After a lapse of 135 days, the new Zhijie S7 ushered in the launch "again". And the topic heat brought by this kind of "anti-sky operation" can still blow up the circle of friends.
Even, even Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue sighed that "if China wants to build a good car, it can't do without Huawei". Not to mention, there is a lot of water in this sentence, but at least as the helmsman of a veteran car company, he has also begun to "take the lead".
In addition, the dialogue between Yu Chengdong and Lei Jun, two cross-circle car makers, undoubtedly brought the Zhijie S7 back to the center of the public opinion field of the car circle. It seems that in the body of ZhijieS7, Huawei also wants to tell us the story of the reversal of the new Wenjie M7 against the wind at that time.
After 135 days, the second listing of the Zhijie S7
In fact, the delivery problem has always been a major challenge for new car brands, and many blockbuster products of many new car manufacturers have been trapped by delivery problems, thus losing the marketing enthusiasm they have worked so hard to build.
However, when this problem falls on Huawei, you will find that the most important thing that Huawei lacks is marketing heat. Taking advantage of the large-scale delivery of the model, Huawei chose to hold another new car launch conference with the Zhijie S7, which was previously difficult to deliver, "as if nothing happened" to reintroduce it to everyone.
Under the premise that the heat of public opinion is so "explosive", what improvements have been made to the new Zhijie S7 after 135 days since it was first launched?
A few days ago, at Huawei's Hongmeng Ecology Spring Communication Conference, the new Zhijie S7 was officially launched, with a total of 5 models and a price range of 249,800-349,800 yuan. It is worth mentioning that, compared with the old model, the Zhijie S7 has added two new configuration models:
Zhijie S7 Pro Rear-drive Long Voyage Edition: Equipped with HUAWEI ADS Basic Edition for the first time, the 82kWh Huawei 800V Giant Whale battery is upgraded, and the cruising range under CLTC comprehensive working conditions is increased to 705 km.
Zhijie S7 Ultra 4WD Flagship Edition: Equipped with a 100kWh Huawei 800V Giant Whale battery, the cruising range under CLTC comprehensive working conditions has been increased to 751 km.
It is not difficult to see from these two models that the changes in the new and old Zhijie S7 are mainly focused on the improvement of the intelligent driving system and cruising range. According to Yu Chengdong, Executive Director of Huawei, CEO of Device BG, and Chairman of Intelligent Vehicle Solution BU, "Huawei's cloud computing power for intelligent driving reaches 3.3E FLOPS, learning more than 12 million kilometers per day, and iterating the model every five days. ”
According to the official, in the process of high-frequency iteration and learning, HUAWEI ADS has improved the urban navigation function, achieving coverage of more than 40,000 urban and rural areas, and the road coverage rate of main roads and branch roads is as high as 99.56%. The 192-line LiDAR version with a high number of lines has a maximum detection distance of 250m, and the effective range of AEB automatic emergency braking has also been extended to 4km/h to 150km/h, and the effective range of lateral active safety has reached 40km/h to 130km/h, which significantly improves the driving safety performance of the car.
It is worth mentioning that the basic version of HUAWEI ADS, a pure vision solution, was also unveiled, providing a lidar-free solution that can still support intelligent driving functions such as high-speed NCA (navigation assisted driving) and intelligent parking, of which the coverage rate of high-speed NCA is as high as 99.5%, showing good scene adaptability.
Interestingly, it seems that in order to "echo" the design of the mobile phone holder of Xiaomi SU7, Zhijie S7 "deliberately" canceled the traditional mobile phone holder, and replaced it with an advanced car machine system that integrates Huawei's self-developed HarmonyOS system (HarmonyOS 4), through the deep integration of Hongmeng navigation and driving system, it shows a wave of superiority at the ecological level.
From this point of view,ZhijieS7In terms of in-car intelligence, it is linked with HuaweiMagLink technology,The front central control screen can not only control the conventional on-board system,It can also control the rear detachable MagLink device,Achieve richer entertainment playback,Such as film and television content、Seat temperature adjustment and other functions。 In addition, Huawei Zhijie S7 also introduces Super Power Saving Mode 2.0, which once enabled, it can further improve the comprehensive range by up to 10%, making the maximum cruising range reach 940.5km.
Finally, at the pricing level, the distribution of each model of the new Zhijie S7 is more reasonable, the battery life of the entry car has been improved, and the price of the middle model has been reduced by about 20,000 yuan, and the top part has been added with the same price as the old top configuration"Large battery + dual motor" configuration, which solves the problem that the two cannot be both.
