Selling for 400,000 yuan, pole fox alpha S new HI version and Lantu dreamer can succeed
Author | Shen Tianxiang
Edit | Lee Kwok-jeong
Produced by | Bangning Studio (gbngzs)
On the evening of May 7, 2022, the two new cars that were not much related originally were almost simultaneously launched at the launch conference, and the price was more than 400,000 yuan, coupled with the recent marketing events of the two brands, which made the new energy vehicle market more full of gunpowder.
Both shows are very interesting - products, guests, marketing all come with their own traffic.
One is the launch of a new HI version of the Polar Fox Alpha S cooperated by BAIC and Huawei.
As early as April 2021, the new car debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show, but it was warmed up for more than a year before it was launched. There is also a lot of controversy in the outside world - as one of the car companies with huawei's in-depth cooperation, BAIC seems to have risen early and rushed to catch up with a late set.
On the day of the press conference on May 7, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei Terminal BG and CEO of Smart Vehicle Solution BU, rushed from Shenzhen to Beijing to participate in media interviews and live broadcasts, which shows the importance Huawei attaches to new cars and BAIC BJEV.
He said in an interview: "BAIC is the earliest and most in-depth company for Huawei's cooperation, and Huawei will firmly support the commercial success of its partners. "This has made some rumors about the discord between the two car companies unbreakable."
The other is the electric luxury MPV Lantu Dreamer listing.
This car also makes the MPV into the era of intelligence and electrification. Including the customized version, its price covers the price range of 369,900 to 639,900 yuan, refreshing the price height of Chinese brand MPV.
The press conference not only attracted traffic from singer Li Wei, who has recently attracted much attention, but also invited Zhang Chaoyang, founder, chairman of the board and CEO of Sohu, and Cao Xue, designer of the 2022 Winter Olympic mascot Ice Pier, as the owner of the Dreamer to stand for him.
Outside the press conference, the two car companies have recently been very hot and out of the circle.
On April 15, Rock Veteran Cui Jian held his first online concert, which lasted 3 hours and 20 songs, attracting nearly 46 million viewers. As the exclusive title sponsor, Polar Fox has received great attention, and the Polar Fox element can be seen everywhere in the live broadcast screen.
Then, on April 24, the premiere of the program "Sound and Endless", which pays tribute to the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, became a hit. Lantu Dreamer, as the official car of this column, appeared on the show and received special attention.
Even more dramatically coincidental, both Polar Fox and Landu were founded in 2018 and have now reached their fifth year. Liu Yu, deputy general manager of BAIC Group and chairman of BAIC BJEV, and Lu Fang, CEO and CTO of Lantu Automobile, these two "old players" in the automotive industry were born in 1976 and are 46 years old this year.
They are all progressive Chinese brands, but they have delivered completely different answers in the new automobile era. Finally, are the two brands on the same page?
▍Still a pioneer after a year
From the world debut of the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2021, to the product launch of the Guangzhou Auto Show in November 2021, and then to the launch of the new car in May 2022, the market is looking forward to the new HI version of the Polar Fox Alpha S.
In more than a year, smart electric vehicles have developed rapidly and have even begun to iterate. From the product level, people are most concerned about whether the new HI version of polar fox alpha S is still competitive, and whether the core of data, computing power, and lidar in product development can now support the role of forerunner.
"The hardware capabilities and infrastructure capabilities of this car's intelligent driving system are the most powerful at the moment." Yu Chengdong's words may make users who pay attention to this car take a reassurance pill.
Yu Chengdong believes that the new HI version of the Polar Fox Alpha S is a car armed with intelligent driving to the teeth. 34 high-perception hardware consisting of 3 96-line vehicle-grade lidar, 6 millimeter-wave radar, 12 ultrasonic radars, 13 cameras, and up to 400TOPS computing power make the hardware capabilities and infrastructure capabilities of the intelligent driving system powerful enough.
Huawei's full-stack smart car solution has laid a deep imprint on this car. Based on this, the new HI version of Alpha S supports high-level intelligent driving on urban roads and is equipped with Huawei's smart cockpit - Hongmeng car machine OS.
