Although the investment, goals and focus on electric vehicles for a period of time have attracted the attention of the global auto community after multinational automobile companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Foton, and General Motors have issued "alternative voices", and even had a slight impact on local Chinese auto manufacturers, this does not prevent those who identify the market and strike decisively, as is the case with Honda.
On April 16, Honda (hereinafter referred to as "Honda") China unveiled the new electric brand "Ye" in Beijing Wukesong, which directly debuted the concept car Ye GT CONCEPT, Ye S7 and Ye P7 in the world, and released the newly developed intelligent and efficient pure electric "W" architecture (Architecture W), Ye brand products are all from the "W architecture".
Observerly, Honda does not seem to be affected by the "alternative voices" of other international giants on pure electric vehicles, but instead spends heavily on the pace of electric vehicles, which is in stark contrast to the sluggish actions of Honda's Japanese peers such as Toyota and Nissan.
In addition to the two joint ventures, Dongfeng Honda and Guangqi Honda themselves, are building their own electric brands to launch electric products, such as Dongfeng Honda's Lingxi and e:NS series, this time Honda China once again released a new electric brand and unveiled 3 vehicles, which is enough to show Honda's firm attitude towards China's pure electric market.
Honda China's general manager Masayuki Igarashi's remarks at the press conference also confirmed Honda's attitude towards electric vehicles in the Chinese market - giving Honda China's goal in China - the proportion of pure electric vehicle sales in 2035 should reach 100%.
Judging from the timing of the launch of the three models that have made their world debuts, as well as the plan to launch six new models of the Ye brand by 2027, this view can also be supported by Honda's belief that pure electric vehicles are still the direction in the Chinese market in the future.
The former is a sedan and a concept car with a very avant-garde design, while Ye S7 and Ye P7 are two SUVs with a large size. In Honda China's planning, the first concept car Ye GT is the "second bullet" model belonging to the Ye brand, which is planned to be launched in 2025, that is, next year, and the "Ye S7" and "Ye P7", which were unveiled and experienced by test drivers in depth, are the "pioneer" models of the Ye brand, which belong to the "first bullet" model and will be launched at the end of this year.
Honda China's new electric brand Ye simply adopts the new logo "H", abandoning the outer frame of Honda's parent logo H, and directly using the new "H" logo with a larger opening and digitalization, which also shows Honda's determination to build a new electric brand and accelerate the electrification of the Chinese market.
So what kind of electric vehicles does the Ye brand want to build, and is there a big difference between it and the rising local Chinese manufacturers?
At this press conference, Honda China announced the three core values of the Ye brand: "better driving", "more interesting" and "more stylish". Objectively speaking, compared with some local manufacturers who are often boasting, it seems to be extraordinarily low-key and simple. Even if Hu Yihu presided over the product experience hall and talked about the experience on stage, he did not give very out-of-character and exaggerated words.
Honda's interpretation of the brand name as "bright, shining" in Chinese is designed to "allow drivers to enjoy driving to the fullest, release their innermost desires, let everyone's personality shine through, and bring out their authenticity." ”
Easy to drive, fun and stylish, this is the direction that Honda China's intelligent and efficient pure electric "W" architecture (Architecture W) points to. The Ye brand is also independently designed by Honda China's young R&D team, and Honda China summarizes the product technology as follows: "It gathers the world's leading Chinese technology and superior resources, and integrates Honda's latest technology".
Although there has not been much disclosure of the technical characteristics of the product, after all, this is the brand conference, but Honda China has also made some disclosures about the characteristics of the "W" architecture. For example, a large-capacity and high-density battery equipped with a "three-in-one" high-power drive motor and an integrated die-cast all-aluminum shell adopts a specially designed split isolated battery cooling system to protect the battery safety from the inside to the outside.
The "W" architecture is available in both single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor four-wheel drive. Among them, single-motor rear-wheel drive relies on high-power rear-wheel drive motors to achieve a 50:50 weight distribution between the front and rear, while dual-motor four-wheel drive relies on two sets of high-power drive motors at the front and rear, with electronic suspension, and accurately distributes the power of the front and rear wheels according to different road conditions and driving needs.
The chassis features a double wishbone suspension at the front and a five-link suspension at the rear with a high degree of freedom of setability, and Honda's Sport-Tuning technology to better filter out bumps in the road, while reducing roll when cornering, greatly improving the vehicle's pitch suppression.
In addition, it is pointed out that the "W" architecture provides a highly scalable FoD service, which can be selected from a variety of different driving modes or exclusive function settings according to personal preferences, resulting in a more exciting and interesting personalized driving experience that is different from the everyday.
For new brands and new products, Honda does not involve too much "software" rhetoric such as intelligent driving and intelligence, but focuses on "authenticity", not a return, but an inspire, which is obviously different from local manufacturers.
Perhaps in the second half of the year, the technical parameters, performance, and intelligence of Ye P7, the first bullet of the Ye brand, Ye S7, and Ye P7, will be gradually announced, and consumers can intuitively feel what kind of product experience Ye will bring to Chinese consumers.