Entering winter, as electric vehicles face range anxiety, hybrid vehicles have become a new topic of discussion.
Over the past few years of promoting new energy vehicles, we have seen changes in the word-of-mouth communication between people. A small percentage of users, either preparing to or having already purchased new energy vehicles, are familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of such vehicles. However, most people do not have the desire or opportunity to experience new energy vehicles and they lack knowledge regarding different types of energy and are unaware of the acceleration and energy recovery systems of electric vehicles.
During the initial promotion of a new product, the difference in understanding between different groups of people cannot be simply filled in by information dissemination alone. What is more important is to have a full and personal experience. In the past, we have emphasized that the best way to get to know an electric vehicle is to test drive one. Each person has different preferences and will have differing opinions on the same type of vehicle.
Recently, BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joined forces with media outlets from three Chinese cities – Xi’an, Hangzhou and Nanjing – inviting 55 petrol vehicle owners to have an in-depth experience with the BMW 530Le and provide feedback.
Before sharing this information, let us first review some basic information on the BMW 5 Series plug-in hybrid:
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The 2019 BMW 5 Series plug-in hybrid was launched during the Chengdu Auto Show on August 30,2019.
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The recommended retail price of the vehicle is RMB 499,900, and the Central Government subsidy is RMB 11,000.
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With full subsidies of around RMB 40,000 for purchase tax exemption in cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou.
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The vehicle is equipped with a 2.0L twin-turbocharged engine and an electric motor. The battery capacity is 13 kWh, providing an all-electric range of 61 kilometers. The maximum combined output power of the system is 185 kW, the maximum combined torque is 420 N·m, and it can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 6.9 seconds.
After reviewing the basics, let us take a look at the specifics of this test drive event.
Video of the event:
Let us first discuss the basic characteristics of this group of people:
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85.45% of the participants were male car owners.
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98.21% of the participants had a college degree or higher.
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Only 29.09% of the participants had only one car at home. The rest had two or more vehicles.
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Over 55% of the participants were luxury car brand owners.
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96.36% of the participants had private parking spaces at home or rented fixed parking spaces for more than one year.
The following chart might give you a more intuitive impression:
In one sentence, this is an experience activity primarily for luxury car owners. The feedback from those who test drove the 5 Series plug-in hybrid model are:
- 100% of users rated it as “good” or “very good”, of which 72.73% rated it as “very good”.
- 98.18% of users would choose plug-in hybrid models between plug-in hybrids and gasoline cars.
- Assuming no government subsidies, 65.45% of users would consider purchasing a car like the 5 Series plug-in hybrid.
To summarize, this test drive activity was very successful. Two customers ordered BMW530Le and BMW X1PHEV within two weeks after the event.
Next, what exactly moved them during the test drive?
Quietness.
Seamless power switching.
Smooth speed changes.
Adjustable lumbar support that automatically enters “combat mode”. (Quoted from user experience)
Acceleration capability.
I don’t know whether to praise its quietness or its acceleration.
They love the driving experience in pure electric mode.
Low fuel consumption.
Regenerative braking without stepping on brake pedal.
Enhanced driving assistance.
In the overall impression interview after the test drive, most users expressed satisfaction with the driving and handling tuning derived from the BMW brand, while smoothness, quietness, and acceleration performance were mentioned most frequently.
Reviewing each user’s interview, it can also be seen that most owners’ first reaction is actually the fresh and interesting experience that this car brings. This experience first brings emotional stimulation. After understanding the working status of the vehicle, they understand the balance between economic and dynamic performance brought by this product, and finally upgraded to a high degree of overall satisfaction with the product.
In capturing every touching moment, you can also see the advantages of the driving experience brought by electric vehicles, and the product advantages brought by technological configurations such as enhanced driving assistance will also impress users at the same time. In our long-term tracking of electric vehicles, we also found that many luxury car owners are obsessed with electric vehicles and regard them as vehicles with great playability. They even collect different brands and models of electric vehicles.
The fundamental reason here is the freshness of the product, and this freshness has functional advantages, and it is not highly dependent on the influence of subsidy policies. These participating car owners did not initially regard new energy vehicles as a category of choice, for example, they did not plan to buy a new energy vehicle or which brand to buy, but when they decided to buy a car, they could consider the BMW 5 Series plug-in hybrid or other fuel vehicles.In terms of the most impressive aspect of this car, 89.09% of users chose high technological content, followed by 80% of users choosing strong performance, handling, and a quiet driving space. Luxury quality was chosen by 47.27% of users. Of course, it’s possible that users assume that the BMW brand naturally matches luxury qualities, and they don’t extend luxury quality to a strong product impression.
Surprisingly, 72.73% of users chose gesture-control as one of the most popular features, and some even mentioned that children should like this feature in the video. Intelligent touch key, intelligent driving assistance, wireless charging, HUD, and natural voice recognition are also highly favored.
In terms of gender, males prefer the top three choices to be gesture-control system, intelligent touch key, and intelligent driving assistance. Females prefer natural voice recognition, wireless charging for phones, and data related to cloud connectivity. It seems like females prefer more practical functions, which is unexpected.
The fact has proved that the models that have been successfully verified by word-of-mouth through test drives all have excellent comprehensive product strength. In terms of sales of new energy vehicles, BMW has indeed achieved good results.
From 2013 to the present, BMW Group has delivered 313,000 electric cars (including plug-in hybrid) worldwide. In China, BMW’s new energy vehicle sales ranked first among luxury brands in the first three quarters of this year. Among them, the sales of BMW 530Le exceeded all competitors, including Tesla, and securely sits atop the luxury brand new energy vehicle sales throne.
Looking back on BMW’s new energy vehicle development history, there are many commendable aspects.
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BMW’s development of electric vehicles began in the last century and was the first luxury brand to launch an electric vehicle sub-brand;
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Established the BMWi sub-brand for new technology research and development, which collects all BMW’s latest achievements in electric vehicle development and applies it to main models;
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Currently, BMW has the widest coverage of plug-in and pure electric models among traditional brands, from sedans, SUVs to sports cars, etc.
From the BMWi sub-brand’s development spirit, it can be seen that BMW’s understanding of new technology is not limited to a certain type of power source or a specific active safety system, but a comprehensive application of various technical areas. This point actually coincides with the users’ voice in this test drive activity. They do not think a car is high-tech just because it’s a new energy source, but because its comprehensive quality makes people feel high-tech.
This brings us back to the fundamental exploration of new energy vehicles. New energy vehicles should become vehicles with better comprehensive performance, based on the essence of the user’s needs, combined with the development of technology for improvement and perfection, rather than just becoming a new energy vehicle for the sake of a new energy source.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.