Questioning M7: the familiar "lone brave"

In the description of People, Eason Chan’s "lone brave" has reached the point of being everywhere, everywhere, and singing without children, whether boys or girls, south or north, big cities or small counties.

In my eyes, after a press conference, the M7 in the car industry is more like a well-known lone ranger. On the one hand, before the press conference of the car industry, two online car drivers listened to Huawei, and "Yu Dazui" and "Wen Jie" became the switches that could suddenly open the drivers’ boxes, which really shocked me. On the other hand, in the middle of the listing conference, Yu Dazui mentioned many words such as "best", "top class", "beyond" and "none", and his image has already popped up on the screen.

As a matter of fact, the biggest controversy on the Internet is the statement that "the M7 can surpass a million-class luxury car". Although everyone knows that Yu Dazui boasted too much, he still chose to cross the Guangdong-Hong Kong green code, 24-hour nucleic acid negative, travel card, epidemic prevention and health commitment letter and other multiple inspections, and couldn’t wait to go to Shenzhen Bay Sports Center to see the true face of the M7.

As always, after two and a half hours’ release of new mobile phone products, introduction of smart home and sports health products, mobile travel came on stage with a grand finale and overwhelming applause. Presumably, many people, like me, want to find out these questions, "What is the upgrade of M7 compared with M5?" "Where is the M7 luxury car?" "What is its greatest advantage over competing products?"

As early as the end of last month, I took the first question and the second question to participate in the static tasting of the world M7. It is not difficult to find that obvious family characteristics can be found in the world M7. For example, the middle net in front and the diversion ports on both sides have exactly the same shape, and at the same time, AITO’s highly recognizable eagle-wing taillights have also been passed down.

However, when it comes to minor upgrades, the interior decoration is the most obvious, that is, the crystal gear handle with more texture is replaced. Secondly, the opening mode of the cover plate of the water cup holder with the most spit on the M5 is more reasonable, and the number of wireless charging plates has also changed from one to two. Finally, a hollowed-out design was made at the bottom of the center console, which is convenient for ladies to put handbags and media people to put shooting equipment without occupying seat space.

Although these humanized improvements make Huawei look like a "willing son to teach", Huawei’s idea is to focus on the 0-gravity seat on the right rear side of the second row and the upgrade of the HarmonyOS car system when it comes to real upgrade and luxury.

First of all, the zero gravity seat was developed by Huawei engineers. Through a series of experiments, it was found that when the human body is at an angle of 113, the body will be in the most comfortable "zero gravity" state, which can evenly distribute the weight of the human body to the legs, hips and waist. At the press conference, Yu Chengdong also said that after leveling, the zero gravity seat of M7 can make the highest point of the passenger’s heart and legs on the same level, thus minimizing the pressure of blood supply to the heart and making people really "lie flat".

At the scene, Yu Dazui even moved out of his own Maibakh for comparison. To be fair, when I personally experience the zero gravity seat, two scenes emerge in my mind, namely, lying under extreme fatigue and lying under extreme leisure. The former middle-aged men will have a sense of picture, and their habit of staying in the car for a while when they get home from work is commonplace. However, lying on the zero gravity seat, emptying the mind that is racing against time with one key will surely yield a sense of contentment of "being in the cage for a long time and getting back to nature" The latter is suitable for some minimalist campers, who advocate direct and in-depth interaction between man and nature during the day, and just lie flat on a zero-gravity chair at night and enjoy the leisure at this moment quietly.

All in all, the zero gravity seat can be regarded as a bright spot of the product, but to say that the real upgrade of the M7 in the world is obviously a smart cockpit.

Everyone who has experienced M5 knows how slippery the HarmonyOS intelligent cockpit is. In Yu Chengdong’s mouth, M7 has been directly upgraded to "the best intelligent cockpit in the world, without one". For example, with its new super desktop function, the mobile phone can reach the car directly, which means that the car owner can use the big screen of the car to operate the mobile phone application. Before getting on the bus, the car owner can synchronize the address shared by WeChat to the car, edit the WeChat document and call the car camera to shoot the mobile phone Vlog.

