In just a few years, the intelligent transformation brought about by the new forces of car manufacturing has strongly impacted the century-old traditional automobile industry.
Tesla, the leader in the pure electric market, has repeatedly set the best sales record and ranked first in the market value of global car companies.
After continuous efforts, the first batch of new car-making forces "Wei Xiaoli" has achieved a stage victory in terms of sales, brand recognition, or intelligence; established car companies such as Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford, and GM have also accelerated their electrification transformation strategies.
In the face of such a trillion-level market, the second batch of new domestic car-making forces have also begun to run into the market. At present, Avita, which holds the CHN architecture, focuses on emotional intelligence and has a cross-border team, is the strongest member of the industrial cooperation lineup.
On April 8, Avita 011, the first co-brand limited edition of the Avita brand, made its world debut.
As the first chapter of Avita's fashion crossover "0" series, Avita 011 was jointly created by Matthew M. Williams and Avita Chief Design Officer Nader Faghihzadeh, with a limited edition of 500 units worldwide.
Nader Faghihzadeh can be described as an old cannon in the car industry, and in the 20-year career of the BMW Group, he has created the BMW 7 Series, the BMW iNEXT Concept Car, the BMW i8 Roadster and other works.
Matthew M. Williams, a designer with a strong personal style and outstanding design talent, was a former queen designer of Lady Gaga and became the creative director of Givenchy in 2020.
The cross-border cooperation between the two sides has given Avita 011 more human emotions and a casual and luxurious style. And such a cooperation is not the first time for Avita, who has cross-border genes since its inception.
01
The collision between traditional car companies and technology companies:
CHN is an innovative model, not a buy-sell model
Avita, literally, is hardly related to cars.
In fact, Avita has been operating in changan automobile interior layout for a long time. At that time, Avita was code-named "AB Brand", and its predecessor was the "Changan Weilai" project cooperated by Changan and Nio, and later Changan Automobile increased its capital to incorporate it into its holding subsidiary.
In May 2021, CATL and Huawei successively entered the renamed Avita.
Zhu Huarong, chairman of Changan Automobile, said that CATL has become Avita's second largest shareholder. Although Huawei did not invest in the shares, the degree of empowerment, support and close cooperation with Avita is like a joint venture.
At this point, on the one hand, it is a veteran car company with more than 60 years, on the other hand, it is the world's leading ICT solution provider, and on the other hand, it is a battery manufacturer that has ranked first in the world's power battery installed capacity for five consecutive years, and Avita has begun its first cross-border joint brand journey.
For Avita, which was jointly established by the three giants, Zhu Huarong gave the reason: "Conform to the development of the times and the needs of users".
For Changan, the Avita brand is the key to its impact on high-end.
As early as October 2017, Changan Automobile announced the "Shangri-La Plan", which was planned to fully stop selling traditional fuel vehicles by 2025.
In the 2025 strategic plan announced by Changan Automobile last year, it is planned that the proportion of new energy vehicle sales will rise to 35% to 1.05 million units in 2025.
According to Changan Automobile's cumulative sales of 100075 new energy vehicles last year, there are less than four years left to not only achieve "no combustion", but also to increase the sales of its own new energy models by as much as 10 times.
In addition to the Changan deep blue brand built based on Changan's self-developed EPA pure electric platform, and realizing the electrification transformation of its products in the true sense, Avita can be said to have shouldered the burden of changan automobile brand upward and electrification transformation at the same time.
Avita is based on the intelligent electric networked vehicle (CHN) platform jointly developed by Changan Automobile, Huawei and CATL, and Changan, which has a production capacity of one million, assumes the role of vehicle manufacturing in this link, including technical support such as vehicle manufacturing experience and channel layout.
For the key power battery part of electric vehicles, Avita is responsible for the "second shareholder" CATL.
In March this year, Avita completed the first round of strategic financing delivery and industrial and commercial information changes, and CATL officially became Avita's second largest shareholder with a shareholding ratio of 23.99%.
For the first time, we have jointly created a new energy vehicle brand with car companies, which means that in Avita's model, we can see the most advanced battery technology displayed by the Ningde era to the outside world.
