Sophus3

It’s groundhog day for the Sophus3 EV Index this quarter, as poor sales of electric cars, combined with lower consumer interest online, has resulted in a static performance across the EU5. It means that the ‘EV readiness’ of the big European markets is at best flat and, at worst, slightly down on Q2. However, there may be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel as car brands continue to improve the affordability of EVs, which remains the key barrier to mass market adoption. Whilst Chinese brands have been prevented from introducing super-cheap EVs following the imposition of EU tariffs from early in November, next year should see the arrival of a number of sub-€25,000 cars from Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차), Renault Group, Stellantis and Volkswagen Group. Additionally, as the likes of BYD EUROPE, CHERY , Dongfeng Automobile Co., Ltd. , GEELY, Leapmotor, SAIC Motor and XPENG accelerate their plans for European production, then the choice of affordable EVs should increase still further. You can view the EV Index 2024 Q3 in full here: https://lnkd.in/dvF_scCe Be sure to follow Sophus3 on LinkedIn to receive future insights. (The EV Index is calculated from three data sets: consumer interest, choice/affordability, and the availability of charging infrastructure. A score of 100 represents parity in the ease of purchase and ownership of an EV compared to an ICE vehicle. The Index is published quarterly for the European Big 5 markets, The Netherlands and Norway.) #evs #electricvehicles #electricandhybridvehicles #EVIndex #automotiveindustry #automotivemarketing #digitalmarketing #analytics

This was one of the talking points at our webinar yesterday, where 200 clients from across Europe's leading auto brands heard exclusive insights into the digital performance of Chinese auto brands. The launch of new brands in Europe has not been uniform or seamless with bumps in the road for the likes of GWM, HiPhi and Xpeng. To stay up to date with these fast moving trends follow Sophus3 and reach out to Patrick Fuller to learn more about joining our eDataXchange partnership. #automotive #digitalmarketing #automotivemarketing #evs #electricvehicles #electricandhybridvehicles #automotiveindustry #analytics

Are Chinese brands continuing their record progress in Europe? Join our insight team at today's Mondial de l’Auto - Paris for a tour of the latest products and what they mean for the next 12 months. Be sure to follow Sophus3 to receive future insights #automotive #digitalmarketing #automotivemarketing #evs #electricvehicles #electricandhybridvehicles #EVIndex #automotiveindustry #analytics Alfa Romeo Alpine AUDI AG Groupe PSA Renault Dacia Stellantis Ford Motor Company BYD XPENG Hongqi-KSA AITO BMW France Volkswagen Škoda Auto Tesla

German car brands are understandably the most strongly opposed to the tariffs on Chinese cars enacted by the European Parliament last week. In 2023 Volkswagen Group, BMW Group, and Mercedes-Benz AG between them sold just under 5 million cars in China; for their part the Chinese manufacturers — including BYD EUROPE, Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd., SAIC Motor and GEELY — sold barely 40,000 cars in Germany during the same period. If the current situation escalates into an all-out trade war it seems pretty obvious who the biggest losers will be. At Sophus3 we are closely following the efforts of Chinese car brands to establish themselves in Europe and to assess the ‘threat’ they pose to the incumbent brands. Our particular focus is on the digital footprint and visibility they have achieved with consumers. Next Thursday, 17th October, we will be hosting a ▶️ webinar where we will be sharing our latest deep-dive into the digital performance of Chinese brands in Europe. Based on millions of customer data points collected over the past 12 months, we will reveal: 🇨🇳 Which Chinese brands are active in digital 📶 Their digital market share trends 💡 Brand-by-brand analysis and insights 📸 A snapshot of their varying digital marketing strategies 💶 An overview of their pricing competitiveness Our webinars are presented by our insight team exclusively for eDataXchange members and their agencies. To request an invite or to find out more, contact: patrick.fuller@sophus3.com. Be sure to follow Sophus3 to receive future automotive and digital updates. #automotivemarketing #digitalmarketing #EVIndex #evs #electricvehicles #China #automotiveindustry #tesla #tariffs

Chinese automotive brand BYD EUROPE made a clear statement of intent when it took up the mobility sponsorship role of the UEFA EURO 2024 football tournament — a position held previously by Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car maker. Throughout the tournament the digital team at Sophus3 closely monitored how the brand’s visibility within TV and online coverage was translating into traffic to its own digital channels. We measured a significant uplift in visits to the brand’s website over the course of the tournament in all of the main European markets. (Although admittedly, BYD were starting from a low base, attracting only 0.35% of the total traffic to car brand websites within those markets during the months prior to the tournament). In the first couple of weeks after Euro 2024 traffic predictably declined, however, reviewing BYD’s performance over a longer time frame we can see the brand is now achieving much higher levels of digital engagement than the pre-tournament trend would have suggested. Sophus3 would be happy to share more insights into the digital outcomes of BYD’s sponsorship of Euro 2024. Our eDX clients will be joining us on the 17th of this month for a webinar dissecting the progress of the Chinese brands entering the European markets and how their digital footprint is expanding. Contact patrick.fuller@sophus3.com to learn more, and follow Sophus3 to receive future digital and automotive insights.

