Written/ Editorial Board
Edit/ Wong Tai Lu
Design / Zhao Haoran
If there is no epidemic, thousands of auto people should be running around the new hall of the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing at this moment, and at the end of the day, the new car photos and step number screenshots continue to brush the circle of friends, but there is no if.
The postponement of the Beijing Auto Show, the closure of Shanghai, the suspension of production by many enterprises, the crisis of the global supply chain... Under the force majeure factor, many blockbuster new cars that were originally unveiled in April have chosen to postpone, the ideal L9, Avita 11, BYD SEAL, Self-Touring NV, Nezha S... These brands hope to welcome the arrival of new products with a grand offline event after the epidemic.
The upstarts are still enthusiastic about each appearance, but the old aristocrats can no longer wait, and luxury brands have collectively entered the rhythm of the Beijing Auto Show and released their own new electric products.
On April 20, BMW's fifth pure electric product in China and the flagship innovation BMW i7 of the BMW Group's pure electric product lineup was unveiled. Along with this, there is the new BMW 7 Series.
The day before, the Audi urbansphere concept car ushered in the world debut, which is the largest size of all audi concept cars to date, after the first length in the Chinese market, Audi has reached 5.51 meters long, 2.01 meters wide, 1.78 meters high, wheelbase 3.40 meters.
On the same day, Mercedes-Benz's third model, the new EQS pure electric SUV, which is being developed positively based on the EVA pure electric platform, also made its world premiere.
In the camp of second-tier luxury brands, new cars have been released for three consecutive days. On April 21, LEXUS' first exclusive pure electric model, the new RZ, debuted worldwide; on April 21, Lincoln released its first pure electric concept car, the Lincoln Star; on April 22, the new generation of Range Rover was launched at an official suggested retail price of 1.468 million yuan, which is the first model released by Jaguar Land Rover after proposing a global strategy of "reinventing the future".
During the transition period between old and new cars, rivals of luxury brands began to transform.
On April 20, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on a first-quarter earnings call that despite supply chain uncertainties, Tesla should also be able to produce 1.5 million vehicles in 2022. From January to March, Tesla's sales in the Chinese market were 74,681 units. There is still debate about whether Tesla is a luxury brand, but its rapid sales are indisputable.
Compared with the menacing back waves, almost all luxury brands have unveiled their own electrification products in 2021, and the sales volume is not ideal, only the small lotus shows its sharp corners. In the spring of 2022, in the face of the irreversible trend of electrification, traditional luxury cars once again expressed their determination to electrify with products.
More determined than the transformation is the love of luxury brands for the Chinese market.
In the first echelon of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, China is the world's largest single market. Under the huge market potential, luxury brands have settled their homes in China.
Mr. Gao Le, President and CEO of bmw group Greater China, stood in the center of the stage, and the four big words "Home in China" on the back screen stood out, saying: "The new BMW 7 Series was developed in Germany, and the design was inspired by China. China is not only the world's largest market for the 7 Series, but also a leader in future automotive design trends. We believe that today's China's movements will lead the world's direction tomorrow. ”
Audi urbansphere deliberately introduced a Chinese design team to absorb the opinions of Chinese consumers. The first time Chinese consumers participate in the Audi vehicle design process is the importance that Audi attaches to the Chinese market, and it is also a proof that Audi recognizes the most cutting-edge testing ground and promotion site for intelligent driving and vehicle connection applications in China.
During the century-old period of change in the automotive industry, luxury brands that have taken root in China are continuing to take root in this hot land.
The Giant's Counterattack: Your Uncle or Your Uncle
This time, the oversized rear suspension screen, the opposite sex steering wheel, the front and rear door opening design, the car that provides emotional value... When the rising stars tried to lead the trend, the traditional luxury giants collectively launched a counterattack with products, as if silently expressing: your uncle or your uncle, play with the concept, you are still very tender.
As the flagship model of the BMW Group, the new BMW 7 Series showcases a dozen innovative digital achievements, one of the most eye-catching features is a 31-inch ultra-wide panoramic display with a resolution of up to 8K in the rear.
This screen supports 32:9 mode to play entertainment content, with built-in iQiyi and Huawei app markets. Rear passengers can switch "Cinema Mode" with one click via the 5.5-inch armrest touch screen on the door panel. In "Cinema Mode", the interior mood lighting and sun blinds are automatically adjusted, complemented by the Bowers & Wilkins 4D surround sound system, creating an exclusive mobile private theater in the rear.
