01. Tesla will no longer be able to start the game while on the go
A few days ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on December 23 that Tesla will no longer allow passengers to use the in-car game function when the vehicle is in a driving state. On Dec. 22, NHTSA announced a formal safety investigation into 580,000 Tesla vehicles sold since 2017 for allowing drivers and passengers to play games on a central screen while the vehicles are in motion. NHTSA said that despite the name "Passenger Game", in fact, drivers can also use the function, which may distract drivers and increase the risk of collision.
It is reported that Tesla has informed NHTSA that they will release a software update that will lock the game function while the vehicle is driving. "NHTSA will continue to evaluate how manufacturers can identify and prevent distracted driving that may result from malfunction, misuse or intentional use of convenience technologies, including infotainment screens," the agency said. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Previously, NHTSA had released a report that the "passenger game" feature had caused at least 11 accidents and caused 17 injuries and 1 death.
02. The new Binyue spy photos were exposed
A few days ago, the author obtained a set of spy photos of the new Geely Binyue from relevant channels. According to the information obtained earlier, the new car may be named "Binyue X". Combined with the spy photos and the previously exposed patent diagram, the new Geely Binyue will be replaced with a similar "energy storm" front face with Geely Boyue X and Geely Emgrand L, in which the grille and the lower air intake are basically connected and filled with a black diamond-shaped mesh structure, which looks more aggressive than the current model.
In addition, the headlights have also been redesigned, the shape is more narrow and long, and the structure of the lamp cavity has also been adjusted to a certain extent. The rear of the new car adopts a bilateral four-out exhaust design.
From the contour of the interior, it is expected that the new car will still adopt the design of the floating central control screen, and a row of piano buttons has been added below the screen. In addition, the new car is equipped with blue and black double-panel leather seats and uses red and blue stitching treatment.
03.2022 UNI-T 2.0T advanced listing
A few days ago, Changan 2022 UNI-T 2.0T was officially launched, and 4 models were launched in the whole series, with an official price of 137,900-149,900 yuan. In terms of appearance, Changan UNI-T 2.0T basically continues the overall design idea of the current model, and the line outline also shows an obvious coupe SUV style, and the whole vehicle looks younger and more fashionable than the traditional SUV model.
As a premium addition to the series, the Sport model will also incorporate more radical exterior kits, including elements such as black body underwing, double-piece rear wing, 20-inch dense-strip spoke rims, and exclusive ionic blue car paint and orange under-wrap trim. With the new pneumatic kit and chassis optimization, the new car has been reduced by 20mm in height and 40mm in centroid, further enhancing the performance handling experience.
Compared with the 1.5T model, the power combination of the 2.0T model is indeed more explosive: it is equipped with the blue whale's new generation D series 2.0T engine, which has a maximum of 233 horsepower and a peak torque of 390 N·m. It is matched with Aisin's 8-speed automatic transmission. Changan 2022 UNI-T 2.0T series comes standard with a passionate catapult starting mode.
04. The Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV will be released next year
Recently, foreign media photographed Mercedes-Benz testing a pure electric EQE SUV in the snow and ice of Scandinavia. It is reported that the new car is expected to be officially released in 2022. The new car looks like a very upcoming EQS SUV crossover electric vehicle, but in a smaller size.
The new car features a fully enclosed mid-mesh with arched roof lines and a sloping hatchback design on the sides, and an upright design at the rear with wrap-around taillights. In addition, we saw the hidden door handles and low wind resistance wheel hubs of the new car.
Combining the interior with the interior of the already released EQE sedan, the new car will feature a three-spoke steering wheel, a floating center console and three MBUX Hyperscreen screens, including a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 17.7-inch infotainment touchscreen and a 12.3-inch front passenger display.
Like the EQE sedan, the new car will be built on the EMA platform, so the two models will also share the powertrain, including the rear-drive model with a maximum power of 292 horsepower and a maximum torque of 530 Nm, and the 4MATIC four-wheel drive model with dual motors on the front and rear axles. There will also be a 680-horsepower version of the AMG, which will also feature rear-wheel steering and air suspension. In terms of batteries, the rear-drive version of the model is equipped with a battery pack with a capacity of 90.6 kWh, and the cruising range under WLTP conditions reaches 660 km.
05. The latest trailer of volkswagen "small bread" is expected to debut next year
A few days ago, we learned of a group of public ID.BUZZ of the latest trailer, the trailer is very clear to show the lighting effect of the headlight group, but the volkswagen logo is not lit, the middle of the trailer is exactly the position of the logo.
Volkswagen ID.BUZZ the latest trailer to show the effect of the headlight group lighting, the new car front face part of the led light source connected to the headlights is Volkswagen's latest design concept, volkswagen ID. family of many models have adopted the same design.
As a pure electric MPV model, the ID.BUZZ will be based on the Volkswagen MEB platform, with a three-row seat layout provided internally. Volkswagen has said that ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo will launch in the spring of 2022.
