The auto market in 2011 was not very good.

Therefore, after entering 2012, all car companies have made full efforts and want to work hard.

Otherwise, new factories will be put into operation one after another, which will bring pressure on excess capacity.

In the past so many years, most car companies have not felt this kind of pressure.

Now all of a sudden, many people are not used to this situation.

At this time, the best way is to increase sales and digest excess capacity.

Therefore, after the Spring Festival, various car companies began to prepare for the increase in sales throughout the year.

If Changan MINI fired the first shot in the 2012 Huaxia car market, and Xingchen G9 fired the second shot, then Modu General is obviously ready to shoot the third shot.

On February 15, 2012, Chevrolet's new mid-size sedan Malibu was officially launched in the Chinese market, including 2.0L, 2.4L two displacement 5 models, the price of 17-230,000 yuan.

However, it has been on the market for more than half a month, and Malibu's performance is a bit bleak.

"Sue, in February, whether it was Toyota's Camry, Honda's Jager, or Nissan's Teana, all sales exceeded 10,000 units."

"But since our Malibu was launched, the terminal sales volume has been less than 2,000 units, and there is no upward growth momentum at all."

"Do you have any ideas in the sales department about this situation?"

Austin stared at Su Huasheng with an unkind face.

Malibu has a special position in the Chevrolet system.

The first generation of Malibu was introduced by Chevrolet in 1964 for the sports car market at the time.

It is a top-of-the-line variant of the Chevrolet range, combining sporty design and high-level standard equipment.

The car was very popular from the start, with sales reaching 200,000 units in its first year.

Every subsequent generation change can be regarded as relatively successful.

Later, they positioned their competitors as the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, hoping to defend themselves against the two models in North America.

On the American side, although Malibu has not been able to surpass these two competitors in sales most of the time, the overall performance has been good, and this goal has basically been achieved.

Last year, Modu GM successfully became the first winner of the Huaxia auto market, and Austin originally expected that after Malibu was launched this year, it would be able to contribute another 200,000 annual sales to Modu GM.

In this way, the sub-demon capital can hit the high target of 1.3 million this year.

As a result, after the listing, the performance was so poor, it is no wonder that Austin can be in a good mood.

"Austin, although we don't want to admit it ourselves, but Chevrolet is just a brand similar to Hyundai and even Kia in the hearts of most people in China."

"There is still a gap between it and the brand influence of Toyota and Honda."

"Even if it is exactly the same two cars, one with the Chevrolet logo and the other with the Toyota logo, if the price is not discounted by more than 20,000 yuan, most people will still choose to buy Toyota's products."

Su Huasheng naturally knew that Austin had high expectations for Malibu.

Now that the market is not performing well, he is also very worried.

As for this pot, I cannot carry it to the sales department.

Malibu is now priced very close to the Camry and Accord, which is what Chevrolet wanted to set Malibu against these two cars.

This year, it was introduced into Huaxia for the first time, and Modu General was naturally positioned in this way.

Even if Su Huasheng and others once raised objections, it was useless.

So taking this opportunity, Su Huasheng directly said the most straightforward words.

"But the performance of our products in all aspects is no worse than that of the Camry, and even some equipment is even higher."

"Why don't Chinese consumers recognize it?"

Austin was a little unwilling.

His first car was Malibu, but Chinese consumers thought that Malibu was inferior to Camry.

The current sales volume is only a fraction of that of the Camry.

"This is actually very easy to understand, just like many models of Chery and Geely, their configuration is not worse than ours, but the price is a lot lower than ours to sell."

When Su Huasheng said this, Austin's face became even more ugly.

Compare Malibu with Chery and Geely models?

How did he explain to headquarters?

GM regained the No. 1 position in the global market last year, and if it loses it this year, it will definitely have to analyze and confirm where it is lagging behind.

Staying number one is something you have to do.

"According to your opinion, Malibu can only reduce the price to have a future?"

Although he didn't want to do this, Austin really couldn't think of a better way.

GM itself has a Buick brand, and it has always been marketed according to a higher positioning than Toyota and other brands.

But now in fact, everyone's brand power is about the same, and it can't be said that anyone is higher than whom.

And Chevrolet's positioning within General Motors is lower than that of the Buick brand, so it seems normal that Chevrolet has a lower brand influence than Toyota.

At least that's the case in China.

"Malibu is not bad in terms of size, space or various configurations, and its appearance is still in line with the perception of most consumers now."