Moreover, the A7 released by AITO today is equipped with the car map service Petal Maps. Compared with other navigation services on the market, its product logic is more meticulous. Petal Maps is based on ergonomics and has a series of humanized safety designs such as dark mode, air conditioning linkage, multi-screen interaction, intelligent voice interaction and intelligent split screen.

To prove its strength, Yu Chengdong described it as "no one can do it". Moreover, in order to further show the smoothness of the car, the M7 also brought Tesla Model Y for comparison, and gave data such as map control increased by 242%, voice interaction increased by 104%, vehicle operation increased by 87%, and application startup increased by 45%.

Although at the press conference that day, BBA and Tesla were always the friends in PPT who compared with M7, the media still tacitly compared them with Li ONE, which returned to the last question-"What is its greatest advantage in comparing competing products?"

I briefly reviewed the press conference of Li ONE in May last year. Compared with Yu Chengdong, Li Xiang liked to use the word "first". At that time, he was still a little shy, and the frequency of using the word "most" was not so high. Li Xiang, who claimed to be a perverted product manager, knew how to successfully make a group of straight men reach an intracranial climax around family needs. To sum up, Li ONE after the change was more durable, waist-protected and motivated. Later, he also went to Versailles Road in Weibo, "… Judging from the current monthly sales of over 10,000 yuan, it is not an exaggeration to label the explosion.

Compared with Li ONE’s outspoken targeting at daddy, the positioning of M7 in the world has a hint of IKEA’s suitability for business. For example, the zero-gravity chair mentioned earlier was specially named with a new word-"new commercialism" at the press conference, which is what I am particularly puzzled about.

From the pricing point of view, the price of the M7 is 319,800-379,800 yuan, which has a little price advantage compared with the ideal unified retail price of 349,800 yuan, but the difference of more than 300,000 pieces is not the most important point for families to buy cars. From the rigid requirements of families for space, the M7 has a wheelbase of 2820mm and a length, width and height of 5020/1945/1775 mm. The obvious limitation is the cramped passenger space and trunk space in the third row. From my own experience, the third rule out the small details such as adjustable angle and cup holder, and the feeling of sitting on it is still like a small bench, which is quite different from the experience of the third row in Li ONE.

In addition, even though the staff of Huawei said that the L2-level assisted driving function was enough, in the final analysis, compared with the most advanced urban navigation assisted driving function implemented on the version of Beiqi Polar Fox α S HI, the "Chinese content" of the world M7 was a little regrettable.

However, in fact, some of the problems discussed above have happened to M5, but when we finally opened its sales list, we all had to admit or underestimate the advantages of Huawei’s terminal sales channels. The sales volume of more than 7,000 units in June is not enough to support its ambition. Sources estimate that the sales volume in July is likely to exceed 10,000.

Admittedly, this is still a long way from Yu Chengdong’s initial "wild talk" of selling 300,000 vehicles a year, but it is quite different from the panic about cash flow at the beginning of the year because the terminal business was cut by half year-on-year. Now, if Huawei can subvert the reform of domestic automobile channels through this brand-new car sales model, it is believed that it will attract many manufacturers to reconsider their cooperation with Huawei.

By the way, many people know that there are more than 600 experience centers (which will be expanded to more than 1000 by the end of the year) and 122 user centers in the country, covering the first, second and third tier cities, but this is only the A side of Huawei’s wide channels. As everyone knows, the B side of Huawei’s entire sales and circulation model has been ignored. Before selling cars, Huawei adopted a sell-through sales circulation management model for each dealership. The process of this model is manufacturer-general generation-generation-terminal retailer. It is worth mentioning that Huawei will distribute goods and goods according to the sales environment and user groups of the store. Under the organizational structure of local branches, the implementation efficiency is very high and the profits of channel providers are also considerable.

