The auto market in 2023 is worrying, and the intensity of competition in 2024 will be visibly stronger.
With BYD and other companies taking the lead in price cuts, the entire industry is facing huge price pressure and entanglement - if they don't follow suit, they will gradually lose market share; if they follow suit, they will not be able to make enough profit. When the industry begins to realize that it must gain popularity and traffic even if it continues to lose money, this battle has become an "Atlas punishment" - every player in it is struggling to support this market with both arms.
At the same time, cross-border "barbarians" such as Xiaomi and Huawei have joined the melee, and they seem to be able to harvest huge traffic without making a big move. More importantly, these cars enabled or even built by technology companies really look like the real thing, and their product strength is not weak at all.
In the first quarter of this year, Ideal Auto, which dominated the list for the entire year last year, was surpassed by the industry for three consecutive months. You should know that Ideal used to be more than twice as far away from the second place, but now it ranks second.
All these factors have made the automotive industry more lively than ever, and also made practitioners feel "suffocated" as never before. Consumers are gradually lost in the constant shouting and similar products.
At present, companies need to think about what they can rely on to attract consumers when consumers' excitement threshold for configuration is getting higher and higher, and when the software and hardware levels of different brands are gradually being aligned. Should they let the homogenized car selection standards of chips and computing power become more and more serious, or should they actively seek change to let people see more colorful world of cars?
smart chose the latter.
Smart Elf #1 and #3 are renovated to benefit users and make competitors scratch their heads
On April 14, smart held a brand launch conference with the theme of "Small Elf, Big Movement", and the smart Elf series was launched. As a new luxury smart pure electric brand, smart has redefined the value proposition of smart electric vehicles. It has also entered the price war in the "troposphere" with a "stratosphere" attitude, which can be called a dimensionality reduction attack.
Let me introduce the basic information first. In the domestic market, smart has launched a new version of the smart elf #1 and #3 product series, with an official retail price starting from 154,900 yuan (excluding paid options). Among them, smart elf #1 has launched a new smart standard version, smart long-range version, and smart luxury version, with official retail prices of 154,900 yuan, 174,900 yuan, and 199,900 yuan respectively. smart elf #3 has launched a new dynamic standard version, a dynamic long-range version, and a dynamic four-wheel drive version, with official retail prices of 164,900 yuan, 184,900 yuan, and 219,900 yuan respectively.
After the revamp, the price of smart has dropped to the 150,000 yuan level. What is the reason?
On the one hand, of course, it hopes to attract users with more cost-effective products and reshape the value structure of new energy; on the other hand, it is because smart has a good momentum of global development, the scale effect is beginning to appear, and with the decline in prices of some raw materials in the international market, the manufacturing cost of products has been reduced. Since the conditions are ripe, smart, which takes "user-centered" as its core concept, will not hesitate to choose to make profits actively, so as to make luxury quality accessible to the public and make new luxury travel within reach.
Entering the 150,000-level market, smart's renewal is tantamount to throwing a nuclear bomb of luxury popularization into the market. As market competition becomes more and more fierce and more and more similar, the strong entry of pure electric luxury brands like smart will reshape the competition dimension and competition pattern.
Competitors have to rethink what they should use to compete under pressure: Can they provide luxury at the same price? If they want to be luxurious, do they understand the user's taste well enough? Can they give such sincerity?
The revamped Elf series not only has a lower price, but the new models have also been significantly optimized in configuration based on user surveys to better meet users' actual needs.
Moreover, for the personalized smart friends, optional equipment is an important way for them to show their uniqueness. The new products also provide benefits for optional equipment. Depending on the model and the specifications of the optional package, smart provides a discount of up to 7,000 yuan for the optional package (the original price of the "Friend Atmosphere Luxury Package" is 15,000 yuan, and the limited time price is 8,000 yuan). The optional package also comes with seat ventilation, steering wheel heating and other comfort configurations with an original price of up to 2,998 yuan.
As an important part of the product strength in the "second half" of electrification, smart has also made rapid layout in the field of intelligence. From smart Pilot Assist 1.0 to version 2.0 that can realize NSP intelligent navigation assistance, it has been launched in 65 cities. According to the smart three-step intelligent plan, by the end of 2024, version 3.0 with urban road navigation assistance will also be launched. So far, smart urban friends will embrace more free travel scenarios and enjoy a better travel time.
