Mercedes-Benz plans carefully, BMW feels sorry for gas cars: Munich Auto Show direct report

Seeing the "menacing" domestic brands coming to compete, local German companies such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen cannot sit still.

At this Munich Auto Show, Chinese companies performed well. Compared with the previous edition, the number of domestic brands participating in the exhibition has nearly doubled. Brands such as BYD, Cyrus, Leappa, and Xiaopeng have demonstrated their latest products and technologies at this Munich Auto Show. , as hosts, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen showcased their latest new energy products. This raises a question, is it "when the veteran brand starts to exert its strength, other brands stand aside", or are they once again being shown off by domestic brands?

Mercedes-Benz: careful planning,

but has the strength to complete the layout quicklyTo be honest, Mercedes-Benz’s sales in the domestic new energy vehicle market are average, but You really have to admire Mercedes-Benz's efforts in numbers.

At this Munich Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz showcased the new EQA, new EQB, new EQV, new Mercedes-Benz E-Class plug-in hybrid, Mercedes-Benz E-Class all-terrain station wagon, new Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class concept car and Mercedes-Benz Vision One -Eleven

Just the number of new cars unveiled is enough for other car companies to feel pressure.

In addition, Mercedes-Benz’s new MMA platform product plan has been made public. As the first model built on the MMA platform, the Mercedes-Benz CLA-class concept car has indeed very strong performance and other data performance

According to officials, the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class concept car will begin mass production next year. The pure electric version will use a rear axle motor with a maximum power of 238Ps and a battery capacity of is 89.6kWh. Under WLTC operating conditions, the pure electric cruising range can reach 750km, and the energy consumption per 100 kilometers is only 12kW·h. In addition, the car also supports 800V super fast charging technology, which can add 400km of cruising range in just 15 minutes

Remember the VISION EQXX concept car that Mercedes-Benz launched in early 2022, with a battery pack capacity of 150kW·h , and finally achieved a pure electric range of over 1,000km, consuming only 8.7kW·h per 100 kilometers.

The Mercedes-Benz CLA is a compact car. Although its battery capacity is not as large as the VISION EQXX, it is comparable to the pure electric compact cars in the domestic market. Compared with other cars, Qin PLUS EV and AION S, which sell well, cannot reach this level in terms of performance and battery life

Fast charging speed and cruising range Long, these are the two most important aspects of pure electric vehicles. The data performance of the MMA platform in these two aspects is indeed far ahead. According to the plan, in addition to the Mercedes-Benz CLA class model, the MMA platform will also launch three models, including two SUVs and a hunting sports car

Obviously, Mercedes-Benz's product strategy is very "simple and crude" ” is to adopt a comprehensive offensive approach to seize market share on the basis of maintaining the luxury attributes of the product.

However, in terms of the future development direction, Mercedes-Benz CEO Kang Songlin’s expression is somewhat conservative

He bluntly stated that

the production cost of electric vehicles will still be higher than that of internal combustion engine models in the future. The increasingly fierce competition in the auto market will make the production cost of pure electric vehicles remain high. Mercedes-Benz must cater to the market without changing its luxury DNA, but it must not pass on the higher costs to consumers in a reciprocal manner. By.

The global electric vehicle market is growing rapidly, but Mercedes-Benz will not completely switch to electric vehicle sales before 2030. They plan to maintain the ability to produce both electric vehicles and traditional internal combustion engine vehicles on one production line

In other words, Mercedes-Benz’s electrification strategy is not as radical as imagined, but after the strategic route is determined, Mercedes-Benz With strong strength, we can complete the layout quickly.

Before the launch of the MMA platform, Mercedes-Benz also conducted it in this way. It released EQC, EQA, and EQB at once, and then released EQS, EQS SUV, EQE, and EQE SUV

The MMA platform has very hard-core data in all aspects, which will only make Mercedes-Benz’s product strategy bolder. However, after the launch of these four cars, what other tricks will the "conservative" Mercedes-Benz do?

BMW: Preparing for 2025

At the Munich Auto Show, BMW, which insists on "the same platform for oil and electricity", also demonstrated a new pure electric platform "New Class". Based on this platform, BMW launched a new concept car BMW Vision Neue Klasse

For pure electric concept cars, BMW especially likes to label them as "minimalist" and "environmentally friendly", such as the BMW iNEXT concept car, the BMW i-cycle concept car, and so on.

In the new BMW Vision Neue Klasse concept car, we can also easily find these elements

The concept car is retained In addition to classic elements such as Hofmeister corners, the entire vehicle only adopts simple lines and shapes. Even the simple electronic exterior mirrors are integrated into aerodynamic design. The interior is more simple, with only the steering wheel and a large floating screen remaining on the center console.

