Longfor Blue Plan to Release 1-2 New Products Annually

Author: Yihan Wu

Editor: Xianzhi Wu

On February 15th, Changan Automobile announced on its online platform that Longfor Blue Plan will launch 1-2 new products annually, equipped with leading intelligent technology and configurations, to create a new market of electric vehicles ranging between 150,000 to 300,000 RMB, satisfying mainstream demand for quality green transportation.

Longfor Blue’s second product, S7, will be launched at an appropriate time this year. How many sales will it bring for Longfor Blue in 2023? Most importantly, will it achieve its goal of 200,000 yearly sales?

Longfor Blue’s Second Model – Deep Blue S7 Will be Launched Soon

It is reported that the Deep Blue SUV model has been approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the S7 (a midsize SUV) will offer two models – a plug-in hybrid model and a pure electric model. According to the application information, the Deep Blue S7 has a length of 4750 mm, a width of 1930 mm, a height of 1625 mm, and a wheelbase of 2900 mm.

In terms of power, the plug-in hybrid model is equipped with a lithium iron phosphate battery and an XTDM66 drive motor, with a power of up to 175 kW and a range extender of a 1.5L engine, achieving a driving range of up to 160 km.

Additionally, the pure electric model is equipped with a ternary material battery and provides two power options – XTDM16 and XTDM27 drive motors. The two motors have powers of 160 kW and 190 kW, respectively, and a driving range of 620 km and 520 km, respectively.

2022 Sales are Lower than Expected, How to Turn the Tide in 2023

On July 25, 2022, Changan Shenlan’s first model, Shenlan SL03, was launched, and the official guidance price was announced to be 168,900 – 6,999,000 yuan. Half an hour after the price was announced, Shenlan SL03 achieved a good record of breaking ten thousand orders.

Currently, Changan Shenlan has only announced sales data for the past two months: 11,650 units delivered in December 2022, successfully breaking into the new force’s monthly delivery of over ten thousand, and claiming to be the domestic new energy brand that achieved this the fastest.

The January 2023 delivery fell to 6,137 units, a month-on-month decrease of 47.32%. However, it was also affected by various objective factors. In January, sales of car companies generally showed a decline, and Changan Shenlan’s sales ranked among the forefront of the new forces. Judging from the delivery data in the past two months, Changan Shenlan has gradually gained recognition from the market and consumers.

However, in the first few months of the new car’s launch, the actual situation was slightly bleak. According to data released by the China Passenger Car Association, only 894 units of Shenlan SL03 were delivered in August 2022, far below expectations. The delivery volumes from September to January 2023 were 2,708 units, 6,384 units, 6,344 units, 9,094 units, and 6,137 units respectively.

At the beginning of the launch of Changan Shenlan’s first new car, the company claimed that its order volume had reached 40,000, and it was expected to achieve monthly deliveries of over ten thousand in September. However, the actual results were quite different. From the data above, although the official stated that the delivery volume in December 2022 broke ten thousand, there was a slight deviation from the data released by the China Passenger Car Association. Until now, the delivery volume of Shenlan SL03 has not reached 40,000 in half a year.

In January 2023, Changan Automobile held a global partner conference. At the meeting, Changan Automobile’s Chairman Zhu Huarong stated that Changan Shenlan will launch 7 products and achieve sales of over 800,000 units by 2025. Changan Automobile’s President, Wang Jun, stated that Changan Shenlan’s sales target for 2023 is to break 400,000, which means that the average monthly sales in the next 11 months must be no less than 35,000. From the current situation, this is an impossible goal to achieve.Perhaps realizing that it is an impossible task, recently, Chang’an New Energy CEO Deng Chenghao stated that he hopes to achieve sales of 200,000 by 2023. Although the target has been reduced by half, the monthly sales volume can only achieve the goal if it is not lower than 17,000.

The upcoming Deep Blue S7 may bring some sales growth, but to achieve sales targets, Chang’an Shenlan will face even greater pressure next.

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.