The author | Wang Yunpeng
Produced | automotive grand view
In 2015, Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, ran a Christmas ad in the UK.
In the picture, ASIMO robots, CBR motorcycles, cars, SUVs, sports cars, F1 race cars, Honda Jet Honda jetliners, Honda Mean Mower lawn mowers, Honda Riding Assist-e balancing system, Honda Transcooter electric scooters... Successive appearances.
Coupled with the "Dare to do the things other only dream of" sentence that hits the soul of the copy, even ordinary consumers are likely to be stirred by Honda. Chinese consumers are the best practitioners of translating Honda's sentiment into car purchase orders.
In 2017, Honda sold a total of 1.44 million new cars in China, a record high at the time. Subsequently, Honda's sales in China have been rising steadily, with 1.55 million units in 2019, 1.63 million units in 2020, and 1.5615 million units in 2021.
It is worth mentioning that while continuously handing over eye-catching report cards, Honda China has also begun to gradually accelerate on the new track of electrification. During the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, Honda China unveiled two joint ventures in China, Guangqi Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guangben") and Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dongben"), with its full range of electrified models and the latest technological achievements in the field of intelligence. In October of the same year, Honda China brought Hiromoto and Dongben with it, held a press conference together, and launched the e:N pure electric brand.
Fast forward to this year, and the pace of electrification in Honda China has accelerated again. On the evening of April 25, Honda China launched two models in one go, the e:NS1 and e:NP1, and localized production of Dongben and Hiromoto respectively. The official launch of the two pure electric models also means that Honda China has officially begun to rapidly promote its own electrification product strategy.
"The e:NS1 and e:NP1 are the first models we launched with absolute confidence, the EV that gives consumers sharpness and ultimate fun, and the e:N will surely reinvent eviction." Katsushi Inoue, Managing Director of Honda Giken Industries Co., Ltd. and Minister of Honda China, said at the "Honda e: N Brand Night".
Speed up, speed up, speed up again
"Previously, Honda's attitude towards electric vehicles was relatively cold", which may be the consensus of consumers and the industry.
However, in my opinion, this view is not accurate.
Looking back at Honda's car-building history, 1993 is one of its many milestones. Because this year, Honda exhibited its first electric car, the EV-X, at the Tokyo Motor Show.
In 1997, the EV Plus was completed at the Takanezawa plant, and the layout plan of the EV model was officially opened. In 1999, Honda began to explore hybrid power again. It has to be mentioned that it was the layout of the 1990s that played a role in promoting Honda's subsequent exploration of electrification in the Chinese automotive market.
"Since its birth, Honda has been pursuing excellent environmental performance and ultimate driving pleasure as the goal, and has been engaged in the research and development and accumulation of automotive electrification technology for a long time, keeping pace with the times and continuously promoting the upgrading of electrification technology." We hope to continue to uphold Honda's unique genes, with years of deep technology and experience in the field of new energy, develop and provide pure electric vehicles full of driving pleasure. Katsushi Inoue once said.
It is not difficult to see from Katsushi Inoue's statement that since 1993, Honda has never stopped exploring the road of electrification. But what has always bothered Honda is whether to turn to "fully electrified" and when to turn around. And it is this entanglement that makes the outside world mistakenly think that Honda is not interested in electrification.
Fast forward to 2017, and Honda began to stop struggling. On December 12 of that year, Honda's electrification strategy in China was officially announced. After this, Honda's electrification pace in China can be described as "speeding up, speeding up, speeding up again".
So, how fast is Honda's electrification in China? In detail, from the launch of long-term planning to the official launch of the two new cars e:NS1 and e:NP1, it took only one year.
In April 2021, Honda officially set a long-term plan for its electrification strategy. According to the plan, Honda will achieve electrification coverage of all its models by 2040, that is, EV and FCV (fuel cell vehicle) models will reach 100% of the global market sales, which in turn will contribute to the brand's carbon neutrality goal by 2050.
Generally speaking, long-term planning relies on a robust product strategy, but Honda does not stick to past experience. Six months after the release of the long-term plan, that is, in October 2021, with two joint ventures in China, the e:N pure electric brand was launched.
At that press conference, in addition to clarifying its new energy targets (40% in 2030 and 80% in 2035), Honda also clarified that it will introduce 10 electrified products in the Chinese market by 2027.
It is worth mentioning that only half a year later, Honda China officially released two pure electric models e:NS1 and e:NP1.
Now that the product is available, how will Honda China achieve "continuous acceleration" in sales?
"In the production field, Honda has always aimed to create '120% good products' and strictly controls product quality. In the EV era, Honda will further strengthen quality control on the basis of mature car manufacturing technology and experience, especially for the core components of electric vehicles such as batteries and motors, adopt unique strict quality inspection standards, and use a more rigorous attitude to let consumers feel the lean quality from e:N. Katsushi Inoue said.
