Nowadays, there seems to be a bad phenomenon in the automobile circle: seeing that independent brands continue to impact the higher-end market, people who pour cold water always say that 500,000 yuan is the ceiling that is difficult for Chinese cars to break through.
However, HarmonyOS doesn't think so. Since its launch, the popularity of Hongmeng Zhixing's Wenjie M9 is needless to say, and the sales volume is the best example: in March, the Wenjie M9 delivered a total of 6,243 new cars, far surpassing the Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7 in the same class, and becoming the first model sales volume of more than 500,000 yuan in China's new forces.
What's more worth mentioning is that in the first quarter of 2024, HarmonyOS Zhixing's Wenjie ranked among the top five in the sales list of all luxury brands in the Chinese market. Huawei, which has been deeply engaged in the automotive industry, is using its strength to change the pattern of the luxury car market.
Huawei has three cooperation models in the automotive field, including the parts supply model, the HI model that provides technical support, and the HarmonyOS Zhixing model, and the degree of participation is increasing in turn. Under the HarmonyOS model, in addition to providing components and solutions, Huawei will also participate in product definition, marketing services, and channel sales, and currently has four automotive companies: Celis, Chery, BAIC, and JAC.
Wenjie is a brand jointly created by Huawei and Cialis. With the successful launch of the M9, it has also made the company among the top luxury brands in terms of sales. It can be seen that to create flagship products, Huawei Hongmeng Zhixing has its own set.
If the M9 supports the flagship position of Hongmeng Zhixing in the SUV market, then who is the sedan. Don't worry, it's coming.
On April 23, STELATO, a new luxury flagship brand for smart electric vehicles, jointly created by Huawei and BAIC, was officially released.
At the press conference, Yu Chengdong, Executive Director of Huawei, CEO of Device BG, and Chairman of Intelligent Vehicle Solution BU, said: "Enjoy the vastness of the galaxy and the boundlessness of the universe. In addition, Mr. Yu also said that the enjoyment of the world will represent the wisdom of the car, to enjoy wisdom, to respect people. For the first model of Xiangjie, Mr. Yu also announced its official name - Xiangjie S9.
As you can see from the name, this will be the same flagship model as the M9. The Xiangjie S9 is the first executive-level luxury flagship sedan of HarmonyOS Zhixing, which will form the "9 Series Dual Flagship" of HarmonyOS Zhixing, which is expected to enter the hinterland of BBA in the large luxury car market.
For a long time, the luxury brands represented by BBA have performed very solidly in the flagship luxury car market. The BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S-Class and Audi A8 are all leaders in this field, and no one can easily shake their status. Therefore, some say that it is an impossible task.
However, the "volume" of the Chinese market has already changed dramatically, and the automotive industry is undergoing major changes unseen in a century, bringing many new opportunities for many brands. However, in the executive luxury car market, the Chinese brand does not yet have a benchmark model.
As a "9 series flagship", referring to the price of the M9, the Xiangjie S9 is expected to be a 500,000-level product. From this point of view, Xiangjie S9 will enter the blue ocean market of 500,000-level new energy cars, and is expected to further enter the hinterland of BBA's traditional luxury cars.
Without smart luxury, it is not worthy of being a flagship
In China, when it comes to flagship luxury cars, people always think of "Daben". Over time, this has also become the abbreviation of Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Daben is comfortable and is the dream car of countless people. Not only that, the BMW 7 Series and Audi A8, which are as famous as the Mercedes-Benz S-class, are synonymous with executive-level luxury flagship sedans and are favored by many high-net-worth individuals.
In fact, it's not for nothing that these top-of-the-line luxury sedans are sought after.
In the past, the top intelligent technology in the automobile industry was first applied in these models, and was continuously devolved to entry-level models, so as to enter the homes of ordinary people. They combine the most cutting-edge development concepts of the automotive industry, and they are also the effective implementation of those top-notch technologies, so that users of flagship products are the first to reflect the convenience brought by technological breakthroughs.
For example, the central control screen of the car machine, which has almost become standard, was only equipped on flagship cars such as "78S" at the earliest, and there are also voice interaction, ACC and other once-leading technologies.
However, with the change of the times and the continuous breakthroughs of Chinese brands in new technologies, many consumers are surprised to find that even for a flagship sedan like "78S", the central control system is so difficult to use.
In the past, traditional in-vehicle systems often relied on the connection and projection of mobile phones, which was not convenient to use. Huawei's Hongmeng intelligent cockpit breaks this limitation and realizes independent voice interaction, vehicle control, entertainment services and other functions through its own powerful chips and computing power, bringing users a smoother and more intelligent driving experience.
The reason why Huawei was able to launch such a disruptive product is inseparable from its years of hard work in the field of intelligent terminal operating systems. As Huawei's self-developed operating system, HarmonyOS has been positioned as an all-scenario, cross-device distributed architecture from the beginning. The HarmonyOS intelligent cockpit is an important layout for Huawei to expand the HarmonyOS to the automotive field.
In addition, even basic functions such as ACC adaptive cruise control can only be obtained by adding an optional option on a model like the "78S". Navigation-based navigation assistance functions have become standard in new models, and the HUAWEI ADS intelligent driving system can realize point-to-point intelligent assisted driving, reducing driving fatigue and greatly improving safety.
In the face of the wave of intelligent transformation, BBA's actions seem to be slow.
This is understandable why, more and more consumers pay more attention to the performance of the vehicle's intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving assistance systems when buying a car. Similarly, this is also an important reason why many BBA owners have gradually begun to choose their own brand new energy vehicles.
