Lead:
"The new forces of car-making are like giant catfish, and where they are involved, either the still water is deep, or the undercurrent is turbulent... Unconsciously, a new era of the automobile industry in full swing has quietly arrived. ”
The extraordinary charm and strong attraction of the automobile industry do not need to be repeated, in addition to the international giants and traditional car companies that have gone through a century of vicissitudes, the current bigwigs in various industries have also entered the game of car manufacturing.
Although the new forces of car manufacturing have brought a new atmosphere to the industry, the major OEMs are also not far behind, and have thrown themselves into the wave of change, and under the intertwining of the mutual game of all parties, the new industrial revolution in full swing has quietly arrived.
01 A general direction
136 years have passed since Carl Benz invented the automobile in 1886. In the long history of the development of automobiles for more than 100 years, there is no doubt that international giants have led and promoted the automobile industry, but the carbon emissions caused by the combustion of fossil energy by automobiles have brought a series of negative impacts on the global environment. At present, "double carbon" has become an important starting point for global economic and social development, and it is also a high-frequency vocabulary in the global automotive industry, and low-carbon, environmentally friendly new energy vehicles are becoming the main direction of the development of the mainland and even the global automotive industry.
Therefore, we have seen the new energy vehicle forces represented by Tesla emerge and gain the enthusiastic pursuit of the capital market. China's new car-making forces have gone through ups and downs, and Weilai, Xiaopeng and Ideal, who were once ridiculed as "electric three fools", have now grown into the mainstay of China's new energy vehicle companies. Compared with the new forces of car-making, the electric vehicle national team Lantu Automobile did not claim to be one of them, but firmly took its own path and put forward the concept of "new strength of car-making".
"New forces of car-making" and "new strength of car-making", the name is only a word difference, the actual difference will be as small as literally?
We may wish to take the ideal car of the new car-making force as an example, and compare it with the Lantu Automobile of the electric vehicle national team to explore the different development paths of the two.
02 Special "New Forces"
Why choose the ideal car, because the ideal is a special existence in "Wei, small, rational", the only brand that adopts range extender power technology, and it is also the brand with only one model, but it is also the best-selling brand.
Yes, many people are amazed at how the ideal car can rely on a car to "fight" in the market for a long time, and it can also land on the NASDAQ securities market in the United States in 2020 to achieve listing, and this car is not the first choice of founder Li Xiang. Since last year, the ideal has continuously surpassed the overall sales figures of Weilai and Xiaopeng with only one car, which has also brought a rich foundation to the ideal. Moreover, Ideal is about to usher in the listing of the large SUV Ideal L9, and the Ideal ONE will no longer be alone.
But behind the scenery, there are also hidden "hidden worries".
Different from the pure electric power technology route of other car-making new car companies, Ideal Car has only one extended range electric model Ideal ONE. Because the first product chosen by the predecessor of the ideal car, "Car and Home", was a pure electric mini car SEV similar to "Old Man Le", it died due to policies and other reasons. At that time, it was too late to switch to a pure electric model, and Li wanted to switch to the ideal ONE of mid-range and large-sized SUVs.
According to public information, Ideal Auto theory is a Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturer, designing, developing, manufacturing and selling luxury intelligent electric vehicles, founded in July 2015, through product innovation and technology research and development, to provide safe and convenient products and services for home users. On July 30, 2020, Ideal Auto was officially listed on the NASDAQ Securities Market in the United States, and its founder Li Xiang had successful Internet entrepreneurship experience such as Bubble Network and Autohome.
However, so far, all the manufacturers that can be called the new forces of car manufacturing are catching up with the technical route of pure electric drive and zero emissions, and looking at the current public 5-year plan of the ideal car, there is no pure electric vehicle model.
Taking Beijing as an example, at present, hybrid vehicles and pure electric vehicles can apply for a green new energy license, marked as Beijing AF; but only pure electric vehicles can apply for an electric vehicle license, marked as Beijing AD. Users who buy the ideal ONE, according to the regulations, can only apply for a new energy license, that is, AF. Moreover, it is also impossible to enjoy the unlimited traffic regulations of pure electric vehicles. Moreover, Li Xiang has also responded more than once to the doubts of all walks of life that the ideal only chooses the extender technology route.
03 "Left" and "Right"
Lantu Automobile's products also use "extended range" technology, which is often compared with the ideal ONE. However, compared with the ideal car, whether it is from the brand, technical route, product layout and user group positioning, Lantu Automobile is quite different from the ideal car. In the general direction of new energy, there are different specific directions and paths, which can be described as "ideal to the left, Lantu to the right".
In terms of brand, although the new strength of car manufacturing Lantu was established in 2018, it is backed by the central enterprise Dongfeng Motor Group, and the foundation is undoubtedly deeper, which is a multi-path choice under the strong strength of the central enterprises, which can be described as the national team of electric vehicles. As a high-end intelligent electric vehicle technology company, Lantu Automobile fully integrates Dongfeng's more than 50 years of car-making technology and superior resources, builds an innovative business model with users as the center, and is committed to becoming "China's high-end electric vehicle leader", bringing more possibilities to the market and consumers.