Of course, this adjustment seems to be a big positive condition for new car buyers. But in fact, in the previous round of sales, Zhijie S7 provided 25,000 yuan of optional rights, and at the same time, the color of the interior and exterior decoration that needs to be added can also be covered by the 15,000 yuan of interior and exterior decoration optional gold.
However, on the new model, the 25,000 yuan option and the exterior color option were cancelled, and only the 6,000 yuan interior color option was retained. For old users, Huawei also provides them with 10,000 yuan in cash back and 3,000 yuan in the rear tablet. Therefore, the overall account, in fact, whether it is for new and old users, or for new and old models, in terms of cost performance, it is actually a situation similar to "each playing fifty boards".
Overall, for Huawei, this strategy not only shows a wave of technology accumulation in the entry-level intelligent driving system, but also does not "backstab" the old car owners who have made a decision in advance, and makes up for the shortcomings of the design of the old Zhijie S7 model, which can be described as "doing big things with little money". What's more, after some operation, Zhijie S7 as a "new model", back to the mainstream of the public, which is enough for Huawei.
Yin Tongyue stood on the platform, and the production capacity of Zhijie S7 was worry-free
However, despite Huawei's "best efforts to cover up" and the huge marketing heat. However, the previous delivery problem was still during the second listing of the Zhijie S7, which caused heated discussions in the industry.
Looking back on the previous listing process of Zhijie S7, as early as November 28 last year, Zhijie S7 held a listing press conference in Shenzhen. As the first sedan product under the "Huawei X-world", the Zhijie S7 received more than 20,000 orders as soon as it was launched.
However, because the production capacity could not keep up with the demand, it was not until March this year that the delivery of this car began to be really increased. In the long waiting period, many users choose to unsubscribe. As a result, there have been various rumors in the industry that Huawei and Chery have not been on good terms in cooperation.
In this regard, Yu Chengdong previously explained at the forum of the 100 people that Zhijie S7 is difficult to deliver, mainly because of the shortage of Huawei chips and the relocation of the factory, which delayed the initial production capacity, and gave the expectation that "it can return to normal in April".
Then, at the press conference of the new Zhijie S7, Yu Chengdong used "rain and sting, spring flowers blooming" to show that Zhijie S7 has overcome difficulties and can start large-scale delivery.
What's more, Yin Tongyue, the head of Chery, who did not appear at the previous Zhijie S7 pre-sale and listing press conference, also took the stage in person this time, and made it clear that "Zhijie will be the first priority project of Chery". To this end, Chery has set up a completely independent Zhijie brand division and prepared Chery's most advanced smart factory to ensure the supply of Zhijie S7 orders with the efficiency of "one car off the assembly line in one minute".
It is interesting to note that from the perspective of the bigwigs on both sides, Chery did not hold on to the "mistakes" of its previous partners, but showed a very positive attitude towards cooperation. In addition, Yin Tongyue shouted at the press conference that "China can't do without Huawei if it wants to build a good car", perhaps this does not represent a simple "show of goodwill".
In fact, last year, Yin Tongyue said, "Next year, Chery will be polite in new energy", which means that in 2024, Chery will fully develop new energy to fill the current sales shortcomings of new energy vehicles, and according to relevant plans, Chery will challenge the annual sales target of 4 million units in 2024.
However, the reality is that Chery rarely even mentions specific sales figures of new energy models when announcing sales reports. From the release of the new energy strategy, to the holding of the 2023 Science and Technology Day, to the release of the Fengyun sequence and the iCAR brand, Chery is indeed on the new energy track, as Yin Tongyue himself said: "I got up early in the morning and caught up with a late set".
For Chery, which is still in the catch-up sequence, Huawei's presence is becoming more and more important. However, from Huawei's point of view, since the second half of last year, Huawei's "circle of friends" has been expanding, and a variety of "smart cars" cooperated with Chery, JAC, BAIC and other car companies, which are similar to the Wenjie model, will be intensively listed.
"What you see now is the Zhijie series products cooperated by Huawei and Chery, and the products cooperated by Huawei and BAIC and JAC are also on the way. At the first press conference of the Zhijie S7, Yu Chengdong did not hide his ambition to use the Zhijie S7 as a "cooperation example", and then continue to expand the "circle of friends" of the smart car and even the entire Huawei car business.
And this time, at the Huawei Hongmeng Ecological Spring Communication Conference, the third brand of Hongmeng Zhixing jointly created by Huawei and BAIC has been officially named Xiangjie, the English name is STELATO, and the first model will be named Xiangjie S9, the car may be sold for about 500,000 in the future, and it is expected to be officially released at the Beijing Auto Show.
