2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 973 Finished rolling up the battery roll car machine

P.S.: Only two days left! Don't waste your monthly tickets, cast them now!

After several years of building a good reputation and optimizing the model, the ET5 has gradually become popular in the European market.

There are two reasons.

The ET5's popularity in the European market is due to two main reasons: firstly, the production capacity of European automakers was greatly affected by this incident; and secondly, the ET5 offers a much simpler selection compared to other models with their complex styling options.

The optimized ET5 currently only offers two models: one equipped with a 75kWh battery pack and the other with a 100kWh battery pack, offering CLTC ranges of 550km and 700km respectively.

In terms of appearance and color, the ET5 offers nine colors to choose from, among which Clear Air Pink and Cloud Yellow are exclusive colors for the ET5, while the main color is WILAI's annual color, Space Blue, which is also WILAI's signature color.

Whether it's the exterior color scheme or the interior, everything exudes a sense of luxury and technology. In terms of design, the W100 is worthy of its high-end positioning. In addition, the export models for the European market differ from those in the domestic market in terms of exterior dimensions.

Simply put, it is more suitable for the usage habits of European users, rather than simply pursuing a large size as is the case in China.

As Woolai's first B-segment sedan, the ET5 is a key model that Woolai is targeting in comparison to the Tesla Model 3. Like the Aion series, a lot of effort has been put into the ET5. All models come standard with Woolai's latest NAD (Navigate on Demand) autonomous driving assistance technology, with 19 standard driver assistance functions and 33 high-performance perception hardware, including an ultra-long-range high-precision lidar, seven 8-megapixel high-definition cameras, and four 3-megapixel high-sensitivity surround-view cameras.

In addition, although the Weilai Sentinel System has some privacy concerns, it performs quite well in terms of vehicle safety in actual application, especially in handling traffic accident disputes, which has reduced a lot of pressure on the traffic department.

The interior features the second-generation digital cockpit platform from WILTE, equipped with a 10.2-inch HDR digital instrument cluster, a 12.8-inch AMOLED central control screen, and other advanced WILTE technologies. In terms of power performance, both models come standard with a dual-motor powertrain system.

In terms of safety features, both vehicles use a high-strength steel-aluminum hybrid body, providing solid safety for occupants. They are also equipped with a range of active safety systems, such as automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, and blind spot monitoring.

In terms of price, the ET5 is currently the most competitive pure electric vehicle among all of Weilai's models. With a starting price of 21.98 yuan in China and 3.98 yuan in Europe, it is still very competitive compared to Tesla's starting price of 28 yuan in China and 4.12 euros in Europe.

Whether in China or Europe, even though the Model 3 has been domestically produced and its costs have decreased significantly, the competitive pressure from the US has still forced Tesla to lower the starting price of the Model 3.

In China, the reason given for the price drop below 30 is that it's for subsidies, but in Europe, this excuse doesn't hold water.

It's important to understand that with current production capacity affected, many related products have already started to increase in price, including some in-demand car models that have seen corresponding price adjustments.

This isn't to say that companies are taking advantage of the situation. Rising costs and limited production capacity are the reasons affecting end-user prices. As production capacity gradually increases, prices will inevitably come down.

The popular models from Weilai did not increase in price during the special period in the first half of the year. Firstly, Weilai had already prepared the corresponding inventory beforehand. Secondly, compared with other car companies, Weilai was one of the least affected in terms of production capacity.

Rising costs and limited production capacity are the reasons affecting end-user prices. As production capacity increases, prices will inevitably come down.

This time, the cities selected for official vehicles include Ningbo, Luzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai, which are key cities in the Yangtze River Delta region. Taking Shanghai as an example, the vehicles purchased this time are ET5 models equipped with a 75kWh battery pack, with a CLTC range of over 550 kilometers.

"Being selected as an official vehicle is a great benefit to the marketing of the ET5."

The success of the Audi A6 began with its use as a government vehicle. Being selected as a government vehicle greatly enhances the brand awareness of the vehicle and also serves as a strong endorsement of the safety of the Weilai ET5.

Most importantly, Tan Jincheng knew that for a long time to come, Tesla models would not be able to enter some government agencies, which was one of the points of criticism against Tesla and one of the concerns of some consumers who wanted to buy Tesla cars.

This is precisely one of the opportunities for the ET5 to seize a portion of Tesla's market share.

Despite sales difficulties in February, Weilai still sold 6.78 vehicles in the first half of the year, of which 1.29 were exported, accounting for 19% of the total sales in the first half of the year.

