Beijing Hyundai sets sales target for the Elantra plug-in hybrid. How will the market competition be?

Beijing Hyundai has set the market sales target for the Elantra plug-in hybrid at 3,500 units this year.

On August 14, Beijing time, the Beijing Hyundai Elantra Plug-in Hybrid was simultaneously launched in Hangzhou and Shenzhen. As the vanguard of Beijing Hyundai's six new cars in the second half of this year, and also a signal of Beijing Hyundai's massive attack on the new energy field, the Elantra Plug-in Hybrid carries the expectations of all Beijing Hyundai people for its new energy strategy.

Whether the Elantra plug-in hybrid can open up the market in the increasingly competitive plug-in hybrid vehicle market depends largely on the competitiveness of the product itself and the brand appeal of Beijing Hyundai.

The launch price of the Beijing Hyundai Elantra plug-in hybrid is between 157,800 yuan and 178,800 yuan. This price is based on the post-subsidy price after a national subsidy of 10,000 yuan and a Beijing Hyundai subsidy of 30,000 yuan. Although there is still a certain price gap compared to fuel vehicles, buyers of plug-in hybrid models can enjoy a 10% purchase tax reduction and a vehicle and vessel tax reduction policy benefit. If you add the huge advantages of new energy vehicles in maintenance and fuel economy in the later stage, the Elantra plug-in hybrid wins in the later use of the vehicle.

So, can the Lingdong plug-in hybrid help Beijing Hyundai open the door to the new energy vehicle market? How competitive is this product in the market? Let's first take a look at the performance of its competitors in the plug-in hybrid market.

How to define sales targets?
At the launch conference, Liu Guanqiao, director of the sales management office of Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd., said that the Elantra plug-in hybrid will target Corolla Hybrid E+ as its competitor.

In fact, looking at the entire plug-in hybrid vehicle field, there are very few joint venture brands, most of which only entered the market in 2018, and the models with good performance are rare. At present, only four joint venture plug-in hybrid models, namely, the Brilliance BMW 5 Series PHEV , the SAIC Volkswagen Passat PHEV, the FAW Toyota Corolla Hybrid E+ and the GAC Toyota Levin Hybrid E+, have a place in the market. The consumer group that the Lingdong plug-in hybrid is aimed at is actually the target image of the above two Toyota plug-in hybrids.

Therefore, Beijing Hyundai has positioned the Elantra plug-in hybrid in the mid-level plug-in hybrid sedan market segment, directly competing with FAW Toyota Corolla Hybrid E+, taking into account technology, brand, market area and other aspects. The Elantra plug-in hybrid focuses on people in first-tier cities with traffic and purchase restrictions, mainly men aged 30-35, who have a high pursuit of quality of life and are "smart lifers" who are careful with their budgets.

From the market positioning, target groups and competing models planned by Beijing Hyundai for the Elantra plug-in hybrid, it can be seen that the leaders of Beijing Hyundai are very much looking forward to the performance of this car in the market. Especially after investigating the market performance of two Toyota models, Beijing Hyundai is very confident that the Elantra plug-in hybrid version can occupy a good market share.

Based on the above considerations, Beijing Hyundai has set the sales volume of the Elantra plug-in hybrid in this year at 3,500 units. The reason why such a sales volume was chosen can actually be found in the Corolla Hybrid E+ and the Levin Hybrid E+.

At present, since the launch of Corolla Hybrid E+ and Levin Hybrid E+ at the beginning of this year, they have recorded a considerable market share in the field of plug-in hybrid vehicles. According to the data of China Passenger Car Association, the cumulative sales of Corolla Hybrid E+ in the first three months of this year were 2,923 units, with a monthly average of nearly 1,000 units; the cumulative sales of the same-level Levin Hybrid E+ in the first half of this year were 4,160 units, with a monthly average of nearly 1,400 units.

Looking at the numbers, we might think that Toyota's two plug-in hybrids are clearly failures compared to their fuel-powered counterparts, which sell more than 20,000 units per month. However, in the plug-in hybrid segment of the Corolla Hybrid E+ and the Levin Hybrid E+, their performance is not failure, but rather, they are quite successful, at least meeting Toyota's expectations.

For example, in the recent July top ten plug-in hybrid model sales list, Corolla Hybrid E+ and Levin Hybrid E+ were both on the list, among which Levin Hybrid E+ surpassed Passat PHEV to rank seventh, and Corolla Hybrid E+ ranked tenth. With such market performance, can you say it is not successful?