Yu Chengdong once unabashedly claimed that the team he took was the most combative team, and none of them, mainly relying on Huawei’s strong execution and high efficiency in selling mobile phones. Moreover, since the mobile phone business began to decline sharply, Huawei terminals began to expand various smart terminal products in the whole ecological chain to attract customers.

Therefore, technology empowerment and powerful channels are Huawei’s strong chips and advantages in the automotive field, especially the advantages of terminal sales channels, which will become Huawei’s most proud assets in the future.

summarize

All along, I have recognized a point that Huawei will definitely participate in the whole vehicle manufacturing process as the main force of the national team in the future, and its ambition is not just to be Bosch of China.

But at the same time, I have to admit that there are differences in this view within Huawei, so the smartest thing to do at this stage is to blur its position in the automobile industry. On the one hand, it is a supplier, on the other hand, it is involved in vehicle manufacturing.

In 2019, Ren Zhengfei declared that the newly established "Car BU" had no profit pressure within six years. Many people mistakenly believe that until 2025, Huawei’s smart car business can be trial and error, which means that Huawei can constantly adjust its relationship with the OEM.

Indeed, according to Huawei’s previous ability summarized as "1+5+N" on the vehicle ICT, the current cooperation with Polar Fox is based on the "1" architecture scheme, but the monthly sales volume of Polar Fox is hovering in three digits this year, which is a bit far from the target of 12,000 vehicles in the whole year. After that, there is Aouita. At present, the sales prospect is unknown, but for Huawei, the sales volume in Aouita represents the success or failure of its first stage as an intelligent full-stack supplier without making cars.

It’s only the cooperation from Polar Fox to Chang ‘an that Huawei has developed a new way to appear on the "CHN" platform with a role between technical cooperation and suppliers. After that, perhaps Huawei will have new attempts and new role changes, but the problem is that under the premise of huge deficit in Huawei’s mobile phone core business, this technology that spends a lot of manpower and material resources will not form a scale. Will the boss of that year seriously fulfill the agreement made three years ago? On the contrary, the "Huawei Smart Choice" mode of cooperation with Celeste will continue to deepen. At the same time, Huawei can control the whole process of automobile R&D, production, sales and service step by step, and next year is the key node for Huawei not to build a car for three years. It is self-evident which branch road Huawei will eventually take.

In the eyes of many people, Yu Dazui is a proper car-making faction within Huawei. Two days after M7 went public, he attacked the fuel car without any cover: he suggested that pure fuel cars should be eliminated as soon as possible. Although this kind of Li Bin-style nonsense speech is quite criticized, it also shows the urgency of completing the energy conversion as soon as possible. This transformation needs to be carried out step by step, and it needs to be fueled.

Let me also make a bold guess-Huawei will definitely launch its own brand in the next three years. At that time, the opponent of its first car will not only be BBA, but a new car-making force led by Tesla and Apple. At that time, you can see that China will be the main driver, and it will be a pure electric vehicle equipped with self-developed auxiliary driving function and HarmonyOS cockpit …

As for the M7, it’s okay to stand alone beside the Chrysanthemum brand pure tram!

Wen Meng jun Tao

The picture comes from the network.

Great Wall real name report BYD! Qin/Song PLUS DM is suspected of substandard discharge.

On May 25, Great Wall Motor issued a statement: On April 11, 2023, Great Wall Motor submitted the report materials to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the State Administration of Market Supervision and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and reported the problem that BYD Qin PLUS DM-i and Song PLUS DM-i used atmospheric fuel tanks, which was suspected that the evaporation pollutants of the whole vehicle were not up to standard.

Subsequently, BYD also made a positive response: Great Wall said that the test vehicles were purchased, kept and arranged for inspection by Great Wall, and China Automobile Center (Tianjin) carried out tests on related projects according to the requirements of Great Wall. Strictly speaking, the test vehicle does not meet the requirements of the national standard, that is, it should be sampled, kept and sent for inspection by a third party, and it is required to complete the 3000 km running-in test, while the mileage of the vehicle sent for inspection by the Great Wall is only 450-670 km.

