The YangWang U8, priced at 1.098 million yuan, has sold 2,001 units in the past two months. This is one of the few domestically produced cars priced at more than 1 million yuan that some people are willing to pay for. Many people would not have thought that BYD was the one who accomplished this. After all, it was once the representative of “conquering the world at low prices”.
BYD launched its new brand YangWang a year ago. The U8 is the first model, a new energy off-road vehicle that can turn around on the spot and drive in water. When the price of 1.098 million yuan was marked on the PPT, many people said that BYD was overpriced—if you can buy a Mercedes-Benz S-Class for more than 1 million yuan, why buy BYD?
The price is indeed expensive. It not only surpasses most models of China’s new car-making forces, including NIO and Gaohe, but also surpasses most models of luxury car brands BBA (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi), and even surpasses Porsche. price threshold.
Please note that this is BYD. Its best-selling car in the past, the Qin, had an average price of only 100,000 yuan. Soon we will see the owner of a Qin car worth 100,000 yuan and the owner of a YangWang car worth 1 million yuan “narrowly meeting each other” on the street. No wonder BYD named the new brand “YangWang”.
There are really people willing to pay for this car. The reporter found several YangWang U8 car owners who had already taken delivery of their cars. They all paid full price for the car, and the landing price after purchase tax and insurance was around 1.2 million yuan. Some of them already have a Mercedes-Benz Big G at home, and some dreamed of buying a Big G, but chose BYD.
This is just the beginning. U9, which is priced higher than YangWang U8, has started pre-sale. The deposit for blind order is 100,000 yuan (U8 is 50,000 yuan). Someone posted a screenshot of the blind order order.
Mercedes-Benz owners who once looked down on BYD joked: If they can’t afford BYD, they can only buy Mercedes-Benz.
Part 1: 1.2 million to buy a big toy?
Who are the people who spent millions of yuan to buy YangWang U8?
YangWang U8 is a large SUV, positioned as a hard-core off-road vehicle. It is 5.3 meters long, 2 meters wide, and has a wheelbase of 3 meters. It can be called a “monster”, even longer than the Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7.
Since it is hardcore off-road, its main target group is men. Many YangWang U8 car owners told “Dingjian” that they have come into contact with relatively few female car owners, and “almost all car owners are men.”
At a price of one million yuan, there are two cars that cannot be avoided as optional models: Mercedes-Benz G-Class (referred to as Big G) and Land Rover Defender. Among them, the big G is the benchmark model of Mercedes-Benz. The entry-level G350 starts at 1.4 million yuan, and the top-of-the-line G63 starts at more than 2 million yuan, and you need to pay more to take delivery of the car. The Land Rover Defender is also a classic model of Land Rover, with an average price of more than 1 million. Land Rover is synonymous with off-road vehicles to a certain extent.
YangWang U8 is designed to compete with the Mercedes-Benz Grand G and Land Rover Defender, and many people indeed compare them together. Therefore, the user groups of these three cars have a considerable overlap.
Several YangWang U8 car owners that the reporter contacted who had just picked up their cars had several things in common: they were not short of money, they had at least one luxury car at home, and they believed it was made in China.
Xiaoxia from Guangzhou is one of the few female car owners. She picked up the car in late November. Before that, her family already owned a Mercedes-Benz Grand G and a Toyota Alfa. She told reporters that she bought U8 because of its high technological content. After picking up the car, Alpha at home was disgusted.
Liu Shao’s family in Guangxi owns a Mercedes-Benz G63. At that time, the family paid more than 1 million yuan for the car, and the total price was more than 3 million yuan. He usually drives a Mercedes-Benz E300L. After the YangWang U8 was released, he never saw the real car or took it for a test drive. He made a blind order online and took delivery of the car at the end of November.
Yulan from Shenzhen originally wanted to buy a Land Rover Defender. She went to see the Defender at a car show, and she saw the YangWang U8 first. During the test drive, she drove it for a while and liked it very much, and her husband decided to buy it on the spot. “It’s true that I just bought it. It’s easy to spend more than 1 million, but it won’t be so cool if it’s more,” she said.
For these people, buying a million-dollar luxury car doesn’t require all the hard work that many ordinary people do.
“YangWang is driven by the family, not by one person. The car is used to serve people. Different cars are used for different occasions.” Liu Shao told reporters, “Buying a car is about enjoying yourself in time. Thinking too much will affect the decision-making.”
He also wants to buy a Formula Leopard 8, an off-road vehicle that BYD will soon launch, known as the “Youth Edition U8” and is expected to sell for about 500,000 yuan. “I want to go to Tibet and Xinjiang this year, so I want to build a durable one.”
Not many people who actually buy Big G or YangWang U8 actually drive them off-road. Most of them drive them in urban areas, and their functions are similar to mobility scooters.
Yulan told reporters that the U8 was too big for girls. “I was so nervous driving on some narrow roads, let alone off-roading.” Liu Shao also said, “YangWang still drives in the city honestly.”
