CATL launches the world's first new energy living plaza
2024-08-10
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As the leader of the global new energy battery industry, CATL has not only always held high the banner of technological innovation, but also worked hard on marketing innovation.
At 10 a.m. on August 10, 2024, after a year of preparation, the CATL New Energy Life Plaza, jointly created by CATL, the Qingbaijiang District Government of Chengdu, and automobile companies, officially opened in Chengdu, Sichuan.
According to CATL, as the world's first new energy lifestyle plaza of CATL, the plaza exhibited nearly 50 brands and nearly 100 models in its first batch. Consumers can see the most popular models in the market in one stop. This is not only the world's first and most comprehensive new energy vehicle brand pavilion, but also a never-ending auto show.
Moreover, as a carrier of high-quality new energy lifestyle, the plaza has pioneered the construction of a "full-scenario new experience" platform for new energy vehicle consumers that integrates "seeing, choosing, using and learning" to accelerate the arrival of the new energy era.
At the opening ceremony, Li Ping, vice chairman of CATL, said that CATL does not sell cars, but only provides a platform to connect all parties. In the wave of energy transformation, the automotive industry structure and consumer consumption concepts are being reconstructed. CATL and its automotive partners jointly built this platform to connect automakers and consumers and work together for innovation and win-win results.
Luo Jian, general manager of CATL's marketing department, said that through the two key features of "complete" and "new", the New Energy Life Plaza strives to help automakers display good cars, help consumers choose good cars, and promote a new energy lifestyle.
The world's first new energy vehicle brand pavilion, where you can see all the popular models at one place
CATL New Energy Life Plaza is located in IMC International Plaza in Chengdu, China, with an operating area of 13,800 square meters, and its influence can radiate to the entire southwest region.
On the opening day, the CATL New Energy Life Plaza was crowded with people, who stopped in front of CATL's new energy battery exhibits and technology introduction booths, or gathered around the dazzling new energy vehicles to comment on them. Thepaper.cn reporter saw that the cars already in the pavilion included the latest models of brands such as Zeekr, Ideal, Avita, Tesla, NIO, and Xiaomi.
So, what new experiences can new energy vehicle consumers get in this new energy living plaza where they cannot buy cars?
According to the introduction of CATL to the reporter of The Paper, as the world's first new energy vehicle brand pavilion, consumers can first see the most popular new energy models in one stop. The models in the pavilion cover sedans, SUVs, MPVs with different positioning and pure electric, hybrid, and extended-range power models, which saves time and effort for users to view cars and allows users to see all the models of interest and intention at one time.
At the same time, dozens of new energy vehicle experts will provide face-to-face consulting services for car selection. CATL told The Paper that in CATL New Energy Life Plaza, new energy vehicle experts are distributed in various areas of the plaza, ready to provide users with in-depth vehicle and battery technology explanations at any time. These new energy vehicle experts have a broad understanding of the models on the market and a deep knowledge reserve of new energy vehicles. They can recommend the most suitable new energy vehicle models for each customer based on their specific needs, budget and purpose of use.
In addition, CATL New Energy Life Plaza will regularly hold new energy science classes. The Life Plaza will invite experts and celebrities in the fields of new energy, ecological and environmental protection to give on-site classes to share new energy knowledge on topics such as automobiles, batteries, environmental protection, and zero carbon. The new energy classes will be easy to understand for consumers of all ages to learn and explore the mysteries of new energy.
At the Life Square on the 10th, a reporter from The Paper saw that in a corner of the square, a group of children around 10 years old were sitting together, listening attentively to the host explaining the differences between new energy vehicles and traditional fuel vehicles.
It is worth mentioning that on August 10, the CATL mini program was officially launched. For new energy vehicle owners, the mini program provides services such as charging network query, car viewing, car selection, car use and new energy research. By developing online channels, CATL provides users with efficient, convenient, high-quality and multi-dimensional services.
On the opening day, CATL's aftermarket service brand "Ningjia Service" was officially launched. Ningjia Service is the first domestic company to set up 112 professional after-sales service stations and build a complete personnel training system to provide users with professional services, including but not limited to basic battery maintenance, health testing and mobile rescue, etc., to fully guarantee the car experience of new energy vehicle owners and make their car life worry-free.