Great Wall Motor reported that BYD's two models involving Qin and Song were not up to standard-Figure 1

Great Wall Motor reported that BYD's two models involving Qin and Song were not up to standard-Figure 2

Great Wall Motor reported that BYD's two models involving Qin and Song were not up to standard-Figure 3

Great Wall reported that BYD Qin/Song PLUS DM was suspected of substandard emissions-Figure 1

Great Wall reported that BYD Qin/Song PLUS DM-i was suspected of failing to meet the emission standards-Figure 1

As soon as the news came out, it quickly fermented in the network. Some netizens even related the incident that BYD transferred the "Wei" trademark to Great Wall Motor for free in 2021 to this report, and thought that Great Wall Motor belonged to "bite the hand that feeds you".

Great Wall Motor reported that BYD's two models involving Qin and Song were not up to standard-Figure 4

Some insiders told Zhidian that Great Wall Motor chose to attack BYD at this point in time, which was more of a "psychological war". As we all know, Great Wall Motor focused on the DHT-PHEV plug-in hybrid market this year, which is the advantage of BYD. The recently listed Haval Xiaolong and Haval Xiaolong MAX directly bid for BYD Song Pro DM-i and Song PLUS DM-i, which shows that the competition between the two private car companies in the north and the south tends to be fierce, and the previous situation of "one family in the world" may be unsustainable.

This article is reproduced from the online auto market. The purpose of reprinting this article on this website is to convey more information, which does not mean agreeing with its views and being responsible for its authenticity. If the content, copyright and other issues of the work are involved, please contact this website within 30 days, and we will delete the content as soon as possible. This website has the final right to interpret this statement.

LI Q2′ s revenue and delivery reached a new high, and it welcomed high-speed expansion with "ideal speed".

  A few days ago, LI released its Q2 financial report for 2023, with revenue and delivery reaching record highs of 28.65 billion yuan and 86,533 vehicles respectively, with year-on-year growth rates exceeding 200%. In addition, the company’s operating capacity continued to improve, and Q2′ s gross profit margin increased steadily to 21.8%, making it a new force in car making and even a star in the entire automobile industry.

  First, focus on the highlights in LI Q2 financial report.

  In terms of financial data, LI Q2 has made a series of encouraging achievements. Revenue reached 28.65 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 228.1%; Operating profit and net profit both climbed, reaching 1.63 billion yuan and 2.31 billion yuan respectively; The gross profit margin increased to 21.8%, and the company’s profitability rose steadily; Free cash flow increased to 9.62 billion yuan, a substantial increase compared with the same period; By June 30, 2023, the company’s cash reserves reached 73.77 billion yuan … Both the positive and positive business trend and the ever-increasing abundant cash reserves have laid a solid foundation for the sustainable development of LI.

  The strong market performance is undoubtedly one of the sources supporting LI’s good business. By the beginning of July, LI had delivered over 400,000 vehicles. From November 2019, when the first Li ONE rolled off the assembly line, to October 2021, when the 100th car rolled off the assembly line, it took 23 months. It took 10 months for 100,000 to 200,000 vehicles to go offline. From 200,000 vehicles to the cumulative delivery of more than 300,000 vehicles, it ideally took 5 months; From 300,000 vehicles to 400,000 vehicles today, the ideal took only three months, which not only explained the "ideal speed", but also highlighted the deep recognition of LI by China consumers …

  At the same time, driven by the hot sales of L series models, LI also showed an accelerated expansion trend. In June, its delivery volume exceeded 30,000 vehicles for the first time, and this highlight performance continued in July; By the end of July, more than 200,000 ideal L series models had been delivered. With the release of its first all-electric flagship model MEGA approaching, LI, which has built a dual technical route of "all-electric+extended range", is worth looking forward to in the future.

  LI is also favored by the capital market because of its positive circulation performance and broad prospects for development. In the first half of the year, the share price of US stocks in LI rose from $21.760/share on the first day of opening to $35.100/share on the last trading day of the first half of the year, with an increase of 61.31%. As of the release date of Q2 financial report, the closing price of LI has risen to USD 42.630/share, with a total market value of USD 44.435 billion, or about RMB 320.118 billion, and it has secured the second place in the market value of China automobile enterprises.

