A few days ago, the Beijing International Auto Show, the world's largest A-class auto show in 2022, announced the postponement, which disappointed major auto giants, media and car fans.
In particular, Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln, Audi and other major luxury brands, originally planned to show their fists at the Beijing Auto Show, announcing the new electrification strategy before, but now they have to turn the new car release link into an online conference.
These three have prepared heavy products for this auto show, the most eye-catching is still the three of the new concept cars, pure electric models, all based on the latest pure electric architecture to create, but also has a very strong visual impact, defined by manufacturers as subversive products.
What's to see in their new car? What exactly are these luxury brands planning to do? Let the kung fu car take everyone to see it together.
Pure electricity platform gradually becomes a consensus, luxury brands also have to revolutionize?
A few days ago, BMW released a new generation of the 7 Series, and also launched the electric flagship i7 for the first time, which is based on the same CLAR architecture as the fuel version. So this generation of 7 series is unusually different, without the agility of the old 7 series, the electrification performance is not outstanding. It can be seen that BMW has made efforts for the coexistence of oil and electricity, but the effect can only be said to be a matter of opinion.
The advantages of the pure electric platform are actually at a glance, because it can be defined according to the characteristics of the pure electric model in the process of product definition, and all aspects of the design are also to maximize the advantages of the electric drive force.
The most typical is to achieve a very large axle length ratio and a wider body, like the BYD Dolphin as a car with a length of less than 4 meters 1, the wheelbase has reached 2 meters 7, the width is 1.77 meters, the space is comparable to the "orthodox" A-class car, ID.3 as the electric golf in everyone's eyes, in fact, its internal space does not even lose some medium-sized cars. The longer wheelbase and wider body can make the plane area of its power battery pack larger, occupy a smaller longitudinal height, and have more flexibility in design, which is an advantage that the traditional "oil to electricity" platform does not have.
Secondly, the battery of the pure electric platform can be arranged on the chassis, or even directly become a component of the chassis, and the flat cloth can make the mass distribution of the vehicle more uniform, and it is very easy to achieve a 50:50 body weight distribution without additionally affecting the front and rear layout of the vehicle. And because the drive motor is small and has low heat dissipation requirements, it is easy to be placed in the rear of the vehicle, and it is easy to achieve better control of the rear drive without the need for a complex drivetrain.
Think of the luxury brands of the past, in order to achieve the front and rear 50:50 load ratio distribution of the rear drive, often have to sacrifice a lot of space, but in this pure electric platform has become a breeze. Then there is the pure electric platform is easier to use the front double wishbone rear multi-link suspension configuration, but also better compatible with the air suspension such a large space occupied configuration, coupled with the low center of gravity, it is easier to achieve the ultimate control.
As for the electric vehicles that everyone talks about, the strong power and high intelligence are actually still derivatives of the previous characteristics. Better space optimization can naturally adapt to more powerful motors, larger battery packs and more advanced electrification architectures, and naturally meet the requirements of high intelligence.
When BMW is still struggling, Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln, and Audi seem to have completely turned and chosen to move forward in the field of pure electric platforms.
Mercedes-Benz endurance broke through thousands, and Lincoln learned to deform
Mercedes-Benz has launched several EQ series models before, but the market performance is not particularly good. Now it has directly launched an EQXX concept car, and the significance is also very clear, that is, to shape the infinite possibilities in the name of XX and shape its advantages in the era of electrification.
First of all, from the design, EQXX is extremely stunning, its roof curve is exceptionally smooth and flowing, as elegant as a water droplet. The compact rear wheelbase and 2.12 square meters of windward area greatly reduce the intrusion of wind resistance to it, coupled with advanced designs such as active rear diffusers, its wind resistance coefficient is amazingly 0.17. Professional tires in collaboration with Bridgestone have reduced the roll resistance coefficient to 4.7, further optimizing energy efficiency.
