96% of the highest efficiency of the self-developed electric drive system, 455kW of maximum power, 22500r/min maximum speed, 820km of maximum endurance, positioning of the medium and large car market, based on the FMEs platform to build, these amazing and dazzling numbers and terms, is only the tip of the iceberg of the Hongqi EH7 label, obviously, Hongqi EH7 has been ready to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the electrification transformation of the Hongqi brand. As the shining pearl of China's automobile industry, Hongqi's transformation into new energy is undoubtedly a major highlight of China's automobile industry in recent years. From the traditional fuel vehicle manufacturing to the comprehensive transformation to new energy vehicles, Hongqi Automobile's change not only represents the strategic adjustment of the brand, but also reflects the future development direction of China's automobile industry. With the emergence of Hongqi EH7, it has once again aroused people's attention and expectations for Hongqi Automobile.
01. This strategy is very "red flag"
Entering a new era, Hongqi Automobile has ushered in new development opportunities. In January 2018, China FAW released the new Hongqi brand strategy, "restarted" the Hongqi automobile brand that had been silent for more than ten years, and determined to build the new Hongqi automobile into a "China's first, world-famous" automobile brand, established the brand positioning of "new noble refinement", and laid out the four major product series of L, S, H, Q, which marks the development of Hongqi Automobile has officially entered a new stage, and Hongqi once again shoulders the important task of industrial revitalization entrusted by the times. Since then, Hongqi automobiles, which have the reputation of "national cars", have begun to enter the homes of ordinary people.
In January 2023, FAW Hongqi announced its global strategy for new energy vehicles, and will build a four-brand system under the "Hongqi" brand, focusing on "new energy vehicles", "energy-saving vehicles", "Hongqi top cars" and "super sports cars".
First of all, the Hongqi brand has set clear sales targets. By 2025, the Hongqi brand plans to achieve total sales of 1 million units, of which more than 500,000 new energy vehicles will be sold. By 2030, the sales target will exceed 1.5 million units, and new energy vehicles will become the main sales body. The realization of this goal will strongly promote the rapid development of Hongqi brand in the new energy vehicle market.
Secondly, Hongqi brand will actively explore overseas high-end markets as a major strategic choice and an important strategic task. By 2025, the Hongqi brand plans to build more than 700 Hongqi experience spaces, more than 1,000 service networks, and 600,000 energy charging terminals overseas, and achieve overseas sales accounting for more than 10% of total sales. This move will significantly enhance the visibility and influence of the Hongqi brand in the global market.
In addition, the Hongqi brand is also committed to technological innovation and product upgrading. Through the continuous introduction of high-quality new energy vehicle products, covering multiple market segments such as sedans, SUVs, MPVs, etc., to meet the diversified travel needs of consumers. At the same time, Hongqi brand will also strengthen cooperation with internationally renowned automobile brands to jointly promote the progress and development of new energy vehicle technology.
In terms of brand identity, the Hongqi brand has released a new new energy brand identity - "Qimiao Wings", which not only expresses the Hongqi new energy brand's concern for nature and cherishes life, but also shows the determination of the Hongqi brand to focus on new energy and focus on green and intelligent travel. The release of this logo marks that the Hongqi brand has officially entered the new energy era, and also indicates that the Hongqi brand will create new brilliance in the field of new energy.
02, this press conference is not a "red flag"
After the establishment of the new strategy, Hongqi started the strategic pace of "All in" new energy, whether it is the independent operation of the "new energy sub-brand", or the integration of the group and the brand's internal institutions, Hongqi brand is constantly entering the new energy market through "change" to achieve strategic brand innovation. On March 20, 2024, the Hongqi EH7 was officially launched, with 5 configuration models and a price range of 229,800-309,800 yuan.
This car conference is the first brand conference after Hongqi's strategic transformation, which contains many highlights, and from the many details of this press conference, the details of "change" are extremely obvious.
From the perspective of city selection, Shenzhen, as a pioneer city of reform and opening up, carries the magnificent spirit of reform and has witnessed the vigorous economic and social growth of the mainland. In this vibrant city, it is the spring equinox, and opportunities and growth coexist. The choice of listing here and now not only shows the direction of Hongqi brand, but also shows the rapid progress and brilliant achievements of China's automobile industry in technological innovation and brand building.
In terms of venue selection, unlike previous press conferences, this time the venue was selected in Shenzhen's Civic Square. The open-air venue, without curtain enclosure, can stop and watch the passing citizens, which is not only a formal opening, but also shows the renewal of Hongqi's brand awareness. In addition, the Civic Square was built with the theme of "a new combination of city and nature", which is quite in line with the launch of a new energy vehicle.
From the point of view of the link arrangement, the theme of this event is "safe driving", there is no leading guest introduction link, no celebrity Internet celebrity talking about the car, no historical feelings interpretation, the opening with a scene pantomime to throw out the anxiety of new energy vehicle users, and then the lion dance performance leads to the appearance of the new car, and then the person in charge of the Hongqi product line cracks the anxiety in a targeted manner, and tells the many highlights of Hongqi EH7 like a chat, so that the distance between Hongqi new energy brand and consumers is naturally close.
The whole conference was concise and clear, the content was easy to understand, and the duration was just right. At the press conference, in Hongqi EH7, we saw the full vitality and confidence of Hongqi people, and also saw the new generation of power in China's automobile industry. Together, they have created a young and vigorous Hongqi new energy image, and a Hongqi brand that dares to challenge in the face of the rapidly changing new energy era.
The cake of new energy, Hongqi wants to eat more
03. The product power is worth recalling
Although the domestic new energy vehicle market is extremely competitive, the timing of the entry of the Hongqi EH7 is just right. As the culmination of Hongqi's new energy technology, the EH7 is built on the new FMEs "Banner" super architecture, with unique innovative technology and powerful performance configuration, as well as the support of the "national team" quality recognition, it has quickly emerged in the market and become a strong competitor in the same class of models.
