When electrification opens up a new blue ocean, as a luxury brand, it is natural to do everything possible to seize this market. Although Mercedes-Benz executives have threatened earlier that the current manufacturing cost of electric vehicles is too high, the investment in raw material prices and technology development is too high, and for a long time in the future, electric vehicles will undoubtedly be more expensive than fuel vehicles in both manufacturing and sales.
But from another point of view, Mercedes-Benz has already announced in 2021 that it will be determined to electrify the entire series in 2030. Why is it difficult to say that electrification will lead to the situation of halving corporate profits, but also burying its head and "desperately" throwing itself into the arms of pure electrification? In fact, for luxury brands, the development of electric vehicles is "unavoidable" at present. The reason is that luxury brands have the same tone, to stand at the top of the car pyramid, must lead the trend, obviously, pure electricity is the current trend orientation. In fact, if you are a car fan, you will understand that luxury brands have been constantly innovating in the era of fuel vehicles to attract more consumers.
Therefore, even at the moment when the epidemic is still not retreating, we can see that luxury brands have been impatient to launch their own new electrified models. Just recently, Mercedes-Benz's EQS SUV, BMW i7, Lexus RZ and Lincoln Star electric concept cars have been launched. These luxury brand pure trams have sprung up, making many people's eyes return to the vision of luxury brands.
Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV
As the inventor of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz certainly hopes to redefine the direction of pure electric vehicles once again. The EQS SUV is the third model and the first SUV model of the Mercedes-EQ brand based on the forward development of the EVA pure electric platform, after the new EQS and the new EQE.
In terms of body size, the EQS SUV is more than 5 meters long and has a wheelbase of 3210mm. Compared to rival BMW iX body length of only 5 meters, wheelbase of 3000mm, the EQS SUV is obviously slightly better. In terms of power, the EQS 580 4Matic adopts a combination of dual motors + 4WD, which can produce up to 543 hp and 856 Nm. The maximum range of pure electricity is 660 km.
Admittedly, to impress "discerning" consumers, this data is not enough. Whether it is mileage, power, or body size, it can only be regarded as the "novelty" that consumers can think of Mercedes-Benz. But in terms of appearance and interior, mercedes-benz surprises consumers are also slightly flat.
Specifically, in terms of appearance, many netizens have complained that the new EQS SUV is too similar to the EQC image currently on sale, which can be said to be an "enlarged version" of EQC, but in the design of the headlights, Mercedes-Benz still used a little care, adding a slender triangular light bar, with the front face and the same front grille as the EQS for subtle distinction.
As for the interior, it can be said that it is the same as the previous EQS launched, here is where the cylinder brother is disappointed, the highly unified interior design language makes people unable to find a difference, and the cylinder brother is also convinced that in the future, this hyperscreen triple screen will gradually be delegated to the lower EQ model of Mercedes-Benz. Imagine, in the future, will the sales of Mercedes-Benz 4S forget which model they are recommending in the process of taking customers to test drive?
BMW i7
BMW made the global debut of the BMW i7 on April 20, Beijing time, and of course the fuel version of the 7 series was launched in the same field. What makes the industry and outside exclaim is nothing more than one thing, the appearance of the BMW 7 Series has changed so much that it is difficult for people to accept it at the first time. However, BMW officials do not think so, according to Gao Le, president and CEO of BMW Group Greater China, the new BMW 7 Series has fully considered the expectations of Chinese customers from the product concept stage. "The new 7 Series was developed in Germany, while 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. ”
It is true that the cylinder brother can not find what elements of BMW's new 7 series of design inspiration come from China, but it is certain that at present, judging by the first reaction of friends around him, they have not expressed "praise" for this shape. But in any case, this huge double kidney intake grille with split headlights, the return rate on the road will still not be less.
In terms of interior, the i7 uses a lot of iX design elements, the most special of which is the optional 31-inch 8K theater screen in the back row, which is quite cleverly integrated into the roof system, and also introduces iQiyi and Huawei app stores to create a rear entertainment system tailored for Chinese users.
The launch i7 xDrive60 model will be equipped with dual motors, 543 hp and 744 Nm, 0 to 100 with an acceleration time of 4.7 seconds and a WLTP range of 625 km/ H.
From i3 to i7, it is not difficult to see that BMW and Mercedes-Benz have gone to two different routes. Thanks to the CLAR platform, BMW hopes that the pure electric and fuel versions can achieve "one chicken, two eats", that is, a combination of different power combinations of one shape and one platform. This differentiation for the business-oriented i7, the cylinder brother believes that it is a more appropriate choice, after all, in the sense of atmosphere is closer to luxury, in order to let more consumers choose. At the same time, there will be no problem of choosing one of the two EQS and S-class, just let consumers choose pure electric OR fuel, without having to struggle with which one is younger and more suitable for business.
