Whether it is SAIC or MG, its new energy business is being reconstructed. From Zhiji to Feifan, the new energy story built by SAIC has slowly started. This time it was MG's turn.
The story of Mulan, whether in China or around the world, has become a household name. In 2020, the live-action version of "Mulan" produced by Walt Disney Pictures was once all the rage. "Mulan" or "Mulan" has long been recognized as a famous IP worldwide. SAIC called the first model of the new "Nebula" platform MULAN, and its intention is self-evident.
On June 13, at the MG brand's new car launch, SAIC's new pure electric platform "Nebulas" made its debut, and MG's first global strategic model MULAN also made its debut. THE MG MULAN is also the first pure electric model born on the Nebulas platform.
According to public information, this is the first official appearance of the Nebulas platform as an official press conference, and the last time people heard about it was at the shareholders' meeting held by SAIC in May this year. At that time, the Nebulas platform was officially introduced as one of the "seven technical bases" of SAIC Motor. The "seven technical bases" are:
"SAIC Nebulas" pure electric exclusive systematization platform, "SAIC Everest" oil-electric integrated vehicle architecture, "SAIC Galaxy" electric hydrogen integrated vehicle architecture and other three major vehicle technology bases, as well as blue core powertrain system, platform-based Rubik's cube battery system, green core electric drive system, "Galaxy" full-stack intelligent vehicle solution and other four key system technology bases.
The importance of the "SAIC Nebula" is placed at the top of the "Seven Technical Bases".
But why is one of such important "technical bases" interspersed in the launch of MG's first global model instead of the SAIC Group-level conference?
Insiders revealed to auto recorders that this is not unrelated to the direction and intensity of SAIC's reform in recent years. As we all know, state-owned automobile groups have been criticized by the industry in terms of the flexibility of management mechanisms and capital efficiency. The "mixed reform" that prevails within state-owned enterprises is also aimed at these pain points of state-owned enterprises. SAIC Motor is also one of the important automotive state-owned enterprise groups that actively implement "mixed reform". SAIC's latest luxury high-end brand Zhiji Automobile is the product of the "mixed reform" joint venture between SAIC Motor and Alibaba.
For the extremely important independent brands of SAIC, such as MG and Roewe, the decentralization of the group has become the core means of saic oil group power reform and management reform. In recent years, the autonomy of MG and Roewe brands has been further highlighted. This is also an important reason why roewe and MG brands have become more and more powerful as independent brands in recent years.
So, why did the first strategic model of saic's "Nebula" platform give MG? The reason is self-evident: MG will be another key brand for SAIC in the future.
The situation is grim MG wants to "return" to the track
MG was born in the United Kingdom in 1910, was acquired by SAIC In 2005, has a history of more than 100 years, it is born with a global brand gene. In recent years, MG New Energy's performance in the domestic market is not outstanding, but it has been improving in the international market, and one of the key factors is MG's natural global brand gene. According to the data of 2021, the sales volume of MG new energy vehicles in the European market reached 33,000 units, ranking first among Chinese brands.
Not only MG New Energy, but also SAIC's own brands in recent years, whether it is domestic or global market, have shown a trend of full outbreak.
In 2021, SAIC motor passenger cars exceeded the 800,000 mark for the first time, an increase of 22% year-on-year. In contrast, China's number one self-owned brand, Geely, sold only 1% of the year, although it reached 1.328 million units. In second place is Great Wall Motors, but the year-on-year growth rate is not as good as SAIC passenger cars, at 15.2%.
However, as far as the domestic market is concerned, in the field of new energy, SAIC Motor, whether it is a newly independent Feifan or Zhiji Automobile, is still in its infancy. In fact, the two brands of Roewe and MG still have a gap with the First Group, including BYD, in the field of new energy. With the development of MG brand in China and the global market, MG brand urgently needs a phenomenon-level product to take on the heavy responsibility of brand revitalization.
At the launch of MG MULANG, Zhang Liang, deputy general manager of SAIC's data business department, chief digital officer (CDO) of passenger car companies and CEO of MG brand, said at the press conference: "With the advent of MG MULAN, the MG brand will return to the new energy track and penetrate into the hinterland of the high-energy market. ”
Zhang Liang does not hesitate to use words such as "returning to the new energy track" here, which means that for brands like MG, the situation is indeed grim and urgent. The reason behind it is obvious: SAIC Motor has delegated power to the brand, and correspondingly, there are naturally more expectations for MG's current performance in the field of new energy. On the other hand, compared with BYD, which has a trillion-dollar market value with the help of hot sales of new energy models, SAIC's current market value is only about 200 billion yuan. Compared with the two, "returning to the new energy track" is in fact not only the demand of MG, but also the demand of SAIC Motor.
