Abstract: Huawei does not build cars, but to help car companies build good cars and sell good cars.
The author | Si Wenwen
Editor| Zhang Shuo
The debate continues. Around Huawei's first "Hongmeng new car", "pollen" (Huawei fans) may be facing the automotive circle for the first time.
There are many voices that are not optimistic. Some people commented that Huawei's managing director, consumer business CEO, and ceo of smart car solution BU Yu Chengdong's words are "too amateurish", he mentioned more than once that this AITO Q&I M5 priced at 250,000 to 320,000 yuan can be "comparable to a million Marriott cars", from BBA, to Porsche, Tesla, Q&E M5 is "far ahead" and "comprehensively leading".
More complaints focused on performance, an electric vehicle industry personnel concluded, "this car has no highlights, the only highlight is Huawei's brand."
It's hard for supporters to accept. This car has an extraordinary significance for Huawei. At Huawei's winter new product launch on December 23, Yu Chengdong spent nearly 60 minutes introducing THE AITO Q&A M5, which was the first time Huawei launched an automotive product at its own conference.
Different from other Huawei cooperation models, the Q&I M5 is not only equipped with Huawei's DriveONE pure electric range extender platform, smart cockpit, etc., But Also Huawei has heavily participated in and even led many aspects of the vehicle from research and development to design, and will also be sold through Huawei retail channels in the future. The partner, Cyrus, only assumed the role of "foundry".
Expectations are equally high. Instead of the SF5, the previous cooperation model between Huawei and Cyris, the Q&I M5 has become the recommended focus of Huawei, and the production line will also give priority to supplying the Q&E M5.
But the market response may not be as positive as expected. After the press conference ended at about 18:00 on December 23, the M5 began pre-sale. Li Yang (pseudonym), an employee of Huawei stores in Hubei, revealed that as of December 25, there were less than 3,000 pre-sale orders. Previously, when SF5 opened pre-sale, Cyrus had announced that it had received 3,000 orders in two days.
Since the deposit of Q&I M5 is refundable before February 28, 2022, the number of users who can actually trade may be even smaller. Li Yang also tried his best to persuade consumers when recommending, "If you don't like the test drive, the deposit will be refunded when it arrives, it is better to line up first."
01 The shell of Cyrus, the soul of Huawei?
Before the official introduction of the new car, Yu Chengdong stressed as usual, "Huawei does not build cars, but to help car companies build good cars and sell good cars."
The AITO M5 is huawei's second model in partnership with Cilis. From the brand point of view, this car belongs to Xilis. AITO is a high-end smart car brand released by Xilis on December 4, and the M5 is the first model.
Similar to the previous cooperation model, the Cyrus SF5, this model is also cooperated through the "Huawei Smart Selection" method. Huawei, as a "supplier", provides hardware and software components and opens offline sales stores.
Huawei Smart SF5 is equipped with DriveOne all-in-one electric drive system, HUAWEI HiCar, HUAWEI SOUND sound system, and Q&I M5 is equipped with HUAWEI DriveONE pure electric drive range extender platform, which can achieve CLTC working life of 1242 kilometers when fully charged, taking the lead in using Harmony OS intelligent cockpit and equipped with L2+ automatic assisted driving.
But importantly, Huawei's role in the two collaborations is markedly different. In the first cooperation, the SF5 is not a brand new model, it was released in April 2019, leaving limited room for Huawei to renovate. Huawei does not seem to be satisfied with this, Yu Chengdong mentioned at the press conference, "The SF5 vehicle is not designed by us, I think we can do better."
The brand new model from scratch, and the creation of a new brand, is more suitable for Huawei to exert its "ambitions". It is not difficult to see from the press conference that Huawei is trying its best to get rid of the "Cilis" gene on the M5 car. According to incomplete statistics, in the release of the new car in the whole 60 minutes, Yu Chengdong mentioned the name of Xilisi no more than twice, one of which was to emphasize that the M5 should be better to race the Lisi SF5.
When the AITO brand was released, Yu Chengdong mentioned that "the two sides will achieve in-depth cooperation in the whole chain from R&D and manufacturing to sales and service". In addition to providing drive systems, smart cockpits, and audio, the Huawei team is also involved in the design process of appearance and chassis. It specifically mentioned that due to the soft tuning of the chassis of the Cyris SF5, it was re-calibrated in the production of the Q&I M5.
"From the perspective of the division of labor, it is almost only the brand of Xilisi, which is equivalent to a foundry", the above-mentioned industry insiders commented, "the dominance is basically in Huawei". From model planning, design, and hardware and software equipment to sales, Huawei's voice is significantly stronger. In essence, this does not seem to be much different from the cooperation between WEILai and JAC.
In this cooperation with an imbalance of discourse power, the benefits of Xilis may also be limited. The "stealth" of Cyrus at the M5 press conference of Q&I quickly spread to the capital market. The day after the press conference, the stock price of Xiaokang shares plummeted by 10%, the largest decline in the past three months. On December 25, the stock price fell another 9.08%.
However, before that, with the help of cooperation with Huawei, Xiaokang shares were quite optimistic about the capital market. In 2021, its stock price soared from 17.8 yuan to 77.43 yuan, and its market value soared by more than 60 billion yuan.
As an electric vehicle brand under Xiaokang Shares, the market performance of Xilis is not optimistic. The SF5 released in 2019 was the only model it launched, with dismal sales, with 732 units sold in all of 2020. In the same year, the net loss of Xiaokang shares was 2.234 billion yuan, an increase of 27 times over the same period in 2019.