"So as long as the price can drop by tens of thousands of yuan, it can still be sold."

Su Huasheng replied quite affirmatively.

In Huaxia, as long as the price is low enough, there is no car that cannot be sold.

At this point, Su Huasheng is still very confident.

If it can't be sold, the price is not low enough.

"Tens of thousands?"

Austin's eyes widened, "If the price is reduced by tens of thousands of yuan, then won't the company be able to make money on this car?" ”

For Austin, he wants to sell sales, but he also wants to make money.

If you make a profit at a loss, although it can also be used as a last resort, it is certainly not the best choice.

"We can pull the starting price a little lower, to 149,900 to start, and then the highest allocation is appropriate to reduce the price a little less, so as to attract consumers to buy our Malibu."

"Then we can see what to do next based on the market performance."

Su Huasheng saw that Austin seemed to be willing to compromise, so he gave a specific price reduction plan.

He must also hope that Malibu's sales can rise, so that the performance of the sales department at the end of the year will also look good.

As for earning money, this indicator is the second highest for the sales department.

"Since you think it's appropriate, let's lower the price."

"But the monthly sales after the price reduction must be more than 10,000 units, otherwise I will hold the sales department responsible."

Austin stared at Su Huasheng in an unkind tone.

This made the latter also feel a lot of pressure.

Less than a month after it was listed, the price began to drop.

Although it is not necessary to directly reduce the price through the official announcement at the beginning, the news will definitely spread in the industry in the end.

……

Before Malibu went public, the Sonata and Kia K5 were the most cost-effective models among the mid-to-high-end sedans of the joint venture.

Especially after Chery Automobile and Nanshan Automobile Group pulled a group of self-owned brand car companies to encircle and suppress Korean car companies last year, in order to maintain a sense of presence in the Chinese market, Hyundai Motor specially adjusted the prices of several key models.

Among them, the new Sonata and K5, which were launched just last year, are important models that support Hyundai's business in China from completely collapsing.

Relying on these cars, Imperial Hyundai barely maintained a monthly sales of about 30,000 units, and Yueda Kia also maintained a level of about 20,000 units.

Although it seems that Hyundai Motor still has a monthly sales of about 50,000 yuan in Huaxia, this is actually the level after the halving.

According to the data of the same period in history, in 2012, the imperial capital Hyundai sold 860,000 units in Huaxia, and Yueda Kia sold 480,000 units.

It's good to be halfway there.

Now that Malibu has been on the market for less than a month, it has quickly reduced its price, and its sales have naturally increased significantly.

Correspondingly, the Imperial Capital Hyundai's Sonata and Kia's K5 immediately fell sharply.

"Mr. Jin, basically figure out the reason, Sonata's sales are declining rapidly, and the main reason is that Chevrolet Malibu has cut prices."

"Their price reduction is not a little bit of price reduction, and it has directly dropped by almost 30,000 yuan."

"As a result, Sonata's cost performance has suddenly become less high."

Li Jingtai was very depressed and reported to Jin Chenglin.

He only came to Huaxia last year to serve as the head of the sales department of Imperial Modern Modern, and it can be said that he did not enjoy the dividends of the rapid development of Imperial Modern Modern.

On the contrary, it came at the lowest point, and it has not yet turned around.

Seeing that relying on Sonata, which was just launched last year, sales have risen a bit, but it has encountered new resistance so quickly.

In the face of the attack of Huaxia's own brand car companies, relying on the appeal of the Hyundai Motor brand, although the sales of Hyundai have declined sharply, it has not completely collapsed.

But now Malibu has counterattacked again, and the situation is different.

After all, although Chevrolet's brand influence is not as good as Buick, it is not worse than Hyundai.

It can be said that the imperial capital has become a sandwich biscuit in modern times.

Down, Huaxia's own brands are coming up, and they have little room to continue downward.

Going up?

Hehe!

Think too much!

"Didn't Malibu just go public in February?"

"This hasn't been a month before the big price cut?"

"Are they not afraid of completely ruining the brand?"

Jin Chenglin was also speechless.

This kind of situation of starting to reduce prices as soon as it is listed is very rare in the Huaxia auto market.

It is even more difficult to see in joint venture car companies.

In most cases, the preferential range of models in the first year of listing is within 10,000 yuan.

The price reduction of 30,000 yuan is generally only before the new model is on the market, in order to clear the inventory of the old car, there will be such a big discount.

As a result, it has been on the market for less than a month now, and Modu General has begun to amplify its moves.

