Lead
Introduction
The development of electrification also depends on the Chinese automobile market, and how to carry out the layout of new cars in this critical period is the problem that major brands need to think about.
Author 丨 Deng Yongtuo
Responsible editor 丨 Xu Jinkai
Editor 丨Zhu Jinbin
March is the season of revival. Although the recent epidemic situation seems to have caught people off guard, the Beijing Auto Show has also announced an extension due to the epidemic. For car companies, it is necessary to stop production and work for the prevention and control of the epidemic, but it is still impossible to disrupt the rhythm of new car release and listing.
Coincidentally, from March 28 to 31, car companies piled up to release new cars in these days. Ford, Zhiji, Geely, Lotus, Volkswagen, BMW and other brand brand brand new models have been unveiled, in this extraordinary spring bloom a touch of brilliance, but also let car consumers feel a colorful market scenery.
If you want to choose the most important and impressive model from the new models released by these brands, I am afraid that no one can give a firm answer. Lingrui concentrated Ford's global resources on a new design, and the team hoped that it would lead Jiangling Ford back to the track; The X oil-electric hybrid version is a major breakthrough made by Geely in the field of DHT technology in the face of the new energy wave, which geely has been developing for many years; the new Lingdu L breaks the design convention and highlights saicue Volkswagen's emphasis on the young market with the concept of no cost.
In terms of high-end models and luxury brands, the new models are equally eye-catching. Zhiji's first model, the L7, finally announced its price, opening the door for SAIC To strive to build a new energy high-end brand; Eletre is not only Lotus's first SUV model, but also a new attempt and new breakthrough for the brand in the transformation of electrification; ushering in the domestic fourth-generation X5 is finally officially listed, which also shows that BMW hopes to achieve greater success in the Chinese luxury car market.
The new cars released one after another carry their own aura and strive to open up a world in their own field. But it is undeniable that the emergence of these new cars has their own responsibilities and missions, and needs to face new challenges under these spotlights.
The Chinese market is even more important
In 2021, China's automobile production and sales were 26.082 million units and 26.275 million units, respectively, an increase of 3.4% and 3.8% year-on-year, stopping the decline of three consecutive declines and finally achieving positive growth. The contribution of China's auto market to the growth of the global auto market is increasing, and the importance of market size has long been self-evident.
Those who know the truth that "only by winning the Chinese market can we win the world" must count the public. The new Lingdu continues the character of the previous generation of models in terms of model positioning - wide-body body, dynamic coupe. There was little change in width and height, increasing the wheelbase of the body by 75 mm and the length by 169 mm, making up for the previous disadvantage in rear space. Therefore, this new car also directly expresses its advantages in the name, named Lingdu L.
The extension of the wheelbase is not only in line with the style of the Chinese people pursuing long-wheelbase models, but also makes the body side with the coupe shape more slender and beautiful. However, Lingdu L seems to have less sincerity in power, look at the new Sagitar EA211 EVO 1.5T engine next door, Lingdu L still chooses the golden combination of 1.4T + 7DSG, although the power output performance is still reliable, but today's market competition is like sailing against the current, if you do not advance, you will retreat.
The only thing that can comfort people's hearts is probably the only frameless door design within 200,000, which makes the whole vehicle attract a lot of attention in appearance, and it is also a highlight of progress that cannot be ignored. Coupled with the tail shape of the large hatchback, at the base price of 149,900 yuan, there should be no lack of fans. However, in the face of today's independent brand's victory chase, even if the Lingdu L, which has increased the space, may not be able to stop the "pressure" that the public currently needs to turn from the peak of sales.
Coincidentally, bmw is also arranged for the Chinese market on the long wheelbase. After more than four years on the market of the fourth-generation model, the BMW X5 has finally ushered in domestic production, and this domestic version has a surprising experience in space. After the wheelbase was lengthened by 130 mm, the car was more than 3 meters long, and the "L" of its version of the name suffix was the best status symbol.
From the perspective of selling price, 605,000 yuan - 775,000 yuan does not seem to have as much difference as imagined compared with the imported version. On the other hand, the fourth generation of X5 will usher in a mid-term redesign, choosing a domestic version with a higher cost performance space, or pursuing an imported version with a more fashionable design, which has become a "small trouble" for consumer happiness.
BMW's choice to sell the X5, a mainstream SUV best-selling model, is also a good look at Chinese consumers' love for SUV models. As the first domestic model of BBA in the field of medium and large-scale SUVs, BMW Brilliance X5 is bound to bring a wave of new buying heat, with SAIC Audi Q6 also announced to join the "group chat", the pressure of this market competition naturally came to Mercedes-Benz, this move is currently quite wise for BMW.
From winning the sales championship of luxury brands in the Chinese market last year, to the balance of the first joint venture in the BBA to break the conventional balance of the joint venture within the brand, BMW is bound to find a new stage in the Chinese market. As an SUV that is one level higher than any previous domestic model, today's official domestic production also promotes the new development of luxury brands localization in China, which may also mean that the luxury car market pattern led by BBA will usher in a new situation.
