of LTE mobile phone, and 100G/ year car lifetime free traffic.
Shown in the table above are some of the more important configuration differences I have chosen. By comparison, it can be seen that the highlight of CT4 is that it provides ANC active noise reduction and mute technology and front row sound insulation glass, and the mute will be better. At the same time, the remote start function of the remote control key and the inclination of the rear seat are also not available in competing models.
However, CT4 is lacking. The front seats have no heating function, and the rear seats only provide air outlets, but they cannot be controlled independently. In addition, CT4 adopts a traditional mechanical pointer instrument with a 4.2-inch LCD screen in the middle. This is not a disadvantage. After all, for a sports car, the mechanical pointer instrument is more pure, but it lacks some sense of science and technology.
In addition, CT4' s central control display is also a little smaller than competing models. Then, the 28T fashion model lacks the front parking radar and reversing image, and the exterior rearview mirror has a little less function and the rim size is smaller. 28T elite configuration is rich.
As usual, finally, let me talk about my personal comments on the appearance and interior design of CT4. In my opinion, CT4' s front face still has a good turn head rate, and the integrated teary-eyed headlights look more comfortable than CT5' s disconnected design, which is also the most obvious feature that distinguishes the two brothers.
The side of CT5 is more slender, the design of the rear triangular window takes care of the vision of the rear passengers, and the C-pillar is also slender. The side of CT4 looks like a dive, the back door is short, the C-pillar is thick, and the duckling's tail is slightly tilted, which is very sporty.
At the rear of the car, because CT4 sets the license plate frame under the tailgate, which is closer to the bumper, the camera of reversing image can only be installed above the logo alone, and it is very abrupt to see a black spot from a distance. This is also the only thing I don't like about appearance.
Entering the car, the overall interior style of CT4 is similar to that of CT5, but there are still many details that are different, not direct dolls. It should be emphasized that CT4 adopts mechanical gear shifting, while CT5 and competing products provide electronic gear shifting. Generally speaking, there is nothing particularly innovative in the interior, but there is nothing to be reduced, which is quite satisfactory.
Finally, I will say why I think CT4 must have a market, but it will not be popularized, even if the terminal discount is very large, it may even drop to around 200,000. Compared with the previous ATS-L sales of more than 50,000 a year, CT4' s performance is expected to be slightly better, but it is also limited.
Although the rear wheel drive is well controlled, it is not suitable for the northeast, or even most parts of the north. It is impossible to drive in rain and snow, so many areas are cut off. The main markets of CT4 are Central China, East China, Southwest China and South China, which explains why CT4 is not equipped with seat heating function.
Secondly, the space in the back row of CT4 is really cramped, and because of the rear drive, the middle floor is also very high, and it is basically impossible to sit three people. Therefore, there is a demand for space in the back row, and CT4 will not be considered in a high probability.
However, in my opinion, if CT4 can achieve the monthly sales of 5,000-6,000 vehicles, it should be able to meet Cadillac's expectations. If the sales volume of CT can reach 5,000 vehicles in May, then the two products add up to more than 10,000, and they can grab a place in the medium-sized car market dominated by BBA.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.