Since it has dropped by 34,000, is CT4 a medium-sized car or a compact one?
Although CT4 is a brand-new name, for Cadillac's product pedigree, its positioning is lower than CT5, and it is indeed the successor of the entry-level car ATS-L. ATS based on the second generation Alpha platform was introduced into China market by import the following year after 20 12 was listed in North America, and 20 14 was renamed ATS-L. Since then, ATS-L has been Cadillac's sales support for a long time.
Although CT4 reveals the label of youth movement everywhere in appearance and interior, its background is built on the second generation Alpha(A2XX) platform, and it has a very high similarity with ATS in structural design such as body proportion, door contour and side window contour.
Generation after generation, technical iteration, design update and configuration increase are inevitable directions. Of course, CT4 also understands this truth. When the body size reaches 4760mm, it should be lengthened by 30mm first. Naturally, the interior and exterior design has also adopted a more fashionable style to cater to the aesthetics of young audiences. In terms of configuration, electronic parking replaces the foot brake, LED light source replaces the halogen lamp, and the seat belt extends to the whole car without reminding. Active braking safety system, automatic parking, 4.2-inch LCD instrument panel and daytime running lights have all become standard. In addition, the 8-inch touch panel is equipped with the latest CUE system, which supports carplay and carlife, bringing a better car-machine interconnection experience. In terms of power, the whole system is equipped with a 2.0T turbocharged engine with a maximum power of 237 HP (174 kW) and a peak torque of 350 Nm. Matching the 2.0T is an 8-speed automatic manual transmission, and the acceleration time of 0- 100km is 6.9 seconds.
Although ATS-L knee airbag was castrated and the wheelbase was reduced by 85mm, overall, CT4 still belongs to the category of "adding quantity" in configuration.
As for the price, the price range of ATS-L is 273,800-428,800, so CT4 is equivalent to directly reducing 34,654,38+0,000, while the top allocation is reduced by 65,438+06,965,438+0,000!
With the sharp drop in prices, the direct competitors of Cadillac entry-level cars have obviously become BMW 1 Series, Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class. But don't forget that ATS-L's former competitors have always been Series 3, Class C and A4L in BBA 300,000 range. Even now, CT4 is still classified as a medium-sized car. After all, the body length is longer than ATS-L, which is naturally different from BMW 1 Audi A3. However, when we classify products, apart from the body length, we usually consider the wheelbase, which is the embarrassment of CT4. The wheelbase has shrunk by 85mm, only 2775mm, not to mention shorter than the compact Mercedes-Benz A14 mm.
So, is the Cadillac CT4 a compact car or a medium-sized car?
Maybe we can figure out that the problem itself is not that important. Cadillac just needs to remember that the CT4 is a medium-sized car and can be bought at the price of a compact car.
It is Cadillac's helpless move to "shoot a cow across the mountain"
At first glance, Cadillac CT4 is full of sincerity and courage, and it also makes people feel unwilling to occupy the second-tier luxury brand camp for a long time. So this time CT4 should stand on the position of medium-sized car and aim at the compact market. "Beat the cows across the mountain" will attack the BBA of the first legion in the luxury car market.
Throughout the business world, price war has never been a positive strategy. What's more, for luxury brands, changing the market through price is usually not worth the loss at the brand level. Is Cadillac really like this?
From the point of view of product pricing, CT4 has greatly lowered the price compared with ATS-L, but don't forget that the terminal price of ATS-L has already dropped. The cash discount is nearly 6.5438+million, and there are also multiple car purchase gifts and financial policy support. Although ATS-L began to clear its inventory last year to make way for CT4, such a drastic price reduction will inevitably have an impact on its brand premium and product preservation.
According to the inquiry of the hedge rate information, the five-year hedge rate in mercedES benz c, where there is almost no discount at the terminal, can reach 53.27%, while the five-year hedge rate in lexus es, which has been in short supply and even increased in price, is as high as 58.04%. Looking at Cadillac ATS-L, the five-year hedge ratio is only 37.63%.
In addition, from the price range of Cadillac product family, the official price of CT5 listed in June last year was 279,700-339,700; The official price of XT4, which went on sale in June 5438+ 10, is 259,700-39.10.7 million. Therefore, Cadillac's entire product system has formed dislocation competition with BBA, so it is inevitable that the price of CT4 will continue to decline.
In terms of market sales, Cadillac achieved 2 137 17 in China market in 20 19, and still occupies the fourth place among luxury brands after BBA. The year-on-year growth rate of Cadillac -6.3% is not only about 700,000 compared with the first three, but will soon be surpassed by Lexus, which is completely dependent on imports. Lexus is also the only brand with negative growth among the six luxury brands.
There is nothing wrong with bending down for "five buckets of rice"
Among the six luxury car brands, Volvo should be the most intimate one. The S90 of 299,000 yuan made everyone forget "Nordic luxury", but the market increase of 18.4% was also the winner's medal of victory. Therefore, if the price can be exchanged for the market, it will hurt the brand, but it is better than being proud of yourself. What's more, Cadillac, which is in the mode of dislocation competition and terminal price reduction, has always exposed its confidence in brand power.
I remember that in 20 16, Cadillac once led a "CT6 One Dollar" marketing campaign. Generally speaking, qualified BMW 5 Series owners can buy CT6 only by adding one yuan, and the conditions of BMW owners clearly indicate that the mileage shall not exceed 80,000 kilometers and the age of the car shall not be earlier than 20 12. Cadillac himself wants to announce the arrival of the BMW 5 Series benchmark CT6 through such gimmicks, thus grabbing the target market of the 5 Series. However, this operation also conveys another meaning: the BMW 5 Series, which has been driving for 4 years and 80,000 kilometers, is still equal to a brand-new CT6. This is obviously a wave of assists to help opponents maintain the value rate!
Looking back, the global economy is going down in 2020, and the automobile market is also facing unprecedented pressure. The competition in the luxury car market will naturally become more intense. BAA's product line is becoming more and more abundant, and there is still room for lowering the threshold for entry-level new cars. However, Lexus, which has always been proud, is in short supply. Once the domestic sales volume is bound to increase greatly, Volvo will become more and more localized in terms of products and marketing on the basis of Geely ... In addition, the new energy led by Tess will continue to erode the market under favorable policies, and the new energy will also make BBA realize that Mercedes-Benz EQC has been put into production in China, and the blue-label Lexus hybrid model has been met on the street. For Cadillac, it is between Scylla and Charybdis, and the storm is yet to come. Eating comes first.
If you want to change the market, you might as well put down your posture completely. Camry top models cost 279,800 yuan, which is almost seamless with lexus es. However, the former sold 654.38+058 million vehicles in 2065,438+09, with an average of 654.380+03 million vehicles per month. Since 2006, it has sold more than 2 million vehicles in China. So since Cadillac wants to put down its posture, why should it stare at BBA to see if there is any chance of winning in the market space of Camry Accord?
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.