In April this year, CATL released the third generation of platform-based CTP technology, internally known as Kirin battery, under the same chemical system, the same battery pack size, the power of Kirin battery pack can be increased by 13% compared to 4680 battery pack.
Whether Avita can take the lead in the industry to apply this leading technology is also very worth looking forward to.
According to official information, the Avita 11 will have a cruising range of more than 700km and a 750V high-voltage charging system.
This is also largely due to the advanced battery technology provided by the Ningde era and the technical accumulation of Changan Automobile, and the energy replenishment speed of the Avita 11 will be a big cut away from the existing products.
In addition, due to the current new energy vehicle production capacity gap and the sharp rise in the price of core raw materials such as lithium and nickel, many new energy vehicle companies have increased prices and cannot deliver cars.
In the current shortage of battery resources in the industrial chain, with the second largest shareholder of CATL, Avita's supply chain system can also be fully guaranteed.
Although Huawei does not have a stake in Avita, as a strategic partner, Huawei is deeply involved in the technology development of Avita. The model of cooperation between the two sides is consistent with Huawei's, BAIC Polar Arc and GAC Aean, that is, the Huawei Inside model.
What's so special about Huawei Inside? The most obvious is the "deep binding" between car companies and Huawei.
In the summary of Wang Jun, the BU COO of Huawei's car, Huawei Inside is a "joint definition and joint development" between Huawei and car companies, and Huawei's sales channels can also have some help.
In Huawei Inside mode, Avita applies the full-stack capability of Huawei's smart car. At its core is a digital platform for smart cars called iDVP.
In a nutshell, iDVP has the ability to iterate software and plug and play hardware to help Avita shorten the development cycle of its models. iDVP is equivalent to an underlying "big software operating system", in addition to continuous iterative evolution, its greater ability lies in the opening up of intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit and intelligent car control of the three control domains.
In addition to iDVP, Huawei's Inside "Full Stack Package" also includes an autonomous driving computing platform, a smart cockpit platform, radar, a BMS battery thermal management system, and more.
Wang Jun once said, "Whether it is the HI model or the Huawei smart selection model, they have got rid of the traditional supplier model."
If the traditional parts supplier provides standard parts, then in the era of smart cars, it is necessary to combine the performance, configuration and space of each car to make a variety of different customized parts.
So, Huwei Inside's focus is not only on the full stack, but also on deep, similarly highly customized collaborations between the two sides.
The CHN architecture created by the three parties is Avita's first card.
For this card, Tan Benhong summed up: "This is an innovative model, not a 'buying and selling model', we did not charge Huawei any development fees, and Ningde did not charge us any sample and development fees."
Starting from the second half of 2021, the electric vehicle market game will quickly enter the "deep water area" - that is, the platform competition stage of "new architecture, large computing power, and high voltage".
This card can also be said to be the cornerstone of Avita: Changan Automobile can ensure the safety attributes of Avita cars and ensure the quality of new cars, Huawei has brought intelligent attributes to new cars, and the Ningde era has brought abundant power.
Tan Benhong once said, "The real big bang of ideas or the emergence of new technologies is often because different fields fuse together points that cannot be integrated." Although Changan, Huawei and CATL all come from different fields, they all have a common strategic goal, which is to promote the chinese brand."
The birth of Avita is not only fully integrated into the strengths of each company, but also a concentrated display of the resource advantages of traditional car companies and the technical advantages of technology companies.
02
In front of Avita 11, how long can the Model Y still be fragrant?
At last year's brand launch, Avita 11 made its debut and also announced four core data around intelligence, battery, power, and power:
400Tops hash rate
750km cruising range
Accelerate to 100 km/h in 4 seconds
200 kW high voltage super fast charge
Behind the data, the bet is on the Avita 11's chances of winning in the market.
According to the new car declaration information of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Avita 11 is equipped with a dual-motor power system provided by Huawei, of which the maximum power of the front motor is 195kW, the maximum power of the rear motor is 230kW, and the comprehensive power is as high as 425kW.
The combined performance of the powerful dual motors brings a very exaggerated level of acceleration, and the official Avita 11's zero hundred acceleration performance has entered the "3-second club".
Obviously, this is already the way high-end luxury brands play, and the power of the supercar level is one of the brand's upward strengths, such as the Weilai ET7 located in the same club.
