- 2024-06-12
- News
The Trend of Electric and Intelligent Automobiles Remains Unaltered
On November 24th, the 22nd Guangzhou International Auto Show, themed "New Technology, New Life," came to a close. This year's show brought together over 80 domestic and international automotive brands, showcasing a total of 1,171 vehicles, with 78 global debuts and 512 new energy vehicles. Both the number of vehicles on display and the proportion of new energy models reached new highs.
Extended-range and plug-in hybrids rise to prominence
Unlike in previous years where new energy vehicles were primarily electric, this year saw major automakers increase their offerings of extended-range and plug-in hybrid models.
The high-end brand Haobo HL from GAC Aion made its global debut. GAC Aion's General Manager, Gu Huinan, stated that by 2025, the company will introduce a variety of products, including extended-range and plug-in hybrids, to become the "second growth curve" following pure electric vehicles.
The AITO 11 dual-power model was unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show and pre-sales were launched. AITO Technology's Vice President, Yong Jun, said, "AITO will start a new chapter in full-range extended-range layout, and AITO will also become the only high-end brand to offer both extended-range and pure electric dual-power options across its lineup."
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Wenjie unveiled its new-generation super extended-range system. Series Automobile President, He Liyang, introduced that the system is built on the "Series C2E extended-range architecture" and "RoboREX intelligent control technology," achieving three industry-leading advantages: quiet and imperceptible operation, high integration, and high efficiency.
XPeng Motors showcased the XPeng Kunpeng Super Electric System. Kun represents the super extended-range system, while Peng represents the pure electric system. "Empowered by AI, the XPeng Kunpeng Super Electric System can achieve 'dual energy in one car,' with a pure electric range of 430 kilometers and a combined range of over 1,400 kilometers," explained XPeng Motors' Chairman and CEO, He Xiaopeng. Entering the extended-range race, he added, can help models better adapt to different conditions in overseas markets.
Three years ago, the industry was still debating whether extended range was an outdated technology and whether plug-in hybrids were transitional products. Today, not only have extended-range and plug-in hybrids not reached their end, but they have also surged and become one of the mainstream routes in new energy. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that in the first 10 months of this year, pure electric vehicle sales reached 5.83 million units, a year-on-year increase of 13%. Plug-in hybrid vehicle sales, including extended-range, reached 3.915 million units, a year-on-year increase of 85%. "The growth of China's new energy vehicle market this year is mainly driven by the promotion of extended-range hybrid models," said Chen Shihua, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Intelligent driving is on the rise
At this Guangzhou Auto Show, both new forces and traditional automakers are showcasing their intelligent capabilities and future intelligent layouts in various ways.
Changan Automobile changed its new product launch at this Guangzhou Auto Show to a technology breakfast meeting, sharing the latest intelligent implementation results, especially the technical layout and future plans for Changan Intelligent Driving, Tianshu Large Model, flying cars, and humanoid robots.
Among the new forces, whether it was Xiaomi's first participation in the Guangzhou Auto Show or NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng without new car releases, all did not forget to promote their intelligent driving technologies. The day before the Guangzhou Auto Show, Xiaomi's founder Lei Jun live-streamed the demonstration of Xiaomi SU7's parking space to parking space intelligent driving features. Zeekr premiered its full-stack self-developed vast intelligent driving 2.0 end-to-end Plus architecture at the auto show, introducing Zeekr's pioneering digital foresight network on the end-to-end large model.
"The penetration rate of automotive intelligent functions is accelerating, and intelligent driving and smart cabins will become the driving force for the growth of automotive parts. Users' recognition of intelligent functions is increasing," said Zhang Yongwei, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Electric Vehicle Hundred Person Association. He added that computing power, algorithms, and chips are the focus of the next round of investment for automotive companies and are also the strategic fulcrum for achieving competitive migration. However, since these new areas are not the strong suit of the traditional automotive industry, the participation of cross-industry forces such as consumer electronics and communications is needed.
In addition to the HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving booth, where the "Four Realms" family of Wenjie, Zhijie, Xiangjie, and Zunjie was gathered for the first time, Huawei's popularity also permeated various venues, including brands like AITO, Changan Deep Blue, Lan Tu, Equation Leopard, Audi, GAC, and others, all of which are equipped with Huawei's ADS intelligent driving solutions.
