In fact, in the automobile industry, the most annoying behavior of consumers is the reduction of manufacturers. In recent years, the topic of vehicle configuration reduction has been endless. When it comes to brands with the worst configuration reduction, everyone will immediately think of Honda. "Buy a car and send an engine" is the biggest impression many people have on Honda. Although on the one hand, it affirmed Honda's absolute strength in engine research and development, on the other hand, it also expressed its helplessness in the low configuration of Honda models. Now that you have bought an engine and a car, what else can you ask for?
Consumers are not afraid of low allocation, but they are afraid that manufacturers will reduce the vehicle configuration in different markets. Let's talk with facts and proceed from the safety that everyone is most concerned about. As a world-famous SUV model, CR-V has a high position in the eyes of consumers, but the same model has achieved completely different results in the crash test.
In the collision test of the American Highway Safety Insurance Association (IIHS), the overseas version of CR-V got excellent (G) in five tests: 25% small area offset collision, 40% frontal offset collision, side collision, compressive strength of the roof and headrest/seat. The final test result is that the new generation CR-V has won the top safety evaluation of "TopSafetyPick+".
Such achievements can be achieved not only because the structure and rigidity of the car body are strong enough, but also because there are rich passive safety systems, the most important of which is airbags. As can be seen from the figure, the overseas version of CR-V is equipped with side airbags in addition to the front airbags, which can better ensure the maximum protection for passengers in the event of a collision.
Let's take a look at the crash test results of the same car in China. We mainly refer to the test results of C-IASI which is the same as the IIHS standard. Because Cr-V has not been tested in China, we can only find Hao Ying car on the same platform as Cr-V. ..
I believe everyone knows more or less the stories of Hao Ying and China Insurance Research Institute. Because the result of the collision in Hao Ying was officially denied by the China Insurance Research Institute, we abide by the network convention, and we won't make any mistakes this time, only showing pictures of the collision in Hao Ying.
As can be seen from the figure, Hao Ying, as the same platform of global CR-V, performed very badly under the same test standard and speed. First, the A-pillar was severely bent, and then the left front wheel seemed to be about to fall off. Finally, more seriously, the test dummy's head hit the door frame under a huge impact because all the side airbags were not standard on Hao Ying models. In fact, seeing this, everyone should be very clear about its final result.
Even though Hao Ying didn't perform well in the crash test of China Insurance Research Institute, many netizens and fans still said that Honda's model "didn't win in the test and didn't lose in actual combat", but the result was a slap in the face. In a more realistic test, although the A-pillar did not bend in Hao Ying, it can be clearly seen that the top position of the B-pillar on the left side of Hao Ying was bent in the real vehicle collision.
Secondly, there are many cracks at the bottom of the car price, which can explain two phenomena. On the positive side, Hao Ying has done a very good job in absorbing energy and decomposing strength. On the negative side, it is because the rigidity of the car body is insufficient and it cannot bear enough impact. After seeing this, do you still think Hao Ying is safe?
Some friends may say that buying a car is for enjoyment, not for collision. If you drive slowly and pay more attention, you can avoid the tragedy from falling on yourself. Ok, I agree with this view for the time being, but recently another Honda car Fit has once again brought the reduction to the extreme.
According to the configuration table of Guangqi Honda's new generation Fit exposure, the new Honda Fit has two series and six models, which will be officially listed on August 26th. Needless to say, the folklore about Fit has attracted everyone's attention, but it can be seen that in addition to "castrating" the manual transmission model that everyone expects, the configuration on the entry-level model has also been partially reduced. According to the configuration of its Qichao model, in addition to the conventional 15 inch steel wheels and halogen headlights, the new car also cancels the rear wiper, luggage compartment, front cosmetic mirror, side airbag and sound system.
If it is understandable to cancel the rear wiper and side airbag, then it is really unreasonable to cancel the sound system. If nothing else, even some cheap vans have sound systems. As the owner of Fit, is it not as good as the van driver? If the configuration after listing is really like this, then I only have four words, I can't bear it! For Honda's practice of reducing configuration, the following are our views:
1, extremely disrespectful to consumers in China.
If the price of the same model is reduced, it will be treated equally, so at least consumers will not complain. However, Honda has taken a completely different attitude towards consumers in the United States and China. The models in American market have high configuration and good performance, while the same models in China market can be reduced in price. If China is as cold as Russia, it is estimated that even the air conditioner has been cancelled.
By the way, as far as I can remember, there is really a family car with air conditioning and stereo cancelled. It is a Gower model launched by SAIC Volkswagen in 2003. The configuration of the low-profile model is simply outrageous, so it was announced to stop production in 2006, so that many people did not know the existence of this car.
For example, the same Honda Accord, the China market only has a power combination of 1.5T+CVT, while the American market has a stronger power combination of 2.0T+9AT, which shows that Honda pays more attention to the American market.
However, by looking at Honda's global sales distribution in 20 19, we can see that Honda's global sales volume was 4,826,200 vehicles, down 0.5% year-on-year. However, in the China market, Honda has set a record in recent years, with annual sales of1554,000 vehicles in China, up by 12.22% year-on-year, accounting for almost one-third of global sales.
2. Honda's crisis in China market.
Honda, which has a record sales volume in China, actually has its own dilemma, that is, new energy vehicles. Although it recently invested in Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd., it is still difficult to launch cars quickly. Judging from the current concept of OEM EV- 1, its sales volume and product strength are far behind that of Toyota Yize EV, and it is not as good as its competitors in new energy research and development.
Under the pressure of double points, you can only spend money to buy points, which leads to a decline in profits. In order to ensure the profit, we can only reduce the cost, and the most effective way to reduce the cost is to reduce the configuration. This vicious circle is not only bad for car companies, but also infringes on the rights and interests of consumers, which is not worth the candle.
Summary: the slogan "I hope to buy a car and send an engine" can completely disappear from Honda, because this sentence is not a compliment, but more like the owner's helpless self-mockery of reality. As long as the strength of your product is in direct proportion to its value, China consumers are not afraid to spend money, and with Honda's image in everyone's mind, there is still a certain premium ability. As long as the price is not too high, I believe there will still be many fans. What other models and car companies are there around you?