Find their own niche, maintain sufficient perseverance, adapt to the marketing model in the era of traffic, and think about products with users as the center... These issues may be the necessary questions that Raylan needs to seriously answer today.

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Recently, Electric Momentum learned exclusively from relevant insiders that the Raylan Automobile Research Institute may cancel its independent structure and merge into the Geely Automobile Research Institute.

Seeing this, many people may be confused.

What is Raylan Automobile? Why haven't I heard of it before?

Hmm. Indeed, as a new force brand, Raylan Automobile is so low-key that almost few mainstream consumers have heard of this brand today.

But in fact, Raylan Automobile has a solid background.

As an automotive brand established in 2022, the "men" behind it are two major factories, Geely and Lifan.

I guess you might find it even stranger?

With such a prominent reputation, Raylan Automobile is too low-key. So how is Raylan Automobile developing?

Today, we will use the time of an article to talk about the Raylan Automobile we see.

Unknown and Unsellable

Compared to other new force brands, Raylan Automobile is an automaker born with a golden key.

On the one hand, it relies on the two major factories of Geely and Lifan; on the other hand, Raylan Automobile was born with a mission.

It is reported that Li Shufu himself attaches great importance to battery swapping. By the end of 2021, Gan Jiayue, CEO of Geely Group, announced Geely's actions in the field of battery swapping, elevating the battery swapping model to the strategic height of Geely Group.

Since then, Raylan Automobile made its debut under the expectations of everyone. It can be said that from the day of its birth, Raylan Automobile has carried the burden of promoting the development of Geely's battery swapping model.

But unfortunately, until today, Raylan seems to have not fully leveraged the value of this golden key, so it is difficult to say that Raylan has truly established a distinctive market position.

In other words, Raylan seems to have not found its niche yet.

Why do I say that?

Looking back at Raylan's brief history, we can see such a trajectory.

At first, Raylan started by focusing on battery swapping and aimed at the B-end market. After its establishment in 2022, it launched its first battery swapping vehicle, the Maple Leaf series, in February of that year.

This car has a very clear idea, targeting the B-end market with real high-frequency battery swapping needs, or more bluntly, it is mainly ride-hailing vehicles.

Let's just say, Raylan is holding a golden key. Just one month after the launch of the new car, in March, Caocao Mobility, which is also part of the Geely system, signed a procurement cooperation agreement with Raylan for the Maple Leaf. The contract was signed for five years, and roughly calculated, it amounted to tens of thousands of vehicles.

Of course, to open a restaurant, you can't just rely on family members to eat there. Three months later, in June 2021, Raylan launched the Raylan 7 and Raylan 9 for the C-end market. Of course, these two models also support battery swapping.

But, of course, you can't just ask employees to buy cars. In the real consumer market, Raylan's sales have not been smooth.

Even at its peak, sales hovered around 100 units.

In terms of products, the highlight of these cars is almost exclusively battery swapping. But what else? It seems to lack necessary highlights in product development. This problem is naturally reflected in Raylan's sales figures.

In 2023, Raylan Automobile sold only 38,000 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 32%, making it the only brand under Geely Automobile with declining sales during the same period.

By January 2024, Geely Automobile no longer separately listed Raylan's sales figures in its financial reports.

The continuous downturn in sales has also led to a significant decline in Raylan Automobile's performance. According to financial data disclosed by Geely Automobile and Lifan Technology, Raylan Automobile's revenue in 2023 was 3.483 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 40.35%; its net loss was as high as 622 million yuan, compared to a profit of 15.5884 million yuan in the same period last year.

For a long time, compared to NIO's high-end positioning starting at over 300,000 yuan, Raylan cleverly positioned itself in the battery swapping market at the 100,000-yuan level. However, with the emergence of NIO's affordable brand, Letao, the 100,000-yuan market now has a competitor with strong product capabilities. In this way, Raylan's already tenuous niche seems to be in danger of being snatched away.

Alright, by now, you should have a good understanding of Raylan's market performance.

Now comes the important part. What caused Raylan's declining sales?

Lack of Strategic Perseverance and Indecisiveness

Frankly speaking, there may be multiple reasons for Raylan's declining sales.

It could be due to insufficient market acceptance of battery swapping, low brand influence of Raylan itself, or inadequate product capabilities.

The official has also provided an interpretation of the specific reasons.

As an investor in Raylan, Lifan Technology once responded to investors' questions by stating that as a new brand, Raylan Automobile still needs time to promote its brand in the C-end market, and that there are relatively few optional models, without resorting to significant price cuts to fully participate in price competition, which puts it under considerable pressure. At the same time, the sluggishness of the B-end new energy market has also significantly impacted Raylan's overall sales.

Regarding this response, factors such as the limited number of available models and the lack of participation in price wars are not discussed here because they are subjective judgments. After all, Tesla also has a limited number of models but still achieves impressive sales figures, so it is not immediately clear whether these subjective judgments are the main reasons for Raylan's declining sales.