Lexus RZ
Based on the official release of the first Lexus pure electric SUV under e-TNGA, the new car is based on the Lexus LF-Z Electrified concept car. The emergence of this new car is easy to recall the scene of Toyota Akio launching 16 pure electric vehicles in one go last year, after all, everyone wants to see what kind of epoch-making works will be created by Toyota, which has always been "disgusted" with electric vehicles, after announcing that the elephant has turned around.
In terms of appearance, brother cylinder believes that the shape of RZ has evolved in addition to inheritance. Lexus's traditional classic spindle shape and metal-cut waistline have been preserved, with the biggest difference being at the rear.
The tail light design is through, and above the tail light is a small spoiler formed by the luggage compartment door, which matches the exaggerated design on both sides of the rear and the rich tail line to make it feel sporty. At the same time, the "L" logo was not used at the rear of the car, but the word "LEXUS" was used directly.
In the interior, the irregular steering wheel is still one of the most concerned, in fact, the cylinder brother can not understand why Toyota to use a steering wheel similar to an F1 car on a "grocery car", of course, this is not the only Toyota, Tesla is the same. In response to the narrow driving environment of the city's curves and narrow roads, many people have complained that this steering wheel is not friendly, fortunately, Lexus also equipped the RZ with a conventional steering wheel to choose from. The overall interior style is still biased towards simplicity, but the overly simple design seems to make people unable to find the connection between Lexus and "luxury".
In terms of power, Lexus is equipped with a dual-motor drive system, of which the maximum power of the front motor is 150kW (204 hp) / the maximum power of the rear motor is 80kW (109 hp), equipped with a power battery pack of 71.4kWh, and the mileage has not yet been announced.
Although this model will be considered to be the "shell version" of the Toyota BZ4X to a great extent, it is obviously more attractive than Toyota under such a windy shape. As long as the pricing is reasonable and there is no markup, I believe there will still be many orders.
Lincoln Star electric concept car
If the first three cars can't satisfy your fantasies about luxury brand electric vehicles, then seeing the Lincoln Star electric concept car may give you a slight view of electric vehicles. Compared with the previous three still have not completely got rid of the shadow of the fuel car, Lincoln's concept car has a taste of complete demolition and reconstruction, and it can be seen more that Lincoln is thinking about the direction of electric vehicles.
Prior to this, Lincoln had tried to develop a pure electric SUV model using the Rivian brand platform, and then the plan was broken, and then he wanted to develop a pure electric SUV model with the Ford Mustang Mach-E platform, but in the end the plan also did not go down. Obviously, Lincoln wants to find the right path to electrification, a more distinctive "trail", and in this "Star" concept car, the answer has gradually surfaced.
The "Star" concept car comes from Lincoln's brand new platform, officially known as "flexible battery electric architecture", which can be understood as a flexible battery electric architecture. The new platform supports rear drive and all-wheel drive, and it is believed that in the future Star's production car, we can see the choice of two drive forms. Of course, the concept car still has to impress consumers in the exterior interior, in the Star concept car, you can see that its body size is about medium or large SUV.
From the front, the "Star" concept car is different from all current Lincoln models, using a new design language, a highly technological Chinese net design, I believe it will be one of its main highlights. On the side of the body, Lincoln also used a very simple line treatment, making the whole body look very smooth. It is worth mentioning that the roof of the concept car continues to decline from the top of the A-pillar, which is quite special, whether it is for wind resistance or cross-border styling design, which highlights the recognition of the car.
The most interesting thing is that in addition to the blessing of the opening door, Lincoln also made a very creative design at the front and rear of the car. An unconventional opening was designed at the front of the car to allow the net to slide forward and the hood to be raised automatically, which is undoubtedly the most special way to open the front suitcase ever seen at the moment. In terms of the rear of the car, the trunk space has also been subversively designed, and after opening the leisure mode, it can evoke a comfortable outdoor seat hidden in the trunk, and passengers can directly sit on it and enjoy leisure time.
In terms of interior, the through-screen of the giant screen on the center console has the opportunity to integrate all functions here, and like the current Lincoln Z, the co-pilot occupant can independently control the contents of the screen. And more specially, the car machine system can support multi-screen display, the rear occupants also have a pair of displays in front of them, and there is a place below to store notebooks and briefcases, which can be mapped with notebook links, which can turn the rear row into a mobile workstation. When autopilot mode is turned on, the front passenger seat can rotate backwards to talk about work or life with the rear passenger. It can be said that
The "Star" concept car offers three modes for motorists: Coastal Morning mode and Mindful Vitality hevening Chill mode. Offering themes such as sea fog, abstract art pictures, and twilight hours, which are built around the natural biological laws of people between day and night, it can be seen that Lincoln strives to make this concept car a "third space" for future consumers.
summary
From the above four models, it can be seen that the strength of luxury brands to exert pure electricity is even greater than in the past, but it is worth mentioning that the concept of pure electricity of each luxury brand car company is not uniform, which may be a fortunate thing in the current wave of homogenization. At present, the luxury brand force pure electric market, running fast, not necessarily equal to running well, with each luxury brand to improve their own pure electric product line, the cylinder brother believes that the luxury brand pure electric counterattack war, now just kicked off.