Posted 2024-03-30 00:00:00 +0000 UTC
With the coming of December and the end of 2019, the global automobile market is generally in a downturn, with monthly sales showing a downward trend. At the same time, the automotive industry is still in the transition period to electrification, with huge initial cost investment. In a comprehensive consideration, car companies choose to stop production and retire some models, including the once "ten thousand fans" beetle, as well as the hard off-road representative Prado Just as the saying goes, "happy people (cars) are all alike, unhappy people (cars) have their own misfortunes." Let's take a look at the specific reasons why the enterprises gave up these models. If we want to make a classic inventory of the car, the beetle must have a name. This model with "golden spoon" was once loved by thousands of people, which can also be reflected in the sales volume. In 1955, the total production of beetles reached 1 million. In 1962, the 5th beetle was offline, and in 1967, 10 million were offline. In 1972, the beetle broke the production record of T-type car, becoming the single model with the highest production in the world. With the second generation of beetles coming off the line in 1997, beetles began to take a personalized route and even put on delicate and fashionable labels. From this generation, the beetle was introduced to Chinese mainland market by Volkswagen official, and the main car model was equipped with 1.8T/2.0L engine, priced at 20-40 yuan. From this generation, beetle has become a well-known model for Chinese consumers. In 2011, the third generation beetle came out. It is based on the fifth and sixth generation PQ35 platform. It combines the design method of sliding back car running in appearance. It has a more scientific and technological sense in details and looks more fashionable and avant-garde. However, with the gradual shrinking of market demand, the third generation beetle, which has been available for eight years, has gradually faded out of the mainstream consumer group's sight. Data shows that in 2014, beetles sold 91000 vehicles worldwide; in 2015, they sold 64000 vehicles; in 2016, they sold 25000 vehicles. By 2017, the annual sales volume of beetles was only about 10000, while the sales volume of mini of the same level in the same year reached 370000, and the sales volume of Mercedes Benz smart reached 135000. The beetle should be retired. On July 20, 2019, Volkswagen's Puebla plant in Mexico held the production downline ceremony of the last beetle, which also became the world's last farewell to the legendary car born in 1938. In 81 years, the sales volume of beetles exceeded 21.5 million. The last new car to go offline will be on display at the Puebla Museum in Mexico. At that time, kotkio, CEO of Volkswagen North America, said, "it's hard to imagine a Volkswagen brand without beetles, but it's finally the day." In fact, the beetle's retirement is not without omen. After the "emission gate" event, almost all of the public's energy has been focused on the design of electric and other chemical products, while the transformation means that the initial investment is huge and the short-term profit is difficult, so it's easy to understand to cut off the unprofitable part at this time. Relatively speaking, the profitability is poor. Many enterprises have said that this is one of the important reasons why Chinese car companies want to transform into large and luxury ones. As the saying goes, there is no feast in the world. After 80 years of wind and rain, the beetle has completed its historical mission. "Beetles will die forever, and will not return in the form of electric vehicles in the future," said Herbert dease, CEO of Volkswagen Group, which also determined the final fate of beetles' permanent shutdown. Will you miss it? If you want to choose a hardcore SUV, the "bully" Prado will definitely be one of the options. But it has not escaped the strict requirements of the Sixth National Congress. In April this year, according to the information revealed in the public documents of Chengdu Municipal Bureau of ecological environment, Toyota Prado 3.5L model will be shut down in June 2020 due to the impact of the sixth emission regulation. Previously, FAW Toyota Prado 2.7L model was shut down in October 2017, with a total of 75765 vehicles produced. Currently, Prado is only available with 3.5L model, and the official also said that the Prado 2.0T model will not be launched in the world in the future. It is not known whether Prado will be introduced in the form of production suspension. After Prado's shutdown, Sichuan FAW Toyota plant will transform and expand the original plant and auxiliary facilities, and introduce Asian Dragon (10000 yuan) with tnga structure, with an annual production capacity of 100000 vehicles, of which the hybrid model is no less than 5000 vehicles / year; the annual production capacity of 5000 vehicles of the original Kodak model is reserved, forming an annual production capacity of 105000 vehicles. Since its birth in 1990, Prado has been with us for nearly 30 years, and has experienced four generations. With its strong performance and durable leather quality, its sales volume in China has been far ahead. In the first October of this year, its cumulative sales volume was 30346 units, an increase of 10.57% compared with the same period of last year. The cumulative sales performance was very outstanding. In terms of the monthly sales volume and the cumulative sales volume, Prado achieved the surpassing of the large and medium-sized SUV market. However, all these are not equal to the strength of the Sixth National Congress. As early as December 23, 2016, the Ministry of environmental protection of the people's Republic of China and AQSIQ jointly issued the national standard gb18352.6-2016 light vehicle pollutants and measurement methods (China's sixth phase), which announced the specific limits, test methods and implementation time of the sixth phase light