It's an exploration of the future pickup truck, StarCraft Pickups | Products | StarCraft
July 3rd, Guiyang, Guizhou. One hour after the night of SAIC Maxus interstellar pickup truck, we met General Manager Hao Jingxian in the hotel reception hall. At the beginning of the interview, this veteran in the automotive industry shared a past story:
Ten years ago, the interior of automobiles was experiencing a wave of transformation from sedans to SUVs. Faced with unfamiliar models, car manufacturers had a fierce ideological struggle: should they persist in producing sedans or switch roads to enter the SUV market as soon as possible? How fast do you need to enter the SUV field if you enter the race track?
Hao Jingxian said bluntly, "Just as the trend of three box sedans transitioning to SUVs in the past decade is inevitable, pickup trucks will be the replacement for SUVs in the future, and many opportunities and demands will face pickup trucks." "SAIC Maxus will continue to make pickup trucks a strategic product, and the pickup truck market is also our main strategic market."
The latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers confirms his judgment: in May 2023, the Chinese pickup truck market sold 46000 units, a year-on-year increase of 4.3% and a month on month increase of 7.2%, reaching a high level in nearly five years.
It is worth noting that currently, 60% of commercial and passenger pickup trucks priced between 80000 and 130000 yuan are sold, with high-end pickup truck sales approaching 10%. High end passenger use diversification has become a new growth trend.
The StarCraft brand pickup truck launched by SAIC Maxus is a bold attempt towards "higher end, passenger oriented, and electrified" products, targeting users from all walks of life with six new technologies. As emphasized repeatedly by Datong in this interview, "The interstellar brand is our exploration of future users." Looking towards the future, Hao Jingxian is very confident, "Our interstellar brand will definitely face the wind and cut through the waves."
Lift the ban on pickup trucks
Products should be ahead of policies
In May this year, Xiamen announced the comprehensive lifting of the ban on pickup trucks. According to data from the Ministry of Public Security in March this year, 97% of cities at or above the prefecture level in China have lifted restrictions on pickup trucks entering the city. With the policy dividend, does it mean that pickup truck sales will experience a comprehensive outbreak?
Hao Jingxian is quite calm about this: based on data from the past two or three years, there has been a decline in 2020, a recovery in 2021, and a further decline in the overall pickup truck market capacity in 2022. From January to June this year, the market capacity increased by about 10% year-on-year. From the current perspective, the policy dividend of lifting the ban on pickup trucks may not be as significant as imagined.
He judged that in the next two to three years, domestic pickup trucks may enter a faster or even explosive development stage. There are three reasons: firstly, future users will become increasingly personalized. Nowadays, people are tired of driving sedans, and even SUVs. In contrast, the relatively emerging pickup truck is a very important form for users to pursue personalization.
Secondly, the release of policy dividends will take some time. During the period after policy liberalization, there was a certain lag in the market, including the minds of consumers. The product requires some time, some word-of-mouth, and some "pioneers" in the user group are also needed to drive it.
Thirdly, in the future, automobile consumption will become increasingly scenario oriented and lifestyle oriented. Under this consumer demand, the versatile space, rich usage capabilities, and personalized product features of pickup trucks are all very suitable for this consumption demand.
"Although the policy dividend has not been fully released yet, the 'lag period' between the market and consumers will also become shorter and shorter. As a producer of pickup trucks and a provider of consumption, I believe that what we need to do is to do a good job in our products and technology. When we are well prepared for ourselves, opportunities in the market will inevitably wait for us."
Dual lifetime guarantee
Derived from absolute confidence in product strength
"Making products and technologies good" is not a slogan.
At this interstellar launch event, SAIC Maxus proposed for the first time a dual lifetime warranty, which includes lifetime maintenance and lifetime warranty for the engine powertrain. This is the first and breakthrough measure in the entire industry.
