The dullness of the media day doesn’t mean that ordinary audiences have no expectations for the Guangzhou Auto Show.
Currently, this annual event in the automotive industry is in full swing. However, when visiting the show, Electric Vehicle Insider found that the “innovation quotient” of this year’s auto show fell short of expectations. There were only a handful of high – profile new cars making their debut, and even industry “celebrities” like Lei Jun and Yu Chengdong were absent from the event.
Many media colleagues covering the show bluntly said that this year’s auto show was extremely “lackluster.” Some journalists from other regions even finished reporting on the press conferences by noon and ended their trips to Guangzhou early.
But, wait a minute.
The quietness of the media day and the liveliness of the professional audience day are like two different worlds.
Source: Photo taken on – site by Electric Vehicle Insider
When Electric Vehicle Insider entered the show on the professional audience day, it finally witnessed the real popularity. The previously somewhat empty booths of car manufacturers were now packed with visitors, and the exhibition areas of mainstream new – energy brands were completely swamped with people.
This also shows from the side that consumers’ attention to new – energy vehicles is continuously rising. It’s worth noting that the price of professional audience tickets is twice that of ordinary tickets, but they allow entry two days earlier. This means that the needs of these professional audiences are more targeted, and what they focus on often represents the real market trend.
Electric Vehicle Insider also noticed a distinct trend: This year, many new – energy brands have been aggressively promoting SUVs and have broken away from the previous homogeneous competition, coming up with many new ideas.
Therefore, Electric Vehicle Insider specifically focused on this popular category to find out: In the eyes of professional audiences, which new – energy SUV is more appealing?
New – force SUVs: No gimmicks, real discounts are the key
New – force brands didn’t launch many high – profile debut models at this year’s Guangzhou Auto Show. Only Leapmotor brought its new model, the Leapmotor A10, but consumers still showed considerable interest in new – force SUVs.
The Xiaomi booth still presented the SU7, SU7 Ultra, and YU7 this year. However, the audience’s sense of novelty was significantly lower than before. There were fewer people queuing up for photos, and the flow of visitors was more subdued.
Source: Photo taken on – site by Electric Vehicle Insider
However, “fewer onlookers, but no shortage of serious buyers.” There were still many visitors actively asking salespeople about prices, configurations, and delivery schedules, with the focus mainly on the Xiaomi YU7.
When asked about exclusive auto – show purchase discounts, the salesperson replied that the YU7 was selling well and there were no additional auto – show discounts at present. They only mentioned that users who locked in their orders before November 30 and whose deliveries were delayed to next year due to production capacity or transportation issues could enjoy a maximum purchase tax subsidy of 15,000 yuan.
This earlier subsidy deadline than many other car manufacturers dispelled the wait – and – see attitude of many potential customers, prompting them to “place orders early to secure benefits.” As a result, although the front – stage exhibition area was less crowded than before, the negotiation rooms at the back of the Xiaomi booth remained popular.
Source: Photo taken on – site by Electric Vehicle Insider
Regarding Hongmeng Smart Mobility, which was also quite popular, Electric Vehicle Insider noticed that audiences showed high interest in three SUVs: the Wenjie M8, Wenjie M9, and Zhijie R7. However, in addition to the main booth, Hongmeng Smart Mobility also set up independent booths for sub – brands like Shangjie and Zunjie.
This “main – and – sub” booth layout allowed different sub – brands or series to have independent display spaces, avoiding overcrowding at a single booth. However, it also objectively dispersed the flow of people, making the main booth less lively than before and the flow of people at some sub – booths relatively calm.
Source: Photo taken on – site by Electric Vehicle Insider
Interestingly, the market feedback of the newly launched Shangjie H5 at this year’s Guangzhou Auto Show was in sharp contrast to its initial pre – sale popularity. It’s worth noting that the pre – order volume of this model exceeded 25,000 within just one day of pre – sale, once becoming a “dark horse” in the new – energy market.
However, from the on – site performance at this auto show, the attention to the Shangjie H5 was significantly lower than expected: There were only a few visitors stopping to inquire in front of the booth, and even fewer people actively experiencing the real car, forming a strong contrast with the high popularity of the Wenjie and Zhijie series SUVs and even lower than many competing models in the same class.
Source: Photo taken on – site by Electric Vehicle Insider
In the view of Electric Vehicle Insider, there are multiple reasons for the relatively low real – market popularity of the Shangjie H5. In addition to the impact of booth dispersion, there is also an important objective reason – the mismatch between the product positioning and the market demand.
The price range of the Shangjie H5 is 159,800 – 199,800 yuan, positioning it as a mid – size SUV. Consumers who choose new – energy mid – size SUVs in this price range are usually practical – oriented. They focus more on key factors such as space, energy consumption, range, comfort features, and price. They may even change their choices due to a price difference of ten or twenty thousand yuan or the lack of a core configuration.