BYD’s off-road vehicle, which costs more than 1 million, is as popular as the Mercedes-Benz Big G when driven on city streets. Liu Shao noticed that when YangWang U8 drove out, passers-by picked up their mobile phones to take photos and asked questions. “No one even looks at the big G, but my U8 is the first one in the area.”
YangWang U8 opened its first direct-operated store in the country in September, and then landed in key cities in the five major regions of east, south, west, north and southeast. Deliveries started in November. December is the first complete delivery month, with key deliveries Cities include Shanghai, Nanning, Guangzhou, Ningbo, Tianjin, Changsha, etc.
According to November’s insurance volume data (December’s has not yet been released), the number of YangWang U8 vehicles insured is 404 (the official sales volume is 408). Among them, the city with the most sales was Shenzhen, with 64 vehicles, followed by Chengdu with 33 vehicles, and Hangzhou with 30 vehicles. Beijing, Xi’an, and Guangzhou followed closely with 23, 19, and 18 vehicles respectively.
The province with the most sales was Guangdong, accounting for a quarter of the total sales with 106 vehicles. This is because BYD is headquartered in Shenzhen, and Guangdong has the highest per capita disposable income in the country, and there are many rich people.
Part 2: Do you want face or dignity?
Although rich people spend a lot of money when buying cars, money does not come from strong winds. Whether buying Big G or YangWang, there must be a reason to impress them.
In the past, many rich people bought Big G just to save face. The classic shape of the “square box”, coupled with the three-pointed star logo, needless to say, it has a classy appearance when you drive out.
There is a boy who has dreamed of a big G for many years. He especially likes the crisp sound of bullets being loaded when the big G closes the door. It creates a full sense of combat. “Driving this car makes me feel bigger. I am riding a Harley with the Terminator.” It feels like a car.”
In one episode of “Hurry Up”, several young men who were driving fast were teasing Gao Qiqiang in a restaurant. They saw a big G driving over and said that this was the only big G in the city. When Gao Qiqiang got on the bus, the young people were shocked.
Big G is indeed popular. Many people buy Big G, or don’t buy it. If they do, they must choose the most expensive G63. Even if they can only afford the entry-level G350, they still have to spend hundreds of thousands to modify the G63 kit. But apart from the face factor, it doesn’t seem to be more attractive, not to mention that there are not a few people in China who can afford a big G.
Liu Shao said that the big G in the family rarely drives a car. He only drives it when going to bars and nightclubs, and he always drives a Mercedes-Benz E for transportation. The main reason is that the big G is too hard and causes back pain after driving for a long time.
Xiaoxia’s big G hasn’t been driven for a long time, and the usage rate is not high. “The kids don’t like it, and I drive it too high, so I can’t go to some places.” She takes her children out every day, and sometimes she is the driver or her husband, who is basically there. urban area.
To compare with the rate of turning around, the YangWang U8’s U-turn attracts more attention. At the YangWang U8 launch conference, the car appeared sideways and then turned around like a tank. It was full of gimmicks. This point impressed many people. The U8 also has an emergency float function, which allows it to be driven directly into the river and wade through the water like a boat.
These “black technologies” are currently produced in few cars, so they are very decorative.
When Liu Shao got the car, he couldn’t wait to “perform” a U-turn on the spot, attracting everyone to watch, and he was very impressed.
But he basically doesn’t use it now. “There is a black mark on the ground, and the wear of the four tires is visible to the naked eye.” Moreover, the original standard tires of YangWang cost 3,680 yuan each, and a set of them would cost close to 15,000 yuan. “Only suitable for sand, grass, and slippery mud, with limited usage scenarios.”
As for the floating function, I have no chance to try it. Who would drive the car into a river without any trouble?
But for the wealthy, practicality may not be a priority. I can use these functions, but I can’t live without them. Mercedes-Benz didn’t have it, so they bought BYD.
The top-tier Big G costs more than 3 million, and the threshold is not low. If the price is lowered to 1 million yuan, YangWang U8 and Land Rover Defender will become competing products.
Before Liu Shao decided on the YangWang U8, he made a comparison with the Defender, and finally eliminated the Defender because “the Defender still feels bulky to drive, but the YangWang is really powerful to drive.” In addition, a colleague of his has bought one before The imported Land Rover Evoque has “no big problems, but small problems are annoying every day.”
A Toyota that can’t be driven, a Land Rover that can’t be repaired. There is some truth to this.
Ji Qi was also torn between the YangWang U8 and the Land Rover Defender, and finally settled on the YangWang U8, but has not picked up the car yet. He has a Porsche Cayenne and a Range Rover Sport at home, but they all feel that the space is too small. When he test-drove the Defender, he felt it was too noisy. “The appearance of the Mercedes-Benz Big G is not good-looking enough. This kind of car is usually bought with a price tag.” He said.
The mentality and concepts of Chinese people are also changing as to which car is more prestigious to drive. In the past, they must choose foreign brands and go through imported channels, but now they have more choices.