In terms of endurance, Avita 11 will have a ternary lithium battery pack with a capacity of 90.38 kWh and a comprehensive cruising range of up to 600 km, followed by a long-range version with a range of more than 700 km.
At the same time, the maximum charging power of 240 kW provides the Avita 11 with a fast charge condition of only 15 minutes from 30% to 80%.
At least in the book data, Avita 11 can be described as crushing the tesla model Y high-performance version of the same level, whether it is in the motor power, battery capacity, Avita is better.
Not only that, the combination of high energy density (long endurance) and high magnification (discharge performance of rapid acceleration and intense driving, charging performance of fast charging) required behind high-performance data is very big a test for power batteries.
CATL is the first battery company in the industry to implement heat-free diffusion technology on the NCM 811 high-specific energy battery, and similar technology will ensure that Avita 11 is at the optimal level of high specific energy, high magnification and high safety triangular balance of power batteries.
On the other hand, in the era of smart cars, how the computing power of cars has become a key factor in the overall performance of smart cars.
According to public information, Huawei will provide huawei MDC computing platform, 400Tops computing power and three 96-line medium and long-range lidar for Avita 11.
This means that the Avita 11 is the second model to be equipped with Huawei's ADS full-stack solution and the Nth lidar production model after the Arc Alpha S.
The Avita 11 is equipped with Huawei's self-developed 96-line medium- and long-range lidar:
Full field of view 150 m detection distance, 140 ° × 25 ° detection range;
Horizontal and vertical wiring harnesses are evenly distributed in the full field of view;
High frame rate of 25Hz, 0.25° × 0.26° resolution;
Small size, suitable for the needs of front-loading production models.
This product has the ability to see far away from high-speed scenes (ranging capability), wide view of complex intersections (horizontal FOV), and ability to quickly detect targets (vertical FOVs) in near-end and plug-in scenarios.
According to statistics, Nio ET7/ET5, Xiaopeng G9, Ideal L9, WM M7, Zero Run C01, Nezha S, Salon Mech Dragon and other models equipped with lidar mass production models will also be released and listed this year.
Against the backdrop of being seen as the first year of the lidar mass production car, Huawei has at least helped the Avita 11 gain a foothold in the field of intelligent assisted driving.
At the same time, Avita's upcoming mass production of high-speed and urban point-to-point intelligent driving assistance is also already in product planning.
In addition, Avita 11 is also highly competitive in the field of smart cockpits.
Only from the currently announced interior, Avita 11 adopts the mainstream dashboard + central control screen + co-driver screen 3-screen layout, and the car machine is Huawei's HarmonyOS.
HarmonyOS can be understood as a Huawei "family bucket" integrated in the car, which has both a smooth operating system and Huawei's self-developed hardware, and also contains a rich software and hardware ecology.
With a rare three-lidar configuration, a stunning four-seat Huawei ADS system and a well-known Harmony OS system, the Avita 11 is positioned as a medium-sized SUV, and all performance indicators are in line with the first echelon models.
If Avita's first card ensures that Avita competes with each model in lidar, computing power, power and other configurations, then the second card, "emotional intelligence", plays the difference between Avita and other brands.
Emotional intelligence is at the heart of Avita's brand design. To sum up in a paradigm, emotional intelligence is both high-end luxury, warm and considerate, and futuristic.
This is the triangle of user emotional needs established by the Avita brand. Technology, on the other hand, is the cornerstone behind the triangle of emotional needs.
Tan Benhong believes that as a bulk consumer product, users' demand for high-end luxury and warmth and thoughtfulness is stable and advanced. On top of this, technology can connect the first two while giving the car a futuristic feel.
"High-end luxury is no longer the exclusive property of traditional big brands. As long as young brands pay close attention to design innovation and user experience, they can still create high-end luxury products that are favored by users.
Warm and considerate, it is no longer just after-sales service and user reception. The user requires the car itself to be warm and considerate, that is, to further personify the car, the car should be warm and considerate to me, knowing that I understand me."
Based on the insight into user needs, Avita positions emotional intelligent electric vehicles, not only stacking technology and hardware, but using technology to empower users with new lifestyles.
