Arriving on the streets of Hong Kong, in addition to yellow double decker buses and square red taxis, 21st Century Business Herald reporters found that the MPV Alphard, which sells for over a million yuan in mainland China, appears frequently here.
In Hong Kong, where every inch of land is precious, the cost of maintaining a car remains high, with parking fees reaching as high as HKD 20-30 per hour. It is advisable for a family to only maintain one car. In addition, most families in Hong Kong travel together, so MPVs that combine large space and privacy are deeply loved by Hong Kong people.
Japanese car companies were the first to enter the Hong Kong MPV market. As early as 2002, when the first generation Alphard was launched, it was considered the best "nanny car". In 2010, news of celebrity Faye Wong's purchase of Alphard swept the internet. Elfa's popularity in Hong Kong has further expanded.
Through the dissemination of TV dramas and the drive of celebrities, Alphard has become the leader in the sales of Hong Kong MPVs. By 2015, half of the top ten car models sold in the entire Hong Kong region were MPVs, with Alphard's sales reaching 2031 units, ranking first among luxury MPVs.
This situation changed in 2023.
Under the wave of new energy, domestic pure electric MPVs have new opportunities, and more and more new faces are pouring into Hong Kong, such as SAIC Maxus MIFA 9, Volvo EM90, SAIC MG 9, etc.
The latest contestant is Jike. On July 19th, the all-new Jike 009 was officially launched in Hong Kong, with both left-hand drive and right-hand drive versions released simultaneously.
Compared to the version a year and a half ago, Jike has made many hardware upgrades to the new 009- adding a 7-seater version, upgrading the 5C fast charging, and equipping it with a LiDAR, but at a lower price. The official starting price in mainland China is 439000 yuan, which is at least 60000 yuan cheaper than the version released two years ago.
For users in Hong Kong, China, the starting price after enjoying the one for one subsidy is HKD 755000, which is still cheaper than Alphard.
Inflow into Hong Kong
The earliest electric vehicle brand to enter Hong Kong was Tesla. In 2010, Tesla established an office in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong. One year later, Tesla built a service center of approximately 280 square meters.
BYD introduced the electric sedan e6 to Hong Kong for taxi services in 2013, but withdrew from Hong Kong in 2018 due to inconvenient charging and other reasons. In 2022, BYD re entered the market and sold Atto 3 (yuan plus), Dolphin, Seal, and e6.
After BYD, established car companies such as Great Wall Motors, SAIC Motor, and Geely have also entered in the past two years.
This year, more and more electric vehicles are flooding into Hong Kong.
In January, MG 9 was released in Hong Kong; In the same month, GAC Aion opened its first store in Hong Kong, claiming to achieve sales of 3000 units this year; In May, the Xiaopeng G6 and X9 were unveiled and released in Hong Kong; In June, BYD launched the M6 in Hong Kong, and the Tengshi D9 was also launched simultaneously this month; In July, Jike officially announced its entry into Hong Kong.
Behind the influx of domestic independent brands into Hong Kong, there is policy support.
Since 2018, Hong Kong has implemented the "one for one" program to encourage users to buy electric vehicles. Private car owners who register a new electric vehicle for the first time and replace their old one can participate in the "first registration tax" exemption. (First registration tax, similar to the purchase tax in China, is a tax that Hong Kong users need to pay to the government after purchasing a new car.)
Besides policies, Hong Kong is also a fertile ground for the development of electric vehicles.
Simply considering travel costs and convenience, Hong Kong, with a land area of less than 1200 square kilometers, driving a pure electric vehicle will not cause range anxiety.
Hong Kong has a small geographical area and traffic congestion, resulting in high energy consumption of fuel vehicles for urban travel. The expensive oil prices also "force" consumers to choose electric vehicles. The oil price in Hong Kong is three times higher than that in mainland China. In July of this year, it was about 13.167 yuan/liter, and a 40 liter family sedan with a full tank cost 526.68 yuan.
Tesla, as the earliest electric vehicle brand to enter, initially focused on cost-effectiveness in its sales strategy in Hong Kong. Tesla initially sold very expensive in China, with the Model S reaching millions of yuan, but when it was launched in Hong Kong, the entry-level Model S was priced at HKD 579000 (approximately RMB 450000).
According to the Hong Kong Electric Vehicle Statistics website, from 2017 to 2023, Tesla's sales in Hong Kong were about 34000 vehicles, accounting for 54.3% of the total market, which is more than BMW and Mercedes Benz combined.
