Orange Persimmon Interactive reporter Tang Dengtao
The biennial Beijing International Auto Show will officially open today. This year's Beijing Auto Show (18th) is not only its first return after a four-year absence, but also the first international A-class auto show held in the Chinese market this year, so it has gathered more attention than in previous years, and people are more eager to see the new trend and direction of industry development here.
Judging from past experience, at a large-scale auto show of this level at the Beijing Auto Show, the booth that people pay the most attention to, except for some new energy brands with their own "Internet celebrity" temperament, is the most popular luxury brand. Because the vast majority of luxury brands are multinational car companies, with very strong financial and technical strength, their every move has attracted much attention.
In recent years, the automotive industry has accelerated the transformation to electrification and intelligence, and traditional luxury car companies have not performed well in the new energy vehicle market due to the slow turn of the elephant. However, as the leading luxury car companies are determined to transform to electrification and intelligence, and accelerate the comprehensive transformation, after two or three years of hibernation, they have begun to show considerable strength in electrification and intelligence.
On the eve of the opening of the Beijing Auto Show, whether it is reports from media peers, or the world premiere of Mercedes-Benz pure electric big G and the BMW Group Night event, there is a clear sign: after the traditional first-line luxury brands have made initial progress in electrification, they have taken the lead in entering a new stage of intelligence.
Benz:
The electric big G is stronger and has a better experience, and the MB.OS system will also make its debut
Yesterday morning, the first pure electric production model of the Mercedes-Benz G-class off-road vehicle family, the all-new Mercedes-Benz pure electric G-class off-road vehicle, ushered in its world debut. As the world's first luxury pure electric hard-core off-road vehicle, the electric big G not only fills the gap in the luxury pure electric off-road segment, but also improves the off-road travel ability of human beings to a new height by virtue of its leading electric off-road ability, once again demonstrating the vision and determination of the Mercedes-Benz brand to firmly embrace the future of electrification.
The unveiling of the electric big G also marks the official realization of the electrification of Mercedes-Benz's all-brand production models. As soon as this car was unveiled, it was screamed by the audience, not only because it continued the shape of the family square box and the round headlights that are recognizable at a glance, but also because it retained the famous "off-road three-piece suit" in the electric era: electric virtual differential lock, non-load-bearing body and electric low-speed off-road gear, but also because it showed stronger off-road ability and better off-road experience than ever before with the blessing of digital and intelligent systems - it can conquer steep slopes of 45 degrees, and can also maintain roll stability on steep slopes of 35 degrees, and can also reach 72 degreesU-turn on the spot......
On the one hand, the electric big G is equipped with a powerful and intelligent electric drive system, with four independently controllable wheel motors and an electric two-speed gearbox, which makes it have a peak power of 432 kilowatts, bring a peak torque of 1164 Nm, accelerate to 100 kilometers in only 4.7 seconds, and have stronger off-road ability.®
On the other hand, digital empowerment brings a more immersive off-road experience to the electric big G. The driver can open the "Digital Off-Road Cockpit" interface, and obtain professional real-time data including level, compass, altitude, front and rear wheel steering angle, torque, power, tire pressure, etc. through the digital instrument screen and central control screen, so that driving control is under control. The "Real-time Off-Road Image" function, combined with a 360-degree camera, shows the road surface under the front hood on the center display, helping the driver clearly judge the road conditions and make the best route selection in time.
In addition, this car is also equipped with the second-generation MBUX intelligent human-computer interaction system as standard, as well as a fully upgraded "mind-reading voice assistant", some functions support wake-up word activation, and more than 20 G-level exclusive voice commands, bringing a more convenient cockpit experience to car owners.
In addition to the pure electric big G, the new car equipped with an 800-volt high-voltage platform will also appear at Mercedes-Benz's booth. At this auto show, Mercedes-Benz's next-generation luxury electric vehicle pioneer, the Mercedes-Benz CLA-class concept car, will make its debut in China, and it is said that it will use an 800-volt high-voltage platform to allow users to charge faster.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz's new intelligent operating system MB.OS will also be unveiled at this auto show, this new intelligent vehicle machine system is the first self-developed operating system in the luxury brand, covering the car end to the cloud, with software and hardware system decoupling, to build the next generation of intelligent underlying architecture, can be called the "central nervous system" of Mercedes-Benz's future new cars. MB. OS brings users an industry-leading intelligent luxury experience in functional areas such as intelligent cockpit, autonomous driving, body comfort, and drive charging, and once applied to production models, it will bring a new intelligent experience to Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles.
Bmw:
The new-generation model is equipped with four "super brains", and the intelligent driving experience is comprehensively improved
At the 2024 BMW Group Night last night, BMW and MINI, the two major brands of the BMW Group, also showed a leap forward in the history of the brand: BMW's new-generation concept car made its debut in China, MINI's first pure electric crossover model MINI Aceman made its world debut, and the all-new electric MINI Cooper was officially unveiled in China.
Among them, two MINI brand electric vehicles have been long-awaited by consumers, and their debut officially announced that MINI has entered a new era of electrification. An immersive cockpit full of MINI brand features, the experience is both unique and fun. The cute pet SPIKE even "lived" in the circular screen of the new model, incarnated as a digital companion, with 6 vivid emotional expressions.
More attention has been paid to the unveiling of BMW's new-generation models. The new generation is not the name of a model, it was originally a general term for a series of BMW models that were very successful in the 60s of the last century. With this in mind, the BMW Group has collectively referred to a series of new models that will be launched worldwide in 2025 as the "New Generation", representing another strategic and significant step forward in the design, technology and manufacturing concept of this series, and once again embracing a new future with new vision, new capabilities and new products.
