Author: Nie Yiyao
Last summer, I visited Wuhan.
From the north to the south of the Yangtze River, the city’s daily life appeared busy and orderly in my sight. It is hard to imagine that this city had just experienced a devastating virus outbreak.
At this moment, it was peaceful and calm.
However, the city’s tranquility was once again shattered on July 29th. That night, thousands of people gathered for the first time since the epidemic at the Han Show Theatre, and the lights on both sides of the Yangtze River shone all night long. On this night, the heroic city of Wuhan declared a new independent high-end new energy car brand to the outside world.
This is the Voyah, a self-owned high-end new energy automotive brand that showcases the name of Dongfeng. Regardless of its time of birth or its positioning, Voyah has a significant meaning for Dongfeng and Wuhan.
Since the brand’s launch on July 29th, 2020, Voyah has turned one year old. In one year, whether it was the still-young Voyah which had just been born or the ever-changing and fast-moving new energy car race, there have been many experiences. This year is worth commemorating no matter how to observe Voyah from a temporal or spatial viewpoint.
Booming Market
Perhaps no one had expected that the suspension of the epidemic paused the Chinese new energy car market. Instead, after the pandemic, this raceway entered the lively and diversified springtime.
In addition to Voyah’s entry, this year the new energy car field welcomed ARCFOX, IM, Zeekry, which are also new energy high-end brands that were born from traditional automotive enterprises. Additionally, Aiways also broke away from GAC.
Technology companies, internet companies, and mobile phone companies, all have found their unique way into this raceway. Baidu and Geely worked together to create Jidu, Skyworth released its first model, Xiaomi announced the establishment of Xiaomi Cars. Huawei repeatedly denied rumors of car manufacturing but actively participated in this market as a supplier of intelligent car solutions. 360 purchased a stake in NETA Cars. It is said that OPPO will also enter the market.
Moreover, on the other side of the ocean, FF Faraday will also put out some progress reports from time to time to make its presence felt in the Chinese new energy car market. The latest news is that it is going to be listed through a backdoor listing on the NASDAQ.
In the past year, despite the shadow of chip shortage and rising raw material prices, China and Europe, the two largest new energy car markets, have not stopped their vigorous advancement. Both have entered a period of strong growth driven by both “policy and market” in the “post-epidemic” era.
Especially in the first half of this year, China’s new energy vehicle sales reached 1.206 million units, a year-on-year increase of over 200%, and the penetration rate reached 9.4%, with the penetration rate of new energy vehicles reaching 12.7% in June.The sales of the European automobile market are booming, with over 1 million new energy vehicles sold in the first half of this year, making it the world’s second largest new energy vehicle market after China. In June this year, 237,000 new energy vehicles were sold in Europe, with a penetration rate of 19%.
In terms of sales, Tesla is undoubtedly the biggest winner this year. In the second quarter of this year, its delivery volume reached an astonishing 201,250 vehicles, more than doubling that of the same period last year.
In addition to Tesla, other competitors are also fiercely competing in the Chinese and European new energy markets. In the Chinese new energy market, besides Tesla, independent brands such as BYD, NIO, XPeng, Li Auto, and Aiways have become the main force in market competition. In Europe, Volkswagen occupied the sales highland with its ID. series.
However, obviously, no one will be satisfied with the status quo. Especially after the capital market benchmarked the valuation of auto companies against technology stocks, when Tesla became the highest-valued auto company in the world, far exceeding Volkswagen and Toyota, and BYD and NIO also surpassed BMW, becoming the fourth and seventh largest auto companies in the world respectively, Chinese independent new energy vehicle brands began to cast their sights on Europe, and European traditional automotive giants did not want to miss China again.
For example, NIO’s expansion into Norway, and the electrification transformation and China strategy constantly proclaimed by Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. This year, whether it is Chinese auto companies and brands, or foreign traditional auto industry giants, they have begun to extend their tentacles into each other’s territories. In the future, this kind of head-to-head game will become more brutal and exciting.
This year, Voyah is exactly the great era where it was born and grew up.
