Geely Galaxy L7, the low-end version has lost contact again

Sniping at the BYD Song family, the Galaxy L7 that has the voice over in the compact plug-in market, can it grab food in the "Song" mouth?

Preheated for a long time Geely Galaxy L7 finally announced the price: 138,700 – 173,700 yuan. Far lower than the estimated starting price, the lowest 8000 yuan real gold and silver discount, superimposed pet co-pilot, HARMAN Infinity audio and other configurations, multiple buffs plus the Galaxy L7, quickly become the cost-effective choice for potential owners.

"I added the contact information for sales at the Shanghai Auto Show before, and I originally made an appointment for a door-to-door test drive on Saturday, but the price was suddenly announced, and the sales were too busy, so I was forced to cancel it." Lao Wang said helplessly.

A 4S shop salesperson told Lu Jiu Business Review: "Judging from the feedback from the customers who invited them to the scene, the order rate of placing an order is quite high." On social platforms, anxious car owners have long posted screenshots of orders.

The channel side is also "excited". Some industry insiders said, "On the night of the press conference, the dealers of the official website contacted the network overnight."

However, within a week after the official launch of the Galaxy L7, many potential owners questioned Geely’s pricing routines and marketing methods. With the gradual arrival of the Galaxy L7 test drive and the successive delivery, there have also been many complaints in the major rider communities. The original car does not have a driving recorder, the MAX main driver does not have ventilation, the rear seats are uncomfortable with protrusions, and the storage board is of poor quality…

The most important thing is that the cost-effective low-end equipment is still not available, it is more like a traffic entrance hanging in the sky for fishing.

01

Low distribution has once again become the first slot point

She thought it was the victory of the "wait party", but after careful study, Yusawa found that this might be a pricing routine for Geely. She just wanted to buy a scooter, and she was a little angry, "The lowest price can’t be bought at all."

Lu Jiu Business Review visited a number of Geely Galaxy stores in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and was told that only the MAX version is currently available. When asked when the lowest model will be available, a salesperson said: "The minimum model should not be able to place an order yet, and the order cannot be placed online at present. The specific time of availability is still uncertain, and there should be relatively few shipments."

"That version needs to be ordered, and the waiting time will be longer. The manufacturer has not scheduled production yet," another salesperson said. At present, there will be more people consulting the MAX and the highest matching.

On the Geely Galaxy Mini Program, Lu Jiu Business Review shows that it has been sold out when selecting the minimum configuration in the "Customize My Car" module, but if you choose other configurations, you can place an order smoothly.

"According to Geely’s consistent attributes, the lowest matching is not produced at all, it is used to lower the price and create the illusion of cheapness." In fact, the phenomenon that Geely does not produce the lowest matching model is not new. As early as when Geely Xingrui and Xingyue L were listed, netizens said that they could not buy the lowest matching.

A car salesperson told Lu Jiu Business Review that the lower the price range of a car, the more price-sensitive its consumers are, and which model is more cost-effective, they will buy which one. "In this highly inrolled compact SUV field, it is difficult to impress consumers unless they have an intuitive product advantage."

Geely seemed to be well aware of this principle, so the visible configuration of the Queen’s co-pilot and quadruple screen was used by the Galaxy L7.

However, Lu Jiu Business Review analyzed the configuration distribution of the Galaxy L7 and found that its basic version model configuration is relatively "plain". The previously advertised highlights, such as HARMAN Infinity with headrest audio, Queen co-pilot, front seat memory, L2-level intelligent driver assistance system, etc., are only available in top and sub-top models, and other models need to be optional.

It is worth noting that the external rhythmic light show, body black sports kit, large-size wheels, 25.6-inch AR-HUD, driver fatigue monitoring, and even the top-of-the-line equipment are optional.

"Except for the top and the second top, other models are all’beggar of beggars’ configurations. But at the price of the top 176,000, I have more choices. It is better to buy a cheaper oil car. The price difference is used to refuel, and it can be added to a new car." Yu Ze said, "It is estimated that it will only drive several thousand kilometers a year, which is enough to meet the demand for transportation."

In this regard, there are also wait-and-see owners who said that in fact, the Galaxy L7 was accurately sniped by Song Pro. The former has an entry-level pure electric battery life of only 55 kilometers, while the latter has increased the entry-level pure electric battery life from 51 kilometers to 71 kilometers. It has also greatly improved the configuration of low-end models. This is the core data that many consumers value.

02

Insufficient sales and channel control

In order to sell Galaxy well, Geely has also made innovations in channels, marketing and other aspects, aiming to comprehensively upgrade the user experience.

Geely Galaxy calls for the creation of a complex model with its own characteristics, namely, the establishment of brand centers in first- and second-tier cities, and the adoption of agency distribution systems in third- and fourth-tier cities.

Therefore, the Galaxy series has also introduced new experience and service standards, proposing a unified standard system for integrated lead follow-up, standards for order placement and contract signing online, and standards for offline experience and delivery.

The ideal is beautiful, but the reality is cruel. 4S shops are ugly, and preferential policies are not uniform, which has become the hardest hit area for potential car owners to complain.

The 599 to 5999 blind subscription rights originally intended for promotion have caused a large number of potential car owners to delay placing orders. On Xiaohongshu, Salted Fish and other platforms, posts seeking the transfer of blind subscription rights have emerged. It’s just that whether it can be transferred and used varies from place to place.

