The Chinese manufacturer of alternative drive vehicles BYD $1211 (+0,35 %) has unveiled a new range of automotive products, including a new brand aimed at the business-to-business market.
The Linghui brand comprises a total of four new vehicle models, including three pure electric sedans and a plug-in hybrid multi-purpose vehicle, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently announced.
Linghui mainly targets the B2B market for large-scale buyers and integrates BYD's original electric models with an independent sales channel, Yicai has learned. The automaker registered the Linghui brand back in 2010.
BYD sold over 4.6 million NEVs last year, an increase of 7.7 percent from the previous year. Of these, 3.4 million were vehicles from the Dynasty and Ocean brands for the mainstream market and around 180,000 units from the high-end Denza brand.
The GAC Group's NEV brand GAC Aion made a similar strategic move last year. To improve the public perception of its brand associated with ride-hailing services, GAC Aion launched a dedicated brand for the B2B market to completely separate the B2B and business-to-consumer markets, and introduced specific models tailored to each market with separate sales channels.
According to the latest report from Citic Securities, one of the key trends in the Chinese automotive market this year will be the increasing demand for luxury vehicles. Although the supply in various price segments is large and competition will remain intense, leading car manufacturers that excel in high-end products are expected to achieve higher profit margins this year.
