Weekly index
News of the week
The world premiere of Porsche's all-electric Macan
On January 25, Porsche's all-new all-electric Macan was unveiled in Singapore. The all-new Macan is Porsche's second all-electric model and the brand's first SUV based on the PPE platform, with dual-motor all-wheel drive and a combined output of 450 kW.
The new car is equipped with a 100 kWh lithium-ion battery and an 800V architecture, which can be used to supplement up to 270 kW of DC power and 150 kW for 400V charging stations. The exterior and interior have been completely upgraded, with a drag coefficient as low as 0.25 and a WLTP range of more than 500 km across all models.
The Macan is available in two models, the Macan 4 and the Macan Turbo, both of which are equipped with a 100 kWh battery and a dual-motor all-wheel drive system, with a torque of 1,130 Nm.
Customers who pre-pay the deposit and sign the purchase contract before May 31 will be able to enjoy the "Early Bird Privilege" for a limited time, covering multiple benefits such as priority delivery, Legend/Dream/Shadow body color. The retail price of the all-electric Porsche Macan will be officially announced at the Beijing Motor Show on April 25, 2024.
The overall exterior lines of the new car are not much different from the current petrol version, the biggest highlight of the front face is the use of split headlights, the Macan 4 daytime running lights share a light strip with the turn signals, and the Turbo model is layered up and down. The raised lines on the front hatch from the daytime running light cluster add to the muscular feel of the car and make it more sporty.
On the side, the new car is more of a coupe-SUV with a rounded roofline and wider front and rear fenders with slightly more prominent wheel arches. According to Porsche, the new Macan will focus on aerodynamics and energy efficiency, with an electrically extendable rear wing that autonomously calculates the car's optimal streamlining. The underside of the car is a fully enclosed, flat plate design similar to a racing car, and the shock absorbers in the rear axle area are flexibly adjustable and ensure low drag when rebounding.
Inside, the new car adopts the latest family design style, and the center console reflects the driver-centric design concept. The new car features a segmented three-screen design, with a 12.6-inch fully digital floating curved display directly in front of the driver's line of sight, and a third 10.9-inch entertainment screen in front of the co-pilot. The new car is equipped with Porsche's classic three-spoke multi-function steering wheel, the center console is equipped with a touch-type function control area, and the air conditioning outlet is equipped with some mechanical buttons, so as to achieve a sense of technology and practicality.
Quick Comment:
Since its launch in 2014, the Macan has gradually become Porsche's entry-level SUV, second only to the Cayenne in sales for the whole of last year. In the wake of the global trend towards electrification, the all-new all-electric Macan has been unveiled, and with the Taycan, the Macan experience is very exciting. After 10 years of electrification, it remains to be seen how the Macan will perform in the future.
The official image of Jixiang Automobile's first model, Jixiang AIR, was released
On January 26, Jixiang Automobile released the official image of its first model, and officially named it Jixiang AIR. The new model is expected to cost around CNY 200,000. The bold and avant-garde design of the new car is inspired by the airliner of a commercial airliner, officially known as the OneBox styling, and is available in six body colours.
In terms of appearance, the overall visual impact of the new car is full. From the styling in the picture, we can see that the new car uses simple lines to summarize the overall outline, and the visual center of gravity is more biased towards the front part, and the vehicle styling language is very dynamic. The front of the new car features sharply shaped LED light clusters with trapezoidal air intakes below. The shape of the fenders on both sides is also quite like a concept car, connecting with the side of the car as a whole, extending to the position of the lights, creating a very full front face shape.
From the side of the body, the design of the car adopts a large slip-back shape, with a small area of window proportion and a large wheel shape, and the overall sense of sportiness is full.
At the rear, the whole car is stepped in shape, and although there are no complicated decorative embellishments at the tail, the shape is very rich. The new car adopts the popular continuous tail lamp design, above the tail lights is a small ducktail spoiler, and the rear is equipped with a large diffuser, the whole car looks very low. Combined with the overall styling design, it is expected that the new car will have good wind resistance performance.
Quick Comment:
Based on the first model, Juneyao Automobile will launch a comprehensive travel solution, integrating Juneyao Airlines and Juneyao Motor, bringing users a one-stop travel experience in terms of hardware, software and services. For example, to create a new car product, to provide airport pick-up, airport parking, destination car rental, membership rights sharing and other services, I am looking forward to this complete set of travel services from land to sky can bring a different travel experience.
Dongfeng VOYAH and Huawei have reached a strategic cooperation
On January 22, Dongfeng VOYAH and Huawei officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement. Based on their respective strengths, the two parties will jointly create the ultimate intelligent travel experience based on user needs. Through the innovation and exploration of cooperative models in multiple fields, we will accelerate the large-scale commercialization of intelligent technology.
You Zheng, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd., Lu Fang, CEO of VOYAH Automobile, Xu Zhijun, Vice Chairman and Rotating Chairman of Huawei, and Jin Yuzhi, CEO of Huawei Intelligent Vehicle Solution BU, attended the discussion and witnessed the signing of the agreement. Jiang Tao, COO of VOYAH Automotive, and Chi Linchun, Vice President of Huawei's Intelligent Vehicle Solution BU, signed the agreement on behalf of both parties. The signing of this strategic cooperation agreement marks a new stage of cooperation between Dongfeng VOYAH and Huawei.
At the signing site, the two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on the development trend of intelligent networked vehicles, and the two sides will give full play to their respective advantages to jointly promote the high-quality development of the automobile industry. Relying on the 55 years of experience in car manufacturing of Dongfeng Company, a state-owned enterprise, Dongfeng VOYAH has a number of world's first new energy vehicle manufacturing technologies. Huawei's deep accumulation of ICT technologies and continuous breakthroughs in the field of intelligence will also help Dongfeng VOYAH further upgrade and iterate in the field of intelligent new energy vehicles.
