Guangyang has continued toExpanding Ionex's electric vehicle and battery swap station footprint, and even announced that it would assist more traditional dealers in the transformation to achieve the goal of switching from oil to electricity and green energy development. However, not long ago, it suddenly announced a significant price cut for the GP18 model that had been on the market for 125 years, claiming that it was the most favorable price in the history of the world, allowing consumers to buy the car at a price of less than NT$4. It seems that it hopes to further promote the development of traditional oil vehicles?
Kymco's next step in development
In fact, Kymco just recently put forward the slogan of "oil and gas parity" and even announced a plan to achieve the "double championship" goal in 2024. This time, it announced that the GP125 model that has been launched for many years will be "promoted" in the form of a significant price reduction. Obviously, this is not just a surprise move to repel opponents as the market believes, but a matching approach for Kymco to enter the next step of development.
Looking at the current two-wheeled vehicle usage in Taiwan, while the proportion of electric vehicles continues to increase, traditional gasoline-powered vehicles still account for the largest share overall. Cumulative sales for the first five months of this year totaled 5 units, a 29% increase. Traditional gasoline-powered vehicles accounted for at least 6684% of these sales, indicating that the majority of market demand remains focused on traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.
Although market trends and government policies are moving toward electric vehicles, and more and more people are indeed using trams for commuting, many still consider issues such as the tram's insufficient range, the difficulty of charging/replacing the battery, and the relatively high cost of using and maintaining trams. Despite the considerable convenience they offer, many people still prefer traditional gasoline vehicles as their commuting choice.
For example, the number of people using electric vehicles increased, but the basic battery replacement facilities failed to keep up with the situation. As a result, many people could only replace batteries with sufficient power, and many people even had to queue up for maintenance and repairs. Even though there were subsequent improvements, many people still believed that traditional gasoline vehicles were relatively more stable. Especially for users who have to rely on vehicles for commuting and work almost every day, continuing to use gasoline vehicles is obviously a safer choice.
Therefore, even though it has invested in the development of electric vehicles, Kymco believes that there will still be a lot of demand for the use of traditional gasoline vehicles during the transition period before fully switching to electric vehicles, so it still needs to continue to provide suitable gasoline vehicle products in the market.
Trams are not the only solution to improving environmental impact
On the other hand, even though the current investment in electric vehicle development seems to be the only solution to improve environmental impact, there are still many people who believe that improving the fuel efficiency of traditional gasoline vehicles or using new fuel materials can also reduce the environmental impact of traditional gasoline vehicles. For example, Toyota, which has also invested in electric vehicle development, is still continuing to developHydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and Porsche also proposedSynthetic fuels that enable internal combustion engines to operate nearly carbon-neutrally, highlighting that many car manufacturers are still considering the future development possibilities of traditional gasoline vehicles, rather than just focusing resources on electric vehicles.
Back to Kymco, it recently announced the goal of achieving "double championship" in 2024, indicating that Kymco plans to develop on both electric and gasoline vehicles. It will continue to plan the development possibilities of electric vehicles with the Ionex vehicle energy network. At the same time, it also plans to allow gasoline vehicle products to continue to meet the needs of different user groups, especially in the process of converting from gasoline to electricity, where there are still many demands for the use of traditional gasoline vehicles.
This time, Kymco is focusing on the most discounted model in the history of the world, the GP18, which has been promoted for over 125 years. Not only is it sold at a minimum price of less than NT$4, but it also inherits the engine system that has been developed and designed over many years. The fuel-efficient performance of a single barrel of oil can correspond to a longer driving distance, and it is even easier to repair and maintain. These advantages are almost unmatched by current electric vehicle products. Obviously, it will attract more customers with limited budgets and frequent commuting and work needs.
As for Kymco's next step, it should continue to observe the actual market demand and provide more suitable vehicle products. While moving towards the goal of achieving the "double championship" in 2024, it is expected to determine the best layout direction during the next transition period, that is, to fully switch to the development of electric vehicles, or to invest better technology in gasoline vehicles to solve environmental impact issues.