There is no doubt that today's BBAs are also undergoing electrification, but in terms of sales, it is clear that they have not been recognized by consumers. Last year, Mercedes-Benz EQE sold 8,471 units for the year, and although the BMW i3 sales performance was not bad, it has been in the stage of exchanging prices for markets, with a price of 200,000 units, which is in strong contrast with BMW's luxury brand image.
If you only look at the executive luxury sedan market, there are probably no other products to choose from except the BMW i7 and Mercedes-Benz EQS. According to the above figures, the sales volume of the i7 in 2023 will be 1,338 units, and the EQS will be 2,272 units, which is not even the monthly sales level of the M9. It can be seen that in the new energy era, the traditional BBA's luxury executive flagship sedan is difficult to meet the new needs of consumers.
It is based on these considerations that Huawei and BAIC have joined forces to create a new flagship luxury sedan - Xiangjie S9. With a length of more than 5.1 meters and a wheelbase of 3.05 meters, this car is the size of a proper D-segment car and the more elegant proportions also bring a comfortable ride experience to consumers.
In addition, Huawei's car BU has experienced more than four years of ups and downs, with a total investment of tens of billions of yuan and five product lines: intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit, intelligent vehicle control, intelligent vehicle cloud, and intelligent vehicle optics. It can be speculated that Huawei's latest intelligent driving and HarmonyOS cockpit and other intelligent innovations will be applied on the Xiangjie S9 and further upgraded.
This is where the confidence of Xiangjie S9 to challenge "78S" lies.
The 9 Series is a dual flagship that breaks the barriers of BBA
Intelligence has always been Huawei's strength and strength.
It is an indisputable fact that in today's Chinese auto market, whether it is intelligent cockpit, intelligent networking, or intelligent driving, Huawei is in the first echelon.
For a period of time last year, there was a lot of heated discussion about AEB, and Huawei proved its technology accumulation in the field of automotive intelligence with actual test results. When Huawei brings its technology system and user service concept to the automotive field, the changes are far more than just the intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving that can be seen on the surface, but also the new response to the ecosystem and system efficiency.
These examples are enough to prove that Huawei's intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving have been recognized by friends, media, and consumers.
"The whole country can be opened, and if there is a road, it can be opened. Mr. Yu's speech at the press conference was by no means an exaggeration. Compared with the high-precision map-based systems of competitors, the HUAWEI ADS intelligent driving system no longer relies on high-precision maps, and can truly enable high-end intelligent driving assistance functions as long as there is a road, truly achieving "nationwide access".
As of April 2024, the total mileage of HUAWEI ADS has exceeded 200 million kilometers, the average mileage of MPI has reached 270 km+, the success rate of urban elevated inward and outbound transfers has reached 99.2%, the computing power of learning and training has increased to 3.3E FLOPS, and the NCA city pilot has covered 40,000+ cities and towns across the country.
In addition, the HUAWEI ADS intelligent driving system also brings more convenient automatic parking capabilities to car owners.
At the press conference, Yu Chengdong said that the Xiangjie S9 will be a new breakthrough in full-stack Huawei intelligent technology. In addition to the expected further upgrade of the software system capability, the photos of the press conference also revealed that the Xiangjie S9 will be the first Hongmeng Zhixing model equipped with electronic rearview mirrors. Compared with traditional rearview mirrors, it is a step forward in terms of aesthetics and intelligent experience, and can also reduce wind resistance and improve the vehicle's range performance.
To put it simply, the e-rearview mirror has a larger field of view, and is even expected to be linked with Huawei's ADS high-end intelligent driving system to provide better hardware support and expand more use scenarios.
Interestingly, at first glance, you will find that it maintains a high degree of consistency with the M9 in terms of design language. The iconic front face, paired with headlights with the same design language, looks smooth and atmospheric. And, after the headlights of the Xiangjie S9 are lit, a brilliant galaxy faintly emerges, making people recognize its flagship identity at a glance.
This is also the original intention of Huawei's design, Xiangjie S9 and Wenjie M9 with a family-oriented design language, coupled with Huawei's top intelligent technology as the support, to build Huawei's flagship matrix of Hongmeng Zhixing.
In order to enhance the flagship status of the Xiangjie S9 in terms of appearance, the Xiangjie S9 is also inspired by the cosmic stars, bringing a new universal color system to present the beauty of the cosmic galaxy. This not only reflects the beauty of the integration of technology and humanities, but also a flagship model of innovation.
Along the way, we will create a new benchmark for flagship luxury and seize BBA's market share. Huawei has actually achieved half of this road, and the big sales of the M9 are the best proof of this.
In March this year, the sales volume of the M9 was 5,446 units, far exceeding the star products such as the Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7 in the same class. This not only proves the strong competitiveness of the M9 in the market, but also indicates that it will play a more important role in the luxury SUV market.
According to Huawei's official data, in the three months since the launch of the M9, the number of large orders has exceeded 70,000, of which more than 15,000 units in March alone. With the success of the M9, the S9 will now take over the second half of the race and go hand-to-head with BBA's flagship luxury sedan.
There is no doubt that the emergence of Xiangjie S9 will build a new image of Huawei Hongmeng Zhixing in the flagship luxury car market with more powerful intelligent technology and a more stylish brand image. In the flagship market, the Xiangjie S9 will also form a synergy with the M9 to challenge BBA's barriers in the luxury market and set a new benchmark for Chinese brands.
At the upcoming Beijing Auto Show, Xiangjie S9 will join hands with Wenjie M9 to form the "Huawei 9 Series Dual Flagship" at the Hongmeng Zhixing booth. This auto show is the debut of the Xiangjie S9, which will undoubtedly make the HarmonyOS booth one of the most popular booths at the auto show again, and it is also a prelude to Huawei's attack on the core area of BBA.