Part 3: If you buy a domestic car with a million dollars, is it stupid to have too much money?
Today’s automotive industry is a bit like mobile phones more than ten years ago. At first, everyone chose foreign brands such as iPhone, Samsung, and HTC because they thought they were foreign, fashionable, and technological, while domestic mobile phones were all knockoffs. Therefore, foreign investors can sell large units for several thousand yuan, while domestic ones can only sell for a few hundred yuan.
Later, smartphones from Xiaomi, Huawei, OV and other brands came out, and the prices went up. Huawei’s high-end phones even sold for more than 10,000 units, and many people bought them. Domestic smart cars will also go through such a process, with prices ranging from hundreds of thousands to two to three hundred thousand, and then to millions.
But there will be a lot of controversy in this process. Liu Shao posted a video of U8 turning around on the Internet, and was scolded by many people, saying that others were stupid and had too much money. “Almost half a month has passed and they still haven’t sprayed enough.”
In the past, he also liked to buy imported goods. In recent years, he has slowly begun to change his thinking. He said that if he can, he still recommends supporting domestic products. He spent 1.2 million to buy a BYD, partly because he thought the car was good, and partly because he liked the national brand.
This represents the attitude of quite a few Chinese people. One car owner first bought an ideal L9, and then a YangWang U8. He also led his whole family to buy Huawei mobile phones – two Mate60Pro, one Mate60Pro+, and one Huawei Mate X5.
Xiaoxia told reporters that she is going to replace the big G with the Wenjie M9 and the Alpha with a Buick GL8 or Jikrypton 009.
Liu Shao plans to sell the Big G. The Big G has a high value retention rate and should be fetched at a good price. “YangWang probably won’t retain its value that well and will have to be driven until it is scrapped.”
Whether it is worth spending one million yuan to buy a domestic car is a matter of value judgment. In the past, domestically produced cars could only provide instrumental value, but now more and more of them have technological value and even emotional value. BYD has accurately hit these three value points.
At the tool level, it has complete functions, at the technical level, it repeatedly emphasizes black technology, and at the emotional level, it labels itself a national brand. BYD’s gameplay is in the same vein as Huawei’s mobile phone production back then.
In August 2023, BYD held a rolling ceremony for its 5 millionth new energy vehicle, shouting the slogan “Together, we are Chinese cars”. At the press conference, a video of Wang Chuanfu choked with tears while describing the development history of domestically produced cars was widely circulated on the Internet, which had an excellent publicity effect.
At a time when international relations are tense, the pain of being stuck in the neck is irritating to many people. New energy vehicles have become a key industry in the game of great powers. BYD has taken advantage of the situation to get on the front foot and reap the dividends of the times. This can also explain from the side why Huawei’s new Wenjie M9, with an average price of around 500,000, has received 54,000 orders.
In the million-dollar luxury car market, among domestic brands, YangWang has no competition. Aian launched the million-dollar supercar Haopin SSR, but the publicity effect was greater than the actual sales, and only a few units were sold in a few months.
Some people say that foreign luxury brands will fight back and the Mercedes-Benz Big G will also launch an electric version. Liu Shao sneered. As a dual owner of a Mercedes-Benz Big G and a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, he was not optimistic.
Mercedes-Benz’s electrification transformation is following suit. The EQG (i.e. Big G electric version) concept car was unveiled as early as the 2021 Munich Auto Show. The main highlight features at that time were similar to today’s YangWang U8. All four wheels are equipped with independent drive motors and can move 360 degrees in place. degree of continuous rotation. But three years have passed and this car has not been put into mass production. The latest news is that it is expected to be released in 2024 and enter the domestic market in 2025.
The Land Rover Defender is also developing an electric version, which will debut in 2025 at the earliest, and deliveries will begin in 2026. In the past few years, domestically produced cars have been iterated many times.
In the new energy field, China is the largest market in the world, no one. New energy has opened a new battlefield besides the battlefield of fuel vehicles. In the past, various indicators such as engine cylinder number and acceleration that fuel vehicles competed with are now invalid.
It’s not that BBAs don’t work hard, it’s that domestic cars work too hard. The myth of imported luxury cars is being shattered.
A Mercedes-Benz salesperson told reporters that now you don’t have to pay a price increase to buy a big G like in the past. If you do financial installment, you can take delivery of the car quickly. In the car market worth RMB 30,000 to RMB 40,000, domestically produced cars have taken away a lot of BBA’s market share. Even Porsche is no longer good. In 2023, China is the only single market for Porsche to decline in the world, with a decline of 12%.
Against the background of the overall market downturn, it is unknown whether YangWang’s sales can be sustained. Many YangWang U8 car owners told reporters that business has been difficult in the past year, but now they can buy whatever they want, and the future is hard to say. If you can’t make money, you won’t buy it again, and your consumption may be downgraded.
All we can do is work hard to make money. After all, domestically produced cars are sold for millions of dollars. If you don’t work hard, you won’t be able to afford BYD.