The recovery in sales has also led to a continuous rise in the stock price of Weilai Co., Ltd. From March to June, the stock price of Weilai rose by 28.52% overall, exceeding 200 yuan, and the market value approached 4500 billion yuan.

"Converted to US dollars, that's $651.5 billion, making it the seventh-largest company in the world by market capitalization."

Weilai is now the largest automobile manufacturer in China by market capitalization. However, in Tan Jincheng's view, this growth in market capitalization is mainly due to the growth of its lithium battery business. It should be noted that another major lithium battery manufacturer, CATL, has a market capitalization of over 2000 billion yuan.

Besides Weilai Technology and CATL, other leading power battery companies such as BYD, EVE Energy, and Guoxuan High-Tech have also seen significant increases in market capitalization.

Jinshidai has released new battery technology, and other companies are not to be outdone. BYD made its battery debut on March 29. According to BYD, their battery can be charged and discharged more than 3000 times, supports a driving range of more than 1.2 million kilometers, and can travel 600 kilometers on a single charge. It has already entered the mass production stage.

CATL and GAC have both released their new battery technologies, and SVOLT Energy has also released two new cobalt-free batteries. Technological breakthroughs, large-scale production, and market expansion have brought positive effects to leading companies like BYD.

"The spread of R&D costs reduces companies' production costs, and coupled with increased sales, these factors form the basis for changes in the market value of lithium battery-related companies."

With the rise in sales of new energy vehicles, it is clear to everyone that the power battery industry has entered a period of explosive growth, and this industry boom brings development opportunities to more than just one company.

Related upstream and downstream industries will benefit significantly; of course, the most important impact this year is that the cost of raw materials such as lithium ore, which affect the cost of power batteries, has dropped considerably due to this event.

"The interface could be made simpler, and the operation logic could be made clearer."

Jinxin New Era has made breakthroughs in battery-related technologies. Jinxin Mold, in collaboration with LK Technology, has developed integrated die-casting technology. As a research and development institution for vehicle infotainment systems, Jinxin Power cannot afford to lag behind.

According to the head office's technical standards, if the requirements of the head office cannot be met, Jinxin Power, although a core component supplier, can also be abandoned. Everything is for the sake of selling the car better. If its own R&D cannot keep up, Weilai does not mind introducing other component suppliers.

Recently, it was reported that Liu Fanfan, former deputy general manager of XPeng Motors' Internet Center, has joined NIO as the head of the Navigation and Location Services department, reporting to Zhang Lei, vice president of NIO's Digital Cockpit and Software Development. Liu Fanfan is also responsible for the delivery of the intelligent cockpit for NIO's NT3.0 platform vehicles.

"Is it similar to the operating mode of BMW's iDrive 7 system?"

The person asking the question was Liu Fanfan, the deputy general manager of Jinxin Power. He joined Weilai in early 2018 as the head of the navigation and location services department, reporting to Zhang Lei, the vice president of Weilai Automotive Digital Cockpit and Software Development, who is also the general manager of Jinxin Power.

Like Jinxin New Era, Jinxin Power is also full of talent. The team that develops the vehicle system includes senior technical talents from companies such as Qualcomm, Samsung, Ali, and AutoNavi. Liu Fanfan worked for more than ten years at an in-vehicle navigation supplier before joining Weilai.

Currently, he is in charge of map navigation, vehicle systems and application ecosystem business in Weilai. Zhang Lei is currently on a business trip. When Tan Jincheng inspected Jinxin Power, Liu Fanfan was responsible for reporting on the work.

“That’s right, I think BMW’s system performs quite well, and we can learn from them.”

BMW's iDrive 7 system features a clean and beautiful interface and a clear operating logic. It has performed excellently in some reviews and is one of the best in-vehicle infotainment systems currently available. As a close partner of BMW, Weilai has always been eager to learn from BMW.

As traditional luxury brands, these traditional companies may be slower to adapt to the new energy vehicle market, but their technological accumulation should not be underestimated. They have their own way of surviving and standing strong for over a century.

Tan Jincheng himself has experienced various car infotainment systems, and he thinks BMW's infotainment system interaction is quite good.

"During the development process, you have to treat consumers like fools. The best system is one that even a fool can operate. This is the same as mobile phone systems."

The in-vehicle system developed by Weilai in cooperation with internet companies, technology companies and Meizu is named NIO OS. Currently, Weilai is preparing to push out the 3.0 upgrade for the in-vehicle system.

