The new energy market has entered the second half of competition, and many traditional independent brands have made great moves frequently, among which Changan has brought the brand-new brand of Deep Blue Automobile, which operates independently. Just a month ago, Deep Blue S7 was officially launched as the brand’s first SUV model. Although this car has not been on the market for a long time, it has also attracted widespread attention from netizens, and its popularity and voice are very high at one time. I am very curious about such a car that is born out of traditional manufacturers, relies on its quality endorsement and channel advantages, and at the same time has a young scientific and technological image comparable to the new forces. Therefore, we came to the experience center of Deep Blue Automobile in Beijing to visit it on the spot, from the sales channels, market performance to the product itself to see if this newly-launched popular newcomer has the strength to be firmly selected by more consumers.
The new and old channels are parallel, and the service gap is large.
Open the applet of Deep Blue Auto and you can find that it has 16 experience stores in Beijing. Among them, there are 8 direct-operated stores of Deep Blue, that is, the independent sales channel opened by Deep Blue Automobile as a new brand, while the rest of the experience stores rely on Changan Automobile’s original 4S store dealer channel for sales. In two working days, we visited two dealer stores and a direct store respectively, and what we saw and felt was very different.
We first came to a dealer’s shop in the North Fifth Ring Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing. The signboard of this shop was written with the words Chang ‘an Dark Blue, but after entering the store, we almost saw all the models of Chang ‘an Automobile, but there was no dark blue model. After asking the salesperson, I learned that a pure electric version of Deep Blue S7 had just arrived in the store and was parked in the parking lot outside.
At the parking lot, the salesperson first fumbled for a while with the key of the dark blue S7, but he couldn’t unlock the vehicle by any means. During this period, a passerby asked if the dark blue SL03 next to him could get a green card, and the salesperson replied: I think so.
After that, we successfully got on the bus and had an experience. After the experience, we went back to the store to get to know more, but the salesperson didn’t come back after serving two glasses of water. After waiting for about two songs, we decided to leave on our own. It must be noted that the time for us to look at the car was at noon on weekdays. Except for us, there was only one group of customers in the store at that time, so there was no situation that we were too busy.
After coming out of this store, we were really more curious about Deep Blue Auto, so we went to a direct-selling store of Deep Blue Auto near the East Fifth Ring Road in Chaoyang District, Beijing, where we felt a completely different experience.
First of all, the sales staff of this direct store explain the models more professionally and clearly, which can really greatly enhance the customers’ willingness to choose. At the same time, what impressed me the most was the test drive, because the road conditions around this store are complicated, with high-speed and potholes. The salesperson asked what kind of road experience to choose, and of course, you can drive them all. To tell the truth, this has really restored my good impression of Deep Blue Automobile to several points. The core pursuit of the store is to sell cars, but the core and more basic thing is to let interested customers experience the products as comprehensively as possible.
Deep Blue Automobile relies on the big tree of Changan Automobile, and the most beneficial thing is the mature sales channel system. If it is a start-up brand, it must build a sales channel from scratch, and the success of the channel greatly affects the conversion rate of sales leads and the delivery ability of the brand, and then affects its development. Deep blue automobile, from its birth, has the intensive sales channels of Changan Automobile in large and small cities all over the country, which can make it easier for more interested customers to see and mention cars, which will greatly benefit the development of the brand.
Even Deep Blue Auto itself said that its marketing model combines the advantages of the existing 4S shop model and direct sales model in the automobile industry to ensure that every new car of Deep Blue Auto has a perfect service system. However, in reality, there is no such thing as both.
The traditional dealer channel is mature and spread all over the market, but the 4S store model basically determines this channel, and the average level of service is not comparable to that of direct stores. On the other hand, direct stores are good everywhere, but it takes money and time.
As of July this year, Deep Blue Auto has laid out 746 order centers, 390 mobile exhibition halls, 427 delivery centers and 528 maintenance centers nationwide. Among them, we don’t know the proportion of direct mode, but it must be less popular than 4S shop mode. Before the launch of Deep Blue S7, there was only one model of Deep Blue, SL03. It is really not necessary to build a new system for such a small volume. However, with the arrival of Deep Blue S7, Deep Blue Auto has gradually embarked on the track of stable development, and at the same time, gradually increasing the investment in direct-operated stores is the full force that the new brand should have.
