Great Wall Euler, a brand that once became popular all over the Internet because of its cute design, is now standing at a critical crossroads: it can either continue to stick to the niche market of personalized cars, or it can put down its status and launch an impact on the mainstream family car market. Euler 5, which was launched on December 16, is the most intuitive embodiment of this choice.
Everything seems reasonable - larger body, more practical space, more thoughtful configuration. But the real question is, what can a brand that relies on design personality do to convince ordinary home users who have clear needs for battery life, safety, and service? This is not a simple product upgrade, but a rewriting of the underlying logic of the brand.
1. Where does Euler’s identity anxiety come from?
When Euler Good Cat was launched in 2020, the market reaction was almost crazy. The big round eyes and the retro and interesting appearance pique the desire of urban young people for individuality. Sales volume once exceeded 30,000 units per month, becoming Great Wall's "cash cow". But such popularity actually hides a hidden danger - the brand has been over-symbolized.
When talking about Euler, what everyone thinks of is "cute", "small", and "young". These labels are attractive, but they also have ceilings. When the market demand for personalized cars becomes saturated, and when users upgrade from buying their first new energy car to their second or third, they begin to need more space, longer battery life, and more complete intelligence. Euler is still cramming functions into round lamps.
Great Wall's management is obviously aware of this problem. If we continue to make good cat derivatives, we will only have leftovers; the only way out is to move closer to the mainstream market. This is the real background of the birth of Euler 5.
2. From showing cuteness to showing strength, it’s not that simple
The data for Euler 5 all look good. The wheelbase is 2720 mm, 15.6-inch central control screen, lidar, and Coffee Pilot Ultra intelligent driving system. Use these parameters to benchmark BYD Yuan PLUS and Geely Galaxy E5, and it will not lose on paper.
But there is a fundamental problem here: users' perception of a brand will not be completely rewritten because of a new car.
Try asking ten car buyers, what do they think of first when they mention Euler? I dare say that at least eight people's first reaction was "that cute little car" rather than "a reliable family car brand". This is not the fault of Euler 5, but that the mind built by Euler Good Cat is too strong.
Think about it from another perspective, if you are a 35-year-old engineer and need a pure electric SUV that can accommodate children, run long distances, and have reliable battery life, would you choose a brand that is "known for being cute" or a brand that "has always emphasized stability and technology"? This is the real enemy of Euler 5.
3. Battery life and driving assistance are thresholds, not selling points.
What is the current level of 480 kilometers and 580 kilometers of driving range? To be honest, this is already an industry standard. Not long enough, but not short either. The problem is that users’ attitudes towards battery life have changed.
Three years ago, 600 kilometers of battery life was a big selling point. Now, mileage is no longer the main decision-making factor. What users care about is real battery life, winter attenuation, charging speed, and battery warranty. Euler 5 gives data based on the CLTC standard - a standard that has long been criticized by the industry. No one is stupid enough to use CLTC battery life to plan long-distance travel.
Regarding smart driving, the situation is similar. Lidar, city navigation, and high-speed navigation, these functions have beautiful names, but what is the actual experience? This is what users really care about. Many competing products have already proven their product strength in this field. Euler 5 needs to use actual road data to speak for itself, not promotional copy.
4. Pricing power, can Euler hold it?
The pre-sale price ranges from 109,800 to 142,800, which sounds very competitive. But that price comes with a problem - it's too crowded.
Competitors at the same price range are not only BYD Yuan PLUS and Geely Galaxy E5, but also the hybrid version of BYD Song Plus DM-i, some versions of Nezha U Pro, and even the top models of some fuel-powered small SUVs. Consumers have a dazzling array of choices, and every brand claims to have the best value for money.
If Euler 5 really wants to win, it cannot rely on price. A price war will only destroy the entire market in the end. What it needs is something that others don't have - it may be better vehicle integration, it may be more considerate service, it may be a more stable reputation. But these will not suddenly appear just because a new car is launched.
5. Channels and services, Euler’s real test
A brand that is sought after by young people is often weak in channel construction and after-sales service. Because those customer groups are insensitive to these things - they buy personality, not peace of mind.
But the target users of Euler 5 are different. A 35-year-old consumer with a family to support will have high requirements for service. He needs a nearby repair point, he needs a standardized diagnostic process, and he needs a quick solution when there is a problem. Great Wall's foundation in this area is actually pretty good, but the Euler brand itself has not established trust as a "reliable family car brand."
This is why the success of Euler 5 depends not only on the product itself, but also on whether the brand can quickly complete a "personality transformation."
6. The delicate balance between market capacity and brand positioning
The market for pure electric SUVs priced at RMB 100,000-150,000 is now a red ocean. BYD, Geely, Wuling, Nezha, and Xiaopeng—each of them has several products competing in this price range. The total market capacity is limited, and additional products do not create demand, but divide existing demand.