"Currently, the domestic market's installation ratio of L2 and above intelligent driving has reached about 50%. As of August 2024, China has issued a total of 16,000 autonomous driving test plates and opened 32,000 kilometers of public test roads," said Wang Xia, President of the Automobile Industry Branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, who believes that AI large models entering vehicles have brought new possibilities to intelligent technology. The continuous breakthroughs in hybrid technology, solid-state batteries, and hydrogen fuel cell technology have also brought new possibilities to electrification and intelligence, and even adjustments to technology routes. The competition in technology remains the main theme of the "second half" of the automotive industry.
SAIC Audi, which has been in a joint venture for many years and has always been low-key, demonstrated a firm determination to transform into electrification at this Guangzhou Auto Show. Audi·SAIC Cooperation Project CEO Song Feiming said, "In the next three years, Audi will launch three new models, with the first model expected to hit the market in 2025."
BMW Group appeared at the Guangzhou Auto Show, showcasing its innovative progress in the intelligent transformation: the development of BMW intelligent driving technology is accelerating, and the "vehicle-road-cloud integration" V2X technology will be "onboard" the new BMW 5 Series in January next year, speeding up the high-order intelligent driving to seize the initiative; the intelligent cockpit continues to carry out local research and development, with the latest BMW operating system developed by 70% of the Chinese team, customized for Chinese consumers. BMW Group President and CEO of the Greater China Region, Gao Xiang, said, "In the future, BMW will continue to increase R&D investment, work with Chinese innovation forces, and give back to the global community."
GAC Toyota Executive Deputy General Manager Wen Dali said, "Under the joint venture 2.0 system, GAC Toyota has launched the 'G-volution 2030,' leaping into 'Technological Guangfu,' and once again challenging the annual production and sales of one million, becoming a leading brand in the era of intelligent electricity."
Dongfeng Nissan released the latest intelligent technology achievements under the "GLOCAL" model, officially unveiling the first pure electric model N7 under the new energy architecture. "We were half a beat slow in the transformation to new energy before," admitted Zhou Feng, Vice President of Dongfeng Limited and Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company. To keep up with the pace of industry electrification and intelligent transformation, future Dongfeng Nissan new cars will widely adopt self-developed architectures. "We will increase our transformation investment in new energy and intelligence, the R&D center will double from the previous 2,000 people in three years, and the R&D investment will not be less than 10 billion yuan," said Zhou Feng.
The elimination is intensifying
Although the price war has been going on since the beginning of last year, and the opposition has never stopped, the smoke of the price war still spread to this Guangzhou Auto Show. This time, SAIC Volkswagen launched a fuel-powered mid-large MPV model, the Weiran, with a starting price of 199,900 yuan, a decrease of nearly 90,000 yuan from the old Weiran; BAIC Jihua's new Alpha T5 terminal starting price is 123,800 yuan, a decrease of 32,000 yuan from the guide price; Cadillac announced on the first day of the auto show that the XT6, which was listed that day, has a limited time offer of 349,900 yuan, a direct drop of 100,000 yuan from the official guide price of 449,900 yuan.
The price war, combined with the industrial transformation of electrification and intelligence, is continuously intensifying the elimination of competition. Compared with the last Guangzhou Auto Show, this year's manufacturers such as Genesis, Jaguar Land Rover, Chevrolet, Subaru, Polestar, Jetta, HiPhi, Venucia, Hozon, and Dayunmotor, as well as brands like Rolls-Royce, Feifan, Yuanhang, and Seres' Blue Electric, have disappeared.
Encouraged by national policies, a large amount of industry and financial capital poured into the new energy vehicle track 10 years ago, and China saw a new round of "car-making tide." "At its peak, China had more than 300 companies lining up to apply for car-making qualifications, and more than 60 new car forces released new energy strategies," said He Xiaopeng, now only more than 10 new car forces have sales, and most have low annual sales. "XPeng Motors has survived the first 10 years of the qualifying competition." In his view, the truly cruel elimination competition has just begun, and those brands that cannot achieve an annual sales volume of 1 million units will not be able to become the final winners.
"In 2014, China's new energy vehicle sales were less than 100,000 units, with a penetration rate of only 0.32%; in the first 10 months of this year, it is close to 40%, and even exceeds 50% for passenger cars in a single month. It is the rise of many new energy vehicle companies and the increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles that have diluted the total sales volume," said Wang Xia. Like fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles also need an economic scale. From this perspective, the fierce market competition and elimination competition are still intensifying, and it will take time for the concentration of the domestic automotive industry to return to an upward channel. However, the overall trend of electrification and intelligence transformation is certain, and what is uncertain is the speed, rhythm, cycle, and changes in the pattern.
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