Per reporter: Sun Tongtong Per editor: Pei Jianru
There are electric cars spontaneously combusting again! However, this time it is not the "star" Tesla, but a very low-key "old" car-making new force - Aiways Automobile. To what extent can Aiways auto keep a low profile, some netizens joked: "I don't know this brand if there is no accident!" ”
On April 5, an online car, Aichi U5, spontaneously combusted at an electric vehicle charging station next to Birch Forest Road in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and the fire quickly engulfed the vehicle. On the afternoon of the same day, aiways auto official micro issued an announcement that its system background received a thermal runaway alarm information of an AIWAYS U5 during the charging process, and the location of the vehicle was Sansheng Township, Jinjiang District, Chengdu. The accident caused no casualties and the cause of the accident is under investigation.
Although Aiways Automobile released the statement in time, it does not seem to have received the attention of netizens, and within nearly 24 hours of the statement, no one replied, and only 9 people liked it.
Image source: Sina Weibo
"Compared with the new forces of head car manufacturing, there is a gap in the development of Aichi, and it takes time to do sales." Fu Qiang, founder and president of Aiways Automobile, once told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that the challenges faced by Aiways in the process of moving forward are huge, but it is still accelerating to catch up.
Although many people are not familiar with AIWAYS, AIWAYS Automobile can be regarded as a "veteran" in the new forces of car manufacturing. According to public information, AIWAYS Automobile was founded in February 2017; in 2019, AIWAYS Automobile acquired 50% of the shares of Jiangling Holdings Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jiangling Holdings") for 1.747 billion yuan, becoming the largest shareholder of Jiangling Holdings and obtaining automobile production qualifications.
However, aiways Auto withdrew from Jiangling Holdings in July 2021 after nearly two years of taking a stake in Jiangling Holdings, and its 50% stake in Jiangling Holdings was taken over by Jiangxi Guokong Automobile Investment Co., Ltd.
According to the official website, AIWAYS Auto currently has only one model on sale - AIWAYS U5, which is also the first mass-produced model of AIWAYS Auto, which will be listed in 2020 and priced at 166,900 to 179,900 yuan.
Although this "old" new car-making force has set its ambition to surpass "Wei Xiaoli", its actual sales are very dismal. According to the data of the owner's guide network, in February this year, the domestic sales of the AIWAYS U5 were only 15 vehicles. In the two years since its launch, the cumulative sales volume of the AIWAYS U5 has been 5760 units.
Recently, AIWAYS Auto also announced that due to the continuous rise in raw material prices and the tight supply of suppliers, it will increase the price of its on-sale models AIWAYS U5 and related configuration models from April 6. Among them, the price of the Pure version increased by 10,000 yuan, the price of the Lite version increased by 12,000 yuan, and the price of the smart driving bag rose by 5,000 yuan.
Some insiders believe that the monthly sales of only 15 vehicles will increase in price, which is undoubtedly worse for Aiways, which is already in a difficult situation.
In fact, compared with the domestic market, AIWAYS Auto puts more energy into expanding its business in overseas markets. According to public information, AIWAYS Auto entered the European market in 2020 and established retail-side cooperation with companies such as European electronics retail giant Euronics.
Up to now, AIWAYS has landed in fifteen countries around the world. Official data show that in 2021, Aiways Automobile exported 1676 new energy vehicles throughout the year, an increase of 62.9% year-on-year. From May 2020 to the end of 2021, AIWAYS auto exported a total of 2,783 vehicles.
Compared with the domestic market, AIWAYS Automobile can be regarded as a small achievement in overseas markets. However, the lower safety rating also makes the quality of its products questionable. More netizens said: "Anyone can build a car, can the car be safe?" ”
Previously, E-NCAP's safety rating for the Aichi U5 was only three stars. In contrast, models such as the NIO ES8 and MG ZS EV have received five-star ratings from E-NCAP.
According to public information, E-NCAP was founded in 1997 and is one of the most authoritative safety certification bodies in the automotive industry. The E-NCAP test program consists of four parts, namely occupant protection, child protection, pedestrian protection and safety system.
In the test results of the AIWAYS U5, occupant protection and child protection scores were 73% and 70%, respectively, but the pedestrian protection and safety system scored only 45% and 55%, respectively. The five-star WEIO ES8 scored 82%, 84%, 72% and 92% in occupant protection, child protection, pedestrian protection and safety systems, respectively.
However, on the official website of AIWAYS Automobile, the body structure designed by the AIWAYS U5 five-star safety standard and the active safety protection of intelligent driving are one of the selling points of its publicity.
At present, new energy vehicles are setting off a wave of "going to sea", and more and more Chinese new energy vehicle brands are aiming at overseas markets, and the European market is the main offensive position of many brands. At present, the new energy vehicle companies entering the European market include both traditional independent car companies, such as SAIC Passenger Cars and BYD, as well as new power car brands, such as Weilai Automobile and Xiaopeng Automobile; and also cover the new electric vehicle brands of traditional car companies, such as Lantu Automobile.
In this context, how to polish the "internal strength" and further enhance the product strength and brand power may be a topic that AIWAYS Automobile has to give priority to thinking about and responding to quickly.
Daily economic news
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