First of all, at this stage, most of the smart cars on the market can achieve high-speed scene intelligent driving, such as Xiaopeng NGP, Weilai NOP, and ideal NOA, but there are not many models that can achieve high-end intelligent driving on urban roads. Xiaopeng Motors plans to launch urban NGP in the first cities by the end of the second quarter of this year.
Secondly, Huawei's intelligent cockpit- Hongmeng car machine OS supports the seamless flow of video and voice calls with mobile devices; supports the interconnection of car and mobile phones, supports mobile phone counter-control of car machines; gesture recognition to accurately control music and gesture control cars; and full-scene voice, which can be visible and can be said.
There are two versions of this car, the advanced version is priced at 397,900 yuan, and the high-end version is priced at 429,900 yuan. The previously launched models that were not equipped with hi versions were priced in the range of 251,900 to 344,900 yuan, and the price difference was not small.
Compared with the smart electric cars on the market, the attractive price of this price is not large. Taking Xiaopeng Automobile, which is about to open the NGP function of the city function, as an example, the price of the Xiaopeng P7 is 239,900 to 262,900 yuan, and the Xiaopeng P5 is only 177,900 to 209,900 yuan.
In addition, the Polar Fox itself holds two cards.
First, Beiqi Blue Valley has accumulated in the field of new energy for many years and has a very solid foundation, especially in the aspects of three electricity and electrification, which can not only ensure the strength of products in terms of performance and endurance, charging, etc., but also ensure the reliability and safety of products.
Second, Jihu Automobile and Global Automotive Supplier Magna have entered into a joint venture in technology and vehicle manufacturing. Magna has more than 100 years of experience and history in manufacturing high-end cars, and has a world-class MAFACT production system, producing top luxury cars such as Mercedes-Benz G-Class and Aston Martin Rapide.
These two cards may become a plus point for the new HI version of Polar Fox Alpha S to conquer the 400,000 yuan market.
In the past year, Huawei's penetration in the automotive industry has become faster and faster. At the Guangzhou Auto Show, the industry once commented: "The busiest person in the whole auto show is not the car company, it is Huawei." After standing for this one, you have to get up and go to the next one. ”
The market discussion about Polar Fox and Huawei has always been non-stop.
On the one hand, the new HI version of Alpha S has been delayed. On the other hand, Huawei, Changan Automobile and CATL jointly established Avita Technology to jointly develop an intelligent electric networked vehicle platform, and cooperated with Xiaokang to launch Xilis and later released the Aotu brand. These have made the outside world suspicious of its cooperation with BAIC.
But at the press conference on May 7, when Yu Chengdong and Liu Yu stood in front of the KV, the owner of the car with the words "Two Strivers Partners, a World-Class Good Car", all doubts were dispelled.
According to Yu Chengdong, the cooperation model between Huawei and car companies can be divided into three main categories:
The first is the traditional parts supplier model. This is Huawei's cooperation model with most car companies, which provide intelligent parts for intelligent and connected cars.
The second is the Huawei Inside (HI) model, that is, the integration of resources between Huawei and car companies, the two sides jointly define and jointly develop, the development and manufacture of vehicles is responsible for the car companies, and huawei's full-stack intelligent car solutions are used.
The third is Huawei's intelligent selection model, and the representative enterprise is Xiaokang shares. In this model, Huawei will be deeply involved in product definition, vehicle design, and channel sales, and cooperate with car companies in product styling, interior and exterior design, and brand marketing.
The collaboration with the Polar Fox belongs to the second type. "Polar Fox Alpha S new HI version of this car, the whole vehicle design is led by the Polar Fox team, Huawei is only assisting, but in the field of intelligent driving, Huawei will play a little more role." In the HI model, Polar Fox is the main body of operation and Huawei is the assistant. Yu Chengdong said.
On the other hand, for BAIC BJEV, the new HI version of the Jihu Alpha S is an important strategic model. As Liu Yu said, it is a sign of the intelligent transformation of BAIC BJEV.
▍ Dreamer cuts into the new blue ocean
Chinese brands are becoming more and more courageous.
The new HI version of Polar Fox Alpha S sold for 400,000 yuan, the Lantu Dreamer Seven Edition was also at the 400,000 yuan level, and the customized version sold for more than 600,000 yuan.
