"Many things must be done by time" is the point mentioned by Xu Zhiyuan in the pilot film of the sixth season of "Thirteen Invitations". From an intellectual who is unknown on social media to a host of a talk show that has been viewed more than 100 million times, Xu Zhiyuan has spent five years bringing his and his friends' views on the world into the public eye, while establishing a unique cultural IP such as "Thirteen Invitations".
It turns out that nothing in the world can be done in a "one-shot" way, even by people or businesses with deep roots and resources.
In five years, some new force car companies have achieved single-month sales data from zero to 10,000; some traditional car companies have achieved an electrified product layout from zero to matrix. Rapid change is the key word in the Internet era, but it also takes time to establish a sound system, just as today, the pure electric vehicle market is still on the road to completeness.
Before 2021, the high-end electric vehicle market is still in a blank stage, and the products we are exposed to are basically in the market below 500,000 price ranges. So there was a view at the time: if it wasn't for policy reasons, if it wasn't for the urgent need to solve the travel problem, if you had more money to choose car products, would you still buy an electric car?
This view directly erases the possibility of the existence of the high-end electric vehicle market, but a year later, we have seen BBA, Porsche, including high-end new power brands such as Gaohe, together with more than 500,000 high-end pure electric vehicle market. Why?
Audi e-tron GT
Porsche Taycan
Hi Hi X
Demand is the key to opening the door to the market. Although the first batch of electric vehicle users were distressed by endurance anxiety and imperfect energy replenishment system, the long-term experience made some people clearly realize that electric vehicles are products that can bring experience upgrades compared with fuel vehicles. They have faster acceleration; no bumps in complex mechanical transmissions; and they're quieter and less expensive. So high-end electric vehicles are not a false proposition, of course, this market now needs time to integrate more diversified products to make it plump and reach more users.
Innovative BMW iX
The M60 and xDrive 40 land in China
Build a more diversified high-end electric vehicle market
After innovating the BMW iX xDrive 50, BMW has brought the more powerful innovation BMW iX M60 and the basic version of the BMW iX xDrive 40 to the Chinese market, with the intention of establishing a more diversified matrix of high-end pure electric products.
The innovation BMW iX M60 and the innovation BMW iX xDrive40 retail price for 996,900 yuan and 746,900 yuan respectively. The three models of the BMW iX family feature minimalist design, Shy Tech stealth technology, innovative digital luxury, uncompromising BMW electric driving fun, and a sustainable concept throughout. At the same time, the innovative BMW iX M60, BMW iX xDrive 50 and BMW iX xDrive 40 have their own characteristics in terms of power, endurance, configuration, etc., providing consumers with a wealth of personalized choices. Deliveries of the innovation BMW iX xDrive 40 will begin in January 2022, with the innovative BMW iX M60 scheduled to begin deliveries in the middle of the year.
The innovative BMW iX M60 is equipped with the M exclusive electric drive system, the new car has a range of up to 566 km under the WLTP standard, dual motors release a maximum output of 455 kW (619 hp), accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds, and consumes energy from 100 km/h to a minimum of 21.7 kWh. When the ejection start function is activated in Sport mode, the new car will generate a maximum torque of 1,100 Nm, becoming BMW's first model to exceed 1,000 Nm of torque. With a top speed of 250 km/h, the new car is by far the BMW Group's fastest pure electric production model.
The innovative BMW iX xDrive 40 is more urban mobility- with a range of up to 455 km (455 km) under CLTC standards, dual motors with a maximum output of 240 kW (326 hp), 6.1 seconds acceleration from zero to 100 km/h and minimum energy consumption of 18.0 kWh per 100 km/h. Equipped with two charging interfaces, DC Fast Charging and Home Charging, DC Charging can accept up to 100 kilowatts of charging power and charge the battery from 10% to 80% in just 41 minutes.
No M no BMW
In electric vehicle products, performance seems to be the cheapest product feature. When the product feature of 100 km/h acceleration time of 3:00 seconds is delegated to the 300,000-level electric vehicle market, everyone will unconsciously think that the performance ceiling of electric vehicles is within reach.
But this is not the case, because acceleration time can be quantified, but manipulation is not. Control is the best job of the high-performance departments of traditional car companies, and it is also a means to build a core competitive wall for their own products in the high-end electric vehicle market. 2022 is the 50th anniversary of the BMW M brand, the launch of the innovative BMW iX M60 has become another new milestone, M and pure electric products will rub out what kind of spark?
The innovative BMW iX M60 is powered by a number of hard-core chassis technologies. Examples include front double wishbone rear five-link suspension, M-exclusively tuned adaptive dual-axle air suspension and electronically controlled shock absorbers, xDrive all-wheel drive, rear axle active steering, M sport braking system, etc., to bring users the bmw M's signature driving experience, agility and precision.