Quick Comment:
Huawei attended the signing ceremony of the cooperation between the two parties, and Xu Zhijun, Huawei's rotating chairman. As early as April 2021, during the Shanghai Auto Show, Xu Zhijun took the lead in cooperating with BAIC, Changan, and GAC on the HI model, so it is likely that the cooperation between VOYAH and Huawei this time will also be in the HI mode. After GAC essentially withdrew from this cooperation model in March 2023, only Changan AVATR remains in the HI model. Therefore, the cooperation with Dongfeng VOYAH is, to a certain extent, a continuation of Huawei's HI model, which is still Xu Zhijun's platform, still a state-owned enterprise, and still a To B business. It is worth mentioning that on the day of the official announcement of the cooperation, Dongfeng Motor's A-share stock price has been limited.
The BMW i5 is officially launched
On January 25, the BMW i5 was officially launched, with a total of five models and a price range of 439,900-639,900 yuan. The 5 Series family, the mainstay of the BMW brand, is now in its eighth generation since its inception in 1972 and brings the all-electric BMW i5 for the first time, marking the beginning of the era of intelligent electric vehicles for the best-selling BMW.
In terms of appearance, the i5 and 5 Series are also available in two exterior styles, the Sport Package and the Luxury Package, and there is no significant difference between the gasoline and electric models.
The length, width and height are 5,175 mm, 1,900 mm and 1,520 mm, respectively, and the wheelbase is still 3,105 mm, which is the same as the current model. However, the side profile of the body has been completely redesigned, and the longer rear end of the new model has been replaced by the short, sleek fastback shape of the new model, and the overall body stance looks sportier, and there is no incongruity in the longer model.
In terms of details, the illuminated digital logo on the C-pillar of the new car is exclusive to the domestic model, and this logo also flashes on the i5 according to the charging status.
The interior design scheme of the BMW 7 Series has also been applied and evolved on the new 5 Series, similar to the interactive atmosphere light strip of the 7 Series on the BMW i5, it can even be displayed in color separation and area, plus the 12.3-inch instrument + 14.9-inch central control screen The continuous screen design makes the visual effect in the car full, and there will be a feeling of a small 7 Series when sitting in the front row.
In terms of power, the i5 uses BMW's self-developed excitation synchronous motor, which is currently the only luxury car company to use an excitation synchronous motor.
The BMW i5 eDrive35L has a maximum power of 210 kW and a maximum torque of 410 Nm, and the battery is a ternary lithium battery with a capacity of 79.05 kWh and a CLTC pure electric range of 536 km. At the same time, the i5 M60 has a maximum power of 442 kW and a maximum torque of 795 Nm, which is on par with the previous BMW M5 model, and the dual-motor all-wheel drive version accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, which is the characteristic of the new generation i5 M series models, and the user can activate the Sport Boost function at any time via the paddles for an additional 30 Nm of torque output in an instant.
Quick Comment:
On the all-new i5, BMW adopted the pricing strategy of the same price of gasoline and electricity for the first time, and it has a certain first-mover advantage in price. The arrival of the i5 has also allowed BMW to further enter the era of intelligent electric vehicles. At this press conference, we saw the technological progress of the i5, as well as the pursuit of driving fun regardless of gasoline and electricity, and also saw BMW's follow-up on the corresponding supporting services such as super charging stations, which also made people look forward to the future performance of traditional luxury brands like BMW in the new energy market. Now that petrol and electricity are at the same price, if you want to buy a BMW 5 Series, will you choose the petrol 5 Series or the pure electric i5?
Geely LEVC L380 prototype rolls off the assembly line
On January 26, the LEVC L380 prototype rolled off the assembly line. Positioned as an all-electric MPV, the car is built on the SOA architecture and takes its name from the Airbus A380, the world's largest wide-body airliner, which also indicates that the car will have a very spacious interior. At the same time, the car will be available in a space layout with a minimum of three seats and a maximum of eight seats.
In terms of appearance, the front of the car is very wide, using the popular closed front face and split headlight group, the top is a three-section LED light strip, and the bottom is a high and low beam light group, the overall style is more sci-fi. The design of the deflector under the light clusters and the silver trim strip under the front end of the car enhance the layering of the front end.
From the side, the car's body length and wheelbase are impressive, and it is expected to deliver good interior space performance. The car features an all-black roof and ABC pillars that balance the visual proportions of the sides of the body, making the bulky body appear less bulky. In addition, the car is equipped with large multi-spoke wheels and the door handles are concealed.
This time did not release the rear picture, referring to the previous rear picture, the car adopts a thick and thin through tail light design at both ends, and the visual effect after lighting up at night is very cool. The interior has yet to be revealed, but Yang says the car will be available in 3- and 8-seater options. With a three-seat layout in such a large car, the luxury of the rear row is expected to be comparable to that of the first class of an airplane, and it may be equipped with luxury seats that can lie flat with one click. In addition, the car is expected to be equipped with a wealth of vehicle-machine interconnection functions.
Quick Comment:
LEVC is the abbreviation of London Electric Vehicle Company, a British travel brand acquired by Geely, and is a parallel brand under the Geely Group along with Zeekr and Volvo. LEVC shares Geely's global supply system, and as a global high-end new energy brand, the new MPV models launched are likely to be the same high-end models as the Zeekr 009 and Volvo EM90. Previously, the models produced by LEVC were mainly for the field of commercial travel, and this new MPV is likely to be quite different from the product definition of other MPVs in the Geely series, and you can look forward to what new tricks LEVC can play in the field of high-end MPVs.