Global cities love smart, and overseas development has achieved initial results
2024 is the new starting point for smart's "next 25 years". Smart will make further progress in the fields of brand, product, technology, service, and enterprise, continuously improve operational quality and efficiency, and create a new development pattern of "full-domain leap".
For smart, after laying a solid foundation in product and service strength, it needs to rely on efficient channels to transform it into real terminal performance. In this regard, smart has realized network operation of sales and service work on the basis of enhancing the subjective initiative of partners through the D2C direct sales agency business model.
Based on the strategy of "China-Europe dual core, global layout", in addition to serving domestic market users well, smart is accelerating its global layout by "expanding south and west", and has formed economies of scale. At present, smart's business has covered 22 countries and regions including China, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Smart, which is "loved by cities around the world", is speeding up on the road of "making everyone smarter".
In the Hong Kong and Macao markets, smart Elf #1 began mass delivery in Hong Kong in March this year. More than 90% of the orders were for BRABUS performance models, making it a hot-seller in the local pure electric vehicle market.
Currently, smart has expanded into 13 countries in Europe, smart elf #1 has been launched in ten European countries, and smart elf #3 has also been launched in many European countries.
In the Southeast Asian market, in August 2022, smart and Proton officially signed a general distribution agreement for the Malaysian and Thai markets; in September 2023, the two parties deepened their cooperation, including but not limited to exploring the possibility of "building overseas production capabilities." In January this year, smart's business has entered Singapore.
Further south, smart's business has expanded to Nepal, and will continue to expand into high-potential markets such as Australia and New Zealand.
In the Middle East, smart has also selected general distribution partners in the UAE and other places.
In 2023, China has surpassed Japan to become the world's largest automobile exporter. In 2024, China's export advantage will only become more obvious. On the one hand, the domestic market is saturated and overly involuted. In order to avoid internal friction among peers, going overseas is a wiser choice. On the other hand, the product strength of electric vehicles in overseas markets is generationally different from that in China, especially in terms of intelligence. Smart has many opportunities to go overseas.
Smart has another unique advantage: it has 25 years of accumulated old customers and recognition in the global market. Relying on China's smart electrification technology, "returning" to more global markets is obviously a logical and feasible new growth path.
"Personalization" is the catalyst for strengthening the bond between smart and users
According to Michael Porter's competition strategy, competition among automakers can be roughly divided into three dimensions: cost competition, category competition, and differentiated competition. The most advanced dimension is "differentiated competition." This not only refers to the product strength of "I have what others don't, and I am better than others", but also refers to service strength. As a brand's soft power, service strength is as important as product strength.
Smart's brand proposition is not for the manufacturer to tell the market or educate users, but to let smart users experience the brand firsthand. For smart, the evaluation standard of its service should be whether it makes users feel sufficiently "personalized".
The smart brand originated in Europe in 1998, integrating watchmaking art, automotive technology and fashion elements to showcase personality and style.
Over the past 20 years, smart has grown from a car into a lifestyle, a symbol of fashion, and an attitude towards life.
What is smart's self-proposition in the pure electric era? You can feel it from the spokesperson they chose, Henry Lau. This international and diversified music all-rounder represents smart's brand orientation of gathering inspiration and passion in the pure electric era.
On a deeper level, he and the smart brand are "running towards each other in both directions". For example, at the Smart Times event in October 2023, Henry Lau played the violin and walked to the seats of the audience in the performance venue to listen to the sound during the rehearsal. He adjusted the sound over and over again, very seriously, and pursued perfection.
This spirit of extreme devotion and sincerity is also the attitude of Smart towards users - if you want users to run to you, you must first run to users. In this respect, sincerity is also an important part of Smart's "personalization".
“Following the rules is not our style, smart never takes the ordinary path.” Yes, smart has never been just a car brand, but a spiritual totem that brings together a group of people and a catalyst that adds imagination to life.
at last
Whether making small cars or large cars, in the fuel era or the electric era, smart’s core pursuit of "inspiration, passion, and art" has never changed, and the core concept of "user-centricity" has never wavered.
So when the smart brand is undergoing a comprehensive renewal, it is not about abandoning the past, but about carrying the smart genes, continuing to launch products that meet users' personalized needs, and strengthening the smart brand proposition through differentiated service capabilities.
The globalization of the smart brand is not only the globalization of business layout, but also treating global users with new luxury product strength and unswerving sincere attitude, and sharing the development dividends with users.
With the endorsement of shareholders Mercedes-Benz and Geely, smart's personalization and innovation will enable the car to transcend its tool attributes, thus contributing more imagination to urban travel.