introduction
Fans familiar with "Knight Kanche" should have seen the special content of "Material Analysis" that we are doing, and unlike the previous functional experience content, the content we do in "Material Analysis" pays more attention to the material performance of the product, from the appearance of the material to the chassis material, we will find a way to shoot or find a picture of the car, taking everyone to pay attention to some places that are not seen or difficult to notice. Although it is usually very "mouth cannon" when it comes to code words, it is not as good as the "Internet violence" of many people in the comment area.
Today is to write an issue of content outside the page, not a completely regular material analysis. The main reason is that I just came back from the Versailles C5X production plant in Chengdu yesterday (DPCA Chengdu factory), and after a detailed understanding of the general situation in the factory and the manufacturing materials of the Versailles C5X, I had a lot of ideas, so there was this issue of "Fanwai".
From compromise to change
If you want to say what car makes the Dongfeng Citroen brand enter the public's vision again, it must be this new Versailles C5X.
From the joint efforts of all products to the gradual disappearance of models, suddenly one day found: Dongfeng Citroen has no car to sell?
2016 Citroen C5 centrally controlled steering wheel
From the influx of a large number of French products into the market, to the continuous feedback of car owners, Dongfeng Citroen is compromising step by step. The most classic case is Citroën's centrally controlled steering wheel design, which was not moved in the middle of the steering wheel at that time and was taken out by many people as a "strange" case. Interestingly, the factory did not explain too much about the safety considerations of this design, citroën first chose to change the design to a multi-functional steering wheel design that conformed to the popular trend, but sales still did not rise.
2017 Citroën C5 multifunctional steering wheel
Time back to 2021, Dongfeng Citroen launched a cross-border model Versailles C5X, in the market has not yet appeared to question the voice, Dongfeng Citroen itself is ready not to be accepted by the market. Fortunately, the order volume after the listing gave Dongfeng Citroen confidence, and the cumulative delivery volume of the Versailles C5X since its listing in September reached 12,114 units, which not only improved in this market segment, but also helped Dongfeng Citroën achieve its annual target of 100,000 vehicles for the whole year.
The increase in sales is followed by user feedback, such as the most concerned 205 width tire configuration problem, the new car will provide 225 width 18-inch tire options, when buying a car can be selected by the user. This rapid response to the product, which was available from the "centrally controlled steering wheel" at that time, will of course continue to be retained on the Versailles C5X.
More solid than public opinion is the use of materials
Of course, the public opinion about the Versailles C5X or "net storm" is not just a 205-width tire design, but as long as it is a reasonable user demand, you can basically see dongfeng Citroen actively adjusting and solving.
This global model is completely produced by a Chinese factory, that is, the Chengdu plant of DPCA in Chengdu, which used to produce mostly SUVs, and after the launch of the Versailles C5X, it became its only production base. Models sold in the domestic market and models sold in the European market will be produced in a collinear line from this plant.
From the perspective of the basic site configuration, the factory is currently equipped with a fully sealed automatic stamping workshop, a 100% automated welding line, automatic painting of the whole vehicle and a high-efficiency assembly workshop. One of the most impressive parts is the fully automated welding workshop, a total of 491 welding robots to complete the whole vehicle more than 5000 solder joints, and there are 6000W laser welding configurations to ensure the safety of the body.
In addition to the highly automated production process, the purest body material part of the Versailles C5X was also seen in the field, and the use of high-strength steel on the basic body-in-white body accounted for 80%, while the proportion of double-sided galvanized steel plates was as high as 96%, and the materials of these basic materials were enough to ensure the basic safety of the body. To put it bluntly: crash-resistant.
In addition to the basic body-in-white, the Versailles C5X is also very low on the material of the body covering, and the most conventional door part adopts an integrated stamped door panel, and the design without welding can maximize the safety of the door in the event of a collision.
In addition to passive safety attributes, chemical safety, which has been concerned by everyone in the past two years, has also been valued. I was impressed by the large number of white native acoustic insulation cotton, white cushion fillings and air conditioning assemblies in the corners of the final assembly workshop.
Maybe you will say that you can understand the front, how does this air conditioning assembly see that it is environmentally friendly?
Because the interior of the air conditioning assembly is also equipped with white native sound insulation cotton for sound insulation and shock resistance, such a very detailed place is indeed very noteworthy.
Not only is the interior of the car very "lower", but the Versailles C5X also uses silane pretreatment technology and water-based paint spraying in the paint part of the car. To put it simply, compared with some car paints, Versailles C5X paint does not produce volatile substances harmful to the body, and is more environmentally friendly.
The last item after leaving the factory is to experience a 4.5km long inspection route designed in the factory, and I also asked the engineers in the factory at the scene: Does every car have to run a lap from here before it can leave the factory?
The old engineer also said seriously: "Yes, every car has to go for a lap."
This route that every car will run, contains 21 common road conditions, including a high-speed loop, bumpy road, sandy road, undulating road, etc., after a quick lap on this test line, it is necessary to make sure that the car is no different in any road conditions, and will officially roll off the line after passing all the projects normally.
Of course, this test route is only a test project before a new car rolls off the production line, and there are many static test items such as electrical appliances and functions that need to be completed in the factory, and finally enter the test site to "run" 4.5km to complete the last "examination".
About the Versailles C5X materials and design parts, if you are interested, we will split the Versailles C5X product materials in detail in the next issue of "Material Analysis", and it happens that this time I also photographed a lot of C5X materials on the assembly line, which is very representative.
Of course, the solid materials and the highly automated manufacturing process naturally allow the Versailles C5X to obtain relatively good crash test results. In the latest C-NCAP crash test, the Versailles C5X received a 5-star rating, if you say "five stars" are common, then the versailles C5X's overall score is more prominent, the crew protection scored 91.38 points, the overall score of 90.6 points, in the upstream level. And these are the most intuitive results that the materials used in the Versailles C5X can present.
The first thing to admit is that after coming out of the factory, the favorability of the Versailles C5X has increased a lot. After all, I have seen the materials and design of many cars, but with such a price level with such vehicle materials, it is very rare in the joint venture products. And the price of 1.6T-powered Versailles in the European market will reach 41,000 yuan (equivalent to about 286,800 yuan), compared with the domestic starting price of 143,700, of course, it will enhance my favorability for him.
Finally, being able to break through the annual sales level of 100,000 vehicles undoubtedly brings more confidence and encouragement to Dongfeng Citroen. With the gradual clarity of the positioning of Peugeot and Citroen in the development of China, what versailles C5X has to do is not to support sales, but to bring more new products of the same level as it into the domestic market, so that the brand has a car to sell, in order to better let the brand go down in the domestic market.