The NIO ET7 released at the beginning of January this year has not yet started delivery, the second sedan ET5 has been on sale a few days ago, and the delivery time of the two cars in March and September next year will be closer. The long delivery waiting period has also allowed ET7 to come to a strong competitor, the L7, the first model of Zhiji Automobile, jointly created by SAIC, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech and Alibaba. Weilai ET7 and Zhiji L7 are tit-for-tat in terms of size parameters, performance configurations, and even delivery time, and the two vehicles will also work together to open up the high-end market of their own brand pure electric cars.
The mass production version of Zhiji L7 has appeared, and the first angel round version will be delivered in the first half of 2022 after WEIO ET7. The Angel Wheel version of the Zhiji L7 equipped with dual motors is priced at 408,800 yuan, which is also in the same range as the 448,000-526,000 yuan of the NIO ET7.
The design of the Zhiji L7 has many familiar elements, such as the "Σ" silhouette on both sides of the front face that is similar to dongfeng fengshen yixuan, the interactive information display similar to Gaohe HiPhi X under the headlights, the tail light strip similar to the aston martin DBX, and the in-car lifting through the LCD screen that Dongfeng's new Lantu FREE has used. However, the overall combination is still quite harmonious, coupled with the slender and flat shape of the body, the Zhiji L7 is still a good sense of design and high-grade.
The configuration gap of Zhiji L7 is even larger, such as the interactive information display system of the front and rear light groups is only available in the high-end version, and the lidar is not available in all models, and the high-end version is the same as the Weilai ET7, which adopts the roof front-end mid-position layout, but before and revealed that there will be a higher specification of the three-lidar configuration version in the future, using products from Sagitar Juchuang, the radar module is tiled on the front end of the roof. In contrast, only one of the three drum bags on the roof of the NIO ET7 is a lidar configuration, and the Innovusion solution is chosen, but as the standard of the whole system is its competitive advantage.
Both models also feature frameless doors and concealed handles, and also have electric doors that symbolize luxury status. Both 19-inch and 20-inch wheels are also available, but the Zhiji L7 uses a narrow front and rear wide tire configuration commonly found in rear-drive models. The ET7 has the all-aluminum body that Weilai has always used, and is equipped with air suspension, while the Zhiji L7 is not an all-aluminum body, but it also has a high proportion of aluminum alloy materials, and the body is lighter in quality.
Although the Zhiji L7 does not have air suspension, it is equipped with a rear wheel steering technology of 12 degrees in both directions, and even if the wheelbase is longer, the body flexibility will be better than that of the NIO ET7, and it also comes standard with CDC continuous damping control system. Both vehicles use batteries that cooperate with CATL. Different from the larger configuration, the battery of the Zhiji L7 is the standard 90kWh capacity of the whole series, and its energy density is higher than that of the NIO ET7, and the battery weight is also lighter. The WEILAI ET7 provides 75kWh and 100kWh versions, the energy density gap of the low-end version is still relatively large, and it does not save much maintenance quality, but it is much heavier than the larger capacity of the Zhiji L7 battery.
The low-end version of the Zhiji L7 adopts a single rear-drive motor, and the lighter curb weight is also under the same battery configuration, reaching a higher comprehensive cruising range of 708km. The high-end version is two permanent magnet synchronous motors in front and behind, which accelerate 3.9 seconds per 100 kilometers and have a comprehensive endurance of 615km. The ET7 adopts the standard of the front and rear dual motors of the NIO brand, and is still the technical specification of the front permanent magnet synchronization and the rear AC asynchronous. Its acceleration time of 3.8 seconds per 100 km is comparable to that of the four-wheel drive version of the Zhiji L7, because of the difference in high and low configurations, as well as the two battery capacity specifications, the ET7 will have four versions of 550/530km and 705/675km.
Of course, as a high-end positioning model, manufacturers are also desperately blessed with the latest technology, Weilai ET7 has made it clear that there will be a solid-state battery version with a capacity of 150kWh in the later stage, so that its cruising range can reach 1000km. On the side of Zhiji L7, in the rights and interests of the first angel wheel version of the model, it also includes that after three years of normal driving, users can use data rights to upgrade a next-generation high-end energy battery of not less than 120kWh, which can easily extend the endurance to more than 800km.
In the interior part, WEILAI ET7 continues the consistent family style design, while Zhiji L7 not only has a 12.8-inch tilting vertical screen in the lower part of the center console, but also has a large 39-inch continuous screen composed of a long and a short horizontal screen above. Not only can it be lifted and lowered as a whole as Landu FREE, but also the independent lifting and lowering of left and right segments can be adopted, which fully demonstrates the sense of personalization and technology. There are almost no physical physical buttons in the vehicle, including the multi-function buttons on the steering wheel spokes, and the window control of the door interior panels, which are also touch buttons.
Editor's Comments:
Once upon a time, in the fuel vehicle market, it was always difficult for independent brands to break through the ceiling of intermediate cars. Now, after switching to the new energy track, with the first-mover advantage and the configuration of the stack, the independent brands represented by Xiaopeng P7 and BYD Han EV have been able to occupy a considerable share in the intermediate pure electric car market. The next appearance of the larger and higher-positioned NIO ET7 and Zhiji L7 is expected to further open up the mid-to-high-end sedan market in the new field of connection. Of course, the traditional luxury forces have also awakened, and the BMW Brilliance i3, which may be at a similar price, is about to be listed, and the follow-up Beijing Mercedes-Benz EQE with higher positioning will also debut next year.