Many sales in Jiangsu, Henan and other places clearly told Lu Jiu Business Review, "Blind orders cannot be transferred, these are all real-name certified, and you will lose 599 yuan if you buy them."

"It can be used, but there are certain risks. Because the end point phone for picking up the car is the buyer’s phone number, he can unlock and start your vehicle remotely, so it is not recommended," and some sales said, "If you can find a reliable transfer, we can also cooperate with the operation, but first use the transferor’s mobile phone number to see if the mobile phone number can be changed later."

The reason for this situation is that "the headquarters has not opened this opening for the transfer of blind subscription rights, so we dare not give a promise easily." A salesperson in Zhengzhou told Lu Jiu Business Review.

"[Geely Galaxy] is not like other new energy vehicle brands that have delivery and Client Server groups. It is estimated that they have been paralyzed by a large number of orders." Many car owners complained that Geely was too eager to achieve success and forced the launch of Galaxy L7 before it was ready, resulting in many services not keeping up.

In addition, the imperfection of sales channels has also become a major obstacle to Geely’s impulse.

"The sales venue in Shanghai has not been built yet, and the test drive will only be available in mid-June." Xiao Nan, who has a clear intention to buy a car, plans to go to the surrounding cities for a test drive on the weekend. "I don’t know if I can get a Shanghai license if I pick up the car in other cities."

Fortitude, who was in Chaoyang City, encountered a similar situation. "At present, there are only 4S stores in Shenyang and Dalian in Liaoning, and the sales said that they have not received the notice of opening 4S stores in surrounding cities. After buying a car, every maintenance will be forced to take a short drive." Considering the uncertainty of after-sales services, Fortitude gave up the Galaxy L7 after several times.

Geely Galaxy Mini Program shows that the coverage rate of 4S stores in various places is low. For example, only Jiujiang City, Ganzhou City and Ji’an City in Jiangxi have offline stores, and Nanchang City, the provincial capital, has not set up 4S stores for the time being; Fujian only Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou have set up 4S stores.

In this way, although Geely Galaxy stores promise national joint insurance, there are still some problems with the after-sales services and maintenance of vehicles due to the restrictions of the urban distribution of 4S stores. This has also become a concern for some consumers.

03

"Technical coffee" awaits market verification

Not only has fuel economy, but also can relieve the anxiety of car owners, plug-in hybrid vehicles are loved by more and more consumers. According to the data of the Passenger Federation, in 2022, the sales of domestic plug-in hybrid vehicles 1.42 million, an increase of 160.5% year-on-year. Entering 2023, the advantages of plug-in hybrid vehicles are further highlighted. From January to April 2023, although the retail sales of new energy vehicles slowed down by 35.8% year-on-year, the retail growth of plug-in hybrid products was as high as 94.2%.

Facing the temptation of the market, Geely also entered the military competition this year with the Galaxy L7, which is equipped with new plug-in technology.

In fact, Geely did not start late in plug-in hybrid technology. As early as 2005, Geely, as a first-tier car company, officially launched the layout of hybrid technology, but the industrialization was not smooth. It was not until 2017 that the first hybrid model – Emgrand PHEV was launched.

After 18 years in the hybrid market, Geely has tried all three hybrid directions: HEV, MHEV, and PHEV, and finally developed the current main Raytheon hybrid system. In 2022, it launched the highly anticipated Hi-P versions of Xingyue L and Emgrand L.

However, Geely’s repeated changes to the plug-in technology route have not been bought by the market. According to the sales volume, public data shows that as of June 2023, the latest monthly sales of Xingyue L were only 10,025, and the cumulative sales in 2023 were 37,887.

The new Galaxy L7 is still equipped with the Raytheon hybrid system, but this time it is called the new generation of Raytheon 8848 electric hybrid technology, which has achieved technological breakthroughs in the three fields of thermal efficiency, electric drive and intelligent control, and can take into account "energy saving and performance".

However, since the Galaxy L7 is the first model to use the plug-in technology, most consumers remain on the sidelines.

When the owner decided to give up the Galaxy L7, the market share was also an important factor in the trade-off. He said that although Geely’s materials and workmanship are better, the disadvantage is also obvious. The IPO time of the plug-in system is short, and the stock is relatively low. The stability still needs time and a large number of vehicles to verify.

There are not a few potential car owners who have this idea, "I don’t have that much money and time to pay for immature products."

On the whole, Geely has wasted too much time by wavering on the technical route. If Geely is firm enough on the technical route, it may have a place in the plug-in hybrid track.

"The biggest difficulty with the Galaxy L7 is the public’s awareness of the new car series. Although plug-in hybrids are the big trend, this field is also the most voluminous at present, and it is very difficult to make Yiming amazing." A person close to Geely told Lu Jiu Business Review.

In the current domestic market, there is already a red sea of mixed SUV segments. Geely Galaxy L7 faces competitors, including BYD Song PLUS DM-i, BYD Song PRO DM-i, Great Wall Haval Dragon MAX, Changan CS75 iDD and other popular products. How to fill the "user perception gap" between itself and competitors is a problem Geely has to face.

No matter in terms of pricing or product configuration, Galaxy L7 has indeed shown its sincerity, but to establish a benchmark in the market, value and service are also fundamental.