2021 is coming to an end, but the tide of smart electric has just started.
Why? Whether it is admitted or not, the boom of smart electric vehicles in the past few years is more due to the two major "pushers" of policy and capital. Nowadays, the situation is very different, the market has sung the protagonist, and smart electric vehicles are getting closer and closer to the mainstream of consumption. The numbers do not lie, from January to November this year, the penetration rate of new energy was close to 14%, and the penetration rate of L2 assisted driving in new cars was close to 20%.
Under the "prosperous world", new players are competing to enter, old players show their skills, and the competition at the product level has become white-hot, which in turn shows the tendency of "inner volume". At the electric level, you sang and I appeared, and the records of endurance, 100 km acceleration, and charging speed were constantly refreshed. Intelligently, stacking hardware, adding computing power, selling concepts, and fighting in full swing. Even the former "premium cargo" lidar has been frequently put on the train recently, and there is a great momentum of becoming a conventional configuration.
Such an "inner volume" is unavoidable for many car companies, especially new brands that urgently need sound. For users, it is more likely to be "unconscious" and has nothing to do with real needs. In this situation, the market "rolls" more and more fiercely.
To break the "inner volume", we must first have enough brands and products and dare to propose different ideas. At the same time, users must be willing to pay for it. Among the products that have recently entered the market, the new EQA/EQB seems to have this potential.
Luxury is not "outdated"
Speaking of Mercedes-Benz, the first word that comes to most people's minds is definitely "luxury". But all along, in the world of smart electric, "luxury" is not a particularly popular concept, and it is even considered a product of the era of fuel vehicles, which is a bit outdated.
The reason is not difficult to understand. Among the early users of intelligent electric vehicles, the mentality of "early adopters" and the pursuit of "personality" are very popular. Therefore, compared with "luxury", the "high performance" brought by electrification and the "sense of technology" created by intelligence are obviously more fashionable. However, fashionable is fashionable, and it is ultimately limited to small circles. Nowadays, smart electric vehicles have rapidly entered the mainstream market, and the situation has naturally changed.
Becoming a mainstream choice means meeting the needs of more people. For most users, especially young home users, the characteristics of smart electric vehicles are fresh, but the most important thing is still a car that is "good-looking and easy to drive, with good quality and tone".
Therefore, how to reconcile from the middle has become a problem in front of the car companies.
On the new EQA/EQB, The solution that Mercedes-Benz tries to give is: on the basis of smart electric, add a "luxury", or "luxury" to narrow the distance between smart electric and mainstream people.
After all, playing "luxury", in today's market, Mercedes-Benz is called second, and it is estimated that no brand dares to call it first.
This, at first glance at the new EQA/EQB, should be perceived. Different from the pursuit of "angular and angular" orientation of electric vehicles on the market, the two cars emit typical Mercedes-Benz fashion. At the same time, the closed grille, the front and rear through the light strip and the "electric blue" element in the headlights have clearly announced the identity of intelligent electric.
When you get to the car, you can feel more at ease with the creation of luxury. The double screen holds the "sense of technology", such as double stitch craft leather, Paris stud craft buttons, Berlin Sound sound, smog terminator 3.0 and other details and configurations, but also to pull the atmosphere full.
In addition, unlike the style of many electric vehicles going straight and hard bridge, at the driving level, the new EQA/EQB intentionally "contains" the original wildness and ruggedness of electric vehicles, whether it is accelerated braking, steering lane change or vibration control, it is the sense of quality that Mercedes-Benz should have. The so-called luxury driving control, in the end, is the bone of the thing, will not be discounted because of the electric.
From "enough" to "easy to use"
Of course, using luxury to broaden the adaptability of smart electric, Mercedes-Benz may not be the first to think. Before Mercedes-Benz, some brands in the luxury camp have already tried. However, most of the results are not satisfactory.
The reason for this, on the one hand, is that the power of shaping "luxury" is not as thick as that of Mercedes-Benz. After all, luxury is re-accumulated, talking about genes, for many users, the existence of a single three-pronged star emblem is already a guarantee of luxury. On the other hand, in the intelligent electric is not good to grasp the fire, especially in the market a bunch of new brands of "wrapped", into the "inner volume", obsessed with the so-called "hard quality" of the competition, the result is to lose one or the other, but lost their own characteristics.
