On September 17th, SAIC Volkswagen’s ID. Store officially settled in Shanghai Jing’an Joycity. As of now, 10 ID.Store locations have been confirmed.
Jing’an Joycity has always been one of the must-visit shopping malls in Shanghai. Its clustered star shops and landmark Ferris wheel are hotspots for internet celebrities to take photos.
The reason SAIC Volkswagen’s ID. Store chose to settle in Jing’an Joycity is because of its high-quality young customer flow, which is perfectly matched with the target consumer group of its ID. series.
At the opening ceremony, Yu Jingmin, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing Execution of SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. and General Manager of Shanghai SAIC Volkswagen Sales Co., Ltd., shared many thoughts on SAIC Volkswagen’s approach to the new era, the pricing of the ID.3, and the breaking of the industry’s shortage of chips. However, before we delve into the content of the sharing session, let’s focus on the protagonist of this event, the ID. Store.
“If it weren’t for the Volkswagen signage at the entrance, I wouldn’t have believed that this was a Volkswagen store.” SAIC Volkswagen’s ID. series represents a new generation of intelligent travel from SAIC Volkswagen’s new energy vehicle series, with a fundamentally different audience from SAIC Volkswagen’s traditional fuel vehicles.
Whether it’s the concise and avant-garde design of the car itself or the overall style and location selection of the ID. series’ independent stores, they are completely different from the inherent impression that the Volkswagen brand has given people in the past, leaving people wondering if this is still the Volkswagen that the older generation knows.
The exterior of the ID. Store in Shanghai Jing’an Joycity uses neon lights with high saturation on the upper edge and left and right sides of the storefront, which can change color with the rhythm and are eye-catching. It stands out among the various shops, setting the tone for the new ID. series products to be “young” and “fashionable.”
The interior design of the store follows a simple and modern style. The silver-gray aluminum-plastic panel wall is matched with beige floor tiles, and there are no redundant elements visually. From front to back, the store is divided into a vehicle display area, a VIP room, a refreshment bar, and a temporarily vacant activity area, which is expected to reserve exhibition space for the ID.3, which will be launched later.
The ID. 4 X and ID. 6 X displayed in the store that day are two crossover models currently on sale in the ID. family and are also the electric vehicle strategy leaders highly anticipated by SAIC Volkswagen Group.
According to data released by SAIC Volkswagen Group in August, the two models have a total monthly sales volume of about 3,000 units.
Another core model, the ID.3, has also been officially released at the Chengdu Auto Show. In today’s media communication meeting, Yu Jingmin shared his pricing ideas for the ID.3:
“On price, the best-selling ID. 4 X is priced at 240,000 RMB, and the best-selling ID. 6 X is priced at 280,000 RMB, with a difference of 40,000 RMB mainly in the third-row seats and size, while other technologies are the same. The ID. 3 and the ID. 4 X have the same number of seats and space, with a wheelbase of 2,765 mm and similar configurations. The cruising range is slightly shorter, at 430 km. In Chengdu, I said the top-end model would not exceed 200,000 RMB, so the price difference with the ID. 4 X is reasonable.
Therefore, judging from Mr. Yu’s sharing, the price of the ID. 3 is likely to be between 150,000 and 200,000 RMB.”
What are the advantages of opening stores in commercial areas like NIO Space?
“Whether it is joint venture car brands such as SAIC Volkswagen or new forces in the industry like NIO, they have all coincidentally opened stores in crowded shopping malls. At just one mall, Dayuecheng, SAIC Volkswagen, NIO, and Voyah have all gathered, showing the fierce market competition.
This approach significantly reduces the distance between car brands and consumers. Consumers may learn about the latest models under the brand while strolling in the mall after dinner, increasing brand awareness and making it easier to reach younger generations.”
According to Jingmin Yu, there are three main customer sources for the ID. family:
The first is customers who come directly to the store;
The second is customers who are considering new energy vehicles, with a base that is about 10 times larger than the first.
Currently, the proportion of new energy vehicle sales in the automobile market is about 12%, and it is expected that there will be 2.5 million new energy vehicles sold in the full year 2021 out of a total of 20.7 million passenger cars.
Many people will upgrade from their original gasoline vehicles, and SAIC Volkswagen has more opportunities due to its well-known brand and nationwide network of dealers, as well as enhanced online services.
The third source of customers comes from SAIC Volkswagen’s existing customer base.
Volkswagen has sold a cumulative total of 21 million vehicles, including 3 million Passats and 2.4 million Touaregs. From the data analysis, many of the current sales of the ID. family come from owners of Passat, Touareg, Polo, and Lavida vehicles.
SAIC Volkswagen has accelerated the deployment of ID. Stores across the country. The digital city showrooms of ID. Stores in Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Changsha have already been put into operation. More digital city showrooms will be located in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and other cities. According to the SAIC Volkswagen official website, it is expected that more than 40 ID. Store city showrooms will open successively in 29 key cities within the next year and a half.
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.