With the rise of domestic electric vehicles, more and more pure electric sedans and SUVs are coming to Hong Kong to challenge Tesla's position, including BYD's Atto3, Great Wall Ora Cat, GAC AiON Y Plus, Xiaopeng G6, etc.
Compared to the popularity of electric cars here, Hong Kong, as the birthplace of luxury MPVs, lacks pure electric MPV models here. Until 2023, the only pure electric MPV available for sale in Hong Kong is the SAIC Maxus MIFA 9.
But compared to pure electric sedans and pure electric SUVs, mainland car companies have significantly accelerated their deployment of pure electric MPVs in Hong Kong. In the past two years (as of July 2024), there have been 8 pure electric MPVs unveiled in Hong Kong, namely SAIC Maxus MIFA 9, Volvo EM90, SAIC MG 9, SAIC Maxus MIFA 7, Xiaopeng X9, BYD M6, Tengshi D9, and Jike 009.
The latest contestant to enter is Jike 009. In addition to the government's active promotion of electric vehicles, choosing to release the all-new Jike 009 in Hong Kong is a clever idea.
We hope to increase the penetration rate of the right-hand drive market through the release of the 009 model, "said Chen Yu, Vice President of Jike.
The penetration rate of electric vehicles in Hong Kong is twice that of the mainland. Taking July 2023 as an example, there were 2412 newly registered electric vehicles in Hong Kong, with a penetration rate of 69.7%. In Hong Kong, approximately 7 out of every 10 newly registered private cars are electric vehicles.
In Hong Kong, most car companies choose to enter through dealerships. They are familiar with the Hong Kong market, which makes it faster for car companies to establish their stores and is more conducive to selling cars.
In October 2023, Jike and car dealer Jinlong Group signed a cooperation agreement to enter the Hong Kong and Macau markets.
With the support of distributors, Jike's first Hong Kong store was launched in May this year. From officially entering Hong Kong to the first store landing, Jike only took 7 months.
Chen Yu revealed that the second store in Hong Kong will also officially open at the end of July this year, with an area of nearly 1000 square meters, similar to the "Extreme Krypton Center" in mainland China. Jike will establish 7 stores in Hong Kong in the future, including 4 sales stores and 3 after-sales centers.
To make a comparison, BYD, which has re entered Hong Kong in the past two years, has a total of 9 sales stores in Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin, Sai Kung, Tseung Kwan O, Yau Tong and other places.
Chen Yu told 21st Century Business Herald, "In the future, the main products of Extreme Krypton will also consider left-hand drive and right-hand drive during development. More Extreme Krypton brand products will enter the Hong Kong and Macau markets in the future.
Battle secrets
The first pure electric MPV in the Hong Kong region was MIFA 9, which was introduced to Hong Kong by SAIC Maxus in April last year. After three months on the market, MIFA 9 sales exceeded 500 units.
SAIC Maxus was formerly known as LDV Group, which started by producing light trucks and pickups. It was later acquired by SAIC in 2009 and mainly produces light wide body commercial vehicles. In 2011, SAIC Maxus began to go global and has achieved 300000 sales in 73 countries and regions worldwide by 2023.
Starting from commercial vehicles and having rich overseas experience, SAIC Maxus priced the MIFA 9 in Hong Kong nearly HKD 200000 cheaper than the Alphard. MIFA 9 has achieved a perfect balance with the economic demands of Hong Kong people, "said Hua Jin, General Manager of SAIC Maxus, to the media.
Faced with the strong position of Japanese MPVs and the leading MIFA 9, Jike 009 is also well prepared to enter Hong Kong.
The Toyota Alphard is a 7-seater model, and when it was launched in Hong Kong, the Jike 009 also added a 7-seater version.
For MPVs, balancing luxury and space is a tricky problem. For example, adding aisles to a seven seater MPV would result in a loss of comfort for the second row seats.
During an interview with 21st Century Business Herald and other media outlets, Xu Yun, Vice President of Jike, said that in order to ensure the widest passage, Jike has made the outer armrests of the second row seats "a little shorter", and the inner armrests have not sacrificed length, "but the width has become narrower".
In order to make the aisle as wide as possible without sacrificing seat width, Jike has moved the position of the second row seats a bit outward. Compared to the 6-seater version, the 7-seater version will consider more issues, "Xu Yun said.
In the end, the 7-seater version of the Extreme Krypton 009 has a central aisle 10mm wider than the ideal MEGA and retains the same aviation seats as the 6-seater version. On this car, the 009 began to penetrate into the household sector beyond its main mission (commercial). At this point, the entire 009 series has formed a pattern of 4-seater version of Radiance focusing on top luxury, 6-seater version without aisle focusing on high-end business travel, and 7-seater version with aisle "suitable for business and IKEA".
