The pace of electrification of joint venture car companies has become faster and faster. Recently, we learned from The official of Dongfeng Honda that Dongfeng Honda's first pure electric vehicle model in China, e:NS1, will be officially launched in April. Previously, the model has opened pre-sale, of which the pre-price of the e-type version with CLTC's 420 km range is 18.00-19.00 million yuan, and the pre-price of the e-dynamic version with a range of 510 km is 20.00-21.00 million yuan.
Frankly speaking, if you only look at the endurance performance and the positioning of the 200,000 level, it is almost difficult to see the highlights of this car at the first time. After all, in this market level, the Chinese brands that rush to run are relatively more "beautiful" in the key data that consumers care about, such as price, battery life, and charging efficiency. At the same time, in terms of brand premium capabilities, the aura of the joint venture seems to be less shining on the new energy track after the lane change.
On the contrary, in this new track in full swing, consumers often pay more attention to the layout, technology, and reputation of car companies in the new energy industry chain, and have a deep layout in the high-end market of new energy, and BYD, which has achieved results, is a very powerful proof. From this perspective, for e:NS1 and the Dongfeng Honda behind it, it is not a small challenge to enter the pure electric vehicle market competition.
But just from these few pieces of data, can we judge the pattern of Dongfeng Honda on the future track?
Obviously not. Although the pace of launch of joint venture brands in electrification products is slower, the ability and determination of "big factories" to change lanes cannot be taken lightly, and the seeds of "leading lane changes" have been planted for several years.
In 2018, Dongfeng Honda released the "Seeing the future" new energy brand strategy, and officially opened the curtain on the transformation of new energy with HEV as the starting point. In 2019, the hybrid family composed of CR-V, Yingshipai and Ai Lishen completed the full coverage of the three category markets of SUVs, cars and MPVs.
In 2019-2020, Dongfeng Honda has also successively launched X-NV and M-NV two pure electric models based on oil to electricity. In 2021, Honda's first PHEV model in China, the CR-V Sharp Hybrid e+, was launched, which also means that the electrification prototype of Dongfeng Honda HEV, PHEV and EV was officially formed.
For Dongfeng Honda, this is not a small asset. Because, from HEV to PHEV and EV, the motor in the drive system from a supporting role to the protagonist, the gradual transition is not only more conducive to consumers to establish confidence in Dongfeng Honda electrification products, but also in a variety of different technical routes of the electrification exploration process, which is also more conducive to the main engine factory to better understand the core demands of Chinese users for electrification products.
Therefore, as the first new pure electric vehicle launched by Dongfeng Honda in China, on e:NS1, although Dongfeng Honda seems to be flat in some dimensions, it essentially integrates Dongfeng Honda's experience in consumers' insight into the needs of electrified products, inherits the innate gene of Honda's driving pleasure, and builds e:NS1 based on Honda's e:N Architecture intelligent and efficient pure electric architecture specially built for electric vehicles. What we want to pass on to consumers is not a simple change in the energy technology route, but a complete satisfaction of consumer demand for a "Honda electric car".
Therefore, unlike other pure electric models within 200,000 classes, which are obsessed with the satisfaction of some "travel needs", e:NS1 pursues the driving pleasure of integrating people and cars, moving at will, and the comfort and tranquility of passengers on the car, which is a higher level of quality demand satisfaction.
In order to achieve this effect, e:NS1's e:N Architecture intelligent and efficient pure electric architecture has become an important technical carrier. According to reports, the architecture has three major advantages: high ductility, high performance and high intelligence. Among them, the advantages of high performance are a precise and flexible steering and a strong acceleration performance. In Sport mode, the e:NS1 also features exclusive acceleration sound waves from honda EV Sound.
What is even more surprising is that the "e:N OS" full-stack intelligent control ecosystem carried by e:NS1 in intelligence, brings intelligent interaction, car interconnection, remote control, automatic parking and other functions, 15.2-inch high-definition central control large screen, and BLACK technology such as DMC driver status perception system, which makes e:NS1 look less like a new energy vehicle in the traditional sense, but really has a new pure electric vehicle that should have the "look".
Therefore, if you really look at it from the perspective of electrification and intelligence, e:NS1 is not only a blockbuster product that Dongfeng Honda officially opened the "leading lane change" in China, but also an expression of the concept of Dongfeng Honda's transformation towards the "new four modernizations". If the two oil-to-electricity models launched in the previous two years were an attempt by Dongfeng Honda to allow itself to trial and error, then in e:NS1, Dongfeng Honda really gambled on the future of Dongfeng Honda with technology, experience, and word of mouth.
Therefore, e:NS1 can not only use some simple data to judge its "potential energy" in the market. Of course, whether e:NS1 can fire the first shot of electrification for Dongfeng Honda after the listing in April will not be able to make a judgment until the new car is listed. Let the bullets fly for a while.