03
Cross-border thinking, a re-recognition of trends
Judging from the current market trends, the opportunities for Avita are becoming clearer.
At the beginning of this year, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, predicted that the sales volume of new energy in 2022 will be more than 5.5 million units, and the penetration rate will reach about 25%.
Compared with the sales volume of 2.989 million new energy passenger cars in China in 2021, new energy passenger cars are expected to have 54% upside this year. This also makes a large number of new energy vehicle companies have high expectations for the domestic new energy market this year, and the speed of product iteration continues to rise.
However, in the face of uncontrollable factors under the shadow of the epidemic, almost all car companies have been disrupted, including the delivery of the Zhiji L7, the appearance of the ideal L9, and even the Beijing Auto Show, which has an undecided time.
In the face of this tug-of-war in which the supply chain continues to be unstable due to chip shortages and rising raw material prices, backed by the three giants of Changan Automobile, Ningde Times and Huawei, Whether it is the battery supply chain, vehicle-grade chips, or production capacity problems, Avita has an innate advantage.
With all the preparations in order, the Avita 11 will also be available during the year, with deliveries beginning in the third quarter.
Just as in the past three years, it has not "followed the tide" with new energy vehicle companies, after the brand debut, Avita has maintained its own development rhythm.
In terms of funding, Avita will launch a Series A financing within the year. In terms of model planning, Avita will launch 4 new models in the next 5 years.
Tan Benhong believes that the smart electric vehicle race is a marathon race, and the slow pace will also have the first chance to reach the finish line.
To win the place in this marathon, the trader behind it is indispensable, which is also Avita's third card - the core management team of the crossover.
Tan Benhong, Chairman and CEO of Avita Technology: He has served as a manager in Changan Automotive's technology innovation, product research and development, brand communication, etc., and has more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry;
Wang Jinhai, Vice President of Avitako: Served as executive vice president of Changan Ford's national sales and service organization, and previously engaged in marketing management of Changan Mazda and Changan Automobile;
Liu Shibin, Chief Financial Officer of Avita: He once held a key management position in the financial operation department of Changan Automobile.
Wang Lin, Chief Marketing Officer of Avita Technology: Has held brand management positions in many world-renowned companies, including Apple, Chanel and other top international luxury goods and technology fields;
Ma Xinjie, Chief Strategy Officer of Avita: Held management positions in the field of capital operations;
In addition to Tan Benhong, Wang Jinhai and Liu Shibin, who originally belonged to Chang'an's auto people, Wang Lin and Ma Xinjie did not have backgrounds in automobile-related fields.
Introducing Avita's core team, Tam said, "Our management team members come from many different industries. I think that with a group of talents from the traditional automotive industry, the things that are made may not be new to everyone."
To some extent, the significance of cross-border joint name is to achieve the result of 1+1>2 with the help of the influence of both sides. This is a common marketing method in recent years, such as Hongqi Automobile and Li Ning, Volkswagen and Pokémon, Geely Automobile and Sanxingdui Museum and other cross-border games.
But for Avita, a series of joint actions, in addition to creating unconventional marketing methods, are mainly aimed at "de-Chang'anization" in the process of "Chang'anization".
As Zhu Huarong said, "Avita will build a fully market-oriented corporate governance structure and mechanism." Changan Automobile has been emphasizing the independence of Avita, while also highlighting Avita's own new look on the side.
When Avita was founded, there were some voices in the outside world: does the automotive industry need a new brand? What kind of new brand should that be if needed?
In the words of Tan Benhong, "Re-recognize the needs of users, define a new category and track, the new track of course needs a new brand to create and lead."
From the brand, to the product to the team, Avita hopes to build a co-creation platform with cross-border thinking, and the three trump cards held by Avita can help Avita jump out of the traditional car-making concept and face the future and users with a new perspective.
"Chinese car brands are no longer bystanders or simple followers, but have become runners, or even leaders." To some extent, this can be seen as Zhu Huarong's expectation of Avita.
"The Heart of the Car · The connoisseur said" trailer
On Thursday, April 21, 20:00-21:00, Box Cars founder and president Zhang Shuguang will be a guest car heart · Experts said, talk about "travel market nuggets: where is the opportunity point of the B-end track of new energy vehicles?"