vehicle emission requirements (China's sixth emission standard). In short, the sixth national emission standard is the upgraded version of the fifth national emission standard. It requires more stringent and scientific exhaust emissions of vehicles. Strict emission standards mean that many large displacement vehicles will leave the stage. After Prado, who do you think will be the next one to say goodbye? As the originator of hybrid vehicles, volanda was once regarded as the Savior of electric vehicles, but its "life" ended in February this year. As early as November last year, GM had the news ahead of schedule, so although volanda left the market a little earlier than expected, it was not surprising. As a heavy-duty product launched by general motors for the new energy market, volanda has been widely praised once it was launched. Its unique voltec power drive system has strong practicability and good reputation feedback, once occupying the top position of new energy vehicle sales in the United States. In 2011, volanda was sold in China by way of import, but the United States has always been the main battlefield of its sales. Time to 2017, with the launch of another model bolt, wollanda fell to fifth place in the sales of new energy vehicles in the United States. Compared with pure electric vehicle, the same point of increment program is that it is driven by electric energy. The difference is that the electric energy of pure electric vehicle is all from the reserve. When the battery power is not enough, increment program can convert fuel into electric energy, and then drive the vehicle. Compared with pure electric vehicle, the advantages of the incremental vehicle are that it has a longer driving mileage, and the incremental vehicle is fuel-efficient in pure electric mode. But in the extended range mode, it does not save fuel, especially in the high-speed road condition, because in the high-speed road condition, if the engine directly drives the wheels, it can always work in the best working mode, and the increased program has an additional conversion process, the conversion itself consumes energy, resulting in high fuel consumption. This may be the reason why it has been "abandoned" by more and more consumers. In terms of sales volume, Chevrolet bolt has been able to replace volanda as the leader of Chevrolet New Energy Vehicles in the United States, while in the Chinese market, volanda has no existing value, especially the half cheaper Velite 5-plus program hybrid vehicle has already been listed in China. So it seems inevitable to stop production. In fact, due to the technical difficulty and high R & D investment cost, there are many fewer add-on models in the market than pure electric and plug-in hybrid models. The representative products include add-on version, Buick Velite 5, Chevrolet volanda, ELR, Fisker karma (later acquired) and trumpchi GA5 Erev. Now, the last three models have been discontinued, and the overall sound volume of other models is not large. Does this mean that there is no future for add-on technology? It is not inevitable. The key is to see whether the enterprise can produce products with high cost performance and market recognition. Recently, idealized auto officially announced that the first batch of 2020 idealized one has been offline, and will be shipped and delivered from the Changzhou base of idealized Auto; Dongfeng Fengguang E3 also launched the extended range model, which has been listed in Guangzhou auto show. We hope that these car companies can create the first product with really good technology, which comes from a Chinese brand. It was an important member of Alfa Romeo's previous recovery plan. In 2013, Alfa 4C officially released the mass production version, which bears too much expectation of Alfa Romeo. As an entry-level model, Alfa 4C has excellent technical performance. The new car adopts the middle engine layout and carbon fiber monocoque body, which is rarely seen in the same level, and greatly reduces the weight in light weight, so that the curb weight is only 895kg (hardtop version), which also allows the entry-level sports car to accelerate 0-100km / h in only 4.5 seconds with only 1.75tbi turbocharged four cylinder engine (maximum power 240 HP), and the car is powered by The Maserati Modena plant produces. But there are also high prices behind these beautiful numbers. In the U.S. market, for example, an Alfa 4C basic version costs $67150 (excluding freight and options), while a new Chevrolet Corvette (C8) costs only $58900 (excluding freight). As a result, although the performance is excellent, the high price discourages many users. In June 2018, the Alfa 4C hardtop officially withdrew from the U.S. market, and subsequent plans to build the Alfa 4C four leaf grass version also failed to achieve final mass production due to lack of funds. It is also expected that Alfa 4C sports car will be officially shut down this time. Especially with the proposal of the merger plan of Peugeot Citroen Group and Fiat Chrysler Group, Alfa Romeo also revised the previous five-year plan, cutting off the new generation of Alfa 8C, the new generation of Alfa GTV and medium and large SUV, and developing compact SUV and small SUV, alfa 4C officially stopped production as part of the "slimming program". 2019 is a special year, not only because it's the last decade of the 21st century, but also because it's at a time of change in the global automotive market. Under this, the car companies are seeking transformation and upgrading, and have announced the production and delisting of many models. Although these models have already or will soon leave, they were all representatives of a generation of automobile culture, affecting some people. Now, there will be a new batch of models on the market to infect the next generation. As a song goes, "a generation of people (cars) will eventually grow old (leave), but there will always be people (cars) who are young (popular)"
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