As for performance, officials stated that the concept car will adopt the latest electric drive system and efficient power technology, and use a large number of low-carbon and recyclable materials.

Product positioning is indeed in line with future development trends. This concept car will begin to appear in 2025.

Based on the current product line, BMW really needs a new energy vehicle based on a new pure electric platform. In the Chinese market, exclusive models such as i3 and i5 long-wheelbase versions are launched. Relying solely on terminal discounts for promotion is not a long-term solution.

# #BMWCEO Zipze said that driven by the EU's combustion ban and other policies, European brands will directly compete with domestic brands. After the launch of new generation models, the brand will enter a new stage of development.

However, Zipze bluntly stated that brands with prices below 300,000 yuan will be hit by Chinese brands, but he is relatively optimistic about the future prospects of the auto market. BMW's biggest advantage is that its new-generation platform architecture already covers BMW models of all types of power, while also allowing the latest achievements such as electrification and digitalization to be shared with all products, and it has now been done.

In other words,

Even if BMW continues to use the current platform to dominate the world, users of different models can still enjoy the results of the latest technology. The main task now is to concentrate resources to provide the new generation in 2025. The vehicle model is charged.

Volkswagen: Continue to reduce costs and increase efficiency

Volkswagen Group CEO Obermu said that Volkswagen is ready to deal with Europe’s total ban on fuel sales in 2035 car policy.

During the Munich Auto Show, in addition to Volkswagen’s European version ID.7, there was only one car in their new energy product lineup, the Volkswagen ID. GTI Concept

Volkswagen has introduced the GTI series into the era of electric travel for the first time, which is an impressive move. However, this debut lineup makes people wonder whether Volkswagen is really ready to deal with the policy of banning the sale of fuel vehicles

The level and styling of the Volkswagen ID. GTI Concept is a bit like the electric version of the Volkswagen Golf GTI car model. However, officials stated that this is not a "gas-to-electricity" model, but a pure electric car based on the MEB platform Volkswagen ID.2 all concept car, which is expected to be launched in 2027.

Perhaps Volkswagen hopes to help the brand quickly transition to the electrified field by relying on the reputation of golf.

Faced with the continuous rise of China's new energy vehicle companies, Obermo believes that Volkswagen has better professional knowledge and a longer history History and culture are still in a favorable position so far

What's more, independent brands also require higher costs in establishing sales networks in the European market, and it will not be so fast to seize the "cake" of the European market.

At the same time, Volkswagen has also reduced battery manufacturing costs by 50% through cooperation with Chinese brands, and 80% of electric vehicles will use unified batteries in the future.

To put it bluntly, Volkswagen adopts cost reduction and efficiency improvement methods to ensure market share in the local market.

What everyone needs to understand is that Volkswagen is facing a bottleneck in China's new energy market. Compared with a BYD model, the monthly sales of the four models, ID.4, ID.3, ID.6 and ID.7, are lower

Facing the world's largest new energy market, Volkswagen still needs to launch more people-friendly products and try to reduce costs and improve efficiency as much as possible. Due to positioning reasons, the mass-produced version of the Volkswagen ID.GTI concept car obviously cannot bear the heavy responsibility of sales. In the future, it may need to rely on products from in-depth cooperation with Xpeng Motors

Auto show summary notes

Although Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen are all German companies, their plans for electrification are similar, and they also have completely different strategic directions. The similarity is that none of these three companies has given up on the fuel vehicle market, but has taken relatively steady steps in the electrification market

However, Mercedes-Benz is very powerful. After they determine their next move, Ability to quickly develop platforms and launch new vehicles. BMW has adopted the strategy of "taking a long-term view to catch big fish", using 2025 as a springboard and not worrying about the current situation. Volkswagen is full of confidence and actively looking for ways to maximize its own interests

It is said that "as soon as traditional car companies exert their strength, new forces will "Feared", and now it seems that when faced with domestic new energy brands that "come with bad intentions", traditional overseas car companies use concept cars, concepts and brand influence to emphasize their confidence. However, whether the automobile industry is in the era of traditional internal combustion engines or the era of new energy, in the final analysis, products still speak for themselves.

As Zipze said, brands below 300,000 yuan will be hit by Chinese brands, but who can ensure that domestic brands will not be able to hit brands above 300,000 yuan in the future?

This article comes from the WeChat public account: Dianchetong (ID: dianchetong233), the author is Xiaoying classmate

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