The Audi urbansphere concept car has a double door design in front of and behind the car, and the B-pillar is eliminated. When passengers get on the bus, the entire interior space is open to passengers. At the same time, the seat rotates outwards and a beam of light lights "red carpet" light up. In addition, in L4 autonomous driving mode, the steering wheel and pedals of the Audi urbansphere concept car can be hidden, and the interior of the car will be transformed into a mobile interactive experience space.
The Mercedes-Benz EQS comes standard with a rear-wheel active steering system with an angle of up to 4.5 degrees, improving its handling and dynamic performance on urban roads. Users can also opt for a rear-wheel active steering system with a steering angle of up to 10 degrees, which reduces the turning diameter from 11.9 meters to 11.0 meters, and this configuration can also be activated via the OTA remote online upgrade.
Land Rover's all-new Range Rover is the only fuel vehicle in this new car offensive, but it has surpassed the configuration, and the new rear entertainment system consists of two 11.4-inch high-definition touch screens mounted on the front seat backrest with adjustable angles, an 8-inch touch screen integrated inside the folding central armrest of the rear executive-class seats, a pair of 60mm noise-cancelling speakers on the four main seat headrests, and an air purification system that sanitize the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Not only can the Lincoln Concept "pull the drawer," but it can also provide emotional value by "creating an immersive experience with design, lighting, display, smell, and sound," combining digital graphics, lighting, and scents to help passengers enter a calmer state.
They are: Coastal Morning uses gentle ocean sounds, the smell of sea mist and soft warm sunlight with dynamic lighting to replicate a stroll on the beach at sunrise; Mindful Vitality is designed to re-energize the senses by using uplifting uplifting upbeat audio, dynamic abstract artwork, soft glowing lights and floral scents; Evening Chill shows a twilight scene. It uses calm nighttime background music and harmonizes with night sky videos and evergreen scents.
In contrast to the somewhat mysterious feel, the new RZ is equipped with Lexus' first-of-its-kind Steel by Wire variable-ratio electronic steering system with a special-shaped steering wheel. StrBW replaces mechanical connections with electronic signal control, enabling electronic data exchange of steering and road surface information between the wheels and the special-shaped steering wheel. The StrBW's maximum steering wheel rotation angle is set at about 150 degrees to the left and right, eliminating the need to cross-hand steering at intersections, making U-turns, parking, winding roads and other driving situations.
International large-scale auto shows have always played the role of vane of the auto market, and before each auto show, luxury brands will compete to show their muscles with various "nights" to show their thinking and layout for the future. Although this year's Beijing Auto Show was forced to reschedule, from this wave of new product appearances, luxury brands have mostly brought products based on pure electric brands, showing a subversive side in products.
Traditional businesses are often likened to elephants, indicating that they do not turn around and start quickly, but when they run seriously, they are powerful. Trying their best in the face of the determined direction, the reason why the giants can become giants is not just luck, from April, the elephants began to accelerate, not willing to stumble for a day, and even waited for the postponement of the auto show two months later.
BMW's China complex
From "in China, for China" to "home in China", BMW's China strategy has continued to upgrade.
In 2021, BMW (including MINI and Rolls-Royce) sold 2.5215 million units worldwide, up 8.4% year-on-year, becoming the only brand among the big three to rise. As BMW's single market with the largest sales volume in the world, China has made great achievements.
Last year, BMW's sales in the Chinese market increased by 8.9% year-on-year, and sales exceeded the 800,000-vehicle mark for the first time, leading second-place Mercedes-Benz by nearly 100,000 vehicles in the Chinese market. In the first quarter of this year, the BMW Group sold 208,500 units in China, down 9.2% year-on-year, but still led the market segment.
In particular, the BMW7 series, nearly half of the sales volume comes from China. In the face of the world's most important market, BMW not only held the only offline event for the new BMW 7 Series during the epidemic, but also expressed its sincerity with its products. Chiptzer, Chairman of the BMW Group, said: "The new BMW 7 Series is our pinnacle... The innovative BMW i7 is the strongest of the 7 Series, the latest example of BMW's successful development and determined electrification transformation. ”
The innovative BMW i7 is equipped with bmw group fifth-generation BMW eDrive system, equipped with dual motors, a cruising range of more than 600 kilometers, using an advanced computing platform and intelligent equipment, and technically has the possibility of L3 automatic driving. At the same time, as part of the 7 Series, the BMW i7's smart cockpit also has many innovative designs.