Qi Gaohang, General Manager of SAIC Maxus Pickup Business Unit, said that this stems from their absolute confidence in product strength. Specifically, for this StarCraft brand, it includes six products that reach different levels of users: StarCraft L, developed based on the demand for pickup truck passenger use; Interstellar R mainly serves users who can achieve home use, including picking up and dropping off children, commuting, and meeting work needs, including delivery; The interstellar EV, with its choice of pure electric technology, has made breakthroughs in range, reflecting the development of Datong in new energy technology; The StarCraft H diesel version is equipped with SAIC's π Bi Turbo twin turbocharged diesel engine, which has won the "Top 10 Chinese Hearts" award. It is the first pickup truck model to be equipped with a twin turbocharged engine and can handle various extreme off-road environments; StarCraft Bull Demon King focuses on people who enjoy off-road driving and have special needs for modification. For example, this car is equipped with nitrogen shock absorbers, electric winches, scorpion tires, and AT-X explosion-proof paint. It has also undergone water depth testing to ensure safe driving at a depth of 1.5 meters, meeting the needs of hardcore off-road enthusiasts; Explorer Home · Interstellar H, can usually go down to the basement, and after being elevated, the maximum net height of the living cabin in the car can reach 2 meters. It can accommodate two 2 meter double beds and has sports facilities, refrigerators, microwaves, and other necessary equipment for daily life. It can better meet the driving requirements of cities and various environments than ordinary RVs.
On this basis, SAIC Maxus empowers with the C2B model to further meet the personalized needs of users. It is understood that Datong provides millions of personalized customization solutions for interstellar users, including two transmission forms, three cockpit forms, three driving forms, four power forms, N personalized customization configurations, etc., to meet the personalized driving needs of users. At the same time, by establishing an interstellar club, users and manufacturers can have direct conversations and truly implement "user direct connection".
Why insist on customization? Hao Jingxian pointed out that in the global pickup truck market, overseas pickup trucks have a larger volume and develop earlier. From the perspective of overseas markets, the differences in different regions are very obvious: for example, Australia has high safety requirements due to its harsh geographical environment, especially focusing on the drag and power of pickup trucks; In the Middle East, sometimes there is a situation of long idle, and high temperature environments have high requirements for the air conditioning system.
Therefore, the Chinese market should also have a set of standards applicable to its own usage characteristics, rather than blindly copying existing products. "We combine different local laws, regulations, and characteristics to establish a unified global standard. Whether for domestic or overseas users, we insist on creating globally unified high standard car models for them."
Hao Jingxian emphasized that the advantages of Datong's C2B model are fully reflected here. The support of original factory technology is not only reflected in all parts and technologies originating from the original factory, but also in empowering each customized vehicle model with the high standards of the original factory, so that each customized vehicle can achieve a combination of "unified standards" and "personalized customization".
Raising the threshold
Raise your admission standards
There are two hot news about the automotive industry in June: first, photovoltaic practitioners were taken away for investigation during the International Solar Technology Expo in Munich, Germany; second, France's suggestion to the European Union to conduct anti-dumping investigations on Chinese exported vehicles shows the attitude of overseas markets towards "Chinese exports". How should Da Tong, which is riding the waves in overseas markets, face these challenges?
Hao Jingxian believes that as China's exports increase, it will have an impact on overseas domestic markets, and encountering market and technological barriers is predictable.
Hao Jingxian emphasized that making a good product is still the most fundamental, not only to meet the standards of "today", but also to meet the standards of "tomorrow". Let technology and products lead the way, naturally not afraid of the so-called high threshold.
Specifically for pickup trucks, Datong is leading the industry in launching the T90 EV electric pickup truck, which is sold in the international market. The T90 EV also became the first Chinese made pure electric pickup truck to enter the European market, as well as the first mass-produced pure electric pickup truck in the European market.
In addition to pickup trucks, Datong has achieved a leading position in every segmented market such as wide body light passenger cars, launching pure electric wide body light passenger cars and even hydrogen energy vehicle models earlier. 80% of the 18000 vehicles sold in Europe in 2022 are new energy products. In response to the various problems existing in new energy products, Datong is actively exploring: first, actively laying out in the hydrogen fuel field, and second, laying out new products and technologies, such as the GST electric pickup truck launched at the Shanghai Auto Show, which is a "product developed for the future" and solves problems such as distance anxiety with new technologies and architectures.