Electrified, unstoppable
It is undeniable that in 2021, the production and sales of new cars in China's auto market will stop falling and increase, the most important reason is that the annual sales of new energy vehicles reached 3.521 million units, an increase of 157% year-on-year, which is the main force driving growth.
The rapid development of new energy vehicles is also an excellent time for Chinese auto brands to impact the high-end market. As SAIC's new high-end electric vehicle brand, Zhiji seems to have been in an embarrassing situation of "thunder and rain and small points", from the first appearance with the world at the beginning of last year to the appearance of two quasi-production models in succession, on March 29, the official price and model configuration of its first model L7 were finally announced.
The emergence of the Zhiji L7 will inevitably compete head-on with the WEIO ET7, although it is smaller than the ET7 in terms of body size, but the 3100 mm wheelbase is still very good, and considering that the price of 408,800 is slightly lower than the ET7, it seems to have a little initiative in terms of cost performance.
Zhiji not only needs to face the excellent students of the new forces such as Wei Xiaoli, but also faces new high-end brands like Ji Kr and Lantu, which are also created by traditional car companies, which may be a challenge for Zhiji Automobile, which has started a little late, and how to maintain the face of the first major automobile group, SAIC Group.
The wave of new energy is unstoppable, but if you do not seize the opportunity, you will definitely be eliminated by the market. As a brother of its own brand, Geely has also made sufficient preparations in the face of the general trend of electrification, and the Geely global power technology brand named Raytheon Power is the best counterattack. Just on March 30, the first Thor-powered SUV model, the Hoshigoku L Thor Hi· X oil-electric hybrid version is officially available. The Hoshigoku L Hybrid Edition is essentially a HEV model, although it does not have the qualifications to be on the green card, but it applies geely's latest technology in the development of new energy.
Hoshikoshi L Thor Hi · The X-Oil Hybrid Edition is equipped with a DHE15 hybrid engine dedicated to hybrid, with a staggering thermal efficiency of 43.32% and a fuel saving rate of 40%. In addition, the more core highlight is its matching DHT Pro transmission, which is connected to two motors and integrates 3 gears inside, becoming the world's first mass-produced 3-speed hybrid transmission.
Ji's use of heV technology, which Japanese cars are good at, to cut into the new energy market is not only a new choice for Geely's development of electrification, but more importantly, Geely has the courage to confront Japanese brands that have been developing hybrid technology for many years in Leishen Power, and also allows Chinese consumers to gradually discover and experience the increasingly mature technical strength of Chinese cars.
In the transition to electrification, luxury brands still do not take it lightly. When the logo of the British sports car brand Lotus, the "supernova", set sail from the River Thames, it officially played the avant-garde music of the electric E era. The new Eletre model was officially unveiled, announcing to the world that the door to Lotus's full turn to electrification has officially opened.
Interestingly, the Lotus Eletre is not just an electric drive SUV for energy transition, but also puts performance first, becoming the world's first pure electric Hyper SUV model. In terms of design, following Lotus's consistent pursuit of aerodynamic performance, the porous design is inspired by its own pure electric supercar Evija. The overall visual presentation is a sense of lightness, more like a sports car with a slightly higher chassis.
Thanks to the superior resources within Geely Group, Eletre is excellent in terms of technology and intelligence. Equipped with 4 production-grade flip-over lidars, it has a hardware combination of ultra-high-definition cameras and 4D millimeter-wave radar. Streaming mirrors work in tandem with lidar systems for track-level smart driving. The instrument panel features a wing-shaped design, and between the two slender LCD screens is a 15.1-inch landscape touchscreen with new OLED technology that automatically retracts when not in use.
Eletre is equipped with the industry's top 800V electrical architecture, front and rear dual motor drive, the combined maximum output power of more than 600 horsepower, WLTP working range of about 600 kilometers. Thanks to the growing influence of China's car industry, Lotus Eletre will also produce and supply the global market in the Wuhan smart factory in the second half of this year.
In the scope of the global automotive market, Chinese car companies have obviously been at the forefront of electrification, not only in the fact that they can already use China's market and strength to promote the revival of a classic sports car brand with a history of more than 70 years like Lotus, but also in the fact that independent brands like Geely and BYD have the strength to carry out technical cooperation with other mainstream car companies in the world.
Therefore, how to find the right direction in the increasingly important Chinese market on the electrification track has become a problem that many joint venture brands need to consider. In this week's new car list, on the one hand, BMW Brilliance i3 entered the arena at a price of 349,900 yuan, and it seems that it is not possible to see the intention of developing for the Chinese people; on the other hand, Guangqi Honda released a new electrification strategy brand e:NP, and the first model e:NP1 also has an official Chinese name, Ji Pan 1.
Luxury brands like BMW still maintain a noble face, while Hiromoto uses an electric SUV for the new electric brand platform, and both sides are highly influential joint venture brands, making this week's new car summary very interesting. With the maturity of independent brand DHT products, what kind of market layout should be faced has become a problem worth pondering in various enterprises.
| Deng Yongtuo |
Not a big problem, there is no fear of cars.