Opening the doors, the BMW surround interactive light strip that runs through the entire front dashboard and doors, combining a touch user interface, digital display, ambient lighting and decoration, the innovative BMW i7 can present different visual effects according to different theme modes (My Modes).
In the central control section, BMW's new one-piece floating curved screen, 12.3-inch dashboard and 14.9-inch touch-type center display are combined into one, and the display has a graphic resolution of 200 ppi (pixels per inch).
The innovative BMW i7 is also equipped with a new visual image of bmw intelligent personal assistant, which is conducted in-depth research on the market by the Chinese digital team. The new visual image was inspired by the BMW front facelight group to create an anthropomorphic and flexible "eyes" design, and launched 6 emotional visual designs. This feature also supports front and rear wake-ups and adds up to 20 new features, including opening and closing doors, activating designated seat massages, and more.
In addition, AR real-world navigation will provide a more intuitive and convenient guidance experience; a new generation of vehicle-machine systems, which will greatly upgrade data computing and graphics processing capabilities; ultra-wideband (UWB) in-vehicle applications and CCC 3.0 standards, full of ceremony; a new generation of electrical and electronic architecture, Gigabit Ethernet and 5G interconnection technology, to ensure a smooth digital experience.
With the recent domestic and BMW i7 debuts in China, BMW will have 5 pure electric models in China. It is expected that in 2022, the BMW Group will have 15 series production and trial production of pure electric vehicle models, covering about 90% of the luxury car segment.
By the end of 2025, the BMW Group expects to deliver a total of 2 million pure electric vehicles worldwide, with one in every four new vehicles sold in China. BMW's "next generation" model, which represents a leap forward in next-generation technology, will begin trial production in 2024 and be introduced to the market in 2025.
The iterative speed of Mercedes-Benz
Six days before the release of the new EQS pure electric SUV, Mercedes-Benz did a big thing that shook the electric vehicle industry.
On April 13, a Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX drove from Sindelfingen, Germany, to the French town of Cassis, passing through a variety of road conditions such as highways and mountain tunnels, taking 11 hours and 32 minutes and driving 1008 kilometers continuously.
The average speed of the whole journey is 87.4 kilometers per hour, and the maximum speed is 140 kilometers per hour. This speed is very power-hungry for electric vehicles, but there is still 15% of the power when the vehicle reaches the end, and the average electricity consumption is 8.7 kWh/100 km.
The first is to run at a high speed of more than 1,000 kilometers under the real road conditions, and the second is the new low in the 100-kilometer power consumption entrepreneurial world. This has surprised the traditional car companies to transform electric vehicles into a declining faction - how much black technology do car inventors have?
With this feat, when the new EQS pure electric SUV is released on April 19, I am afraid that everyone will look at Mercedes-Benz's electric vehicles differently. As the latest production car, the EQS SUV is not as subversive as the Vision EQXX, and it can also be seen that Mercedes-Benz is iterating in the field of electric smart cars.
Of course, there are also side effects, that is, Vision EQXX will raise expectations, and EQS SUVs may face a benchmark of comparison with the same door.
The appearance is nothing to say, typical Mercedes, many years have not been overhauled. The interior is the highlight, and although the 1.41-meter MBUX super screen has been used on EQS, the visual effect is still so shocking. In addition to the super giant screen, the entire interior is still the absolute leading strength of Mercedes-Benz in the luxury car camp, and the sense of luxury and exquisite atmosphere is still difficult for other brands to match.
If calculated accurately, the perceptual area of the occupants of this giant screen is as high as 2432.11 square centimeters. There are 12 sensors arranged under the touch screen, which guarantee excellent haptic feedback on the screen. If your finger touches the screen, the sensor creates a noticeable vibration at the corresponding location of the panel.
MBUX intelligent human-computer interaction system has 8 core CPU, 24GB of memory, memory bandwidth of 46.4GB per second, mind reading voice assistant function supports natural language understanding, can recognize 27 languages.
It is also the second Mercedes-Benz model after EQS to support OTA remote online upgrades to activate many features. From these performances, we can see the rapid progress of Mercedes-Benz in the fields of software, interconnection and cockpit. It is also the first SUV model developed and built based on the EVA pure electric platform.
The range that electric vehicle owners are most concerned about, the EQS SUV is 660 km under WLTP conditions. Note that this is a large SUV with a length of 5125 mm and a wheelbase of 3210 mm. Supporting this range is the 107.8 kWh NCM811 battery, and Mercedes-Benz's self-developed battery management system supports OTA remote online upgrades.