There is a possibility of further replication in the future
In such a new energy living plaza, which is rumored in the industry to have cost over 100 million yuan, there are no sales activities. Why is CATL so arrogant?
On the one hand, the development of my country's new energy vehicles and battery industries has reached a critical node. On August 9, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers released China's automobile sales data for July 2024. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the Chinese auto market has entered the traditional off-season, but China's new energy vehicle production and sales continue to grow year-on-year, and new energy vehicle sales have reached 43.8% of the total new car sales.
At the same time, according to the latest data released by the China Passenger Car Association, China's new energy vehicle market retailed 878,000 vehicles in July 2024, a year-on-year increase of 36.9% and a month-on-month increase of 2.8%. From January to July, retail sales reached 4.988 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 33.7%. In July, the domestic new energy vehicle retail penetration rate was 51.1%, achieving the first monthly penetration rate exceeding 50%.
In terms of batteries, according to the relevant data on power batteries in the first half of 2024 released by the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, the cumulative production of power batteries and other batteries was 430GWh, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 36.9%; the cumulative sales volume was 402.6GWh, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 40.3%.
"We hope to increase the growth rate even faster through this platform," CATL told The Paper. "We have an obligation to do this and push the industry forward."
On the other hand, for CATL, this is also a major attempt to further expand its brand influence and improve the company's performance.
In terms of the market share of power batteries, CATL's situation of "being the only one to win" continues. The latest data from global information agency SNE research shows that the global electric vehicle (EV, PHEV, HEV) battery installation volume in the first half of 2024 is about 364.6GWh, a year-on-year increase of 22.3%.
CATL continues to maintain its position as the world's number one, with battery installations reaching 137.7GWh, a year-on-year increase of 29.5%, and a market share of 37.8%, a year-on-year increase of 2.1 percentage points. According to the agency's data, CATL has ranked first in the world in power battery installations for seven consecutive years from 2017 to 2023.
However, in terms of company performance and market value in the capital market, CATL still faces challenges to break through itself. According to the company's first-half performance data released, its performance in the first half of 2024 was "increased profits but not revenues". The company's total operating income was approximately 166.77 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.88%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was approximately 22.87 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.37%.
A research report by Soochow Securities shows that affected by the decline in lithium carbonate prices, in the first half of 2024, the average price of CATL's power batteries was 0.79 yuan/wh, a year-on-year decrease of 30%; the corresponding average price of energy storage battery revenue was 0.74 yuan/wh, a year-on-year decrease of 30%.
Correspondingly, CATL's power battery revenue in the first half of 2024 was about 112.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.20%; energy storage battery system revenue was 28.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3%. In terms of capacity utilization, CATL's capacity utilization rate in the first half of the year was 65.33%, a year-on-year increase, but compared with the same period in 2022, it fell by more than 15%.
In the capital market, as of the close of A-shares on August 9, CATL's share price closed at 170 yuan per share, with a market value of 747.8 billion yuan; when will the "trillion-dollar Ning King" return? This has become a topic that the market has been thinking about.
Therefore, let's look back at the significance of Chengdu's new energy life plaza. Some industry insiders admit that the current economic downward pressure is increasing, the total demand is insufficient at the macro level, and the confidence of the main players is weak at the micro level. The development of the new energy industry requires innovative mechanisms to stimulate market potential and create new growth.
CATL's New Energy Life Plaza drives a new energy lifestyle with an immersive experience, comprehensively combining "technology-product-life". For the first time, it brings together all new energy vehicle brands to jointly showcase and spread new energy culture, helping vehicle companies provide users with long-term emotional value.
It is worth mentioning that the plaza is located in Chengdu, which has always been ranked No. 1 in the ranking of new first-tier cities. It radiates 110 million people in Sichuan and Chongqing, and can attract tourists from all over the country and even the world to "visit the store", making new energy life closer to more people's lives. CATL also told the reporter of The Paper that the new energy life plaza in Chengdu is currently a beginning and an experiment, and the possibility of replicating it in other cities in China and even the world in the future is not ruled out.
Thepaper.cn reporter Sen Ning
(This article is from The Paper. For more original information, please download the "The Paper" APP)
