From：Internet Info Agency 2020-07-30 15:04:50
It is reported that Renault ZOE has become the European market's electric vehicle sales champion in the first half of 2020, with cumulative sales of nearly 38,000 units. In the first half of 2020, despite the global spread of COVID-19, Renault's EV sales increased by 38% globally, with a total of over 42,000 units been sold. Among them, Renault ZOE's strong performance in the European market is indispensable.
As the leading European electric vehicle business, Renault has overpowered strong rivals including Volkswagen and Tesla. In the Chinese market, Renault's electric vehicle business is still in its infancy. In the future, can Renault learn from its successful experience in the European market and develop China's electric vehicle business?
Judging from the sales performance in the first half of 2020, Renault's electric vehicle business has stabilized the first echelon position in the European market. From January to June 2020, Renault ZOE’s cumulative sales reached 37,540 units. Among them, 11,000 orders were obtained in June, setting a new monthly sales record for Renault electric vehicles.
In fact, Renault started its EV business as early as 10 years ago, and its cumulative sales of EVs in Europe have exceeded 300,000 units, making Renault a leader in EVs in the European market.
Renault has always remained optimistic about the future development of electric vehicles. Renault Group Executive Committee Member and Senior Vice President of Sales and Regional Business Denis Le Vot said: "Our electric vehicle strategy is currently running well. Renault's new electric version of Twingo city car will be launched soon, and plans to launch the existing large-size HEV. Renault’s product lineup still has many surprises in the second half of this year."
Behind the outstanding market performance, the success of Renault's electric vehicle business in Europe is based on many factors. In addition to forward-looking early planning, products suitable for the local European market and European incentive policies for new energy vehicles are equally important.
Take Renault ZOE as an example. The car is pure electric small car with compact size and flexible turning performance. This feature is obviously very popular in Europe. Limited by the narrow street layout of most urban areas in Europe, small cars can bring better convenience in narrow streets and parking spaces.
Renault ZOE is equipped with a battery pack with a capacity of 52kWh, and its cruising range under WLTP conditions is about 389 kilometers (about 242 miles).
Looking at the average commuting distance of users in Europe (the data in 2019 shows about 50 kilometers/day), the endurance of Renault ZOE is sufficient to meet the daily travel needs of most people. In addition, many European countries have begun to develop public charging facilities, and the convenience of electric vehicles is gradually improving.
At present, most European countries provide incentives for electric vehicles. For example, France provides up to 7,000 euros in car purchase subsidies and 5,000 euros in replacement subsidies for consumers who purchase electric cars. The German government will provide a subsidy of up to 9,000 euros.
Considering all factors, Renault's electric vehicle business represented by ZOE can be a great success in Europe, which is the right time and place. Of course, in addition to Europe, Renault also has an electrified layout in the global market including China.
In the first half of 2020, the Renault Group released a new strategic plan. In the future, Renault will focus on the light commercial vehicle and electric vehicle business. As an important part of Renault's global market, Renault also released a new development plan in the Chinese market. Among them, Brilliance Renault Golden Cup will focus on the development of light commercial vehicle business. In terms of electric vehicles, in July 2019, Renault Group and JMC announced the formal establishment of a joint venture company to further promote their strategic layout in China's new energy market. Renault Group became a shareholder of Jiangling Group New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., with a 50% stake.
For Renault, Jiangling Group has sufficient experience and qualifications in new energy vehicles, and the cooperation between the two parties will be one of Renault's "shortcuts" to develop its electric vehicle business in China. As a subsidiary of Jiangling Group, Jiangling New Energy was established in 2015 and obtained the qualification to produce pure electric passenger vehicles in 2017.
For JMC, its current electric vehicle products are mainly concentrated in mini cars and small cars, and the product line layout is relatively simple. As the domestic new energy vehicle subsidy policy has been reduced year by year, the market demand for the above models is shrinking. Therefore, JMC also needs to cooperate with Renault to introduce new energy products and technologies with international standards.
The establishment of a joint venture between Renault and Jiangling Group to develop electric vehicle business in China will have the opportunity to bring a "win-win" for both parties. According to previous news, Jiangling Group New Energy will introduce Renault's advanced quality management system and technology, and launch four core models by 2022, covering 45% of the main models of China's electric vehicle segment.
Comment: "Copying" successful European experience requires careful study of local market demand
According to CPCA data, in June 2020, the domestic wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles was 85,600, a year-on-year decrease of 34.9% and a month-on-month increase of 20.1%. Among them, PHEV sales were 17,700 units, a year-on-year decrease of 11%. The wholesale sales of BEV were 67,000 units, down 40% year-on-year. In June, the trend of high-end electric vehicles was obvious. Electric vehicles of class A and below dropped 56% year-on-year, and electric vehicles of class B and above increased 8 times year-on-year. In June, wholly-owned and joint venture new energy companies performed strongly and became an important force in the NEV market.
Compared with the European market, the domestic automobile market, especially the new energy automobile market, has more diversified demands. From the perspective of sales data, domestic new energy users have a stronger demand for long-lasting, high-end, and intelligent products. As the "leader" in the European electric vehicle business, Renault has a sufficiently strong technical foundation and "star effect" to develop the electric vehicle business in China. At the same time, China's huge new energy vehicle market potential and rapid development period also provide "time and location. ". However, its cooperation with JMC still needs to conduct a careful analysis of the needs of Chinese users, and launch products with more Chinese characteristics to have a chance of success.