The overall in-vehicle infotainment system is presented in the form of a desktop map, with complete functions such as music and navigation. It is smoother to operate, and the touch response and resolution are considered satisfactory by Tan Jincheng.

The car navigation system uses its own Gaode Maps, and after the upgrade, it also has a brand-new UI interaction. The center console area still retains some physical buttons, which can quickly control the air conditioning and other functions.

Overall, based on the current in-vehicle infotainment system, from a consumer's perspective, Tan Jincheng believes it is adequate. After all, in 2020, the market is more focused on issues such as power battery technology, range, and safety. Although consumers are already quite aware of the importance of intelligent in-vehicle infotainment systems, there is a lack of comparable examples, so companies haven't been marketing this aspect much.

Currently, only emerging companies like Xiaopeng Motors are actively marketing their in-vehicle infotainment systems on a large scale. Traditional automakers, including Weilai, have not invested much in this area. However, this does not mean that traditional automakers do not value these systems.

Compared to tangible data such as driving range and battery safety, marketing car infotainment systems is actually much more difficult. Just like mobile phone operating systems, every consumer has their own standard for which mobile phone system is better.

When consumers lack awareness, marketing the in-vehicle infotainment system is clearly less effective than promoting one's own strengths.

Liu Fanfan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, let's optimize it a bit more and push it out later."

"Yes, we can do it even better. We've already reached version 3.0, and we must give customers a completely new experience."

Originally, the system OTA push for Weilai was scheduled for mid-July, but due to Tan Jincheng's optimization requirements, the push will definitely be delayed. However, Weilai users did not feel much difference.

"Oh, right, there absolutely cannot be any ads, especially during actual use. If this cannot be guaranteed, then there is no need to push OTA updates to users."

The biggest controversy surrounding in-vehicle infotainment systems lies in privacy protection and optimized ad delivery. In terms of privacy, in addition to technological advancements and improvements in laws and regulations, self-discipline from companies is crucial.

For example, Weilai provides a clear privacy settings entry point, allowing users to view, delete data or turn off data collection functions at any time. Weilai's system also supports one-click export of personal data and allows users to apply for account cancellation.

At the design level, Weilai also allows users to use basic navigation functions without registration. Some models are equipped with a camera cover (such as the ET5), which allows users to manually turn off the camera, eliminating the risk of privacy leaks from a hardware perspective.

Laws and regulations are the bottom line for businesses, but when it comes to protecting privacy, it depends more on the company's conscience.

As for optimizing ad push notifications, Tan Jincheng is well aware of this. Users are far more sensitive to ad push notifications than to so-called privacy. If ads pop up during use, it would be fatal for a self-developed car infotainment system.

"Think about it from a consumer's perspective. If your navigation software suddenly pops up an ad while you're driving, how would your experience be?"

Liu Fanfan was clearly aware of this as well: "We will pay special attention to this. Even if we have to delay the push notification time for a long time, we will continue to work on it if we cannot achieve the best optimization."

The in-vehicle infotainment system is a very complex system. Like a mobile phone, it also needs to be equipped with all kinds of apps, such as music and navigation software, which are all from internet companies. Tan Jincheng knows all too well what internet companies are like.

Even voice software companies like iFlytek want to generate revenue through advertising, and input methods also have this idea. In the process of cooperation, it is inevitable to cooperate with multiple suppliers.

Therefore, advertising optimization is one of the keys to the success of a car infotainment system. An excellent car infotainment system must not display advertisements while driving.

As users jokingly say, if you dare to pop up ads today, you'll have to pay for a membership tomorrow.

Currently, Weilai adopts a "zero-ad" model, displaying partner content only in small quantities in the in-vehicle browser and entertainment system, making the user experience cleaner.

In terms of monetization, it relies on vehicle sales and software subscriptions. In addition, it uses a points system to encourage users to actively participate in brand activities and reduce the interference of passive advertising.

"Yes, we must make it clear to our third-party partners that if they push ads indiscriminately, we will cancel our cooperation with them directly, regardless of the level of the supplier, including our own sister company like Gaode Maps."

"Of course, we must exercise extreme restraint in our own advertising, prioritizing user experience above all else. I want to emphasize that if an ad pop-up occurs while a user is driving, I will hold your entire team accountable."

When it comes to driving safety, users are much less tolerant of car infotainment systems than they are of mobile phone systems. If a car company encounters a situation where pop-up ads or excessive ads occur while driving, it will face a serious public relations crisis.