What are mg MULAN's tools?
From Zhiji Automobile, to Feifan Automobile, to MG MULAN, to SAIC's "Nebula" pure electric platform architecture, SAIC's new energy territory has actually been rolled out. The "Rubik's Cube Battery" is a key part of this.
At the MG MULAN conference, SAIC released the "Rubik's Cube Battery" with a slight low profile. Zhu Jun, deputy chief engineer of SAIC Group and general manager of Jieneng Company, the "father of SAIC New Energy", explained the Rubik's Cube battery carried by MG MULAN in a low-key manner at the back of the MG MULAN conference: its battery cells are "lying down" arrangement, the overall is lighter and thinner, the safety is higher, and the bottom area is fixed, which also provides a possibility for large-scale "power exchange" in the future.
"The biggest benefit brought by the reclining battery cell is that one is ultra-high integration, the second is ultra-long life, and the third is 'zero thermal runaway safety protection'," Zhu Jun revealed.
This is another pure electric vehicle architecture in China that has announced "zero thermal runaway safety protection". Before SAIC's "Nebula", another pure electric brand of SAIC, Zhiji Automobile, announced that the Ningde era silicon-doped lithium battery was equipped with a single energy density of 300Wh/kg, which can achieve zero attenuation of 200,000 kilometers (NEDC working conditions) and never spontaneous combustion.
That is to say, for the spontaneous combustion problem that is generally concerned by all sectors of society, more and more Chinese brands have begun to have more self-confidence.
So, what are the specific advantages of the reclining batteries launched by saicid "Nebula" platform? Zhu Jun gave an example: when you put a battery cell into a battery pack and form a whole pack, the size of the battery cell determines the size of the battery pack. If the battery is put up, its height can be reduced, and the battery can be a little shorter. But the problem of this shorter point, its effective volume utilization will be greatly reduced. The vertical battery cells should be spaced in two things, the same is called the expansion compensation sheet (compensation material), one is the thermal isolation required for thermal isolation, thermal insulation materials, most of which are now used aerogels. With 6 cells as a group, 6 large thermal isolation and volume expansion compensation is required, when the battery cells lie flat, the six cells only need two expansion compensation sheets, and the material is saved.
In fact, the reclining batteries on the SAIC Nebula platform are not just a matter of material savings, but also include safety and more efficient space utilization.
When talking about the advantages of MG MULAN's pure electric platform, Zhang Liang pointed out: "There are still many 'oil to electricity' products on the market, which are based on the design basis of fuel vehicles, and there are some birth defects. For example, fuel vehicles are generally lighter than pure trams, and pre-drive-oriented, when some core components are matched on heavier pure trams, the whole vehicle can not reach the extreme in terms of sportiness and safety; For another example, the needle and layout of the battery pack installation position are scattered, resulting in uneven weights before and after the model, poor driving experience, and unable to strengthen the protection of the battery pack, which has certain safety risks. This is like the difference between self-built new houses and second-hand houses, pure electricity exclusive platform is like self-built new houses, new houses designed according to their own needs are comfortable and convenient to live in, 'oil to electricity' models are like second-hand houses, knocking on the wall to modify, design and decoration, may not be able to achieve the perfect ideal state. ”
It is reported that in the future, there are many vehicles under SAIC That use 'Rubik's Cube battery', and almost all mainstream brands and high-end brands of SAIC Will use Rubik's Cube battery technology. "They all have a common requirement, which is to be safe and as cheap as possible," Zhu Jun revealed.
MG MULAN as the first model equipped with SAIC's "Nebula" platform "Rubik's Cube Battery", SAIC put such an important information on the "Nebula" platform on the release of MG MULAN, so that one of the seven technical bases most importantly relied on by the entire SAIC Group endorses the listing of MG MULAN, which shows that SAIC Attaches great importance to MG MULAN. As Zhang Liang said, MG wants to take this opportunity to return to the new energy track, and what he said is not false.
Write at the end:
"Returning to the new energy" track, this task is not a small pressure for MG CEO Zhang Liang. From Zhang Liang's recent head-up changes, it is not difficult to find that SAIC's support and expectations for MG are far more than ever. Before 2022, Zhang Liang's head was mostly "deputy general manager of saic motor's data business department and chief digital officer of SAIC motor passenger car company". By the time MG MULAN was released, there was an unexpected appearance of the title of "Deputy General Manager of SAIC's Data Business Unit, Chief Digital Officer (CDO) of Passenger Car Company and CEO of MG Brand". This means that the new energy strategy of the MG brand, with the release of the MG MULAN car, has been upgraded to a new strategic level.