Starting at 189,800 yuan, whose market does BYD want to grab when it launches Hiace 07?

Source of this article: Times Finance Author: Wu Kai

On May 10, BYD unveiled the e-platform 3.0 Evo and its first model, the Hiace 07EV. As BYD's latest-generation pure electric platform, the e-platform 3.0 Evo integrates BYD's world's first CTB vehicle safety architecture, 12-in-1 intelligent electric drive, intelligent wide-temperature high-efficiency heat pump, global intelligent fast charging, intelligent motion control and other latest technology clusters, fully demonstrating the latest intelligent technology.

Hiace 07EV, photo by Times Finance

The Hiace 07EV, the first model of the new platform, is the first mid-size electric SUV in BYD's Ocean Net series, and it is equipped with 12 world-first technologies. Among them, BYD's latest breakthrough technologies such as 23,000rpm (motor speed) world's mass-produced highest speed motor, intelligent upflow fast charging technology, intelligent terminal fast charging technology, and super iTAC are all equipped on the Hiace 07EV.

The Hiace 07EV is available in four versions, with an official price of 189,800-239,800 yuan. After the release of the Hiace 07EV, BYD Ocean Network will gradually form an IP series based on the four major marine creatures of seagulls, dolphins, seals and sea lions.

Want to grab the Model Y market?

Hiace 07EV is the first model of the new Hiace IP of Ocean Network, which is positioned as a medium-sized pure electric SUV with body sizes of 4830mm, 1925mm, 1620mm and a wheelbase of 2930mm.

As the first model of the new platform, the Hiace 07EV is equipped with a number of advanced technologies from BYD, including the DiLink 100, a high-end version of the intelligent cockpit, and the DiPilot 100, a high-end intelligent driving assistance system based on the Eye of the Gods, which supports automatic on-ramp and active obstacle avoidance.

In terms of energy supplement, the new car is equipped with the world's first intelligent upflow fast charging, full-scene intelligent pulse self-heating, intelligent terminal fast charging, intelligent boost fast charging four technologies, the official said that whether it is a public DC or a public supercharging pile, Hiace 07EV can achieve high-power charging, Hiace 07EV 10-80% SOC charging time is as fast as 25 minutes, and the terminal charging time is shortened from 30 minutes to 18 minutes. In extremely low temperature environments, the charging time of the Hiace 07EV can be significantly shortened by 40%.

The Hiace 07EV is also equipped with BYD's world's first high-efficiency 12-in-1 intelligent electric drive system, all of which are equipped with 1200V silicon carbide electronic control, and adopt the world's highest speed motor for mass production at 23000rpm, with a maximum speed of more than 225km/h. This speed exceeds the speed of the previous V6s motor mounted on the Xiaomi SU7, which has a top speed of 21,000rpm.

In terms of vehicle safety, the Hiace 07EV applies a new generation of CTB (body-battery integration) technology, equipped with the world's first endoskeleton CTB safety architecture, and the regional body strength is increased by 60% compared with the industry. At the same time, the new car is equipped with a blade battery and 11 airbags as standard.

In addition, the Hiace 07EV adopts a front double wishbone and a rear five-link independent suspension, equipped with FSD frequency variable damping damper, and the 550 four-wheel drive intelligent aviation version is equipped with the Yunlin-C intelligent damping body control system, and provides iTAC intelligent torque control system, which can match the multi-scene travel environment on the basis of greatly improving driving comfort and handling.

The Hiace 07 EV is the core model of BYD's Ocean Net Gemini strategy. Last year, Ocean.com announced the integration of SUV models into Hiace IP and sedan models into Seal IP to form a twin star strategy. There are no changes to individual models such as Seagull and Dolphin.

Zhang Zhuo, general manager of BYD Ocean Network, said in an interview that the company defines the Hiace as a full series of SUVs, that is, the Hiace series models are all SUV models, covering compact SUVs to medium and large SUVs. In addition to the Hiace 07EV, the Hiace 05 and 06 models will be launched this year.