How does this make competitors live?

If you want to die, don't pull everyone along.

"The pressure on General Motors to maintain the world's No. 1 position this year is estimated to be relatively large, so GM is very concerned about sales this year."

"Although Malibu is estimated to be unable to make money after such a toss, the Buick brand can still continue to make money."

"On the whole, the yield of Modu General should be much better than that of American General Motors, and they are not afraid that there is no way to make a difference."

"Judging from the current situation, after Malibu cut the price, the sales volume immediately went up."

As soon as Li Jingtai said this, Jin Chenglin's face became even more ugly.

Why is Malibu able to increase sales?

It must be because of the share of the Sonata and Kia K5.

The market for mid-to-high-end sedans is relatively fixed, or relatively stable.

The Accord, Camry, and Teana rushed to the front, and GM and Volkswagen models of the same class followed behind.

Then Sonata and K5 followed with a sip of soup.

Now after Malibu comes out, I don't even drink the soup!

If the imperial capital Hyundai does not do anything, Kim Sung-lin estimates that Sonata's sales in March will plummet to less than 3,000 units.

And even less.

Because consumers who buy Sonata will generally go to several other 4S stores of the same level of models to have a look.

When the time comes, Chevrolet's sales will definitely do some guidance.

And consumers are not blind, how can they buy a more expensive car when the time comes?

Why do those consumers look at the Sonata instead of buying the Camry, isn't it just to make it cheaper?

Now that there are cheaper options, what do you need to say about the results?

"Is there anything else we can do but cut the price?"

Jin Chenglin was a little unwilling.

Sonata's profit is not high in the first place, and if the price continues to fall, there will really be no money to be made.

However, Li Jingtai answered his question with silence.

At this time, Jin Chenglin naturally knew what the answer was.

"Then let's reduce the price!"

"We maintain a price level with Malibu, and as long as they follow the price reduction, we will follow."

"Anyway, we can't be compared to them because of the price."

Jin Chenglin gritted his teeth and finally chose to maintain sales.

After all, sales are already so ugly, if they continue to decline, he doesn't know how to explain to the headquarters.

After all, there were still some reasons to come up with last year, but now the reasons are no longer tenable.

And Sonata has lowered its price, and Yueda Kia has naturally lowered the price of K5.

Of course, the effect is immediate.

Although it did not directly return to the peak sales, it can be regarded as a return to eighty percent.

The remaining 20% was basically eaten by Malibu.

However, this suddenly made a big price cut, and there must be many people who have just bought a car who are very unhappy.

Su Huasheng on Chevrolet's side is not a dry meal, so he naturally has to arrange someone to make good use of this matter.

Therefore, it is normal for many owners of Sonata and K5 to go to the 4S store to make trouble, or to make some dissatisfied remarks on the Internet.

This has also had some impact on the Sonata and K5.

And the struggle between these three models can be regarded as a more eye-catching event in the Huaxia auto market in March.

"Editor-in-chief, yesterday I saw a post on the forum saying that Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata and Kia K5 are the three treasures of Dick Silk."

"I think this topic should be quite gimmicky, do you want to post a few separate articles to toss around this topic?"

Lin Jiayan came to Fang Dawen with great interest and reported the key points of this week's topic selection.

Those who engage in the media must be able to make trouble.

Otherwise, if there is no topic, the reading volume of the article will not get up.

After all, when people come to watch the news, the point is to see something "new".

You don't engage in gimmicks, the content is similar every day, who is interested?

"Dick Silk Three Treasures", as soon as this word is put on the title, it can obviously attract many people to click.

As long as there are clicks, it's a good article.

"I also noticed the competition between the three models."

"Speaking of which, these three cars are still very new, and they have been on the market for less than a year, and Malibu has not been full for a month."

"It's really funny how it turned out."

As the editor-in-chief of NetEase's automotive channel, Fang Dawen is naturally very interested in news in the automotive industry.

When each OEM has launched a new model and what interesting things are happening in the industry, he can basically know it at the first time.

This time is no exception.

"Yes, the more this is the case, the more interesting it is."

"If this gimmick is done well, we can do a few more in the future, which is also very beneficial to enhance the influence of our website in the automotive industry."

"Last year, the automobile market was not so prosperous, and this year, various OEMs have increased advertising."

"If we want to get more share of advertising, we definitely need to think of some ways."

As a media, it is difficult for advertising revenue to continue to rise without doing something.

