Eulaballet Cat Officially Goes on Sale

Author: Li Ka-shing

Editor: Leng Zelin

On May 20th, Eulaballet Cat, which has been showcased for a year, officially started online pre-sale, bringing a total of 4 models with ranges of 401 km and 500 km, and a pre-sale price range of 193,000 yuan to 223,000 yuan.

Currently, there are several models in the new energy vehicle market targeting women, but from design, name, brand to marketing, Eulaballet Cat stands out as the only one that is predominantly focused on women, even its launch time reveals some hidden thoughts.

According to statistics, the total number of women consumers in China aged 20-60 has reached 400 million, and their annual consumption volume has also reached the level of 10 trillion yuan, which is equivalent to the sum of the retail markets in the United States, France, and Germany. The potential of the women’s consumer market is huge, but can Eulaballet Cat seize it?

What are the selling points of Eulaballet Cat

From its appearance, although the official has used many gorgeous words to introduce its appearance, we still associate it with the Volkswagen retro model, the Beetle.

However, the guided price of the 2018 Beetle is only between 178,800 yuan and 249,800 yuan. As an electric vehicle, the starting price of Eulaballet Cat has reached 193,000 yuan.

Although the starting price of Eulaballet Cat is more expensive than the Beetle, in terms of materials and workmanship in the interior, it is indeed more attentive than its “predecessor”. First of all, to cater to the women’s market, the overall interior color of Eulaballet Cat is more “girlish”. Compared with the plastic feel of the Beetle interior, the front armrest area of the latter made of crystal-like material looks more exquisite.

Compared with other retro models, Eulaballet Cat’s handling of some details is more modern; for example, Eulaballet Cat has designed a steering wheel that is more suitable for women drivers based on the size of female drivers’ palms. Secondly, in terms of seats, Eulaballet Cat also uses a 370mm diameter women-specific seat. However, Eulaballet Cat did not consider that some women have a more “strong” body shape. Can they choose a seat that suits them?

In other areas, Eulaballet Cat is also equipped with practical features such as a large-aperture makeup mirror and lipstick storage compartment. While other new forces are busy transforming cars into secondary living spaces or entertainment rooms, Eulaballet Cat has taken on the meaning of transforming itself into a dressing room.It’s worth mentioning that perhaps due to the dissatisfaction of car owners with Euler’s carputer chip, which changed from Qualcomm’s eight-core chip to Intel’s four-core chip, Euler has equipped all of its Bailei Cat models with the Qualcomm 8155 car chip, which is much better than some flagship models that cost over 200,000 yuan in terms of intelligence.

Moreover, with the support of Qualcomm 8155, Bailei Cat provides consumers with four driving modes. For example, when driving with children, the vehicle will automatically turn on the child mode and play children’s songs for babies. Mothers can also check in real time.

However, compared with the competing model Smart Elf #1, Bailei Cat’s performance in endurance is lackluster. The entry-level version of Smart Elf #1 is priced at 190,000 yuan, with a range of 535 KM, a high-end version priced at 230,000 yuan with a range of 560 KM and a power of 200 kW; the entry-level of Bailei Cat is priced at 190,000 yuan with a range of 401 KM, and the high-end version is priced at 220,000 yuan with a range of 500 KM and a power of 126 kW.

However, as a compact car for women, endurance and power are not the most important factors in reality. However, when compared with vehicles of the same level, it inevitably reduces its cost-effectiveness in the eyes of consumers.

The Intersection of Retro and Women, Two Niche Markets

In fact, in 2021, Euler chose to avoid Wei Xiaoli’s “sharpness” and clearly turned to the women’s market.

In the same year, relying on the White Cat and Good Cat models, Euler’s annual sales reached 130,000 vehicles, allowing Euler to taste the sweetness of the women’s market.

However, the prices of the two models are not high, with top-of-the-line prices of 106,800 yuan and 160,900 yuan, respectively. The Bailei Cat launched this time is a big step forward, directly coming to the 200,000 yuan level.

As a pure electric vehicle priced at 200,000 yuan, it is not easy for Euler Bailei Cat to achieve a rapid rise, after all, there are many vehicle models to choose from in this price range.

According to the “2021 Women’s Property Report” released by 58 Tongcheng and Anjuke, the proportion of independent female homebuyers in first-tier cities reached 20.9%, while among female homebuyers in second-tier cities, it was 17.9%. A study by Boston Consulting Group showed that more than 60% of Chinese household consumption is led by women.

However, most cars still appear as household production tools. Under this situation, it is difficult to use the preference of one gender as the main factor. Therefore, Euler has defined a specific range, which can be said to be a precise attack, but also a limitation of itself.

Euler Bailei Cat emphasizes retro elements and once again narrows its own range in the relatively niche market.We can see some clues from the sales of the “predecessor” model of the Ballet Cat: Volkswagen Beetle. The global sales of the Beetle were 91,000 in 2014, 64,000 in 2015, and 25,000 in 2016. In 2017, the annual sales in China were only 8,000 units.

At the same time, it should be noted that once this category becomes popular, will car brands like Euler attract other manufacturers like Hongguang MINI EV?

In fact, in the Chinese market, niche is never a profitable business, and conformity is the consumption concept of most people.

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.