In the final analysis, the pursuit of "electric" or "intelligent" quality in one or some aspects of the "leading", in essence, still belongs to the "enough" thinking, easy to go to extremes, but also let users pay unnecessary costs.
To truly return to user needs themselves, it is important to be "easy to use", not "enough".
In this regard, Mercedes-Benz, as an "old brand", has shown full determination. The new EQA/EQB has a range of 500 km+, (CLTC conditions), which is not amazing at first glance, but in this class, it is already superior. More importantly, the battery life is real, no water injection, no discount, the user has the bottom at any time. 45 minutes to charge the power from 10% to 80%, not particularly brilliant, but the coverage and service quality of the "Star Entourage" charging network, the energy replenishment experience is guaranteed.
As for the power, both cars are equipped with dual motors, and the power performance of the new EQB has caught up with the AMG GLB model, and it is sufficient for daily use. At the same time, through intelligent and timely four-wheel drive torque distribution, two-stage shock absorption technology and excellent tuning, the driving quality is guaranteed. Obviously, between book data and user experience, Mercedes-Benz firmly chose the latter.
The same is true intelligently. There are no dazzling sensors, cockpit configuration tables, and in a bunch of electric cars, it seems to owe some sharp edges. But on the other hand, there is less quality of "scaring people", and can only rely on actual experience to speak. The MBUX intelligent human-computer interaction system equipped with the new EQA/EQB has been widely praised in various previous real-machine reviews. The L2 driver assistance system is equipped with both cars, which is not too many gimmicks, but it is reliable and easy to use.
It is particularly worth mentioning that the gaode customized navigation equipped with the two vehicles integrates multiple functions such as AR real-life cross-navigation, full-color head-up display, 3D navigation map, etc., and has to some extent revolutionized the definition of car navigation. As a result, Mercedes-Benz became the first luxury brand to deeply integrate the mass production car machine system with AutoNavi Map.
The drama has just begun
Focusing on high-frequency applications like navigation, rather than various functions that sound "tall", the message is very clear: experience comes first. Combined with the new EQA/EQB investment in "luxury", Mercedes-Benz's intelligent electric route is not difficult to understand. Simply put, it can be summarized as "sticking to luxury, experience first".
In the climate of "inner rolling", this road is not easy and requires full concentration and endurance. After all, smart electric is not a mature market, there are not too many molding rules, and there is no fixed cognition. Basically, where the wind blows, car companies and users will rush to where to go, not "roll" no.
Fortunately, with the continuous popularization of products, users are gradually returning to rationality through personal experience and hearing and witnessing, learning to choose from their own needs and real experiences, rather than book data and configuration. The response after the launch of the new EQA/EQB somewhat illustrates the change in market winds.
On the other hand, the high-quality impression of the new EQA/EQB on the market is equally valuable to Mercedes-EQ, which aims to open up new paths. In particular, the EQ family's flagship, the new EQS, has been officially launched in China in mid-December 2021. With the good foundation laid by the previous two cars, Mercedes-Benz's confidence must be more sufficient.
Confidence comes from strength. Compared with the new EQA/EQB, the new EQS has been upgraded in all directions while adhering to the existing route. As the first model under the pure electric architecture of EVA, the new EQS not only refreshes the height of "luxury" in terms of shape, interior and space under the name of "S". In smart electric, the same big step forward.
The maximum endurance of 849 km under CLTC conditions, the acceleration of 4.4 seconds of 100 km/ h, the MBUX super screen of more than 1.4 meters, and the NVIDIA Xavier cockpit chip are worth looking forward to with the cashing ability of Mercedes-Benz in the new EQA/EQB, and the leap of the new EQS at the experience level.
As far as the entire market is concerned, as the new EQA/EQB gradually enters the good situation and the new EQS joins the battle, it can be expected that in addition to the sharp Tesla and various new and old forces, greater possibilities are brewing.
2021 is coming to an end, but obviously, the "good play" of smart electric has just begun.