Introduction | the secret to conquering the middle class lies here?
A few days ago, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei's terminal BG and head of smart cars, did a big thing.
As a well-known mobile phone industry tycoon, he put on a racing suit for the first time, and drove the M5 off the track for the first time, and also became a professional car critic by the way.
However, unlike everyone's inherent cognition, Yu Chengdong is really not a simple enthusiast, he is actually a true car enthusiast.
Yu Chengdong admitted that he bought his first car, jetta king, in 1880,000, with a price of more than 200,000, and then bought an Accord and BMW 530i, as for Porsche sports cars and the like, they did not drive less.
▲Image source: Cyrus official website
Hearing Yu Chengdong say these names, and like a number of family treasures, Che Jujun's first feeling is that Yu Zong really understands cars. These cars are actually middle-class king models of different eras. Through them, it seems that Yu Chengdong can also glimpse the idea of building the M5.
What exactly was his goal? Let Che Jujun take everyone to see it together.
1 From the Jet to the 5 Series, the fuel era of the car advanced
The first name Yu Chengdong mentioned was Jetta Wang, which may be relatively unfamiliar to young people today, but turning back the time to the end of the 90s of the last century, it is the white moonlight in the hearts of many people.
▲Image source: FAW-Volkswagen official website
In 1997, one of the "old three things" at that time, the Jetta ushered in the first rebranding, and launched the first modified model of the domestic Jetta, the Jetta King. This new model was not a simple upgrade, it was equipped with a very advanced 20-valve multi-point EFI engine at that time.
The so-called 20 gas valve is that the single cylinder has 3 intake valves and 2 exhaust valves, so that its engine charge coefficient is greatly improved, and the power output is more powerful. As for the electronic injection technology, it has also greatly improved the accuracy of fuel injection, which has had a profound impact on the subsequent development of engine technology.
Faw-Volkswagen then continued its efforts and launched the "New Jetta King" in 1998, which was one of the earliest models equipped with ABS system in China, and used the "Passat face" for the first time, and the subsequent urban pioneer version used an automatic transmission.
The Jetta King bought by Mr. Yu is most likely this version, which was actually a very popular model at the time, and it is definitely the favorite of restless youth.
▲Image source: Guangqi Honda official website
And the Accord he mentioned, from the perspective of time, is most likely the seventh generation of Accord that was popular in the 00s, which was the benchmark of domestic high-end cars and has extremely strong mechanical properties.
Equipped with a 2.4L dual overhead camshaft i-VTEC engine and a classic 5AT transmission, with the use of front double cross-arms and rear five-link double independent rear suspension, as well as DBW electronic throttle and VSA vehicle stability control, it definitely had a place in the year. At that time, the high-end Accord was sold for 300,000 yuan, and in that era when the average monthly salary per capita was more than 1,000 yuan, it was still in short supply.
The BMW 5 Series was the most sporty luxury C-Class of the 10s. Mr. Yu mentioned that he bought the 530i version, that is, the high-power short wheelbase model, which is the king of control.
The selling point of Jetta King is that it is equipped with a 20-valve engine, which is very good at accelerating at low speeds and overtaking at high speeds; The Accord has added more ingenious i-VTEC technology to achieve a balance between high performance and low fuel consumption, and the dual independent suspension has good comfort; and the 5 Series of the rear-drive platform, combined with the exquisite matching of bmw's B48 2.0T engine and ZF 8AT transmission, gives it better handling and more driving pleasure.
▲Image source: BMW Brilliance official website
These three cars, in fact, are the three peaks of the fuel era, and they are all very competitive models in the same period and are also leaders in technology. And they also have an important identity, that is, they are all middle-class models.
Models positioned higher than them, such as the imported Toyota Crown and Nissan Duke King in the late 90s, are much more expensive than the Jetta King, and even middle-class families can't afford it. Even the current BMW 7 Series, because of its high positioning and import status, is far from being able to have it for ordinary people.
The premium is higher than their price, and there are many shortcomings that are cheaper than them, so Yu Zong chose these three cars, or has a vision.
2 Questions the tonality and boundary of the boundary M5, derived from them?
And the experience he gets from these three cars is likely to be translated into the Q&A M5. That is to extract the most needed parts of the user from the current chaotic demand sound.
▲Image source: Cheju Network
The core experience brought to users by jetta king, accord, and BMW 5 series is actually leather, fuel-saving, worry-free, and well-controlled. The benefits behind it to consumers are: no anxiety in using the car, low cost, and driving pleasure, which constitute the tone of the M5.
