The poor performance of the new energy ＂national team＂？ After reading the sales of Lantu Automobile, I fell into silence

From the beginning of last year to the present, the automotive industry has launched several rounds of price wars, with various forces competing against each other. In particular, the competition in the new energy vehicle market is the most intense. Everyone is willing to participate in the internal roll-up at huge losses to grab the alluring cake of new energy vehicles.

At present, the new energy vehicle market has formed a three-strong pattern. One is that BYD and Tesla, which have a first-mover advantage, have jumped to the top two; the other is the new forces represented by Ideal, Q Jie, NIO, Zero Run, Xiaopeng, etc., which are increasingly growing into the backbone of new energy; the third is the new energy brands hatched by traditional leading independent car companies, which are also called "the second generation" in the industry, such as Lantu, Extreme Krypton, Ai’an, Extreme Fox, Zhiji, Avita, etc.

It is worth mentioning that the car brands under several central enterprises have been dubbed the "national team" of new energy, such as Lantu and Avita. The reason why the industry has high hopes for it is because the industry has always advocated long-term doctrine, and the new energy "national team" has grown up relying on the accumulation of decades of Chinese automobile industry, which can support its long-term and stable development on the new energy track.

Some time ago, we were fortunate to have an in-depth exchange with Li Boxiao, assistant general manager of Lantu Automotive Sales and Service Co., Ltd., to see what feelings and experiences this new energy "national team" sample company has in the fierce competition in the auto market? And for the next challenge, how will Lantu Automotive deal with it?

Year-on-year growth doubled, and Lantu accelerated its run

A few days before the start of this interview, Lantu Automobile ushered in a critical moment in the history of the brand, that is, its fourth birthday. Recall that when Lantu Automobile was first born, the new energy vehicle penetration rate was only 5.8%, on the eve of the outbreak, and now it has exceeded 50%. It can be seen that Lantu has caught up with the rapid growth of new energy in the past four years.

From January to July, Lantu delivered a total of 36,391 vehicles, an increase of 97% year-on-year, and monthly sales achieved "three consecutive increases". In early April, the 100,000 new energy vehicles produced by Lantu rolled off the assembly line, accelerating on the new track of new energy development.

Not only did sales increase sharply year-on-year, Li Boxiao bluntly said that in the first half of the year, Lantu Automotive’s pace in terms of technology, products and marketing was very fast, and it also gained a lot.

For example, during the ******* International Auto Show, it held the "2024 Lantu Automotive ****** Technical Communication Conference", which showcased the latest generation ** Lanhai power system, a new generation ** amber batteries, 5C super fast charging and the next generation ** AI algorithm intelligent cockpit.

At the product level, the 318 was officially launched in mid-June. It has the longest pure electric battery life of a hybrid SUV, showing good competitiveness and providing users with a variety of choices. And Lantu Automobile has entered European Union countries such as Italy and Spain in the first half of the year, and continues to expand its overseas territory.

In terms of cross-circle linkage, Lantu Auto combined with the hotspot of Wuhan’s "cherry blossom season" and joined hands with Wuhan Cultural Tourism to create a "cherry blossom viewing car" for chasing light PHEV. With the help of Lantu’s contract with Huawei, a joint topic was created to strengthen Lantu’s high-end, technology, intelligent and other brand labels. With Weibo as the main communication position, it communicated with automotive circles, technology and new energy bloggers, and carried out cross-circle communication on the Spring Festival Gala on Lantu.

At the same time, Lantu Automobile continues to carry out new media platform content mining and deep planting, carry out special project operations, build a communication matrix, achieve wide coverage of the media circle, full-dimensional content communication, and form a key breakthrough in the cross-border field of science and technology circle.

However, there are also areas for improvement in Lantu Auto in the first half of the year. As Li Boxiao said, it is necessary to continue to improve the brand power and marketing capabilities, including but not limited to the breadth and depth of the content of the pan-life scene, the tracking of marketing hotspots and the creation of circle scenes, as well as the application of AI models.

Strengthen product innovation and strengthen the technological moat

Regarding the hot topic in the industry of involution, Li Boxiao said that in the era of involution, Lantu Auto’s response lies in continuously strengthening product and technological innovation, continuously exploring and making breakthroughs, developing and expanding new productivity, and striving to find new growth points in the highly competitive market environment, as well as enhancing its own competitive advantage.

In terms of new product launches, according to the rhythm of launching one car a year, Lantu will launch a fourth car this year, a mid-sized SUV – and the product matrix will be further strengthened. Lantu Zhiyin adopts the world’s most efficient 800V high-efficiency electric drive system and 5C battery overcharging technology, bringing the longest range of 901km in the same class. Lantu Zhiyin is also equipped with a new generation of intelligent cockpit and high-end intelligent driving auxiliary features, allowing users to enjoy a more convenient and comfortable driving experience.