In addition, as a high-performance mid-level electric sedan, Mercedes-Benz has used the ultimate lightweight design concept for EQXX, such as the battery top cover made of sustainable carbon fiber-sugarcane composite material, and the BIOQXXTM rear plate casting made of aluminum integrated casting process, which are all processes that can only be used in Formula 1 racing. In the end, its empty load weight reached 1755 kg, which is more than 300 kg lighter than the electric vehicle of the same class. Mercedes-Benz also equipped the roof of the EQXX concept with 117 solar cells to power the vehicle's 12-volt battery system, which is also a very innovative attempt.
As a result, the new car departed from Sindelfingen, Germany, to Cassis, France, achieving a 1,008-kilometer on-the-ground road trip and still having a range of 140 kilometers remaining. With a measured range of 1,000km, this feat cannot be achieved by any opponent at present.
If the Mercedes-Benz EQXX concept car plays the ultimate energy efficiency of the pure electric platform, the Lincoln Lincoln Star concept car chases the ultimate ductility of the pure electric platform. As Lincoln's first all-electric concept car, the Lincoln Star not only uses a two-door design, but also the front and rear cabins can be opened, and equipped with a Rolls-Royce-style fishing seat.
Its front and rear rows are equipped with large screens, and the front screen content can be freely slid, and can be directly projected to the rear row to achieve front and rear linkage. A dedicated "digital briefcase" protects a tablet or laptop, while an integrated wine cabinet and spacious wrap-around seats at the rear take the ride to the next level.
Audi's urbansphere concept car has excavated the internal space to the extreme. It's a model that intervenes with MPV and SUVs, with both super passability similar to SUVs and extreme space optimization for MPV.
The urbansphere opens up the boundaries between driving and riding, with a subversive wheelbase of 3.4 meters, allowing its inner cabin to be transformed into a conference room or a mobile reception room at any time. The close-lying backrest angle and comfortable leg rest allow users to easily "lie flat". Combined with the quattro all-wheel drive system and the adaptive air suspension, it can reach new heights of comfort.
How hard is it to maintain the status of luxury head?
It can be seen that the three concept cars of Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln and Audi are indeed very innovative. If you translate them to life, attraction is naturally there. But before that, they still have a lot of challenges.
Just like Mercedes-Benz's EQXX concept car, it has achieved the ultimate in terms of performance and endurance, and even introduced a considerable number of formula 1 racing design technologies, and also has Mercedes-Benz's top industrial capabilities. But it is still very far from the real mass production state, and its technical concept can be transformed into mass production technology that civilians can afford, which is a question mark.
In the era of electrification, technology itself is no longer so important. Tesla's FSD can't beat Waymo, Cruise, Zoox or even Baidu. However, combined with its pure visual scheme and the existing degree of completion, it has successfully achieved a balance between the intelligent driving assistance effect and the cost, which is difficult for other manufacturers to catch up. There is also its recent promotion of the integrated die-cast body, 4680 battery, CTC battery integrated chassis technology, the biggest contribution is actually more cost and production efficiency. Being able to produce a vehicle with a fairly good degree of completion in the shortest time and the lowest cost is Tesla's strongest competitiveness.
Even more detrimental to traditional luxury brands is the collapse of the previous price system. In the era of fuel vehicles, more than 300,000 markets are basically controlled by BBA and a number of second-tier luxury brands, such as Toyota and Volkswagen, it is difficult to break such barriers, not that they cannot create models comparable to BBA, but users do not accept. Volkswagen needs audi presence, and Toyota needs Lexus to break the game.
But in the era of electrification, after the previous barriers have been flattened, the allure of luxury brand electric vehicles has greatly decreased. The most typical is the Porsche Taycan, an ultra-luxury electric vehicle in the name of Porsche, and its sales in China are only back and forth with new power models such as the HiPhi X.
Kung Fu shoots
Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln, and Audi have all launched new electric concept cars for pure electric platforms, demonstrating their latest technology and design concepts, which are still at the forefront of the world.
But they face many problems, how far the technology transformation of concept cars can be achieved, how to achieve a balance between technology, cost, and production efficiency, and how to make themselves more out of the circle in the era of electrification.
After the original order was broken, the road to electrification of traditional luxury brands seems to be less smooth.
However, we must also affirm their efforts, in the next few years, these three will be fully involved in the era of electrification, what kind of products they can launch, how they will affect the market, let us wait and see.