The ninth generation of Camry is launched, sounding the clarion call for the counterattack of the 'B-segment Big Three' of Toyota, Hyundai and Volkswagen.

After the Spring Festival in 2024, the automobile market ushered in a fierce price war, allowing all participants to experience the cruelty of competition for the first time: only by surviving the price war can they have a chance to enter the next round of competition.

In the fierce price war, Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai, as the three global top car companies, almost simultaneously started the collective replacement of their B-class representative models "Camry, Sonata and Magotan". What is the intention of this kind of collective play that seems to have reached a certain "tacit understanding"?

In a word, as the leaders of the global automobile market, Toyota and Volkswagen , Hyundai's three major B-class models are trying to re-anchor the value system of mid- to high-end sedans, join the market competition full of variables with a comprehensively upgraded product value and price system, and finally launch a comprehensive counterattack in the chaotic market order.

The collective replacement of the three global B-class flagships: it is not only a counterattack, but also a war to improve user experience

The Chinese market has always had a saying that "if you get a B-class car, you will win the market". As a German The B-class representatives of the three major Japanese and Korean car series, Camry, Magotan, and Sonata, have a very strong influence. They are not only the most powerful fortress of joint ventures in China, but also an important trump card in the battle between oil and electricity. Even in the Chinese market with high-speed electrification, it still has the dominant power to influence the market order.

Therefore, in response to the chaotic situation in the New Year market, the ninth-generation Camry, Magotan and eleventh-generation Sonata have adopted similar strategies to deal with the challenges of the B-class car market. .

The first thing is to adjust product pricing to better participate in price competition. Just like BYD, a company with the advantage of scale effect, launched a price war in the field of electric vehicles at the beginning of the new year, pushing its compact models into the market segment with the most fierce competition between gasoline and electricity. Once joint venture car companies with strong technical and financial reserves start to fight back, the B-class car market will also set off a fierce competition.

The price of the eleventh-generation Sonata once again exceeded industry expectations. Compared with the ninth-generation Camry's starting price of 171,800, the Sonata's starting price is 150,000, breaking the usual pricing rules of joint venture brands and becoming a benchmark in the industry.

More importantly, just like the tacit understanding that Mercedes-Benz and BMW have formed in the field of luxury cars for many years, the user experience differences between Camry, Magotan, and Sonata are equally clear: "Buy if you want sports." The car buying philosophy of "Sonata, Magotan for business, and Camry for luxury" has long been deeply rooted in the B-class car market, and has once again strengthened the market positions of these three major models.

Among them, as the "luxury flagship" in the current B-class car market, the excellent comfort and luxurious configuration are still the absolute highlights of the new generation car Camry; the Magotan, which is about to be launched, is in the exposed Ministry of Industry and Information Technology application pictures It embodies the classic German calm temperament; as a representative model among Korean B-class cars and a master of modern technology, the eleventh-generation Sonata also continues the previous sporty style, and its overall shape is still very dynamic, especially The rear is equipped with a through-type LED taillight set and a slightly upturned ducktail spoiler, showing a strong sports aesthetic.

Although no more detailed information about the new generation Magotan has been disclosed, with Volkswagen’s understanding and emphasis on the Chinese market, it will definitely follow Toyota and Hyundai’s new product strategies. It can be said that with the support of a series of favorable factors such as timely follow-up price wars, inheritance of product genes, and optimized user experience, the collective replacement of the three global B-class car representatives in China, Camry, Magotan, and Sonata, has already made an impact in the B-class market. Each segment of the track has achieved accurate positioning, and has been able to continue its current dominance, and help the brand's performance in the A-level and high-end markets, leaving room for the brand's upward and downward growth, and maintaining the brand's sales volume. Basic disk.

However, new questions also arise. Although the joint venture fuel-class B-class vehicles are still strong at the moment, how can the brand maintain its development position in the Chinese market for a long time?

The sharing of gasoline and electricity is not a matter of life and death. Fuel vehicles will maintain development for a long time.

We must be clear that fuel vehicles and new energy are not antagonistic. They are symbiotic, not replacements. Relationships, they are also an important part of the automotive market. The battle for oil and electricity is not a life-and-death "decisive battle", but a "long-term battle" in which both sides continue to highlight their characteristics and draw on each other's advantages.

And the old models do not mean "old school", but a trustworthy inheritance.

In the long term, although the new energy vehicle market is growing, it is definitely a fantasy to say that fuel vehicles will cease to exist. At present, fuel vehicles still occupy a dominant position in the global automobile market. As the basic base of automobiles, fuel vehicles will definitely exist for a long time. This not only conforms to the basic understanding of most people, but has also been actually verified in life: During the Spring Festival in 2024, extreme weather of rain and snow across the country greatly restricted the travel of new energy vehicles and also aroused social concern. Another reflection on the true value of fuel vehicles.

As Akio Toyoda said: "No matter how much progress electric vehicles make, hybrid vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and hydrogen fuel vehicles will still account for 70% of the market." Coincidentally, the electrification trend It is also being tested in the global market. Last month, Mercedes-Benz officially announced plans to postpone its electrification goals. Fuel vehicles will continue to exist as the representative brand of luxury brands for a long time.

Secondly, as mentioned above, as the backbone of the sedan market, the fuel-based orientation of B-class sedans is very stable, and joint venture fuel occupies an absolute dominance in sales.

The data speaks for itself. Taking the sales list in January this year as an example, the top eight mid-size sedans are all fuel vehicles, while the best-selling new energy mid-size car is still Wuling, which focuses on cost-effectiveness. The sales volume of Starlight PHEV barely exceeded 10,000. B-class cars are still "synonymous" with fuel vehicles.

However, during this transition period between old and new cars, fuel brands must take the initiative to further consolidate their advantages.

So, as the biggest trump card in the oil and electricity industry, how should the joint venture fuel-class B-vehicle develop?

In short: keep pace with the times and learn from each other’s strengths.

This concept is actually reflected in the replacement of the three giants of the joint venture B-level. Putting aside the ninth-generation Magotan, for which no more information has been released, the ninth-generation Camry and the eleventh-generation Sonata have achieved product breakthroughs while maintaining the basic advantages of stable and durable fuel vehicles without range anxiety.

Among these, intelligence is an area that joint venture brands must pay attention to. At present, China has become the vanguard of global intelligent transformation, and Chinese consumers have higher expectations for intelligent automotive products than any other market in the world.

To this end, in the face of the intelligent experience that is the main focus of new energy vehicles, the response speed of various functions of the ninth-generation Camry's system has been greatly improved, and the operation smoothness has reached the mainstream leading level; while the eleventh-generation Sonata is equipped with Hyundai Motor ccNC (connected car navigation Cockpit) intelligent network architecture, equipped with dual large screens and providing intelligent voice control functions, forming an intelligent experience consistent with mainstream new energy vehicles, making intelligent functions a product highlight, with price advantages and battery life advantages. Under this situation, a "strength suppression" of a large number of new energy vehicles has been formed.

At this point, we can boldly judge that through the major replacement of Camry, the counterattack of mid-to-high-end sedans by Toyota, Hyundai, and Volkswagen’s “B-class Big Three” has officially begun. Horn, and achieved a stage victory. The same-cycle replacement of the three "global flagships" of B-class cars, Camry, Magotan and Sonata, is bound to boost the market's focus on B-class cars and even the fuel vehicle market. Among them, compared with the Camry that has already "launched its name", the subsequent product moves of the Sonata and Magotan are worthy of the industry's unanimous expectations.

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