Last week (May 30th) in Shanghai, I interviewed Gu Yabin, the head of Cadillac's marketing department. Here are the key points summarized:

1. Within one month of its launch, the firm orders exceeded 1,000, with over 84% of the car owners being those who are upgrading or replacing their vehicles.

2. 46% are existing Cadillac customers, and female customers account for 35%.

3. In the early stages of the launch, the most common comparison by users was with the Model Y. The most notable advantage of the Aoke is its refinement, making it a significantly more luxurious and tasteful car.

4. Recently, more customers are comparing it with the ix3. In comparison, the ix3 has a raised center tunnel in the rear, while the Aoke has a completely flat floor. Additionally, the Aoke's range is very reliable, whereas ix3 users have reported more noticeable battery drain during winter.In summary, compared to its competitors, the IQ Aoge has a generational advantage over BMW, which is known for its luxury, due to its Ultium pure electric platform; compared to Tesla, which is known for its pure electric technology, it has a more luxurious and refined feel—thus, Aoge's advantage is distinctive and unique.

Advertisement

On June 5th, Cadillac launched a "value retention repurchase" policy for the month of June, and I received a private message from a frontline salesperson at the dealership as soon as it was announced.

I will highlight the key points of the policy for everyone:

1. The focus of the June policy is that, in addition to the existing Cadillac owners who can enjoy a 3-year 80% value retention repurchase when upgrading or changing their vehicle, non-Cadillac owners can also benefit. The main points are as follows:2. In addition to the Aoge, somewhat unexpectedly, I have studied the new policy and found that for fuel vehicles (XT5 and XT6), the right to purchase this value retention buyback can be acquired. It seems that in this wave, Cadillac is determined to carve out a "most valuable" path in the entire luxury brand segment, regardless of whether it is fuel or pure electric.

3. So, who is suitable to purchase this right? My view is: those who estimate their holding period to be three years and who still have the intention to exchange for a Cadillac brand model later, are strongly advised to go for this right without hesitation.

4. It is also important to emphasize that during the value retention buyback, any model of the Cadillac brand, whether fuel or electric, can be chosen—by that time, the range of new Cadillac models available for selection will definitely be broader than it is now.

So, many people must be wondering: with such significant price reductions, why does Cadillac have the confidence to carry out such a value retention buyback?In our fan group, some have asked me why Lexus's previous value retention and buyback promises are hard to cash in, while Cadillac can be bought with confidence?

It is widely believed that the current second-hand car market is bleak, and the residual value of electric vehicles is already very low on paper—Lexus's issue this time, which actually only involves 600 users, has already reflected the concerns of many more people: after three years, it is likely that even fewer people will be willing to accept the cars.

This is precisely the real pain point that Cadillac sees for luxury pure electric vehicle users. At this time, only financial insurance companies within the large factory system dare to have the confidence to formulate a "value retention and buyback" policy.

I have carefully looked into it, and the problem with Lexus lies precisely in the mutual shirking of responsibility between the insurance companies. "Value retention and buyback" is, after all, a service insured by the insurance company. We can all understand that this is based on the insurance service provider's calculation of the residual value of the second-hand car and "making a profitable account", and also having enough confidence—but more importantly, a point that many people have not realized:

That is, whether the party providing the service has sufficient strength, sufficient qualifications, and sufficient professionalism to undertake this service and underpin for the users.Cadillac's "value retention repurchase" service this time is provided by a subsidiary of SAIC Insurance, which actually illustrates that in the current market competition that is becoming increasingly fierce, what is being competed is the invisible system strength—rather than just the visible product power and marketing power.

It is the strong system strength of SAIC that supports and safeguards Cadillac's value retention repurchase.

Competitive and reasonably priced products, coupled with services guaranteed by a strong system strength, are the confidence behind Cadillac's high-profile "value retention" banner this time.

Especially, I believe that mentioning "value retention" at this moment is timely—after all, the recent news of price cuts by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, especially BMW, is very hot on the internet. Even the so-called "most profitable" Porsche can no longer hold on, with dealers refusing to take on more inventory and the price system being shaken, which actually means that even Porsche is no longer as valuable as it used to be.

Under the price war, it is not just about lowering prices to win; that would be like drinking poison to quench thirst. The manufacturer's guarantee of residual value is the greatest benefit to users.During the interview in Shanghai at the end of May, Gu Yabin stated that as a luxury brand, Cadillac does not solely focus on traffic and trending searches, but has its own understanding of user value. Respecting and starting from the actual needs of users, and even considering their needs for many years to come, is the responsibility that a luxury brand should bear.

However, who could have imagined that in 2024, the one to proclaim itself as "the most value-retaining luxury brand" would be Cadillac?

Summary by Jia Shi:

The most memorable sentence from the interview in Shanghai at the end of May was, "to turn traffic into 'retained' quantity." Gu Yabin said, while others have pools of traffic, Cadillac has a "thousand-acre oil field":

That is the vast base of loyal customers.This is actually the reason why the earliest value preservation buyback rights were only available to Cadillac owners. In fact, as far as I know, dealers have a very positive attitude towards this policy. For example:

My friend, a Cadillac owner who doesn't drive much but has been reluctant to sell his SRX, has been asking me about the quality of this right and how good the Aigo is. Such "dormant" oil car customers have been "activated" by the value preservation buyback policy, and I believe it is the huge potential and value of the "thousand-acre oil field."

Undoubtedly, the current market competition is particularly fierce. When I visited the store, the dealers also said that under the fierce competition of luxury brand fuel models, the exploration of pure electric and new energy vehicle owners is actually the biggest opportunity for luxury brands in the next step.

Even the dealers say: The continuous price reduction of pure electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi is a problem with product strength and the pure electric platform itself, not a problem with the luxury brand itself; and among the entire luxury brand, the only mass-produced products that can be called born from the world's leading pure electric platform architecture are the Aigo and Ruige of the Cadillac IQ pure electric series.

Especially Aigo, starting at a price of 239,700 yuan, coupled with the quality of the intelligent cockpit and excellent handling quality, especially the leading technology born from the Ultium platform, there is actually no direct competitor in the luxury brand.Distributors fully understand the value, and from the manufacturer's perspective, it's just a matter of finding the right timing to proactively assert, activate, and repeat these irreplaceable values, creating ripples in the market to aid in the conversion of terminal sales.

Therefore, whether it's the most value-retaining luxury brand or the claim of being "more electric than luxury, and more luxurious than electric," as the undisputed representative of American luxury, the advantages of the new electric products ultimately rely on the product's own experience being understood by more people to gain word-of-mouth fermentation and spread.

Only then can they be recognized and understood by more people, and ultimately chosen by more people.

Gu Yebin also said that AOG doesn't have so-called blind orders, small orders, or intention order stages, but instead goes directly into the major order stage upon launch—Cadillac doesn't want to do those "24-hour intention orders of xx ten thousand" promotions, and also believes that if one really wants to spend more than 200,000 to buy a car, users must experience and drive it to truly make a decision.

This actually stems from confidence in the product and respect for the users.In the current real orders, nearly half are from Cadillac owners, which also means that the "value retention" card is indeed very easy to understand in terms of communication, and it is one of the biggest pain points for luxury brand users, especially pure electric vehicle users, at present. In June, the "value retention repurchase rights" launched for non-Cadillac owners is to further expand this advantage and recognition.

When others are fighting price wars and "blood is flowing like rivers," Cadillac has chosen to fight product wars and cognitive wars, ultimately culminating in a decisive battle about system strength.

That "brave at the forefront of the trend" Cadillac, holding the "value retention" banner, is back.