This point, whether it is Lin Jiayan or Fang Dawen, is very clear.

A marketing gimmick like "Dick Silk Three Treasures", although the name is not good, but whether it is Chevrolet or the imperial capital is modern, it is estimated that they will be happy to see it.

After all, in propaganda work, the most fearful thing is not that the reputation is not very good, but that there is no topic.

"Then use the 'Dick Silk Three Treasures' as a test to see if you can make more gimmicks."

"You can even test the waters on the forum in advance, and then communicate with the marketing personnel of the corresponding OEM to see how the other party reacts."

Fang Dawen directly gave Lin Jiayan such an instruction, and Lin Jiayan's work was very good later.

She is holding the sword of Shang Fang to "blackmail" the main engine factory.

……

In China's automotive professional media, Autohome is a well-deserved boss.

However, Autohome will not completely ignore the developments of other competitors.

After all, in the field of propaganda, today you are the boss, and in a few days there may be a different situation.

As long as people engage in a few exclusive hot news, they can increase traffic in a short period of time.

And if this kind of hot news can continue, then the influence will rise rapidly.

The decline of one media and the rise of another are often inadvertent.

"He Ling, the topic of 'Dick Silk Three Treasures' has been very hot these days, and NetEase Auto seems to have the intention of making trouble."

"You have to keep an eye on it a little more."

Yu Yu vaguely felt some new publicity methods on NetEase Auto's side.

Although with these means, it is impossible to easily surpass Autohome, but this sign is not allowed.

"I've also seen that in addition to 'Dick Silk Three Treasures', there are also some other label words in NetEase Auto's forum."

"I feel like the other party is trying to make a fuss with this thing."

He Ling's vision is naturally not bad.

After each day at work, she pays attention to what is the hottest news at the moment.

The sudden emergence of the three treasures of Dick Silk will naturally attract her attention.

"It looks like it's working pretty well, and we can consider using it as a reference."

"For example, make a king of the desert, make a king of off-road, or words like off-road three treasures come out and market it well."

"Even if it can't have a very good effect, at least it can disrupt the pace of publicity on NetEase Auto's side."

Yu Yu's very simple imitation cracked the offensive of NetEase Automobile.

Anyway, I didn't plagiarize, you just know I'm cracking it, so there's nothing I can do.

"This plan is good, it just so happens that this year's Xingchen Automobile G9 is on the market, and now the heat is good, we can make a few terms around G9, maybe it can also play an unexpected surprise."

The biggest purpose of Autohome's existence is to serve Nanshan Automobile Group.

Although this positioning has never been written in any document, it has always been engraved in He Ling's mind.

Whatever she does, she thinks of this purpose.

This is also an important reason why she can sit firmly in her current position.

Regarding He Ling's proposal, Yu Yu naturally had no opinion.

Soon, all kinds of terms were flying all over the Internet.

And this situation will naturally make some netizens become numb, but the effect is not necessarily good.

But at least the popularity of NetEase Auto's "Dick Silk Three Treasures" has been largely wiped out.

This made Lin Jiayan very angry.

But it's useless for her to be angry again.

People use upright masculinity.

If you want to resist, no problem.

……

"Mr. Cao, the various gimmicks made by Autohome and NetEase Auto Channel have a very good effect on the promotion of the model."

"The popularity of our G9 has been much higher these days."

"I think several brands under Nanshan Automobile Group can discuss some 'hats' internally, and then let Autohome promote and hype these hot words."

"After everyone gets used to it in the future, as long as they think of this type of car, they will think of our corresponding model."

Zeng Tingting, as a marketing master, naturally knows how to combine the changes in the field of publicity to benefit Nanshan Automobile Group.

There are good and bad things about "labeling".

If someone gives you a bad hat, it may affect you for many years to come.

But on the other hand, as long as you make good use of it and have a good hat, you can really enjoy countless benefits.

For example, whether it was "ABB" or "BBA", Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi did not know how many dividends they enjoyed.

This label has saved each of them more than 100 million in advertising costs.

"Yes, but don't push it out in one go, it won't work very well."

"Then give priority to the models with relatively large sales, and then slowly expand to all models."

"Then the point of view we choose must be convincing, and if everyone doesn't agree with it at all, it will be meaningless."

Regarding Zeng Tingting's proposal, Cao Yang naturally has no reason to object.

A label is just too important.

Otherwise, they don't have a sense of existence.

This is very detrimental to raising awareness.

(End of chapter)