In addition, Li Boxiao mentioned that Lantu Automotive will continue to break through many key core technologies, solidify its technological moat, and ensure rapid product iteration and innovation.

It is reported that LANTU has developed the first native intelligent electric architecture ESSA architecture in China, created the most leading "software-defined car" electronic and electrical "Tianyuan architecture" in China, and developed the industry’s first "Lanhai Power" intelligent multi-mode hybrid technology based on pure electric platform. The 800V silicon carbide platform, 5C super fast charging, and next-generation AI algorithm intelligent cockpit carried on LANTU Zhiyin ensure that LANTU continues to run ahead in the second half of the intelligent competition.

Technically, in addition to adhering to full-stack self-research, Landmap is also actively seeking to cooperate with industry-leading enterprises to achieve complementary advantages. This year, Landmap teamed up with Huawei for in-depth cooperation in the field of intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving. Huawei’s latest ADS 3.0 intelligent driving system will empower Landmap.

Only by staying upright can we be surprising and unswervingly build a brand

What caused heated discussions at the same time as the involution, as well as the current marketing environment with great changes in style, is intuitively reflected in the fact that many car company executives have personally come out to grab traffic, which is a phenomenon that has never occurred before.

In this regard, Li Boxiao believes that the rapid rise of new energy vehicles has triggered a huge change in marketing methods. As long as there is enough traffic, it is possible to bring a certain amount of sales, which shows us the huge role of traffic in marketing. The top of automotive marketing has also gradually shifted from celebrities to car company leaders and entrepreneurs, becoming a new focus for everyone.

However, he believes that traffic can indeed bring sales in the short term, but the quality of products and services may not be guaranteed. Therefore, the sales effect brought by traffic is destined to be not the norm, and its durability has yet to be tested. And what can really stand the test of time depends on the power of the brand, which represents attitude, values, product strength, service, user experience and word of mouth.

Based on this, Li Boxiao said that Lantu Auto will unswervingly build its brand, provide consumers with better products and services, and maintain integrity in marketing. At the same time, it also strives to achieve surprises and attract traffic attention in order to obtain better sales performance. At the same time, give full play to the communication value of brand hot events, and will jointly plan and create sound points with IP, strengthen planning and tracking, strengthen topic hype, and plan communication topics for new car launches to create high attention.

At the content level, Lantu Auto will actively create and disseminate more diverse life scenes, plant grass content, deeply explore technical advantages, and infect the circle of people with high-quality content. At the same time, summarize cross-border experience, and use marketing hotspots to form high exposure to improve conversion rate.

Aiming to become a "navigator" to meet the diverse needs of the world

According to the data of the China Automobile Association, from January to July, the export volume of new energy vehicles in our country reached 708,000, an increase of 11.4% year-on-year. This data highlights the leading position of China’s new energy vehicles in the global market, and new energy vehicles have become a new business card for China to go global.

In the face of this historic opportunity, Li Boxiao bluntly stated that Lantu aspires to become the "of the new era". It has landed in Italy and Spain in April and May respectively, and released the Let’s VOYAH "Gonglan Map" overseas strategy at the Beijing Auto Show in April this year, establishing the core goal of "6655" – by 2030, it will be deployed on six continents in the world, enter 60 countries around the world, and have built a total of 500 sales and service outlets. Overseas sales have exceeded 500,000 vehicles.

According to the strategic plan of Let’s VOYAH’s "Common Landscape Map" going overseas, in the second half of this year, Landscape will plan to enter Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and other European countries, as well as Poland, Greece and other countries to jointly build the "Belt and Road Initiative", and also actively explore the Middle East, South America, and South East Asia markets.

It is worth mentioning that, based on different market needs, Lantu proposed the product strategy of Made in China and Made for world "global car + regional optimization" to meet the diverse needs of the global market. Lantu will release the fourth new model – Lantu’s bosom friend, which is also Lantu’s first global model. Lanhai Power, which has a variety of power modes such as pure electric, range extension, and plug-in, will also meet the diverse needs of global users and lead the global green travel.

In the future, Landmap will continue to give full play to the advantages of the industrial chain, effectively integrate resources, and jointly establish a sustainable win-win ecosystem. Landmap will build a European operation center to conduct multi-dimensional operations around sales, service, and user ecology; carry out global channel layout and localized business model development, promote overseas business integration into the local industrial chain and value chain, and provide global users with a more efficient and consistent service experience.

[Conclusion] Last year, Lantu handed over an unexpected report card, with annual sales of 50,552 vehicles, an increase of 160% year-on-year. It became one of the few car companies to achieve the annual sales target. In the case of discounted sales of the vast majority of car companies, Lantu highlights the stability of the "national team". Judging from its achievements in the first half of the year and its every move in the future, Lantu is moving towards its own goals. In the case of the industry’s long-term approach, Lantu will undoubtedly become the backbone of the new energy vehicle market.