“After the decline of ‘Xingguang’, Wuling found a new path: understanding Suzuki, then becoming Suzuki.”

Recently, Zhou Xin, General Manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling, stated on his personal social media platform, "There is a great opportunity for electric K-cars, suitable for both personal and commercial use - one car for all purposes!"

The combination of leaked speculative images and spy photos on the internet clearly indicates the start of marketing for the Wuling electric K-car. Regarding the electric K-car, some netizens have expressed that understanding Suzuki means becoming Suzuki. This statement may seem like a joke, but it does make one think deeply.

As is well known, Suzuki's fate in China ended in August 2018 when Suzuki Cars sold its shares for only one yuan and subsequently withdrew from the Chinese market. Looking back on Suzuki's decline in the domestic market, many believe that Suzuki was too stubborn, always sticking to the small car route, and failed to recognize the demand in the Chinese market at that time for larger spacious vehicles.

In comparison, Wuling's sales performance is good. In September 2024, the sales volume reached 145,000 units, an increase of 24.1% year-on-year. The sales of new energy vehicles in September exceeded 80,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 106%. Comparing Wuling to Suzuki doesn't seem very appropriate.

In fact, Wuling's success story also revolves around being "small but efficient." Whether it's the Wuling Rongguang/Hongguang series, or the Wuling Hongguang MINI in the new energy field, Wuling's popular models seem to follow a similar path as Suzuki. The current electric K-car further confirms this point.

It is worth noting that in Japan, the "K-car" was born out of the specific circumstances of a population-dense country with limited space, and was created with the support of government policies, making it a somewhat unique product. It is predominantly popular in Japan and not widely seen globally. Therefore, whether it will align with the consumption values of most domestic consumers remains to be verified, but at least there is currently a lot of buzz online.

When news about Wuling's exposure of the electric K-car came out, some internet users shouted, "Wuling will make whatever the people need."

Actually, Wuling has also recognized the growth of the high-end and luxury car markets. However, it seems that when trying to create high-end cars, they did not receive strong support from the people.

In recent years, Wuling has been moving towards the high-end market, launching the Wuling Silver label and the New Baojun series. According to the official positioning of Wuling, "Wuling Silver label products will always focus on the traditional advantages of Wuling vehicles such as quality, reliability, and spaciousness, marking an upward breakthrough for the Wuling brand."

In recent years, Wuling Motors has launched the "Star" series which aims to break into the high-end market. Models in this series include the Star Cheng, Star Chi, Star Cloud, Star Light, and Star Light S.

In the case of Wuling Hongguang, "rising at the beginning and falling later" seems to have become a microcosm of Wuling's high-end car models. The car was launched at the end of 2023, introducing a plug-in hybrid model, which achieved sales of over 8,000 units in the first month and monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units later. However, sales have been on a continuous decline this year, with sales in July being less than 4,000 units. In less than a year, the situation of "rising at the beginning and falling later" has emerged.

It seems that both the Wuling Xingchen, Xingchi, and Xingyun are experiencing declining popularity. It appears that the "Xing" series from Wuling, aiming for the high-end market, is not very well-received by the public. The main trend among domestic brands is to create models with spacious interiors and high-end features, so why has this strategy failed for Wuling?

From the sales of Wuling, it's obvious that compact cars are more popular and the lackluster performance of the "Star" series seems to confirm that Wuling's brand orientation is better suited for low-priced compact cars. Or in other words, the Wuling brand is more suitable for exploring new blue oceans.

Just like when Wuling introduced models like the Hongguang Mini to eat away at the market for "old men's joy" and opened up a new energy market, many big companies such as Geely and Changan have also joined in. Now, electric K-cars may also be a new blue ocean, taking space utilization to the extreme, focusing on relative large space rather than blindly increasing the size of the body. It is expected to target consumers in densely populated big cities with multi-person households for commuting needs.

Understand Suzuki, become Suzuki, and even surpass Suzuki. I feel that this is not a joke, but a recognition of the positioning of the Wuling brand, pointing out the basic survival path for Wuling.

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