At present, the Hiace 07EV is in a very competitive mid-size electric SUV market. In addition to Tesla's Model Y, which has been at the forefront of monthly sales for a long time, there are also many popular models in this market segment, such as Changan Deep Blue S7, BYD Song L, Leap C11 and Xpeng G6. Many of these models sold more than 5,000 units per month, and the Model Y sold as many as 47,917 units in April.

In the eyes of industry insiders, compared with the BYD Dynasty Song L, which is from the same school, the Hiace 07EV applies a number of the latest technologies and platforms of BYD Group, which can effectively improve the competitiveness of its products and gain a place in the mid-size SUV market. However, it remains to be seen whether it will be able to rank among the top of the market.

BYD welcomes the big year of products

2024 is a big year for BYD's products. In addition to the Hiace 07EV, it is expected to be launched this year with a variety of models from multiple brands.

During the previous Beijing Auto Show, a number of new cars such as BYD Qin L DM-i, Denza Z9GT, and Yangwang U7 were unveiled at the same time. Among them, the BYD Qin L DM-i is the latest member of BYD's "Qin" series of IPs, positioned as a mid-size sedan. The car is equipped with the DiLink intelligent cockpit system, including a 15.6-inch adaptive rotating suspension pad, on-board ETC, NFC digital key and all-scene intelligent voice function. The Qin L DM-i is expected to be launched in the near future, with a price range of 120,000-160,000 yuan.

The Denza Z9GT is positioned as a luxury flagship sedan, equipped with CTB battery-body integration technology, and provides multi-lidar options, equipped with the "Eye of the Gods" high-end intelligent driving assistance system. According to the company, the E-3 technology equipped with the Denza Z9GT is based on the vehicle intelligence strategy, and is the world's first technology platform that can realize the independent drive of three motors and the original rear-wheel steering at the same time, taking into account both pure electric and hybrid.

Yangwang Auto also unveiled the Yunnan-Z technology during the Beijing Auto Show, as well as the Yangwang U7, the first model. According to reports, Yunlin-Z replaces the traditional hydraulic shock absorber with 4 highly integrated suspension motors, with less energy transmission loss, and directly generates electricity through the suspension motor to achieve energy recovery and charge the battery. As the third model of Yangwang's million-level flagship sedan, Yangwang U7 is equipped with Yi Sifang, Yunlin-Z and the "Eye of the Gods" high-end intelligent driving assistance system.

In addition, the Leopard 8, the latest product of BYD's personalized brand Formula Leopard, will be officially launched in the third quarter of 2024, which is based on BYD's DMO super hybrid off-road platform and is positioned as a large hard-core SUV. Facelifted models such as the BYD Han and Tang are also expected to be launched in the second half of the year.

While launching many models one after another, BYD's market sales and revenue also continued to grow.

In the first quarter of this year, BYD successively launched a number of "Glory Edition" models, which drove the rapid growth of sales of low-end models in its Dynasty and Ocean series. According to BYD's production and sales report, its cumulative sales in the first quarter were 626,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 13.44%. In March, BYD sold 302,000 cars, a year-on-year increase of 46%, ranking first among domestic auto brands.

Although the price of a number of Glory models has been reduced, BYD said that the scale effect has broadened the profit margin, which made BYD achieve a net profit of 4.569 billion yuan in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 10.62%.

In addition to sales volume and profits, BYD's R&D spending has increased particularly significantly. In the first quarter of this year, BYD's research and development expenses reached 10.61 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 70.10%. BYD's single-quarter R&D expenditure is close to the annual R&D expenditure of some car companies, and it is far more than the R&D expenditure of Great Wall Motor, SAIC Group, GAC Group and other car companies in the same period.

"BYD has always adhered to the development concept of 'technology is king, innovation is the foundation'. Technological innovation is BYD's gene and core competitiveness. Lian Yubo, chief scientist of BYD Group, chief engineer of automobiles and president of the Automotive Engineering Research Institute, once said.

It is reported that since its establishment more than 20 years ago, BYD has invested hundreds of billions of yuan in R&D funds, and currently has 11 technology research institutes and a R&D team of more than 90,000 people, ranking among the top domestic car companies.