The steady progress of Voyah
If we take a broad look at the year when Voyah was born and grew up, compared with the brands competing in the center of the market, the inexperienced Voyah does look like a “little transparent”. Compared with the new forces, technology companies, and Internet companies fighting fiercely, Voyah also seems low-key and cautious.
But if we stand in the perspective of Voyah to look at Voyah, it is another discovery. Voyah has its own pace, not slow, and steady progress.
For the Voyah brand that developed from a traditional automobile enterprise, Voyah’s speed and responsiveness are already quite fast.
In May of last year, there was news about Dongfeng H business unit in the industry. On July 29, Voyah officially debuted. Soon after, at the Beijing Auto Show on September 26, Voyah released its first mass-produced concept car, Voyah iFree. In December, Voyah officially announced its first mass-produced car, Voyah FREE, indicating that it will provide both pure electric and extended range versions. Immediately afterwards, Voyah began nationwide real car testing.Entering 2021, Voyah is still speeding ahead. In March of this year, Voyah launched online reservations for Voyah FREE. In April, it appeared at the Shanghai International Auto Show, further showcasing itself. On June 19th, Voyah announced the official launch of Voyah FREE and unveiled its pricing and benefits. The first flagship store of the Voyah brand opened on the same day. On June 30th, Voyah FREE mass production vehicles officially rolled off the assembly line.
So, from the birth of the brand to the production of the mass-produced car, Voyah only took less than a year. In the third quarter of this year, Voyah will begin delivering its mass-produced cars, which means that Voyah is much faster than the other new car-making forces that are currently leading the way.
In terms of marketing, in late March of this year, Voyah opened 6 direct-operated stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan, 5 major cities, simultaneously with the online reservations for the Voyah FREE new car. The opening speed of direct-operated stores is not only fast but also has a wide layout, covering the five core regions of the east, south, west, north, and center.
According to the plan, Voyah will also add 40 experience stores throughout the country in the second half of this year, and the largest demonstration experience center will be located in Wuhan.
Voyah’s growth rate and strength in the new energy automobile market may be related to Voyah’s brand positioning. Voyah defines itself as the “new car-making force”.
Meaning that Voyah not only has the full support of Dongfeng Group in terms of strategy, technology, talent, and funds but also combines the flexible innovation mechanism of the new car-making forces to explore a new innovative fusion development model of “mature automakers + new car-making forces.” From Voyah’s performance in the past year, it can indeed bear the title of “new car-making force”.
On June 26th, Voyah Automotive established an independent legal entity company, registered as “Voyah Automotive Technology Co., Ltd.”, jointly funded by Dongfeng Automobile Co., Ltd. and the Voyah Automotive core employee stock platform, with core employees holding more than 10% of the shares. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dongfeng Automobile Co., Ltd., it has started independent operations in the true sense.
As Yu Zheng, a member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Automobile Group Co., Ltd. put it, “As an important strategic layout for the transformation and upgrading of Dongfeng Group, Voyah Automotive bears the dual mission of the brand’s upward development and the exploration of a new mode of independent brand development. Voyah Automotive’s independent legal operation embodies Dongfeng Group’s determination to develop high-end new energy vehicles and innovate and reform. Dongfeng also hopes that Voyah Automotive will maintain openness and cooperation, accelerate development towards a more market-oriented management philosophy, and become a leader in China’s high-end new energy passenger car market.”# It’s all set, lacking only favorable wind.
Voyah already has vehicles, brands, dreams, and channels. What’s needed next is market sales. This is also the most challenging aspect for Voyah. The target market positioned by Voyah provides room for differentiated competition while facing suppression from products of the same level.
Competition is brutal, and challenges are everywhere. At present, Voyah has encountered a small challenge. The first Voyah user night scheduled for August 7th has been temporarily canceled due to the spread of COVID-19 at Nanjing airport and will be postponed.
However, for Voyah, a new brand born after the epidemic and when the new energy vehicle track is turbulent, what does this matter? The future road is still long.
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.