Yu Chengdong's golden sentences such as "the best SUV within 10 million" and "more than one generation ahead of peers" for the M9 attracted a response of "far ahead" off the field, which is behind the high expectations of the brand M9. On December 26, the M9 was officially launched, with a starting price of 469,800 yuan. As the "most expensive" model under Huawei's smart mode, the launch of the M9 will undoubtedly enhance the brand positioning and go straight to the high-end market. However, in this market segment, there are not only new forces in car manufacturing, but also traditional fuel vehicles for layout, and how to deal with competitors with the blessing of the intelligent selection mode has also become the focus of attention from the outside world.
"Black technology" blesses the goods
At the M9 and Huawei's winter all-scenario press conference, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei Device BG and chairman of the intelligent vehicle solution BU, appeared with the finale of the M9, and the release of a new car occupied more than half of the normal time, and the M9 was undoubtedly the protagonist of the entire press conference.
On the eve of this year's Shanghai Auto Show, the M9 was officially unveiled and pre-orders were opened, and in order to maintain the heat, the M9 was also mentioned on important occasions at any time. Yu Chengdong made no secret of his praise for the M9, calling it "the best SUV within 10 million yuan, the most powerful SUV that can be seen on the road." After 8 months of warm-up, the M9 also whetted the "appetite" of the outside world, just waiting for the new car to be launched. At the release site, Yu Chengdong said bluntly: "The best SUV within 10 million is here." ”
As the third smart model cooperated by Celis and Huawei, the M9 is positioned as a full-size SUV, built on a new platform, and provides two power forms: extended range and pure electric. Yu Chengdong said: "We bring all the best Huawei smart car black technology to the M9. It is understood that the M9 has applied a number of Huawei's new automotive technologies, including a new luxury D-class platform, a Xuanwu body with integrated die-casting, Huawei Tuling intelligent chassis, owl front-wheel steering, Huawei privacy sound shield, intelligent projection lighting system, Huawei Giant Whale 800V high-voltage battery platform, 32-inch vehicle-grade interior projection, etc.
In terms of space, the front row space of the M9 is 1045mm, the second row space is 1060mm, and the third row space is 950mm. In terms of battery life, the 52-degree battery version of the M9 extended range has a comprehensive range of 1,402 km under CLTC conditions and a pure electric range of 275 km, while the pure electric version is equipped with Huawei's "Giant Whale" 800V high-voltage battery platform, with a range of 150 km in 5 minutes and 630 km in CLTC mode. In addition, the M9 is equipped with the new HarmonyOS 4 and the new HUAWEI SOUND series. Yu Chengdong said that the M9 has been fully upgraded with the HUAWEI ADS 2.0 high-end intelligent driving system, equipped with a newly designed 192-line lidar, and the series of models is equipped with Huawei's Turing chassis and iDVP digital base.
In addition to the intelligent "armament", Yu Chengdong compared it with the Cullinan 4-seater, Maybach GLS 600 and other models in terms of acceleration time, comprehensive endurance, turning radius and other data when introducing the highlights of the M9. Yu Chengdong said: "The body-in-white aluminum alloy volume of this car accounts for 80%, the body weight factor is 2.02, which is lighter than the Maybach GLS600, and the turning radius of the M9 is smaller than that of the Model 3." "Pull in the luxury brand and create a hot topic for the new car.
Soaring "stepping stone"
Behind all the black technology on the car and the continuous comparison of luxury model data, Wenjie is opening the road of "rushing high".
According to official information, the M9 extended range Max version is 469,800 yuan, the M9 extended range Ultra version is 529,800 yuan, the M9 pure electric Max version is 509,800 yuan, and the M9 pure electric Ultra version is 569,800 yuan. The price range is 469,800-569,800 yuan, and this is the highest price product in the current smart model plan.
With the transformation of the electric vehicle market, domestic brands have begun to challenge the high-end market. From the new forces at the beginning to the independent trumpets in the later stage, it has become a consensus among car companies to sprint to the high-end market to improve their premium ability and brand power. Since the beginning of this year, models in the range of 400,000-500,000 yuan have become the incremental target of car companies. For example, brands and models such as BYD Yangwang, Dongfeng Mengshi, Great Wall Tank, Li MEGA, and NIO ET9 are all continuing to rise. Yan Jinghui, a member of the expert committee of the China Automobile Dealers Association, believes that the current electric vehicle market competition is becoming more and more fierce, and the performance of new energy models in the high-end luxury car market is strong.
Soochow Securities Research Report believes that the price center of the domestic passenger car market continues to increase, and low, medium and high-priced products have shown a high-end trend. In the eyes of the outside world, the launch of the M9 will help the brand knock on the door of the high-end market, so this model is particularly important for Huawei and Cialis.
It is worth mentioning that in order to help the M9 better pave the way, before the launch of the new car, not only Yu Chengdong continued to warm up the new car, but Cialis was also stepping up its adjustment. A reporter from Beijing Business Daily learned that before the new car was launched, Zhang Xinghai, chairman of Cialis, visited the core supply chain enterprises of M9 in the world. Among them, including Changzhou Xingyu, Bojun Technology, Kunshan Huguang and many other supply chain enterprises, Zhang Xinghai has an in-depth understanding of the company's business progress and technological innovation, these companies are the core suppliers of AITO M9. Zhang Xinghai said that the delivery cycle should be accelerated under the principle of high quality. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Passenger Car Market Information Association, believes that whether a product can be successfully launched on the market is based on product configuration pricing on the one hand, and on the other hand, the guarantee of the manufacturing side is also particularly important.
It is understood that the M9 will begin large-scale delivery on February 26 next year, and the current order volume exceeds 54,000 units. He Liyang, President of Sailis Automobile Co., Ltd., said: "Sailis Automobile is rapidly increasing its production capacity and delivering the Wenjie M9 to consumers as soon as possible. ”
"Fierce war" market
Aiming at the high-end market increment, the M9 will also face challenges from competitors.
Although in the comparison of Yu Chengdong's data, most of the models mentioned are Cullinan, GLS and other models, in the automobile market, body size is not the only criterion for comparing competing products. In the eyes of the outside world, it is more about enhancing the brand value by comparing it with high-priced luxury models.
In fact, at the same price, there are already many brand products in the market, and they will become the opponent of M9 in the future. From the perspective of new car-making forces, NIO launched the new ES8 last year, occupying the pure electric high-end medium and large SUV market. In addition, the ideal L9, which is similar to the price of the M9, is considered to be its direct competitor by the outside world. When the new car was released, Yu Chengdong said that the M9 is fully equipped with up to 10 screens, which can meet the needs of users in the whole scene of driving, entertainment and work at any time, and realize the vehicle-grade projection system on the car, with a 32-inch lifting projection screen. Some netizens said: "Isn't this for the ideal L9 sofa big color TV?"
It is worth mentioning that the M9 has launched two versions, pure electric and extended range, which is not only an electric model, but also a competitor at the same price in the fuel vehicle market. At present, the models that can cover the price range of the M9, including the Mercedes-Benz GLC and BMW X3, etc., are similar to the top configuration of the M9.
Not only first-line luxury products, but also second-tier luxury brands such as Lexus NX, Infiniti QX60, and QX50 will also meet in the same price range as the M9. This means that the M9 will have to face more competitors. Industry insiders believe that in the choice of models for consumers, the first consideration is the price, and the M9 has an advantage in size at the same price. However, luxury brands are high-volume models in this price range, and have a high reputation in the hearts of consumers, although the M9 has more technological support, it will also face certain challenges.
Beijing Business Daily reporter Liu Xiaomeng