Other black technologies also come standard with a rear-wheel active steering system with an angle of up to 4.5 degrees, improving its handling and dynamic performance on urban road driving. Users can also opt for a rear-wheel active steering system with a steering angle of up to 10 degrees, which reduces the turning diameter from 11.9 meters to 11.0 meters, and this configuration can also be activated via the OTA remote online upgrade.
Equipped with a rear axle motor as standard, the dual-motor model is equipped with a permanent magnet synchronous motor at the front and rear, providing a maximum output power of up to 400 kW and a peak torque of up to 858 Nm, which is almost difficult to find in the same class.
The model is available in 5 and 7 seats (the third row is optional), and when the second and third rows of seats are receded, there will be a large loading space of 2100 liters, and four standard golf bags when riding 5 people. The second row comes standard with electric adjustable seats, while the third row of seats can be fitted with two additional independent seats.
The chassis features four-link front suspension and independent multi-link rear suspension, and the air suspension system with Adaptive Shock Absorption System Plus (ADS+) as standard raises the vehicle chassis by 25 mm.
Audi's vision of the future
On April 19, the Audi Enterprising Ceremony and the SPHERE Ceremony were held online, and the Audi urbansphere concept car made its world debut.
This is Audi's largest model to date, with a length of 5.51 meters and a wheelbase of 3.4 meters. The vehicle has eliminated the B-pillar and adopted a front and rear gate design. In L4 autopilot mode, both the steering wheel and pedals can be hidden. The interior is spacious, with two rows of four independent seats that can accommodate up to six passengers. Between the rear seats, there is a movable centre console with drinking water equipment.
Based on operation functions such as eye tracking, gesture control, speech recognition, and physical touch, the vehicle incarnates into a mobile interactive experience space.
Passengers can rotate their seats to converse face-to-face, and for privacy, there is a privacy screen behind the headrest. A large transparent OLED screen is lowered from the roof, and rear passengers can participate in video conferences or watch movies together, or they can be used on split screens. The screen retracts upwards to blend in with the glass roof. Separate displays are also available on the front seat backs.
The lights are also a highlight of this concept car. When the passengers got into the car, a beam of light hit the ground like a red carpet. The lighting unit inside the front grille, known as the "Audi LightIng Canvas", signals through dynamic lighting effects. The slender and narrow light group above the grille, known as the "Audi Eye", can be adjusted according to traffic conditions, the environment and user feelings, just like the size of the "pupil" changes.
These CNC lighting units are not only a logo design of the body appearance, but also a tool for interacting with the outside world.
The electrification-related parameters of the Audi urbansphere are also remarkable. The vehicle is built based on the PPE pure electric platform, using an integral body baseplate, and the battery module has a flat layout. The two motors have a total output of 295 kW and a torque of up to 690 Nm. The battery capacity is 120 kWh and the WLTP range is up to 750 km. At the heart of the vehicle's drive system is 800-volt charging technology, which can reach a charging power of 270 kilowatts when charging quickly.
In order to be closer to Chinese consumers, Audi's design teams in Beijing and Ingolstadt have worked closely together. The Audi Urbansphere is the first concept model to have the interior design independently designed by the Audi China design team. Wu Yunzhou, head of interior design at Audi China, said: "Traditional Chinese courtyard architecture has given us design inspiration, which has had a great impact on our sense of space, shape and choice of color materials. ”
"In the future in China, Audi will become more Chinese. The Audi urbansphere concept car is not only a concept car, but also a perfect interpretation of the core of the new strategy 'Audi China Enterprising 2030 Strategy' in China. Dr. Jürgen Unser, president of Audi China, said.
The Audi brand's sphere series includes three concept cars: skysphere, grandsphere, and urbansphere.
The skysphere is an electric roadster that represents the imagination of an autonomous GT model. Its biggest feature is the use of variable wheelbase technology, the body length and wheelbase can be adjusted. The grandsphere is a large electric luxury sedan with a compact four-door GT model design.
The two concept cars made their debuts on the eve of the Guangzhou Auto Show last November. Urbansphere was originally scheduled to make its global debut at this year's Beijing Auto Show, but the Beijing Auto Show was postponed, but urbansphere arrived as scheduled.
So far, Audi's three blockbuster concept models for future travel have met with Chinese consumers.
All three concept cars attach great importance to the interior space. With the blessing of intelligent interconnection technology, the car will no longer be just a car, but a mobile intelligent experience terminal. With the Sphere series concept models, we understand Audi's vision of the future of mobility.
This article was originally produced by Automotive Business Review
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