As the electric car track becomes increasingly crowded, Cyrus needs a fulcrum to open up the market, even if it needs to cede dominance. In the cooperation of SF5, Cyrus has made its attitude clear. According to Interface News, in the process of cooperation between the two sides, Huawei proposed many specific and actual quality control indicators to the SF5 of Xilis, and the factory needed to stop work and make technical changes, and the entire Jinkang factory production line implemented the Huawei work and rest system.
There are not many car companies willing to pay this price. Under the wave of electrification, many technology companies are aiming at automatic driving, intelligent cockpits, etc., trying to export technology to car companies. However, the industry consensus is that autonomous driving technology is the core of smart cars, and the main control cannot be held in the hands of others. Chen Hong, chairman of SAIC Motor, made it clear at the shareholders' meeting that he must take the "soul" into his own hands and cannot accept third-party companies such as Huawei to provide overall solutions for autonomous driving.
Although Huawei has reiterated on many occasions that it "does not build cars", the rumors of "Huawei making cars" have never calmed down. One industry insider worried, "What if? If Huawei's entire program is adopted, in the future, everyone will become a competitor on the C-end, do you dare to use it with confidence? ”
The release of the Q&A M5 has deepened this concern. At the press conference, Yu Chengdong mentioned that "we do every core component needed for electric energy and intelligent connection, but we do not build cars." Soon a comment asked, "So what is a car?" ”
02 Old users say they are "cut leeks"
In the sales of the M5, Huawei worked harder than the SF5 publicity. The pre-price of the standard version of the rear-drive of this model is 250,000 yuan, the pre-price of the four-wheel drive performance version is 280,000 yuan, and the pre-price of the four-wheel drive flagship version is 320,000 yuan. Yu Chengdong repeatedly mentioned "comparable to a million luxury cars" at the press conference, emphasizing that "with less than half the price, experience the driving experience of 500,000 to 1 million".
Unlike the publicity of "two-day orders broke 3,000" and "one-week orders broke 6,000" when it was just launched, the market response of Huawei and Cyrus's first cooperative model, SF5, was flat. According to the data of the Association, from April to October 2021, the sales volume of this model (including all channels including Huawei stores) totaled 5824 vehicles, which is far from the head electric vehicle brand. In October, SF5 sales were 2,205 units, and in November, it dropped to 1,446 units, down 34.42% year-on-year.
The more engaged M5 was expected to be more highly anticipated. Since December 23, the Q&I M5 has been exhibited in 180 Huawei stores across the country. In order to boost sales, the top 10,000 of this model enjoy 12,000 yuan of car purchase rights and 2,000 yuan gift package. A product specialist said that if you book now, it will be delivered in 10 to 18 weeks.
Most of the first purchasers came for Huawei's "heavy participation". After watching the press conference, a "pollen" decided to book, "I have tested the SF5 before, and the interior design is not very liked, so I am waiting for the new model." The harmony OS smart cockpit is still very attractive to Huawei family bucket users."
However, the attitude of more users is to wait and see.
After the pre-sale of the M5 began, about two days later, a staff member of the Authorized Experience Store of Huawei in Beijing received more than a dozen pre-sale orders, including a deposit of 10,000 yuan and an intention of 1,000 yuan. Huawei internally called "Dading" and "Xiaoding", "if the customer is still considering 'Dading', the will is not so strong, we will recommend 'Xiaoding', more acceptable", he explained, both ways can be queued at the time of delivery, but the possibility of refunds for "Xiaoding" users is relatively large. "Most of them are blind now, and there will definitely be refunds."
According to the information released by Huawei, on January 20, 2022, this model will start test driving one after another. "After all, it is a new model, it is not a particularly mature brand, or it is a number to start with a heart." After consulting the sales, a user decides whether to wait or wait, and compare the experience of other brands at the same price point.
In stark contrast, the Cyrus SF5 has been rapidly replaced. On December 25, many Huawei stores in Beijing have not yet obtained the source of display vehicles, and some stores are still exhibiting SF5. An employee of Huawei's authorized experience store told Phoenix WEEKLY Auto that the SF5 has been discontinued and "will not be sold in the future." In the Huawei official store, the model has not been searched.
However, Li Yang, an employee of Huawei stores in Hubei, said that SF5 is not completely unsold, but temporarily stopped pre-sale, orders have been saturated before 2022, and will not be opened until March 2022.
Some car owners speculate that the SF5 of Cyrus is similar to the appearance of the M5, priced at 216,800 to 246,800 yuan, the difference between the two is not much, and the M5 is like an upgraded version of SF5. In order to avoid internal friction between the two models, it is normal to stop selling the SF5.
But some SF5 owners find it difficult to accept. In Huawei's official fan community "Pollen Club", there have been a lot of accusations in the "Smart Car" section. A user posted the sale of Sf5 purchase orders and other Huawei product orders, saying that "ten years of iron powder into leeks." He said that after the release of the SF5 in April this year, he ordered it in September and picked it up in November, and now the model has been sold for more than half a year and then stopped selling.
In the post, a number of SF5 car owners said that the "dozens of highlights" of the new model M5 upgrade are mostly from the feedback of the old owners, the new model uses the Harmony OS smart cockpit, while the old model is backward, and the starting price of the two models is in the same gear. A car owner said, "Every selling point of a new car is our pain point." There are also car owners who question: who can guarantee that the M5 will not follow in the footsteps of SF5?
This is not good news for the Q&I M5. Xilis has limited appeal in the field of electric vehicles, whether this car can open the market, Huawei's brand is very critical, and "pollen" is also the most likely supporter to come up with real money.
Huawei's various stores are busy with the M5, and what Li Yang often said to consultants in the past two days is, "You have to believe huawei's technology and services."
In the crowded electric vehicle track, it is difficult to say how much "cake" Huawei and Xilis can grab this cooperation, but it is certain that Huawei's goal for the electric vehicle market is far more than that.