At the press conference, Liu Yigong, director, general manager and deputy secretary of the Party Committee of FAW Group Co., Ltd., ushered in his first appearance after taking office. He emphasized that in recent years, Hongqi has made all-round efforts in brand, product, technology, marketing, ecology and other aspects to accelerate green transformation in an all-round and system-wide manner. Since the brand renewal, FAW Hongqi's innovation ability has been significantly enhanced, successfully achieved 100% trial production of models with localized chips, and achieved independent control of 121 key core technologies such as ultra-high-speed electric drive system and high-specific power fuel cell engine, leading the industry, and these achievements have injected strong product strength into Hongqi EH7.
At the press conference, Hongqi EH7 demonstrated a series of leading technologies, which effectively solved many pain points faced by new energy vehicle users. Its self-developed ultra-high speed motor has reached the first level of mass production in the industry in terms of speed and efficiency, the industry's first low-temperature battery cell technology effectively solves the problems of short battery life and slow charging in winter, and Hongqi's self-developed power battery pack six-sided three-dimensional insulation protection scheme allows users to use trams with more peace of mind.
Liu Yigong introduced that Hongqi EH7 integrates safety and trust, galloping at will, intelligent health, and oriental aesthetics, and is equipped with low-temperature cell technology, the industry's first 22,500 rpm motor speed in mass production models, and other series of first and first technologies, all of which are important achievements of FAW Hongqi's technical research in recent years, aiming to bring users a safe and pleasant travel experience.
In the face of the "price reduction tide" in the market, Hongqi showed a firm position. It can be seen from the price of EH7 and the cumulative total value of 100,000 yuan that Hongqi clearly expounded the cost of "buying a car" and explained in detail the cost of "using a car", showing the sincerity as always, without using fancy marketing methods, which reflects the responsibility and responsibility of central enterprises.
Hongqi brand has always adhered to the spirit of craftsmanship, taking product quality as the key, technological innovation as the drive, treating people sincerely, and continuing to meet the diverse needs of users. In the highly competitive new energy vehicle market, Hongqi has won market recognition and praise with its solid sales performance.
04, the former "Venom" is also a microcosm
The official debut of the Hongqi new energy brand will be in January 2023, but its first mass-produced pure electric model, the Hongqi E-QM5, has long been active in the travel market dominated by the north. 5.04 meters long, 2.99 meters wheelbase, 431 kilometers of endurance, and the price of 165,800 yuan at that time, the listing of Hongqi E-QM5 immediately attracted the attention of the market.
In March 2022, Hongqi E-QM5 began to turn to the individual user market, but the sales volume failed to meet expectations, and the appearance is one of the reasons for its sales. Only the size of the 5.04-meter-long medium and large sedan, coupled with Hongqi's brand feelings, will slightly bring some "rows" to consumers.
The other is the Hongqi E-HS9 (parameter | inquiry), which is known as the "domestically produced" Cullinan (parameter | inquiry) and is positioned as a luxury flagship pure electric SUV, which made its world debut as early as July 2020. However, its pricing of 509,800-729,800 yuan discourages many consumers and is destined to become a niche product.
Hongqi E-QM5 and E-HS9 can be said to be Hongqi's initial products in the field of new energy, FAW Hongqi's flagship super architecture FMEs platform for electrification transformation, and the first model under the platform - Hongqi EH7, and more future products, are the highlight of Hongqi's new energy field.
With the increasing maturity of the new energy technology route, the pure electric medium and large car market is becoming a new focus of competition among major car companies. Chery teamed up with Huawei to launch the Zhijie S7, Dongfeng Yipai's new eπ07, the popular sales of Zeekrypton 001 (parameter | inquiry), Zhiji L7 (parameter | inquiry), the champion version of BYD and many other models, including Xiaomi SU7 and other blockbuster products, are fiercely competing in this market segment. At this time, Hongqi Automobile must show sufficient competitive advantages in multiple dimensions such as product strength, sales channel construction and delivery efficiency to ensure that it stands out in the fierce market competition and successfully completes the transformation.
05. For the cake of new energy, Hongqi should eat more
According to Liu Yigong, the retail sales of the Hongqi brand will exceed 370,000 units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 29.5%, achieving positive growth for six consecutive years. Among them, the retail sales of new energy exceeded 85,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 135%, and the penetration rate was as high as 23%, ranking first in the penetration rate of new energy of traditional luxury brands.
In terms of product planning, Hongqi plans to launch about 16 new vehicles this year, including 4 pure electric models and 12 gasoline and hybrid models, covering light buses, SUVs, sedans and MPVs. Among them, the new energy models include two annual facelift models, the new E-QM5 560km model and the new E-HS9, and two new models, namely the two new models of Hongqi New Energy, Hongqi EH7, and the unlisted E202 (EHS7), the new car will be a pure electric SUV model. Therefore, these four models this year shoulder the key to the strategic transformation of Hongqi brand's new energy strategy. In addition, the FAW Group plans to launch a total of 30 new energy products in more than two years until 2025, including 24 new energy products of its own brand. Among them, in the field of passenger cars, the Hongqi brand will launch 8 new energy products.
Write at the end
In today's era, change has become the unavoidable norm, and those pioneers who have the courage to be at the forefront of the times are the key force to drive the times forward. With the birth of Hongqi EH7 as a new starting point, the Hongqi brand adheres to the national team-like responsibility and lofty mission and responsibility, and what it shows is the vigorous attitude of changing with each passing day, as well as the spiritual core of "daring to try and innovation" contained in the city of Shenzhen.