Let's focus on the key point: "The sluggishness of the B-end new energy market." This seemingly innocuous statement may inadvertently reveal Raylan's nuanced attitude towards the battery swapping route. As we all know, the B-end market is undoubtedly more practical for battery swapping.

So we see an interesting situation: In 2024, Raylan's new product after a year's hiatus is actually a gasoline-powered vehicle.

That's right, the Raylan X3pro, as Raylan's masterpiece in 2024, is a genuine gasoline-powered vehicle.

Furthermore, Raylan has indicated that it will release a model that supports "chargeable, swappable, and extendable range," and has even touted this as a world-first technology.

Obviously, Raylan's embarrassing sales figures have not only sparked debate about how it can successfully implement its battery swapping business, but have also made the company itself less resolute. At least in terms of product positioning, Raylan's choice of direction has become erratic. Raylan's Vice President Chen Gaoxu has also begun to publicly state that battery swapping was initially considered as a supplementary energy replenishment method to charging.

In short, battery swapping is no longer as attractive as it once was.

In fact, from Raylan's perspective, it is understandable to feel the pressure of indecisiveness. Although it is backed by Geely, Geely has numerous internal brands with overlapping positions, such as Geely, Geometry, and Yinhe, among others. Geely's battery swapping business is not solely carried out by Raylan. As a joint venture, there is no clear evidence that Raylan has received significant resources to drive its main efforts, so its struggles seem understandable, given the pressures from both its parent company and itself that need to be considered and coordinated.

However, as an emerging brand, it is absolutely necessary to survive today by maintaining strategic perseverance and finding its niche market. Raylan's shift from battery swapping today to gasoline tomorrow and extended range the day after is clearly detrimental to its niche positioning and consumer perception. In the long run, taking a firm strategic stance and remaining resolute may be Raylan's necessary choice at present.

More regrettably, in addition to lacking sufficient strategic perseverance, Raylan seems to have barely adapted to current emerging marketing tactics in the market.

Marketing Still Stuck in the Traditional Era

We say that the current transformation in the automotive industry is a mix of multiple forces.

On the one hand, there is the shift in energy sources; on the other hand, there is the advent of intelligence; and, thirdly, there is the shift in the entire marketing system.

Let's ask, which automakers that sell well in the market today are not proficient in generating traffic? Which ones are not long-time social media surfers? Even Wei Jianjun, despite his age and many discomforts, must still come out and make public appearances to generate traffic. Even more extreme, on the other side of the ocean, Tesla's boss Elon Musk bought a social media company, demonstrating his mastery of online marketing.

However, Raylan, as a new force brand, not only seems unable to generate traffic but also struggles to even get consumers to "hear" about it, let alone "understand" and "like" it.

We say that the development of any company bears the characteristics of its founder. Reflected in Raylan, this may have to mention a heavyweight figure in the automotive industry - Cai Jianjun.

As Raylan's marketing helmsman, Mr. Cai has an impressive resume, having served as a senior executive at Changan, Beijing Automotive Group, Baoneng, and Geely headquarters.

However, it must be said that Mr. Cai has always been involved in sales and is proficient in traditional channels. His overall behavior and style are, frankly, more old-school and steady in the automotive circle. While his basic skills are undoubtedly solid, his marketing seems somewhat low-key in the face of new tactics.

Take the simplest example: which automaker in the industry doesn't have a big-mouthed leader as their top IP? Even Nezha, whose founder is not good at this, has Zhou Hongyi, an investor, coming out to help. Why? It's not that everyone likes to be high-profile or seek attention; even big shots often prefer a low profile. But they still need to come out because traffic equals sales. Doesn't Mr. Cai think about it?

On the other hand, Raylan seems to have a biased perception of the market. In the past, it was a matter of "I make it, you drive it." Why? Because supply was limited and demand was high, so there were few choices. But that's not the case today. For users, it's not about what you want, but what they want. The car's quality is up to the user to decide.

But look at Raylan's statements:

Do not agree that intelligence is the soul of electric vehicles. - Raylan executive speaking at the 2024 Beijing Auto Show

Extended range battery swapping allows for upgradable mileage and more freedom of movement. - Raylan executive statement

Frankly speaking, it's hard to say whether these statements are right or wrong. But from the statements themselves, we have reason to suspect that Raylan lacks empathy for users in its understanding of products.

Take intelligent driving as an example, as it has become an important reference factor for consumers when choosing a vehicle today, making such statements is hardly conducive to sales. As for the bet on "chargeable, swappable, and extendable range," do ordinary users today really need such a combination of energy replenishment forms? Does it really significantly enhance the user experience? Are these really what users want?

So, to summarize. Finding one's niche, maintaining sufficient perseverance, adapting to the marketing model in the era of traffic, and thinking about products with users as the center... These issues may be the necessary questions that Raylan needs to seriously answer today.

However, in today's increasingly fierce competition, the time left for Raylan may indeed be limited.

Wishing Raylan a breakthrough.