The stimulation of traditional fuel performance vehicles for users is not only the strong pushing back feeling when stepping on the accelerator, but also the sensory stimulation brought by the surging sound. This feature is a congenital defect of electric vehicles, but the innovative BMW iX M60 is equipped with the BMW electric vehicle sound wave simulation created by world-renowned composer Hans Zimmer for the BMW M electric model, which can bring the driver a multi-sensory experience and add more driving pleasure.
In terms of appearance, the BMW iX M60 features personalized M design elements, blue M high-performance brake calipers, BMW personalized Titan gold exterior components and a unique high-gloss black Titan Gold Edge M logo, every detail highlights the high-performance identity of the innovative BMW iX M60. In addition, the model can be equipped with exclusive Titan gold 22-inch aerodynamic wheels.
In terms of configurations, the innovative BMW iX M60 applies 20 BMW first-of-its-kind features and comes standard with up to 35 luxurious features including bowers & Wilkins 4D Diamond surround sound system, comfort heating kit with infrared heating technology, automatic park assist pro and more. It is worth mentioning that the automatic parking assistance system Pro installed for the first time not only has the remote phone remote parking function, but also further expands the backward from 50 meters to 200 meters, but also increases the memory route function, which can store up to 10 parking paths.
BMW has a strong competitiveness in the high-performance electric vehicle market, and the tuning of the M department can not only bring a better experience to the product, but also carry a certain brand bonus. In recent years, BMW has accumulated a very deep high-performance user base in the Chinese market by opening M elite training camps, and has also been able to open up channels for subsequent high-performance electric vehicles.
Innovation BMW iX xDrive 40
"Basic" is not the whole label of it
Compared with the innovative BMW iX xDrive 50 model, which first entered the Chinese market, the price of the 40 model was reduced by 100,000 yuan. From the perspective of price, what we can directly think of is that the configuration of this basic model must have been reduced a lot. However, if you look closely at the configuration of the 40 models, you will find that it still has all the core competencies of the iX family.
The innovative BMW iX is positioned as the smart flagship of BMW's products, and in terms of smart configuration, the basic version of the 40 models is almost all standard. It comes standard with a self-healing smart front grille, a dimmable panoramic canopy, the new BMW iDrive8.0 system, an all-in-one floating curved screen, 5G, autopilot assist pro and more.
In today's smart car market, 3 screens have become the standard, and even more use five or seven screens to flaunt their leading level in the field of intelligence. However, apart from the fact that the driver needs a screen to perhaps information and control the vehicle, the on-board screen is not just needed for other passengers. When passengers pick up their phones again in front of the on-board screens, it's time to think about how to interpret intelligence.
The foothold of intelligence in the field of car cockpit should be a more convenient human-computer interaction logic, while the car screen is just an interactive medium. There are three most popular smart cockpit interaction methods: voice, touch, keystrokes and gestures, and the problem that engineers and designers need to think about is to provide the best interaction method for the needs of the scene and integrate the screen into it. It makes no sense to blindly make the screen bigger.
With the innovative BMW iX, the number of physical buttons in the car has been reduced by around 50 percent, making it the first BMW model to feature an integrated floating curved screen. The 12.3-inch dashboard is combined with the 14.9-inch touchscreen center display. Displays with extremely high graphic resolution of 200 ppi (pixels per inch) deliver rich light and shadow effects and a better look and feel experience, along with frameless design and anti-glare display technology.
Screen size and placement, as well as angles, all affect the interaction of information between people and cars, and in this regard, BMW conducts more than 70 surveys worldwide every year to listen to the feedback of millions of users. The display is carefully designed to tilt about 6 degrees in the driver's direction, which is BMW's classic "driver-oriented" interior design concept.
The new generation of iDrive systems still retains the physical way of operation, which is not a nostalgic attitude, but an optimal solution to a blind operating machine system in driving. The center console is made of high-grade wood materials, and the familiar iDrive control knob is decorated with glittering glass, and the delicate touch and quality fully demonstrate BMW's style and differentiated understanding of interaction logic.
In the process of electrification, the BMW Group is also integrating more innovative technologies into its new generation of electric products. In addition to "sports", "technology" is a label that BMW has strived to deepen in the hearts of users in recent years. The innovative BMW xDrive 40 model, which comes standard with all the technology features, gives more consumers access to the BMW brand's most pioneering technology at a lower cost, helping to establish a new label.
epilogue
User demand has pried open the door to the high-end electric vehicle market, but this is also the first step in building a complete market system. In the future, more car companies like BMW will be needed to bring more diversified products to users, and when more products reach users, we can see the real potential of this market segment.