For the first time, the "new generation" models reflect BMW's rethinking of personal mobility and its continuous progress in the field of technology: In addition to the sixth-generation BMW eDrive technology and cylindrical battery cells for the first time in electric drive technology, the energy density, cruising range and charging speed have been significantly improved, and it is even more worth looking forward to in terms of human-machine interaction: they will be equipped with BMW's first-of-its-kind BMW panoramic vision bridge, which represents a quantum leap in head-up display technology.
At the same time, the new generation of models will also adopt a new electronic and electrical architecture and advanced "domain control" design, and an intelligent center composed of four "super brains" to enhance the intelligent driving experience and pure driving pleasure to a higher dimension.
Among them, the "Driving Control Super Brain" is fully developed by the BMW Group, with a 10-fold increase in platform performance, equipped with the new software "Dynamic Performance Control System" developed in-house by the BMW Group, bringing faster and more accurate driving feedback, and the "Driving Assistance Super Brain", which has a 5-fold increase in platform performance, bringing users a safe, relaxed and pleasant intelligent driving experience, and is also fully prepared for the future with a new generation of autonomous driving assistance technology.
"Electrification, digitalization and sustainability are megatrends in the automotive industry that define the cars of the future. BMW's next-generation models combine the core innovations of the future of mobility in three areas. The 'New Generation' is more than just a car, it represents the beginning of a new generation of BMW's product range. ”
Last year, BMW delivered more than 820,000 BMW and MINI brand vehicles in the Chinese market, including nearly 100,000 BMW BEVs, which is a testament to the success of the BMW Group's product strategy. As the leader of BMW's innovation, the innovation achievements of the "new generation" will be gradually applied to all BMW models in the future, which is bound to provide sufficient technical reserves for the intelligent upgrade of BMW's electric vehicles.
Audi:
国产Q6L e-tron在智驾方面或有惊喜
Audi will also bring a blockbuster new car this year. It is understood that the Audi Q6 e-tron based on the PPE platform will make its world premiere at the Beijing Auto Show. The PPE platform was jointly developed by Audi and Porsche, and as a product of the PPE platform, the Q6 e-tron also represents the strongest strength of the Audi brand in the field of pure electric vehicles.
The car was launched in overseas markets just this year, and it is said that it will be locally lengthened and transformed into the Q6L e-tron after being produced in China.
It is reported that in addition to lengthening the domestic version of the Q6L e-tron, it will also make targeted localization transformations in the cockpit, interior, intelligence and autonomous driving fields, and may even add high-end hardware such as lidar to meet the preferences of more Chinese consumers.
According to previous media exposure, the domestically produced Q6L e-tron may become the first product of cooperation between Audi and Huawei, and it may bring a lot of surprises to people in terms of intelligent driving assistance in the future.
In addition, the Audi Q6 e-tron will also feature an 800V electrical architecture, which will enable the vehicle to charge up to 255km in 10 minutes.
Second-tier luxury brands are still hovering outside the door to electrification
Compared with the first-tier traditional luxury brand BBA, which goes hand in hand in electrification and intelligence, the second-tier luxury brands such as Volvo, Lincoln, and Lexus are not only lackluster in terms of intelligence, but have not even touched the door to electrification.
Volvo has long started the transition to electrification, and there are already at least two pure electric models on sale, but whether it is the Volvo XC40 pure electric version or the pure electric coupe SUV C40, the market performance is very average. At this auto show, Volvo will bring a new pure electric compact SUV - EX30. In addition, the Volvo EM90 MPV, which rolled off the production line on February 6, is expected to start deliveries this year, and the Volvo EX90 electric SUV will also start production this year, and deliveries will begin thereafter. However, in the face of the current involution situation of electric vehicles in the Chinese market, I am afraid that even if it is listed, it will be difficult to face the crushing of competing models of new power brands.
Lincoln is even more anxious, when all car companies are vigorously promoting new energy vehicles before and after this auto show, Lincoln is still selling "American luxury". According to the manufacturer's press release, Lincoln once again brought the "American-style living room" into the auto show site at the auto show, and used the "four American-style living rooms" pioneered by the auto show to "highlight the noble and elegant, calm and comfortable posture, and present Lincoln's unique 'luxury has its own way'". In the face of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other competitors have electrified all models, Lincoln still has only a few oil-to-electric products in the market to respond in a hurry, and has no sense of existence in the new energy market.
There is also a brand that has not been found on the road to electrification is Lexus, Lexus not only has no domestic production plan so far, but also very lacking in the new energy product line, so far only UX300e, a perfunctory "oil to electricity" product, electrification and intelligence are greatly behind competing brands.
Although Lexus will bring two concept cars, LF-ZL and LF-ZC, at the Beijing Auto Show this time to convey its brand electrification vision, the production model will not be released until 2026.
At present, China's new energy vehicle market has been at the forefront of the world. Data shows that the penetration rate of smart electric vehicles in the Chinese market has exceeded 35% in 2023. In the first half of April, the market share of petrol vehicles and trams was almost half. In this market situation, for car companies, the pressure of electrification and intelligence can be imagined.
Some people in the industry even believe that the Chinese market has entered the second half of electrification, and the protagonist of the second half is intelligence. At present, it is the time when the inflection point of intelligence has arrived, and intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving have become the focus of consumers' attention when buying cars. For these second-tier luxury car companies, if they don't hurry up, I'm afraid they can only retreat to the third or even fourth tier in the future.
Editor in charge: Tang Dengtao
Review: Shao Yufeng Cheng Jie