Audi Says No Brand Premium: I See the Variable That Frightens New EV Makers Most

Last week in Shenzhen, while looking at an early-stage project, I sat next to a strategy director from a traditional automaker. He complained that during internal project initiation meetings, management's biggest headache is "pricing power"—brand premium remains, but users no longer recognize it. He casually asked me: If Audi priced the E7X similarly to the Xiaomi SU7, how would you investors see it?

I didn't answer, because I knew the answer was hidden in Fu Qiang's declaration of "not adding any brand premium."

Short Term: Tearing Off Brand Premium, What Is the Audi E7X Betting On?

Translating Fu Qiang's words into investment language: Abandon short-term profits, use cost-based pricing to grab market share. This is common among new forces, but for traditional luxury brands, it is almost a self-harming strategy.

Let's first break down the E7X pricing logic with a simple model:

# Hypothetical Pricing Model
def pricing_strategy(target_market_share, cost_price, brand_premium_ratio):
    # Traditional Automaker Pricing: Cost + Brand Premium + Profit
    traditional_price = cost_price * (1 + brand_premium_ratio + 0.15)
    # New Force Pricing: Cost + Micro-profit or Loss
    new_force_price = cost_price * (1 + 0.05)  # 5% profit margin
    # Audi E7X Strategy: Remove brand premium, keep only reasonable profit
    e7x_price = cost_price * (1 + 0.08)  # 8% profit margin, below industry average
    return e7x_price

# Assuming B-segment pure electric sedan cost is approx 250k RMB, traditional brand premium ratio 30%
e7x_price = pricing_strategy(0.1, 250000, 0.3)
print(f"E7X Theoretical Price: {e7x_price:.0f} RMB")  # Output approx 270k

This price of around 270k RMB falls exactly in the middle zone between the Xiaomi SU7 (215.9k-299.9k RMB) and the NIO ET5 (298k-356k RMB). On the surface, it's a "price war," but in reality, it's precise positioning—using Audi's supply chain and manufacturing capabilities to hit the profit margins of new forces.

There are three short-term highlights:

• Brand Trust Migration: The biggest assets of traditional luxury brands are "safety redundancy" and "after-sales networks." If the E7X is priced reasonably, it will attract conservative users who "want to buy from new forces but fear bankruptcy."
• Channel Dominance: SAIC Audi currently has over 200 stores, mostly in core business districts of tier-1 and tier-2 cities. New forces have high per-store costs, while Audi can scale quickly.
• Price Reduction Space: Traditional automakers' economies of scale are far stronger than new forces. If the E7X gains volume, costs can be further compressed, making it hard for new forces to follow suit in a price war.

[!note] Short-term Risk: If the E7X price remains above 300k RMB, then "no brand premium" is empty talk. Fu Qiang must push the starting price below 260k RMB to create a real impact.

Long Term: Can Audi Rebuild "New Energy Brand Premium"?

Brand premium doesn't disappear overnight, but rebuilding takes ten years. The biggest dilemma for traditional automakers in the new energy era is: Brand recognition from the ICE era is not equivalent in electrification. Users think "Audi = ICE Luxury," but "Audi EV = ICE-to-EV conversion or off-brand."

What Fu Qiang proposed—"rapidly establishing SAIC Audi's new image for the new energy era"—essentially involves doing two things:

1. Product Strength Exceeding New Forces: The E7X must offer a hardware combination similar to "800V high-voltage platform + Urban NOA + Smart Cockpit," and the experience cannot lose to NIO, XPeng, or Li Auto.

2. Service Ecosystem Reconstruction: If Audi continues using the 4S dealership model from the ICE era, users will compare it with the direct sales and community systems of new forces. SAIC Audi is already promoting an "agency model," but the speed of transformation is key.

Long-term competitive barriers can be evaluated using this framework:

Dimension	Audi E7X	New Forces (Xiaomi/NIO)	Investment Judgment
Brand Recognition	Luxury from ICE era, but weak EV recognition	New brand, but strong user mindshare	Needs 2-3 years to rebuild
Supply Chain	Mature, low scale costs	High initial costs, but fast iteration	Audi has short-term advantage
Intelligence	Large investment in collaboration/self-development, but slow speed	Software-defined, data closed-loop	Gap is narrowing
User Stickiness	Strong after-sales network, but weak user operations	Community operations, points system	Needs catch-up

[!tip] In the long run, whether the Audi E7X succeeds depends on "whether users are willing to pay for Audi's manufacturing and channels after the brand premium disappears." If the answer is yes, Audi will surpass others; if users only care about cost-performance, Audi will struggle to turn around, just like other traditional automakers.

Action Advice: What Should Investors Watch?

If you are researching investment opportunities related to the Audi E7X (such as supply chain, dealerships, or related ecosystem companies), I suggest watching three nodes:

1. Delivery Volume in the First 90 Days After Launch: If monthly sales stabilize at 5000+, it indicates the pricing strategy is effective and brand premium is being rebuilt. If monthly sales are below 3000, it means "no brand premium" is just a slogan, and there are issues with product strength or channels.

2. Changes in User Profile: Look at the source of E7X owners—are they existing Audi owners upgrading/replacing, or lost users from new forces? If the latter, it shows Audi is truly grabbing the new forces' cake.

3. Third-Party Evaluations of Intelligent Experience: Don't listen to official promotions; go check real-world tests from Dongchedi or Xinchuxing. If the E7X's smart driving and cockpit enter the first tier, long-term investment value emerges.

![](https://bbs-physixfrontier-com-data.oss-cn-hongkong

Original Link: https://www.ithome.com/0/980/236.htm