Lead
Introduction
"The successful technical cooperation between Honda and GM will drive a significant increase in electric vehicle sales."
Author 丨 Cao Jiadong
Responsible editor 丨 Yang Jing
Editor 丨Zhu Jinbin
"EV" is synonymous with the Great Leap Forward of this era, and its emergence has made the "hero of the times" happen again in the automotive industry, which has existed for 140 years. The unprecedented change of the situation has forced all traditional car companies to be clear about the opportunities and directions of the future on the road of inertia.
In Europe, the move to fully engage in electrification has left the entire industry with no other choice; in China, the increasing competition has made the world panic; in the United States, with Tesla, the threat is there.
Still, from the initial doubts to the inaction, everyone is struggling to paint the "2030 electrification" electrification blueprint they have built. First it was BMW and Volkswagen, followed by Toyota and Honda. Bidding farewell to the self and waving to the new era are extremely resolute.
When Akio Toyoda ceased to be obsessed and declared war on the world by launching 15 new pure electric products at a time, Honda President Toshihiro Mibuyashi also said early last year that by 2040, the sales ratio of electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) would be increased to 100% to support the Japanese government's environmental protection cause. This is a response that adapts to the times, but for Honda, if it wants to achieve something in the next era, it is not enough.
Nowadays, it is hard to believe that Honda, which has always been self-contained, will choose to share the ecology with Sony, but the reality is that this is only the beginning. On the issue of "transformation", from the official announcement to borrow GM for a year, to deepen cooperation with it and promote the research and development of affordable electric vehicles, Honda finally chose to do its best.
A path that must be taken
Perhaps in the reserve of new energy technology, Honda has never been a weak person.
In April 1997, honda takanezawa plant, small electric vehicle EV Plus assembly off the production line; two years later in Japan, the launch of the original Insight marked Honda in the mass production of hybrid vehicles a big step forward; in 2006, the emergence of the FCX Clarity fuel cell sedan, honda became the leader in the new energy market...
However, the speed at which the world is throwing a hug at electrification still makes Honda slightly confused. With its own pride, Honda has never been able to understand the preferences of the next era. Compared with those Chinese car companies without baggage, all the accumulation in the past has brought self-confidence to them, but it has also made them more and more unable to understand the future of this market.
From the decision to discontinue CLARITY models, to the near-delisting of ve-1/M-NV developed for the Chinese market, and now actively looking for new business partners, Honda's new energy development road is really not smooth.
The cooperation with GM is caused by Honda's desire to miss the threshold of rapid development of electrification, but from the perspective of market orientation and the actions of emerging car companies such as Tesla, I prefer to believe that this is Honda's best choice at the moment.
At this time last year, in the details of the cooperation, the effective information that can be obtained is that Honda will use GM's pure electric platform and is expected to launch two pure electric SUVs belonging to the Acura and Honda brands in North America in 2024. Among them, Honda's role is focused on the exterior design and tuning of new cars.
In the transformation of electrification, Honda and GM take what they need and hug each other for heating, which is normal. But for Honda, even if the two agree, in this era when all employees are crazy for electrification, pulling the time front to 2024 is not a good thing.
Therefore, when Honda recently revealed again, it will jointly develop a series of affordable electric models based on a new electric architecture and general Ultium battery technology. At the same time, the two companies also said that they will produce "millions" of such electric vehicles worldwide by 2027.
This means that in order to grab a certain market share as soon as possible in the electric age, what Honda can do today is to make some articles on the entry threshold of electric vehicles. Although neither partner has yet given an explanation for the concept of "parity," Ken Morris, GM's executive vice president for electric, autonomous driving and fuel cell programs, shows that the new car will be smaller and more expensive than the Chevrolet Equinox electric car.
The rising price is about $30,000, which shows that Honda is targeting a segment that is positioned below the Volkswagen ID.4. You know, the latter starts at $40,000 in the United States.
Anyone familiar with Honda's product pedigree knows that of all its mass-produced pure electric models, price has never been Honda's advantage. Even in China, pure electric SUVs restructured from Honda Binzhi/XR-V have no advantage in the same level of products. And this will inevitably lead to the fact that in the market fight, it is not easy for Honda to take the lead.
Today, Honda's new pure electric SUV model e:NP1/S1 is about to be mass-produced in China, but looking at the global market, Honda obviously needs a model with a more global perspective and a lower price similar to the Volkswagen ID.3.
This is the best option
I would like to ask, what is the most important significance of an affordable electric vehicle? In the words of Toshihiro Mibu, the answer is, "The successful technical cooperation between Honda and GM will drive a substantial increase in electric vehicle sales." ”
Yes, as a non-luxury brand, honda's ultimate goal of developing the new energy industry is to continue the survival thinking of traditional car companies, that is, sales. The current new energy market just leaves a vacuum zone for models below $30,000. Honda undoubtedly has some convincing reasons for this.
Some people say, doesn't Honda have a pure electric car Honda e? Coupled with the several new cars that will be launched in the Chinese market in the future, is it not good to meet the global market in the short term?
But in the three years since Honda e was released, its high price and overall market situation are not to be said. In the increasingly selective market, the decline in product strength year by year is obvious to all. In addition, as major car companies pay more and more attention to cooperation with various technology companies and parts giants, honda in addition to the research and development results of sandy technology, whether it is intelligent or regional localization, it is difficult to come up with advantages.
Taking the Chinese market as an example, in the past few years, "Wei Xiaoli" has magnificently transformed the development logic of China's automobile market, and the newly entered technology companies such as Huawei and Xiaomi have made every effort in the survival lifeline of the entire industry. Who can represent the future, and who can establish a first-mover advantage in this turmoil, has become a difficult topic to conclude.
Even if traditional car companies emphasize that the new energy market is not dominated by new car-making forces, the mainstream automobile market below 200,000 yuan will eventually need to be filled by traditional car companies. But what we can't ignore is that a large number of Chinese car companies that have started first can have no development ideas of new forces, and they can be slightly delayed in the accumulation of technology, but they have not shown timidity in the face of overseas brands led by Honda.
And this mapping to the global scope, the same situation will not be much different. Honda, which belongs to the Japanese system, is not a brand that pays attention to radical gameplay in the bone, and all it can do is find a strong foreign aid. Moreover, as far as Honda's established plan is concerned, the new "e:Architecture" platform developed by honda is not yet fully effective, and it is necessary to accumulate technology through cooperation before that.
At a glance, in addition to the public, there is only universal.
Looking back at the history of cooperation between Honda and GM, it is actually not difficult to find that Honda just wants to use GM's accumulation in the underlying technology of new energy to form a confrontational situation with more and more new energy vehicle companies.
Especially in the research and development of low-cost electric vehicles, GM's product advantages formed in the market by borrowing the Chevrolet Bolt car series may be Honda's vision. Although in the past few years of sale, the car was temporarily suspended due to the spontaneous combustion incident after using LG new energy's power battery, but its imprint on the terminal market is indeed not found by other traditional car companies.
Once Honda can work with it, Honda's innate advantages in cost control will also reverse the empowerment of GM. GM CEO Mary Borah is convinced, "GM and Honda will share the best technology, design and manufacturing strategies to launch affordable electric vehicles that satisfy consumers in global markets including North America, South America and China." ”
Regardless of the future market performance of the new product, Honda, which chooses to cooperate with GM, can achieve on the issue of "affordable electric vehicles". As for the final results, let's talk about it after seeing how Chinese car companies respond.
| Cao Jiadong |
Gasoline running in the blood,
Only fast is not broken!