Volkswagen ID.BUZZ As a pure electric MPV model, the body side sliding door design is adopted on both sides, which is a very practical configuration, which is not only convenient for rear passengers to get on and off, but also more conducive to loading luggage or other items. The interior of volkswagen ID.BUZZ is also expected to adopt a family-style design, using a floating LCD instrument and a central control screen design.
According to the previous introduction, the new car also provides different versions with a battery life of 200 miles and 340 miles, and it takes only 30 minutes to use fast charging to get 80% of the power.
06. WEY's first MPV exposed
Recently, a group of suspected Great Wall Motor brand MPV models spy photos have been exposed, although the current new car news is still limited, but the outside world believes that this is the new MPV spy photos. Although the current new car spy photo does not use MPV modeling, it is suspected that the VV7-based chassis is for road testing, which means that the new car is only in the early stage of development.
The new wheel hub not only has a "HAVAL", but also can be seen that the shell is not suitable for the chassis of the model, and it is expected that the size of the model will be larger than the VV7, so it is more in line with the MPV model.
According to the previous plan of the Great Wall Motor brand, Great Wall Motor will launch a load-bearing MPV model, which will be based on the tank platform to create B-class MPV and C-class MPV, with internal codenames M81 and M83 respectively, positioning or will focus on the home market and business market respectively. In terms of power, the official has not disclosed specific information at present, but according to the current power system reserves of the Great Wall, the 2.0T+48V light hybrid and 1.5T+DHT hybrid system may be seen on this MPV.
At present, the information of this MPV is limited, but at this year's Munich Motor Show, WEY exhibited a concept car, through which we can get a glimpse of part of the design concept of WEY's new MPV.
The concept car does not have three rows of seven seats like most MPV, its interior is equipped with five independent seats, forming a strange layout of 2+1+2, with the first and third rows connected by a corridor.
07. The Association expects to retail sales of 20.09 million vehicles in 2021
According to a report recently released by the Association of Passenger Vehicles, retail sales of narrow passenger cars in December are expected to be 2.05 million units, down 10.4% year-on-year. As a result, the estimated retail sales volume for the full year of 2021 is 20.09 million units, an increase of 4.1% year-on-year. According to the Association, the above data is based on the preliminary calculation of the results of the December retail target survey.
The above forecast is first based on the weekly trend, in the first three weeks of December, due to the repeated epidemic situation, as well as the limited improvement of supply-side vehicle sources, the sales volume of major automakers fell by about 10% year-on-year; Entering the fourth week, the market performance has picked up, and the year-on-year decline in sales is currently expected to be reduced to about 8%. At the end of this year, the "impulse" of car companies and dealers may be less than in previous years, so it is expected that sales in the fifth week will decline by 14% year-on-year. In summary, the association estimates that the retail sales in December will be 2.05 million units.
In anticipation of the peak of sales a few years ago, dealers are actively stockpiling inventory. According to the latest data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, the comprehensive inventory coefficient of automobile dealers in November was 1.35, up 4.7% month-on-month, and the inventory level continued to rise. At the beginning of next year, the new energy subsidy will be reduced by 30%, and most car companies choose to promote the price at the end of the year. Therefore, the new energy market will reach a new high in December will be a high probability event.
08. Audi FAW New Energy Plant plans to start construction in the first quarter of next year
Recently, it has been reported that at present, the relevant domestic departments are actively promoting the approval work of Audi FAW New Energy Plant, and it is expected that Audi FAW will start plant construction in the first quarter of next year. Previously, Audi said that due to the delay in approval by the relevant departments, Audi FAW New Energy Automobile's plan to cooperate in the production of electric vehicles in China has been delayed than the original plan.
It is worth noting that a recent document entitled "Audi FAW New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. Construction Project Engineering Analysis Document" was leaked out, which shows that Audi FAW intends to initially invest 15.8 billion yuan to build a pure electric vehicle project with an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles. The project introduces the PPE platform, a high-end electric vehicle platform jointly developed by Audi and Porsche for large electric vehicles, and will produce two pure electric SUV models, including the Audi Q6L e-tron (eQ5), Q6L e-tron Sportback (eQ6) and the E6L Limousine.
Rumor has it that the E6L Limousine is the Audi A6 e-tron concept car that the Audi brand debuted during the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show. It is understood that the Audi A6 e-tron concept car is based on the PPE pure electric platform to build, is a Sportback model, the cruising range (WLTP conditions) will exceed 700 kilometers. In the future, the series of models is planned to be produced in Europe and China for the global market.
It is understood that the Audi FAW BJEV joint venture project plans to introduce a PPE platform, which is a high-end pure electric vehicle platform jointly developed by Audi and Porsche, and its first plant plans to invest more than 30 billion yuan, and the first model will be put into operation in Changchun in 2024. At the same time, in the future, PPE products will be sold by FAW Audi Sales Company, which has been registered and established in Hangzhou.