Top-of-the-line models are the best sellers, and you have to wait at least one month to book a car.
During the visit, we paid special attention to the sales of Deep Blue S7. According to the sales staff of direct-operated stores, the most popular models of Deep Blue S7 at present are the extended-range top version, the 200Max version with a price of 169,900, and the pure electric top version, the 620Max version with a price of 202,900.
As can be seen from the configuration table of Deep Blue S7, except for the most basic 121Pro extended range model, the other models, whether extended range or pure electric version, only have differences in power form, data and cruising range, and the other configurations are almost the same, so the choice of configuration depends on whether you are willing to spend more money to choose a higher cruising range. In the extended-range version, the price of the top-matching sub-top-matching is 10 thousand yuan, which is 79km more pure battery life; In the pure electric version, the top-to-bottom ratio is 13,000 yuan more expensive, and the pure electric battery life is 100km more.
In addition, the delivery cycle of Deep Blue S7 is at least 4-6 weeks, and it may be 5-8 weeks longer. The difference in time depends on whether it is optional or not. In fact, the most important optional package of Deep Blue S7 is the extrasensory intelligence package which includes the zero-gravity massage seat of the main driver and the 12.3-inch entertainment screen of the auxiliary driver. The optional price is 12,000 yuan. From my personal experience, I think the extrasensory intelligence package is worth choosing, which can also be regarded as a highlight of Deep Blue S7. Press the TV mode button, the passenger seat will lie back and the passenger screen will turn down, which is definitely an artifact for long-distance travel.
Younger style, configuration to avoid entanglement
In recent years, the models of Changan Automobile generally give people a strong sense of youth. As a new brand and a new energy vehicle, Deep Blue S7 shows a free and easy youthful temperament.
In terms of appearance, Deep Blue S7 is not a new force, but it is no less dynamic than the new force. The family appearance of the dark blue car is still dynamic and sharp on this SUV, and the split headlights are full of movement with the vents on both sides. Compared with the conventional SUV, the side of the dark blue S7 is lower, which makes its drag coefficient only 0.258Cd. In terms of body size, the length, width and height of the new car are 4750/1930/1625mm respectively, and the wheelbase is 2900mm.
When entering the car, the Deep Blue S7 uses the central control screen and the "sun visor" co-driver screen, which is unique among the traditional self-owned brands and has a memorable innovation in form.
In addition to aesthetic feeling, the configuration performance of deep blue S7 is also very bold. The entry-level version of the model is already rich in configuration, and the common comfort and safety configurations are basically not absent. In addition to the entry-level model, other models of Deep Blue S7 are equipped with L2 intelligent driving assistance, 3 millimeter-wave radars, electric trunk, adaptive far and near light, 15.6-inch sunflower screen, heating and ventilation of driver’s seat, electric seat memory and other configurations as standard, which saves the user’s entanglement in configuration selection.
As a big five-seat positioning model, the deep blue S7 space is also its advantage, and the seat material is soft and has good wrapping, which is very important for users who pursue practicality and space utilization. If you pursue a more comfortable experience, you can also choose a zero-gravity seat. The main driver’s seat supports 16-way electric adjustment, and heating, ventilation and massage are all equipped.
Deep blue S7 also provides two power forms, pure electric and extended range, both of which adopt single motor rear layout, and the cruising range of pure electric CLTC is 520km and 620km respectively. The range extender of the extended-range version is a 1.5L naturally aspirated engine, with the maximum power of 70kW, the peak power of the driving motor of 175kW, the pure electric battery life of 121km and 200km respectively, the fuel consumption of feed of 4.95L/100km, and the maximum comprehensive cruising range of 1120km. In the whole automobile market, endurance performance also belongs to the first echelon.
summary
From channel construction to product strength, it is not difficult to find that Deep Blue Automobile has always had mature manufacturers as the foundation, which also makes it have a more stable and long-term development. At the same time, the dark blue S7 model itself is a distinct personality in its class, and its core qualities such as price and configuration are also sincere, so it will be a good choice as an urban car for young people or young families.