In terms of technology, unlike the ideal car, which only chooses a single route to extend the range, Lantu Automobile has chosen to "walk on two legs", not only providing users with a super extended range version of the model, but also providing a pure electric version. Landu's first SUV model, Lando FREE, is the only electric SUV in the industry that uses a pure electric and extended range electric dual-power layout.
Specifically, Lantu FREE adopts 1.5T four-cylinder engine + generator this set of extended range electric technology, both electric vehicles and gasoline vehicles, in terms of driving texture, smooth and sensitive, strong and environmental protection, not only can easily surpass the performance of traditional large-displacement fuel vehicles, but also has better fuel economy, can be called 300,000 SUV benchmark, since the delivery of users in August 2021, has more than 10,000 users.
In terms of product layout, Landu Automobile currently has two heavyweight combination products, Nametour FREE, which is positioned as a "performance-level intelligent electric SUV" and Lantu Dreamer, which is positioned as an "electric luxury flagship MPV".
Lantu FREE uses the extended range version of 860KM comprehensive endurance to eliminate user mileage anxiety, and then uses the pure electric version of 505KM comprehensive endurance to meet the needs of users who mainly commute daily. The two power versions fully take into account the different use scenarios of users, and more refined to achieve the product development goal of "targeting users' high-frequency scene needs and car pain points". The Lantu Dreamer, which opened the pre-sale on April 7, can meet the needs of high-end business people to enjoy low-carbon travel and pursue technology and comfortable family travel, and the matrix composed of two vehicles meets the needs of business and family travel, covering a wider range of people.
Lantu Dreamer is equipped with the only air suspension + CDC million-level chassis with magic carpet function in the same class, with the combination of aluminum alloy front double wishbones + rear multi-link suspension, which perfectly balances vehicle passability, driving stability, riding comfort and convenience of getting on and off; real-time fatigue monitoring system, NVS intelligent active night vision system, hall-level Danna audio, Gigabit 5G network and other leap-level highlight configurations, interpreting the new concept of "no electric, no luxury" in the new era.
Ideal Auto currently has a medium and large SUV Ideal ONE, as well as a large SUV Ideal L9 that has opened pre-sale, mainly covering the family car market, lacking products for the business car market. In the product plan that Ideal has disclosed, as of 2024, a series of models from high-end to low-end are all SUVs.
Based on user needs, Lantu Automobile plans to form a three-category matrix across SUVs, MPVs and cars within three years, release no less than one new model to the market every year, and continuously expand the product lineup of high-end electric vehicle brands. At present, Lantu has launched models in both SUV and MPV categories, and it is reported that new products will also be launched in the sedan category.
In terms of user population positioning, from the information we have, lantu's user portrait is the new backbone of contemporary society. With its ultimate comfort, safety and intelligence, Lantu Dreamer meets the needs of users in various scenarios such as business, leisure and vacation, and Lantu FREE users pursue independent enjoyment and freedom. The ideal ONE positioning is a family dad car, focusing on the functionality and practicality of the vehicle.
Landu FREE adopts a large five-seat layout, paying more attention to the car experience of all drivers and passengers; Landu Dreamer has launched a total of four-seat customized version and seven-seat models, which can meet the administrative level exclusive travel of high-end business people at the same time, as well as meet the pursuit of technology, comfort and space for family travel, to achieve "seats are the chief", breaking through the limitations of the traditional MPV can only choose one of the two for home or business. Among them, the four-seat customized version brings a top-level luxury experience and brings first-class honors and privileges.
The ideal ONE once had 2+3+2 7-seaters, but the current model only offers a 6-seat version, paying more attention to the independent riding experience of all employees without interfering with each other, and there are fewer space choices. However, the ideal ONE was listed earlier, already has a high brand awareness and market ownership rate, and has a good market foundation and marketing network in second- and third-tier cities.
It is worth mentioning that the layout space of Lantu Dreamer, which is positioned as an "electric luxury flagship MPV", is more flexible and diverse. At work, it is a comfortable first-class cabin and an exclusive living room; in the family, it is a mobile and warm home, which can be called the mobile third space that Lantu Automobile pays tribute to this era.
One with 6 seats, one with a large 5 seats, a 7 seat and a 4 seats with a variety of flexible layouts, perhaps we can't judge the choice of ideal and Lantu from the number of seats, because they have found the right people for them in their respective styles. But it is worth rejoicing that both Ideal and Lantu have chosen innovative user-centric business models. Compared with traditional car companies, they are closer to users and easier to win the favor of users. The zero-anxiety nature of range-extended electric vehicles also makes it relatively easier for them to gain user recognition. In the future, it is believed that after the launch of new products such as Lantu Car and Ideal L9, a comprehensive and powerful combination of product matrix will be presented, and the user population will be more extensive.
Under the unprecedented changes in a century, with the continuous improvement of policies, industries and consumption environment, China's new energy vehicle track has become more and more hot, and more Chinese car companies have accelerated their efforts on this track. Chinese car brands such as Ideal and Lantu have been trying hard to run, and we have more and more reasons to believe that whether it is a new force in car manufacturing or a new strength in car building, their dreams will eventually come true.