Range is a key factor for users to consider purchasing pure electric vehicles. The Jike 009 series comes standard with a 108 degree Kirin battery, with two options for range: 702 and 740km. At the same time, it also offers an optional 140 degree battery with a range of 900km (worth 50000 yuan).
Due to its large body size, low rigidity, and safety, traditional MPVs have been criticized as the "natural lifeline". Geely has been working on accident data and collision safety for 30 years, and if we include the Volvo system, it has been 100 years, "said An Conghui, CEO of Jike.
We hope that 009 is not just a simple MPV, it is not only easy to sit on but also easy to drive, with driving pleasure. "This is the driving philosophy of An Conghui's MPV development. The goal of Jike 009 is to achieve a smooth and stable road, without any bumps on hard roads. Therefore, Jike 009 adopts a dual cavity air spring, which can optimize the roll control by 15%.
Being a flexible big car is also seen by Xiaopeng as an opportunity to advance into Hong Kong. In order to make the big car easier to drive, the solution of Xiaopeng X9 is to add rear wheel steering function. Generally, the front to rear angle of rear wheel steering does not exceed 5 degrees. Xiaopeng's chassis team sets the rear wheel steering angle to 5 degrees and adjusts the front wheel steering angle to 41.5 degrees. The combination of front and rear wheel angles results in a turning radius of 5.4 meters for the Xiaopeng X9, which is comparable to the 5.5 meters of the compact SUV model Smart Elf # 1.
Clever pricing strategy
Under the fierce competition of domestic price wars, MPV prices are trending towards lower prices. Compared with the domestic market, the market in Hong Kong is still untapped, and domestic MPVs still enjoy pricing power.
At present, whether it is SAIC Maxus MIFA 9, MIFA 7 or Volvo EM90, their prices in Hong Kong are higher than those in mainland China. For example, the starting price of MIFA 9 in mainland China is 279900 yuan, but in Hong Kong it has doubled to 614000 yuan.
In mainland China, the official flagship store price for the entire 009 series is 439000 yuan, but for users in Hong Kong, the retail price starts at 755000 Hong Kong dollars after enjoying a one for one subsidy.
Once the Hong Kong version of Jike 009 was released, its price sparked intense external discussions. Because compared to the mainland version, the Hong Kong version is about 260000 RMB more expensive.
Chen Yu told 21st Century Business Herald that mainland cars entering Hong Kong will have three prices - the price reported to the port, the official suggested retail price (MSRP) after customs clearance, and the final listing price (after tax selling price) including local taxes in Hong Kong.
The official guide price for 009 after passing through customs is 499000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately 463000 RMB), only slightly higher than the mainland version's selling price. Chen Yu said, "759000 Hong Kong dollars is the after tax selling price
The reason for such pricing, according to Jike, is mainly due to local policy considerations in Hong Kong.
In 2018, Hong Kong began implementing the policy of first registration tax reduction. In March of this year, the policy was extended for two years, but the reduction amount was lowered by 40% (from HKD 287500 to HKD 172500). Meanwhile, after the adjustment, electric vehicles priced over HKD 500000 will no longer be eligible for the "first registration tax" reduction subsidy.
Taking the all-new Extreme Krypton 009 as an example, if it exceeds HKD 500000, its after tax selling price in Hong Kong will exceed HKD 950000. So, in order to meet the subsidy standards, the official retail price needs to be below HKD 500000.
We will not allow users to incur additional costs of nearly HKD 190000 due to pricing exceeding 500000, "said Chen Yu. The pricing of HKD 755000 takes into account comprehensive factors such as product cost and logistics.
An Conghui also revealed in an interview that after in-depth communication with local distributors in Hong Kong, he learned that the selling price of Alphard in Hong Kong is around HKD 760000, "so we believe that the current price set by Jike is very reasonable and competitive.
Even with a price of HKD 755000, the competitiveness of the Hong Kong version of Jike 009 is not small.
The Volvo EM90, which shares the same origin as the all-new Jike 009, has a battery pack with the same capacity as the Jike 009 and comparable range. Although its price in Hong Kong has not been officially announced, according to the guidance price in mainland China (818000 yuan), its price is estimated to be at least 200000 Hong Kong dollars higher than the 009.
According to the official website of Jike, within half an hour after the release of the new 009, orders have exceeded the trading volume of the old model on the first day of release.
Alphard has dominated the Hong Kong MPV market for over a decade, and today, Hong Kong tycoons finally have a new choice.