At the same time, according to Honda China, it will also accelerate the upgrading and development of the new sales model, launch an online cloud showroom experience store at the same time, and the offline physical store will also be fully upgraded. Specifically, Hiromoto will first launch electrified sales service stores and supermarkets in the three places of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and Higashimoto will set up an "e:N brand zone" in the existing special stores. In terms of after-sales, Honda will provide services through its existing network of more than 1,200 specialty stores throughout the country.
In addition, with the acceleration of new energy investment, Honda also plans to increase R&D expenses by US$63 billion to further accelerate product research and development, and simultaneously promote new breakthroughs in batteries, fuel cells, electric product services and many other fields.
It can be said that from strategy to product, from manufacturing to channels, Honda China is constantly pressing the "fast forward button" of electrification.
More rational "electric shock"
American science fiction writer William Ford Gibson said: "The future has come, but it has not yet become popular." But as far as the current state of the new energy vehicle market is concerned, "the future has come and is becoming popular." ”
At present, the wave of electrification is sweeping in, including BBA, Volkswagen, Toyota and other traditional car companies head brands, all of which are launching new models and displaying new technologies in order to embrace change.
However, honda is more rational than the "radical" way of playing other traditional cars on the road of electrification. Specifically, in the process of promoting the electrification strategy, Honda has always adhered to the concept of "respect for people" and created its own ideal car.
To borrow The expression of Katsushi Inoue, that is, in the EV era, Honda's original intention has not changed, still adhere to the people-oriented technology, do not rely on simple parameter stacking, aiming to continuously present a unique value that exceeds customer expectations and unique mobile fun.
Take the e:NS1 and e:NP1 models as examples. Although both models are pure electric, they do not abandon Honda's driving genes. For example, at the dynamic level, the two new cars adopt a new intelligent and efficient front-drive pure electric architecture "e:N Architecture F" pure electric architecture, which is the biggest feature of which is that it is specially developed for electrification and has high integration. High-efficiency and high-power drive motors, large-capacity and high-density batteries, and body arrangement based on pure electric architecture not only make the entire electric drive system achieve the smallest space occupation, but also make the front and rear weight ratios of the entire body more balanced.
In other words, the e:NS1 and e:NP1, which were born from the intelligent and efficient front-drive pure electric architecture "e:N Architecture F" architecture, have an innate balanced weight ratio and a lower center of gravity, combined with excellent performance, it is easier for consumers to experience the driving sense of "flying close to the ground".
At the same time, in order to better fit the daily use scenarios of Chinese consumers, e:NS1 and e:NP1 integrate more than 20,000 control scenario algorithms in the electronic control program, which can perfectly solve the problem of vertigo caused by the electric vehicle models currently on sale. In terms of driving performance, the two new cars can not only achieve the driving pleasure of people and cars, but also increase the acceleration sound of Honda EV Sound, providing drivers with a more exciting acceleration experience.
It is worth mentioning that in addition to condensing Honda's more than 70 years of car-making genes and brand beliefs, the two cars e:NS1 and e:NP1 also integrate China's advanced electrification and intelligent technology. In terms of power, the two models offer two kinds of front drive motors, with a maximum power of 134kW and 150kW respectively, and a maximum cruising range of more than 500 km.
Compared to dynamic driving, e:NS1 and e:NP1 behave equally "rationally" in terms of intelligence. Specifically, the two models are quite concise and clear in terms of cabin functional divisions, but they are very rich and intelligent in terms of functions. According to reports, both models are equipped with Honda's latest "e:N OS" full-stack intelligent control ecosystem. The system combines Honda CONNECT, Honda SENSING and the latest digital cockpit technology. Combined with the new electrical architecture with high computing power and high intelligence, the performance of the two models in terms of intelligent interaction and intelligent security can be described as quite outstanding.
In addition, the overall spatial layout of e:NS1 and e:NP1 also continues Honda's MM concept, and through the wheel rim and unique NVH noise reduction technology, it effectively suppresses high- and medium-frequency and low-frequency noise from the source of noise, and creates a more quiet, comfortable and safe intelligent driving space for consumers in an all-round way.
The story of Honda electrification did not start in China, but the chinese automotive market, which is constantly innovating in the field of electrification and intelligent technology and leading the global wind direction, has a very clear goal: to complete the transition to the EV era with the fastest speed and the most reasonable way.
In the author's opinion, the continuous acceleration of Honda electrification is not only to cultivate new advantages and add new kinetic energy to e:NS1 and e:NP1, but also to affirm the prospects of China's new energy vehicle market. Next, as the e:N brand welcomes new products every year, Honda will be getting closer and closer to launching 30 pure electric vehicles in the global market in 2030 and achieving the ultimate goal of "carbon neutrality" in 2050.