The reason why Corolla Hybrid E+ and Levin Hybrid E+ have been able to gain a foothold in the plug-in hybrid vehicle market where joint venture brands are already at a disadvantage is largely due to the market position of the two fuel vehicles, Corolla and Levin, as well as Toyota's accumulation in the hybrid field and its strong brand appeal.

Also in July, the sales of Toyota Corolla and Levin reached more than 20,000 units at the same time, ranking third and seventh respectively in the car sales rankings in July 2019. It is not difficult to see why Toyota chose Corolla and Levin when choosing its plug-in hybrid models.

The launch of the Elantra plug-in hybrid is similar to Toyota's thinking on plug-in hybrid models.

Like Toyota's Corolla and Levin, the Elantra fuel-powered car is the most popular compact car under Beijing Hyundai, with sales of more than 10,000 units in July. From a market perspective, the Hyundai Elantra is the most successful fuel-powered car built by Beijing Hyundai. This is also the reason why Beijing Hyundai is going to launch the Elantra plug-in hybrid. Based on consumers' recognition of the Elantra fuel-powered version, the market prospects of the Elantra plug-in hybrid version will not be too bad.

Technology defines the future.
From the perspective of the technological level of new energy vehicles, Hyundai Motor is not inferior to Toyota.

In the list of Ward's 10 Best Engines in 2019, Hyundai has two seats, and both are power systems of new energy vehicles. The first winner is the power system of the hydrogen fuel cell car Nexo, and the other is the pure electric power system of the Encino EV. The "Ward's 10 Best Engines" is a recognized authoritative and reference ranking in the automotive field.

Therefore, the fact that Hyundai Motor was able to win this honor is a testament to its technological accumulation in the field of new energy, and is also the basis for Beijing Hyundai to focus on technology promotion since last year.

From a market perspective, Hyundai Motor is equally impressive.

In 2018, Hyundai Motor ranked in the top ten in the global sales of new energy passenger cars. If Kia Motors is included, its ranking is even higher. The global sales of Hyundai Kia's new energy passenger cars are also close to 100,000 units. It can be said that it is a giant company in the field of new energy.

The latest Elantra plug-in hybrid version has the same level of electrification technology as other Hyundai models in the global market.

The core of Lingdong PHEV is the mature TMED powertrain, which has the advantages of high transmission efficiency, low energy loss, low equipment weight, optimized structure and high space utilization.

At the same time, the system is composed of core components such as the 1.6L GDi inline four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine that has won the title of "Ward's Ten Best", a 6-speed DCT dual-clutch transmission, and a permanent magnet synchronous motor. The engine adopts Atkinson cycle and direct injection technology, with a maximum output power of 77.2kW and a peak torque of 147N·m.

In terms of batteries, the Lingdong PHEV uses a ternary lithium-ion battery pack, which was tested in extreme environments such as water immersion, fire, high temperature, and high salt in the early stages of research and development to ensure the safe operation of the battery pack. At the same time, the core power battery pack adopts a dual-battery design, which is arranged under the rear seats and under the trunk respectively, without occupying the space inside the car, and the capacity of the trunk is very considerable. At the same time, the external reinforcement ribs are used to improve the structural strength to avoid accidental collisions and battery damage, greatly improving safety.

Based on the above technologies, Lingdong PHEV's pure electric range reaches 85km, and its comprehensive range reaches 1037km, which fully covers various scenarios such as daily commuting, suburban tours, and long-distance self-driving tours, so that users do not have mileage anxiety. The official claimed fuel consumption level is: the comprehensive fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is only 1L, and in HEV mode, the comprehensive fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is 4.2L. According to the current oil price (7.2 yuan/liter), the cost per kilometer is only 0.3 yuan.

In addition, the Lingdong PHEV has also evolved its intelligent configuration and is equipped with a "Smart Heart" system, six ADAS intelligent assistance functions such as FCA front collision warning, and a powerful new intelligent network system.

Summary:
From the perspective of market positioning and technical level, the sales target of 3,500 units of Lingdong PHEV by the end of the year is very pragmatic. After launching two unsuccessful new energy vehicles, Beijing Hyundai's experience in building new energy vehicles has gradually matured. In the second half of the year, Beijing Hyundai will officially launch its new energy product offensive.