It can be said that with the implementation of vehicle products with partners, Huawei may regain its influence in the smartphone market on the smart car track. But at the same time, the game between smart car companies has also quietly started.
For Chery, the success of the Zhijie S7 is not only related to its follow-up cooperation with Huawei, but also affects the new energy and high-end transformation of the entire group. At this spring press conference, Yin Tongyue personally stood on the stage and made a "radical" speech that did not match the past style, which can more or less show his reliance on Huawei.
After all, time has changed, and Huawei's influence in the car-making industry today is not what it was three years ago.
避开小米SU7,余承东、雷军隔空喊话
In fact, since the beginning of this year, the hustle and bustle of the car manufacturing circle has not stopped. From the public opinion turmoil of the ideal MEGA, to the sky-high traffic of Xiaomi SU7, to the public apology of Zhiji L6 before, the entire beginning of 2024 seems to be more lively than the car building circle in the past decade.
And this press conference also has a very interesting point, that is, when introducing the car machine system of Zhijie S7, Huawei's executive director, CEO of terminal BG, and chairman of intelligent car solution BU, Yu Chengdong took the lead in "making difficulties", "Why do many cars still use mobile phone holders, I don't understand, but later I understood, it turned out that the navigation performance of the car is not good, and you need to install a bracket to navigate with a mobile phone." Huawei's car does not need a mobile phone holder or mobile phone navigation. ”
Although he did not name his name in this speech, everyone in the circle can see who he is talking about. After all, Xiaomi SU7 has just been launched, and Lei Jun has also attracted many users because of the introduction of Xiaomi SU7's various intimate configurations, among which the mobile phone holder questioned by Yu Chengdong is the most ink.
Dozens of minutes after Yu Chengdong raised a question at the press conference, Lei Jun, the founder, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi, also responded on Weibo. Mr. Lei, who has always greeted questions with a smile, also posted a vote, which attracted more than 250,000 netizens to vote at once. and,Follow-up Lei Jun also posted on Weibo to congratulate ZhijieS7 on the big sale,In contrast, this pattern is directly opened。
Image source: Screenshot of Lei Jun's Weibo
Of course, the war of words between the two bigwigs cannot completely affect the choice of consumers. From the product side, the second release of Zhijie S7 and Xiaomi SU7 are indeed direct competitors. The two cars are almost the same in size, and the intelligence and ecology also have their own merits, and even the model name is invariably eyeing the "7".
This pair of old enemies of smart phones, intelligent ecology and the Internet of Everything is now going to fight in the field of smart cars.
But if you delve into the product positioning, perhaps the competition between the two is not as direct as imagined. In terms of style, the Xiaomi SU7 is more sporty, while the Zhijie S7 is more executive. In terms of pricing, the Zhijie S7 of all gear models is about 2-30,000 yuan higher than the price of Xiaomi SU7.
After all, as the first sedan of Huawei's smart car, Huawei naturally did not plan to let Zhijie S7 directly take the cost-effective route, to fight with Xiaomi SU7 and even Geely Galaxy E8. After all, Huawei still doesn't want to build cars directly, so it needs to maintain a certain price floor in the smart car business in order to leave profit margins for smart car software and hardware solutions such as ADS intelligent driving and Hongmeng cockpit.
At this point, the market-proven advantages of Huawei's intelligent driving are indeed obvious, users can get "spot" intelligent driving, and the speed of OTA and Kaicheng is extremely fast, and the current time of Xiaomi City NOA nationwide opening is August. For consumers who "buy a smart car is to drive intelligently", the temptation of spot is far greater than that of futures.
The car machine system, the two are also completely different focuses, and it is impossible to say which is better or worse. After all, in addition to being able to interconnect with Xiaomi mobile phones, Xiaomi SU7 is also more friendly to Apple users, while Zhijie S7 has a built-in Huawei car machine system, and the intervention of the entire ecosystem is more mature.
In the final analysis, Huawei and Xiaomi are essentially two completely different routes due to the differences in the car-making models of the two sides. Today is the duel between Huawei and Chery and Xiaomi, and tomorrow it may be replaced by the collision between the world and others. Perhaps for Huawei's smart car, whether it can beat itself is the most important thing.
The operation of "secondary listing" can be one or two, and it is difficult to repeat it. Next, whether it can solve the potential production capacity crisis will become a severe test for Huawei's smart car brand. After all, a popular model is not a hit model that waits for production capacity to climb up after it is launched.
(This article was first published on the Titanium Media App, author | Chang Xiao, editor - Zhang Min)