For example, its pure electric mileage reaches 200km (four-wheel drive version of 180km), which can meet daily commuting needs, and even in the feed state, its comprehensive fuel consumption can also be about 6.7L/100km, which is far more fuel-efficient than the same level of medium-sized SUVs, and it can still use the car without anxiety. Its 0-100km/h acceleration can be about 4.5 seconds (7.1 seconds for the two-wheel drive version), combined with a very prominent all-aluminum alloy chassis, the handling experience is also quite good.
▲Image source: Cheju Network
In addition, the Q&I M5 also adds a very popular intelligent system. The HarmonyOS intelligent cockpit system is very familiar to Huawei end users, whether it is the interface and interaction mode, or its hierarchical operation, saving a lot of learning time. Another point is that the voice control of the M5 can support all the functions of multimedia, and can achieve up to 60 seconds of continuous voice password recognition.
Previously, Che Jujun drove the M5 from Sanjia Port in Pudong, passed through Chongming Island and Changxing Island and then returned to the place of departure. The comprehensive endurance meter showed that it lost 120 kilometers, but in fact it ran 126 kilometers, and the endurance discount rate of 105% surprised us all. And its driving texture is really good, the chassis toughness is very good, the steering is sensitive, the NVH is excellent, and the intelligent driving performance is not bad.
▲Image source: Cheju Network
But its intelligent performance is not so good, first the song fails, then the connection instruction is not recognized, and then there is a network connection. At least in terms of Che Jujun's driving experience at that time, the car machine system was not as amazing as imagined, and even not as good as some ordinary independent brand models with more than 100,000. The function is not weak, but the degree of completion is not high, and it is said that the subsequent mass production car will be improved through OTA.
Yu Chengdong obviously wants to make the M5 a phenomenon-level product, or even a symbol of a generation, he also mentioned that this is his dream, but in the end, whether it can be realized depends on the market performance.
3 Tap water transmission, can it work?
According to the data released by the Association, the sales volume of the M5 in March this year was 3,045 units, ranking 12th in the sales list of new energy SUVs. This achievement is actually still good, 3,000 can be said to be a watershed, in the field of extreme dependence on the magnitude of the car, this is basically the "capital line" of the model.
▲Image source: Cheju Network
The production capacity climb period that can debut not long ago has achieved this achievement, indicating that the M5 has basically ensured "landing". Among them, Huawei, which has its own traffic, can be said to be the greatest.
But the challenge is still very big, in March the Model Y sold 39,730 units, surpassing the Haval H6 to become the top SUV model sales, Song PLUS New Energy sold 26,723 units to win the runner-up, and the ideal ONE that took the range-extended hybrid route sold 11,034 units.
At a time when the M5 is growing rapidly, the opponent is also growing rapidly. Once the automotive industry has formed a word-of-mouth effect, it is very difficult for latecomers to think about the challenge. It is better to look at the "god car" of various ages, as long as they do not die themselves, it is difficult to come down from the altar.
The current momentum of the M5 is OK, but it is definitely not easy to beat these three opponents, or to keep pace with them.
▲Image source: Cheju Network
The publicity of the M5 is more focused on the publicity at the user level. Turning over the major forums, the most seen is actually a variety of "tap water". There are both "touching the party" who go to rub a test drive, and there are also young people who look at Huawei's name and directly attack. Even Lao Yu No. 18 opened the M5 under the track, which is more official information in the traditional sense, and there is also a high degree of heat, and everyone discusses it very happily.
In addition to discussing the performance of the car itself, many people also actively discuss Huawei's "no car" strategy, some say that Huawei should not find a well-off, build it themselves or find a large factory to cooperate is a better way, and also say that it is more convenient for companies with a slightly smaller scale to cooperate, and the yield rate and personalization are better regulated. Even the official public account of Xilis also releases interview videos of long-test users from time to time, and many of them say that they have not talked about the key points for half a day, and they are eager to see, but they are also considered to be a school of their own.
This is actually a lot like the mobile phone industry' gameplay, except for a very small number of head big V, most of which are personal various out-of-the-box videos. This approach is still very new in the automotive industry, and whether it will eventually work, or how much it can work, is not yet clear.
Car gathering summary
Although he denied the claim that 300,000 vehicles were delivered this year, Yu Chengdong's ambitions were still at a glance, and he even made cruel remarks in the interview, still the "big mouth" that we are familiar with.
From his confession, we can roughly find out the original design intention of the M5: there is a leather-resistant, close to the people and best-selling like the Jetta; it is as fuel-saving and worry-free as the Accord, and the retention rate is good; at the same time, it is also like the 5 Series, which is a benchmark for balancing performance and luxury.
Finally, the M5 also wants to join the hottest intelligence of the new forces, which is the characteristics of the times that the Jetta, Accord, and 5 Series do not have. In this way, Yu Chengdong wants a lot, whether he can realize his dream, he has to ask the market performance of the M5.
As for whether its boundaries can be opened? See.