For Euler 5 to occupy a place here, it cannot rely on "I will join in the fun." It needs to find a really overlooked user group, or a clear usage scenario. If Euler 5 can become "the most suitable choice for daily family transportation, with real battery life and easy maintenance", there will be a chance. But the premise is that it must prove this through actual market performance, rather than relying on pre-sale marketing.
7. Intelligent competition is accelerating, Euler must keep up with the pace
In the past two years, competition in the new energy vehicle market has shifted from battery life and design to intelligence. Large model voice interaction, autonomous driving, and smart cockpits are no longer exclusive to high-end cars.
The Coffee GPT voice interaction and Coffee Pilot Ultra equipped with Euler 5 look good in the configuration list. But what about in actual use? How well do you understand the daily needs of users? How accurate is the speech recognition? How does autonomous driving perform in complex road conditions? These details are difficult to judge without a large amount of actual user feedback.
No one will stop innovating on this track. What Euler 5 is equipped with today may not be the highlight in half a year.
8. From Haomao to Euler 5, how to tell the brand story
Great Wall has to face a communication problem: How to explain to consumers that Euler has upgraded from a "cute car expert" to a "mainstream family car player"?
Forcibly upgrading will look awkward, like an actor who is known for being funny and suddenly wants to play tragedy. The best way may be to let Euler 5 speak for itself in the market, and gradually rewrite people's perception of Euler through real user reviews and word-of-mouth communication.
But the process will be slow and uncertain. During this process, any quality issue or negative review may bring the entire transformation plan back to its original starting point.
9. Competitors’ reaction and response
BYD and Geely will not sit still and wait for death. They will also continue to upgrade their products to meet the needs of the 100,000-150,000 price range. In fact, the competition at this price point is essentially a "functional arms race" with no end point.
Every brand is stuffing more features, better chips, and newer systems into their cars. But user needs are limited. When all products are equipped with lidar and support urban navigation assistance, these functions will no longer be differentiated. The final battle is the overall experience, brand trust and after-sales service.
This is bad for Euler 5 because it has shortcomings in the last two items.
10. Where are the opportunities?
But Euler 5 is not without a chance. If it can make real differentiation in the following aspects, it may have a breakthrough:
First, the authenticity of battery life. It does not play around with CLTC, provides clear CLTC and WLTP benchmarking data, and even actively conducts third-party endurance tests. You may lose some promotional data by doing this, but you can gain user trust.
Second, the degree of integration of the vehicle. At the same price, it provides better NVH, more stable three-electric system, and more humane human-computer interaction than competing products. These will not appear in the configuration table, but will be felt in the actual car.
Third, serve the ecology. Establish a maintenance network with wider coverage, train more professional service personnel, and introduce more transparent service prices. Let those cautious family car buyers choose Euler with confidence.
Fourth, find the right user portrait. Instead of trying to get everyone to buy the Euler 5, clearly define: Who am I building this car for? A middle-class family aged 35-45, or a young family with two children? Find target users and then optimize products and marketing accordingly.
11. Real-life verification and risks
Euler 5 has not yet been launched on a large scale, so many things are still in the "publicity stage". Will the battery degrade quickly? How serious is the battery life degradation in winter? Does lidar really help drivers, or does it just look fancy? What is the recognition rate of Coffee GPT in dialects and complex scenarios?
These questions require actual operating data from thousands of vehicles to answer. During this verification period, the brand reputation of Euler 5 hangs there. If large-scale quality problems occur, it is not a "product failure" but "secondary damage to the brand." Euler Haomao has also caused a lot of controversy due to some minor issues.
12. Long-term perspective: the necessity and challenges of brand evolution
From an industrial logic point of view, it is reasonable for Euler to make this decision. A brand cannot live in a market segment forever and must expand to a larger market. The glory of Haomao is in the past. The market is iterating and user needs are upgrading. If Euler doesn't move, he can only wait for death.
Brand upgrade does not happen overnight. Maybe Euler 5 will not be the "big turning point" model. Maybe the real turning point will not be reflected until Euler 6 and Euler 7. Maybe Euler will become a multi-line brand - making both personalized cars and mainstream family cars.
In this process, the most critical thing is not how good a certain product is, but whether Great Wall can adhere to a clear brand strategy and consolidate it through each product iteration.
The launch of Euler 5 marks a brand’s attempt to rewrite its own story. But rewriting a story is never easy. It requires excellent products, proper marketing, and considerate service, and it also takes some time for the new brand recognition to slowly settle. The success or failure will not depend on the sales figures, but on whether more and more ordinary home users will sincerely choose Euler after one or two years - not because it is cheap, not because it is cute, but because it is really easy to use.