Ecommerce has swept the European auto industry in the past two years, but one tech company has been perfecting the customer direct channel since the pioneering days of auto retail in UK shopping centres more than 10 years ago. In this interview Martin Sewell, CEO of RockarTech, discusses the current state of play as the car industry seeks to enlarge its direct-to-customer capabilities.  He identifies some of the barriers car brands need to confront to become more digitally effective and argues that implementing truly omnichannel technology is key—enabling seamless interaction between the customer and the brand whether online or in person at a dealership. This benefits both parties in—what the data shows—is often an extended and highly episodic journey to purchase. (Rockar Tech Ltd. is the supplier of ecommerce platforms to a number of automotive OEMs, including Jaguar Land Rover UK, Toyota (GB) plc–Lexus UK, BMW South Africa–MINI South Africa, and new market entrant GWM ORA UK.) #digitalmarketing #automotivemarketing #CRM #agency #franchise #automotiveretail #d2c # Follow Sophus3 to receive future insights into digital innovations within automotive retail. https://lnkd.in/eD-FwwJ3

Last week Polestar UK became the latest car brand to announce that it was abandoning the agency retail model and reverting to a traditional franchise arrangement with dealers. But is the agency experiment imploding because of genuine, inherent shortcomings or because of the resistance to change from various vested interests? Whichever model achieves ascendancy, the same challenge remains to deliver what customers repeatedly say they want when purchasing a car. That is: 🛒 Transparent, consistent pricing without coercion or the need to haggle 🛒 The choice of the car they want; not the one the dealer or manufacturer wants to get rid of 🛒 Seamless interaction without constant 'resets' each time they have contact with the dealer, the brand or its finance arm. At Sophus3 we believe 'the model' debate has become a distraction to tackling those shortcomings and ensuring that the customer is placed front and centre in everything that the brand and its representatives do—whatever the commercial arrangement between them.

Over the last two months, the Renault/Dacia live showroom team has received over 300 enquiries relating to the new Scenic E-Tech. Sophus3's technology is designed to let online customers learn more about the car, helping them make an informed decision. Whether through live chat or a more immersive product demo, product experts can handle enquiries, qualify leads and deliver an appropriate brand response. Used pre- or post-sale, the technology helps deliver a seamless buying and ownership experience. The team will soon be welcoming the new Renault Symbioz E-Tech and Dacia Spring into the showroom. Stop by to learn more about the cars for yourself. Please message Richard Smith if you would like to put our technology to the test. #ecommerce #automotiveindustry #automotivemarketing #digitalmarketing #virtualassistant

BYD’s 💰sponsorship💰 of UEFA EURO 2024 ⚽ was by far the largest statement of intent from the Chinese car brand since it entered the European market. The previous mobility sponsors of the competition have included Volkswagen and Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차). One month before the start of the tournament, BYD had a share of the audience for all car brand websites of barely 0.35% in key European markets. As can be seen, sponsorship of the event—which had an estimated global audience of 5 billion 👀—had an immediate positive impact. However, the drop-off since then suggests that this bounce may only have been temporary. No doubt BYD is aware that building brand awareness is a long game. As the top-selling car brand in China (with 1.6 million sales in the first half of the year), they are well placed to take up that challenge. Indeed, when Toyota Motor Corporation ends its global sponsorship of the International Olympic Committee – IOC in the coming months, we will not be surprised to see BYD at the front 🥇 of the queue to become the event’s new mobility partner. Sophus3 would be happy to share more insights into the digital outcomes of BYD’s sponsorship of Euro 2024 with our eDataXchange partners. Contact Patrick Fuller to learn more.

The EV Index from Sophus3 for quarter two is published today. It suggests that the sluggish market in Europe for electric cars is heading towards a crisis point. The key observations: + Digital interest, as measured by traffic to EV model pages on car brand websites, fell in 5 of the 7 markets that we monitor. + Relative pricing between EVs and ICE (unusually) improved, although the adjustments were minor. + Infrastructure expansion remains adequate and is not, we continue to argue, the impediment to EV acquisition that many insist. + Tariffs on Chinese EVs will slow adoption as the market awaits affordable EVs; the measures are likely to prove counterproductive in a number of other ways. + Changes to the political landscape at a European and national level has introduced uncertainty on the policy front. + Further slowdown in sales during the quarter means that divergence from mandated targets is a problem for manufacturers and governments that can no longer be ignored. Read the full commentary here: https://lnkd.in/dJ9gdzhF Be sure to follow Sophus3 on LinkedIn to receive future insights. (The EV Index is calculated from three data sets: consumer interest, choice/affordability, and the availability of charging infrastructure. A score of 100 represents parity in the ease of purchase and ownership of an EV compared to an ICE vehicle. The Index is published quarterly for the European Big 5 markets, The Netherlands and Norway.) #evs #electricvehicles #electricandhybridvehicles #EVIndex #automotiveindustry #automotivemarketing #digitalmarketing #analytics