Putting aside the high-priced customized version, the mainstream seven-seat version of the price range is 369,900 to 439,900 yuan, which is the price range of the mainstream joint venture MPV such as GL8.
But the difference of Lantu is that it provides pure support for pure electricity and intelligent multi-mode two power solutions, with standard front and rear dual motors and intelligent four-wheel drive, creating a new market - electric luxury MPV. This is a segment that Chinese brands and even all car brands in the world have not yet entered.
The competitiveness of this differentiation is clear enough – two dynamics.
The 0-carbon version is equipped with dual front and rear motors with a maximum power of 160 kW/160 kW, a peak torque of 620 N·m, and an acceleration of up to 5.8 seconds per 100 km/h. The battery supports fast charging up to 230kW, and it takes only about 20 minutes to fully charge at 20% to 80% of the charge. The standard endurance version of CLTC has a cruising range of 475km, and the long-running version of CLTC has a cruising range of 605km.
The low-carbon version is equipped with dual motors with a maximum power of 130kW/160kW, a peak torque of 610N·m, an acceleration of 6.6 seconds per 100 km/h, and a WLTC endurance of 750 km. Thanks to the intelligent multi-mode drive technology, the Dreamer low-carbon version of the oil and electricity, the ministry of industry and information technology comprehensive fuel consumption as low as 1.99L/100km.
Compared with traditional fuel and hybrid MPV models, in addition to enjoying policy dividends such as purchase tax reduction and unlimited travel, the Dreamer also brings the unique driving texture and riding comfort of electric vehicles.
Lu Fang, CEO and CTO of Lantu Automobile, said: "Lantu Dreamer is a new species born different, which will create a new category of electric MPV, establish a new benchmark for electric luxury MPV, and lead MPV into a new era of electrification and intelligence. ”
Electrification also brings a natural advantage – smarter.
It is equipped with Qualcomm 8155 flagship car chip, 5 millimeter wave radar, 7 cameras, 12 ultrasonic radar, and supports 26 advanced driver assistance functions. At this stage, in the field of MPV, the intelligence of Lantu Dreamer is the most capable.
Let's look at the space advantage. 3200mm wheelbase, standard luxury double-sided sliding doors, 2+2+3 seven-seat, private customized version of 2+2 four-seat layout, full load 7 people without having to put down the third row, still can easily load four 24-inch suitcases. At the same time, the whole car provides 41 storage spaces, thanks to the advantages of the electric drive system, the 0 carbon version also provides a 40L front trunk.
In terms of comfort, the second row of independent seats has a 70° large-angle electric leg rest and a maximum rear rotation angle of 155° backrest, sleeping headrest, 3-speed heating ventilation and massage function, using baby protection grade skin-friendly fabrics; three-zone intelligent air conditioning, pure air management and Tanner sound system; more than 80 sound insulation and noise reduction design, quiet characteristics brought by electric drive...
Lu Fang believes that dreamers are movable living rooms, mobile warm homes. Co-oil and electricity, IKEA IKEA, can be far away from the city, is the mobile third space that people want to have.
From the perspective of product characteristics, it is enough to impress a part of the population. Some people also questioned, who is such an expensive car sold to?
In fact, with the upgrading of market consumption, the landing of the three-child policy, and the hot demand for new energy vehicles, the high-end MPV market has ushered in new opportunities. "The MPV market has shifted to large, high-end, commercial and energy efficient." Analysis by Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the Association.
For a long time in the past, the mainstream mid-to-high-end MPV market was basically occupied by the Buick GL8, and other products with better sales were also from joint ventures. Last year, Toyota Xena, Hyundai Kustu, Kia Kahua and other models entered the market, but the products of Chinese brands are very limited. Moreover, in the rapidly erupting new energy market, the electric luxury MPV market has been blank.
Whether from the perspective of market prospects or double carbon strategies, Dreamers has the legitimacy to enter this market.
This car is suitable for IKEA, and Landu has signed car purchase agreements with a number of leading enterprises in various industries. Since the pre-sale began on April 7, Dreamer has received more than 4,000 orders and is expected to open deliveries starting in the third quarter of this year.
Both Jihu and Lantu show the upward power of Chinese brands. As for sales, Liu Yu said: "There is no limit, sell until it is out of stock." ”
Everything is yet to be answered by the market.