  So, what factors have helped LI to achieve a leap-forward development?

  First, LI’s precise brand positioning and product hard power, which conforms to the development of the industry and has a deep insight into the market demand. With the transformation of China’s automobile industry from big to strong, "upward" development is the only way for China’s automobile. As a "latecomer", LI lacks brand shackles and focuses on the high-end market to give it an inherent advantage; And the sweeping rise has also given it the confidence to wrestle with the traditional luxury giants, and even broken the difficulty of China brand upward.

  In terms of products, in view of the demand of consumers in China and the control of various market segments, the products launched by LI won the hearts of the people. The product distribution of L7, L8 and L9 meets the purchase range of most consumers. The products themselves are not only smart and comfortable configurations such as "refrigerator, sofa, big color TV" that people talk about and even change consumers’ car habits, but LI has also spent a lot of R&D investment on more cutting edges, which has effectively improved consumers’ sense of comfort in car use. For example, in the development of L-series chassis, in order to change the air suspension from the exclusive luxury car of one million to the technology that can be used by more families, LI established R&D centers in the north and south, and developed the intelligent ideal magic carpet air suspension by itself.

  In addition, in order to better serve users, the network scale of stores in LI is also increasing. As of July 31, 2023, LI had 337 retail centers covering 128 cities, and operated 323 after-sales maintenance centers and authorized car body panel repair and spraying centers in 222 cities. The integration of online and offline integrated sales has promoted the improvement of sales and service efficiency.

  Based on the above, LI’s unexpected market performance is also natural. More importantly, the expansion of sales volume has also brought about the appearance of scale effect: the cost of vehicle R&D and production has been greatly reduced. According to the plan, the overall R&D expenditure rate of LI will continue to be stable at around 10%, even comparable to that of large multinational automobile groups; Have more say in the supply chain, so that it has more resilience and anti-risk ability; The geometric growth of brand recognition allows it to cope with the current "price reduction tide" safely, maintaining the price and showing the brand’s strength.

  The rising brand recognition, the continuous hot sale of products, the reduction of R&D costs, the upgrading of business process systems, etc., complement each other with the steady rise of the company’s operating performance, and thus form a sustainable positive cycle.

  Looking ahead, whether it is the company’s own development momentum, the continuous evolution of market demand, or the overall development direction and prospects of the industry, LI will achieve a higher leap.

  Personally, LI’s upcoming first pure electric vehicle will make its product matrix more perfect; Intelligent assisted driving functions such as urban NOA and commuter NOA, which will be pushed one after another, as well as vehicle capabilities that are constantly upgraded through OTA, will continuously enhance user stickiness and brand awareness; However, the company’s insistence on self-research of core technologies and increasing investment in R&D of product core technologies will become the guarantee of product hard strength.

  In terms of market demand, the mid-to-high-end incremental market has gradually become the main battlefield of consumption, which coincides with the positioning of LI. Family users’ demand for car purchase is diversified, but the purpose is clear. LI L7, L8, L9 and the upcoming MEGA can fully meet the needs of various consumer groups.

  From the overall prospect of the industry, new energy and high-end are also development trends. According to the data of passenger car market information association, from January to July, the total retail sales of new energy passenger cars in China reached 3.725 million, up 36.3% year-on-year. In July, the retail penetration rate of new energy passenger cars reached 36.1%.

  Based on the above, it is reasonable for LI to be optimistic about the future.It is predicted that the cumulative delivery volume in the third quarter will reach 100,000 to 103,000 vehicles, up by 277.0% to 288.3% year-on-year, among which the monthly delivery volume of L8 and L9 will exceed 10,000 vehicles, and the ideal L7 will challenge the monthly delivery target of 15,000 vehicles; The quarterly revenue is expected to reach 32.33 billion yuan to 33.30 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 246.0% to 256.4%. In the fourth quarter, LI will deliver 40,000 vehicles a month.