No matter how well it is handled, it will still be used by consumers and competitors to criticize and point out in the future. To some extent, in the competition among modern car companies, user experience may take precedence over vehicle safety at certain times.

After all, many people may think that a traffic accident that happens to them is unlikely to happen, but for user experience, it is a highly probable event.

Fortunately, Weilai's ecosystem integration is quite good. For example, based on Meizu's system, Weilai has integrated its own music and video apps. In addition, in terms of weather, calendar and voice assistant, Weilai has its own version while integrating Meizu and Orange.

Furthermore, Gaode Maps is entirely in Tan Jincheng's hands. As for internet providers, if third-party partners go too far, such as QQ Music, then Wei Lai really wouldn't mind replacing them.

Although this will affect the user experience, it is still better than having pop-up ads and causing a public relations crisis.

Currently, the variety of apps available in in-vehicle infotainment systems is quite extensive. They can be broadly categorized into navigation, music, video, radio, social networking, app store, and other utility apps.

While not as extensive as Huawei's, Weilai's integration capabilities in this area are far superior to all other automakers, including Tesla.

"The acquisition of Meizu can be said to be the most important step for Weilai in-vehicle system."

Investment in the internet sector is one aspect, but without Meizu's support, Weilai's in-vehicle system would not have been able to complete the crucial integration of resources. Otherwise, Tan Jincheng would have needed to rely on Xiaomi's resources.

Clearly, Xiaomi cannot afford to use its resources with complete confidence. After stabilizing its stock price, Xiaomi has recently been frequently rumored to be manufacturing cars. Although Xiaomi has repeatedly denied this, telling a few small lies is perfectly normal for entrepreneurs.

Moreover, given Xiaomi's business model and the advantages they have gradually demonstrated in supply chain integration, continuous involvement in new industries is one of the prerequisites for driving the company's development. As a result, the number of products is increasing and the scope of cross-industry collaboration is becoming more and more extensive.

The reason they are still denying it is most likely because they are not ready yet.

In the first half of this year, Xiaomi's overall shipments were around 1500 million units, with a market share of approximately 10.3%. Meizu also performed well in the first half of the year, with shipments of about 800 million units. Although it couldn't match Xiaomi's shipments, it was enough for Meizu.

Incidentally, this shipment volume also ensures that Meizu breaks even.

The history between Meizu and Xiaomi is unclear, but judging from the management's actions, there must have been something going on besides Li Nan.

However, the two companies are indeed somewhat competitive. Due to insufficient production capacity, Meizu's new series phones this year were delayed until May 18th, with two versions, both of which are aimed at competing with the Xiaomi 10.

It uses the same Qualcomm processor, screen, 4500mAh battery, and 10W reverse fast charging as the Xiaomi 10. However, its fast charging is slightly inferior to Xiaomi's, while other configurations are similar.

The release of the Meizu 17 is considered by the market to be the most refined flagship model in recent years. In terms of pricing, both the Meizu 17 and 17 Pro are several hundred yuan cheaper than the Xiaomi 10 series.

Meizu's low-end models are directly competing with the Redmi series, with each model being about one yuan cheaper. Meizu's pricing strategy is guided by Tan Jincheng, because they want to boost sales. However, Tan Jincheng didn't manage the flagship models.

In addition to the release of the new model, Meizu also announced the brand-new Flyme system, which has been better optimized in terms of unique design and clean system. For price-sensitive users, Meizu is a good choice.

During the 618 shopping festival, the Meizu 17 series performed well, making it into the top 20 mid-to-high-end models. According to Meizu's expectations for this year, the sales volume of the Meizu brand series may be between 400 million and 500 million units.

In addition to these, Meizu also plans to launch a smart home brand this year, focusing on lighting, control, and security, which is actually targeting Xiaomi.

Normally, Tan Jincheng wouldn't get involved in Meizu's daily operations. He doesn't concern himself with Meizu's pricing or the promotion of new businesses. This behavior of completely targeting Xiaomi makes it hard not to be suspicious.

"Speaking of which, when will Xiaomi announce its car manufacturing plans? This year or next?"

Tan Jincheng recalls that Xiaomi officially entered the car manufacturing industry around this time. Given Lei Jun's capabilities, Xiaomi's car manufacturing was definitely one of the hottest topics in the market. From the mobile phone industry to the automotive industry, Huawei and Xiaomi are competitors that cannot be ignored.

(End of this chapter)