In the fiercely competitive Chinese automotive market, foreign brands are gradually adjusting their strategic positioning.
During the 7th CIIE, several foreign car companies showcased their flagship products. Unlike previous years, more and more foreign car companies have put ultra luxury and personalization in the spotlight, introducing more and more "flagship products" into the Chinese market.
The Chinese automobile market is constantly evolving. In October of this year, the retail penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles in China reached 52.9%, an increase of 15 percentage points compared to the same period last year. With the strong rise of new energy vehicles, Chinese domestic brands have gained more say in this field. At the same time, market competition has intensified, and price wars have become a norm in the Chinese automotive market. Foreign brands that once dominated the Chinese automotive market have experienced a period of discomfort and are now exploring new strategies in the Chinese market.
Dong Yang, an expert in the automotive industry, pointed out in his recent article "Where Are Foreign funded Automotive Enterprises Going?" that in the past, China's economy was relatively backward, and foreign-funded enterprises could bring advanced technology and products to the Chinese market, mainly by occupying the market and making profits; But now the attractiveness of foreign brand products in the Chinese market has declined. But with the development of the Chinese economy and significant improvement in technological innovation, it can become a new source of technological innovation for foreign-funded enterprises. It should be said that foreign-funded enterprises, including joint ventures, should continue to have great potential in China, but they need to adjust their positioning and formulate new development strategies in response to the development and changing market environment and conditions of the Chinese automotive industry.
The General Motors booth, featuring the "Durango" as the main body, showcased multiple ultra luxury models under the General Motors brand. It is reported that the Durango is a high-end imported car and lifestyle platform under General Motors, selecting iconic models under General Motors. It is worth mentioning that the birth of Durango originated from the positive feedback received by General Motors from participating in the CIIE over the years.
The General Motors booth showcased the 2025 TAHOE full-size SUV, CORVETTE Corvette Stingray hardtop sports car 70th anniversary special edition, and GMC HUMMER pure electric SUV.
During an interview with The Paper, Li Long, the President of Daolang, mentioned that competition in the market below 500000 yuan is very fierce, while in the market above 600000 yuan, the trend of price wars is relatively less intense. This is also an important reason for deciding to establish Daolang. In the high-end market, consumers mostly make additional purchases rather than immediate needs. For example, most of TAHOE's target customers already have three cars at home, and this car brings them a different and distinctive choice. "This type of car has no direct competitors in the market, so there is no need to compete in terms of price, configuration, or range
I believe that with the long-term stable development of the fundamentals of the Chinese economy, personalized demand and high-end consumption will be beneficial in the long run, "Li Long added.
Jaguar Land Rover also highlights its distinctive ultra luxury and personalization.
At the Jaguar Land Rover CIIE booth, a brand new Range Rover SV featuring high-end customized services occupied the "C seat" of the entire venue. It is reported that the all-new Range Rover SV provides customers with high-end personalized configurations, offering over 1.6 million combinations through materials, interior, functions, etc., with prices ranging from 2.368 million yuan to 3.358 million yuan.
The relevant person in charge of Jaguar Land Rover introduced that under the guidance of the "brand reshaping" strategy, 9 imported models from all four major brands were unveiled on the same stage. This includes the Range Rover, which pursues the "Range Rover as a model", the Land Rover Defender, which embraces the impossible, and the Jaguar brand, which emphasizes the discovery of "multifunctionality" and the pursuit of "uniqueness and irreproducibility". Last year, Jaguar Land Rover made more personalized brand divisions, focusing on the four major brands and strengthening each brand's unique design philosophy and personality.
At the Toyota booth at the CIIE, "autonomous driving" became the most personalized highlight of the Toyota booth.
Toyota showcased the pure electric Platinum Smart 4X Robotaxi concept car, jointly developed and produced with autonomous driving company Pony.com, providing visitors with an immersive autonomous driving VR virtual experience at the booth. The booth manager introduced that this concept car is the first model launched by the joint venture between Toyota and Xiaoma Zhixing, and also the seventh generation Robotaxi model of Xiaoma Zhixing. It will be commercialized for city level fully autonomous driving, and relevant production preparations have been carried out.
The Ford Motor Company booth, unlike previous years where several popular models were the main focus, has instead featured more personalized and refreshing products as the protagonists.
Ford has a long history in the fields of SUVs, pickups, and high-performance sports cars. During the CIIE, Ford showcased multiple iconic rugged and performance models. Including Ford Mustang Convertible Sport, off-road pickup truck Ford F-150 Raptor, convertible off-road vehicle Ford Mustang, etc. Among them, the Ford Mustang Convertible Sport is Ford's first official introduction to the Chinese market.
At the 7th Hongqiao International Economic Forum's "Future of Global New Energy Vehicles" sub forum, Wu Shengbo, Vice President of Ford Motor Company and President and CEO of Ford China, mentioned that from January to September this year, Ford's sales performance was better than last year, and its ability to do well in such a fiercely competitive environment was mainly due to Ford's good brand tone.
Regarding the prospects of foreign car companies in the Chinese market, Steve J. Hill, President of General Motors China, emphasized in an interview with The Paper that when a country's car market gradually matures, it will transform from a purely production-oriented market to a more refined and complex consumer oriented market.
I believe we can win the future in the Chinese market, and the recent quarterly data has shown everything. If we can get our market share on track, adjust our organizational scale, match supply and demand, and create excellent customer and marketing experiences, I am confident that we can win in the Chinese market, "said He Siwen.