Based on Electric Vehicle Insider’s observation, the Shangjie H5 doesn’t have strong market appeal in this segment. When choosing a new – energy mid – size SUV, more visitors would consider more affordable and cost – effective SUVs like the Haishi 06, Leapmotor C10, and Changan Qiyuan Q07, which cost around 100,000 yuan, or choose more well – rounded SUVs like the Tai 7 and Galaxy M9 at the same price.
The same competitive pressure is also felt by the Wenjie M5.
Source: Photo taken on – site by Electric Vehicle Insider
On the contrary, the competition in the high – end SUV market is relatively less intense. High – end models like the Wenjie M8 and Wenjie M9, backed by Huawei’s technology and equipped with more luxurious technological features, have formed a differentiated competitive advantage, precisely meeting the core needs of high – end users for technological strength and brand image. This is where Hongmeng Smart Mobility truly shines.
Leapmotor brought two relatively important SUVs, the Leapmotor A10 and Leapmotor D19. Unfortunately, both new cars could only be viewed from afar. The globally launched A10 was blocked by a fence throughout, and the doors of the pre – sold D19 were locked, with its interior still undisclosed.
Source: Photo taken on – site by Electric Vehicle Insider
Despite the limited experience, the overall popularity of the Leapmotor booth remained high, with a continuous stream of visitors. Most visitors took photos and left after seeing the two new SUVs, but they were more interested in the already – launched SUVs like the Leapmotor C10, Leapmotor C11, and Leapmotor B10. Many visitors opened the car doors to experience the seats, tested the infotainment systems, and carefully asked salespeople about configuration differences.
Electric Vehicle Insider learned from the salesperson that some models could offer corresponding auto – show purchase discounts, even exceeding 10,000 yuan, making the final price close to the listed price.
Leapmotor’s “high – cost – performance” strategy has been recognized by many users, and its monthly sales have consistently ranked among the top in the new – force camp. The auto – show discounts offered this time are like an “upgrade in cost – performance.” It’s not hard to predict that these benefits will effectively boost terminal sales.
Source: Photo taken on – site by Electric Vehicle Insider
The SUV products of “NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto” were already launched this year. Electric Vehicle Insider observed that the booths of their SUVs were not very popular. Instead, XPeng’s robots and flying cars, as well as Li Auto’s L – series models, were more attractive to visitors. At the NIO booth, what the visitors talked about the most were fun homophonic puns like “Mo Wen NIO” and “Gu Tian Le Dao,” which were more popular than the models themselves.
Traditional brands fight back: These SUVs are quietly winning more hearts
In recent years, new – force brands have opened up the market with high – end SUVs, and the new – energy brands under traditional car manufacturers have also made collective efforts this year. High – profile SUVs such as the Fangchengbao Tai 7, Denza N8L, Zeekr 9X, and Lynk & Co 900 were launched intensively, becoming the core highlights of this auto show.
So, are these SUVs, which carry the hopes of traditional car manufacturers’ new – energy transformation, popular?
Let’s first look at Fangchengbao and Denza in the BYD Group’s special exhibition area. Electric Vehicle Insider found that the Fangchengbao booth was very popular, and the Tai 7 was the “traffic magnet.” Many visitors queued up to experience the real car.
Source: Photo taken on – site by Electric Vehicle Insider
The salesperson at the Fangchengbao booth was so busy that he didn’t even have time to drink water. He told Electric Vehicle Insider, “The order volume of the Tai 7 has been rising since its launch. The monthly sales volume exceeded 20,024 in October alone, and the number of inquiries at the auto – show today has skyrocketed. We salespeople are almost overwhelmed.”
Visitors like the Tai 7 for different reasons. Some off – road enthusiasts are attracted by its core attribute of “new – energy hardcore off – road,” while many users are drawn to the exclusive ecosystem built by the Tai 7, believing that it can be adapted to various scenarios such as outdoor and family use.
The Denza booth also attracted a large number of visitors, but the focus was more on the Denza N8L and Denza N9, rather than the Denza N7 and Denza N8. A visitor who was experiencing the Denza N8L at the scene told Electric Vehicle Insider frankly: “The Denza N9 does have a large space and a strong presence, but I still prefer the Denza N8L. Its space and configuration are sufficient for family users, and it’s much cheaper than the N9. To be honest, the other SUVs (Denza N7 and Denza N8) don’t have any memorable features.”
Source: Photo taken on – site by Electric Vehicle Insider
The Zeekr 9X at the Zeekr booth attracted many young visitors to take photos. Some visitors even specifically compared its body size with the Zeekr 009. Although the Lynk & Co 900, also a large – size SUV under the Geely Auto Group, has better market sales performance, the Zeekr 9X was more popular among on – site visitors at this auto show.
The Zeekr 9X targets the high – end new – energy market in the 500,000 – yuan range, and its interior materials and configurations are more prominent than those of the Lynk & Co 900. As a “visual display platform,” the auto
