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NIO EC6 Price Announcement
On July 24th, the price of NIO EC6 was announced at Chengdu Auto Show. The price ranges from 368,000 to 526,000 yuan before subsidies, and customers can change the battery and continue to enjoy the subsidy of 18,000 yuan from the government.
- The first batch of vehicles will be delivered in late September;
- The sport version of EC6 with 70 kWh battery pack will be priced at 368,000 yuan before subsidies;
- The performance version will be priced at 408,000 yuan before subsidies;
- The signature version will be priced at 468,000 yuan before subsidies;
- The detailed plan for BaaS will be announced soon.
Quick Comment:
Compared to ES6, EC6 comes standard with Microfiber suede roof and high-end audio system; EC6’s intelligent aroma system adds three new fragrances; the dashboard and door panels adopt the delicate Microcloud fiber cloud material; and the Himalayan Brown interior theme is newly offered.
As the coupe version of ES6 on the same platform, EC6 is priced as expected. On this product, NIO has reduced the optional space, and equipped it with ultra-fine suede roof and premium audio as standard, which actually lowers the cost by 6,100 yuan compared to the same configuration of ES6.
To be honest, I am more looking forward to the BaaS plan to be announced in August, which will definitely significantly lower the threshold for buying NIO cars, bringing more benefits to consumers.
Conventional Super Cruise returns to the Chinese market
At the 2020 Chengdu Auto Show, Cadillac showcased a “Super Cruise” CT6, which was launched on July 22. The Super Cruise system is equipped in the top-end and second-top-end CT6 models, priced at 469,700-489,700 yuan, and the cost of buying Super Cruise has been greatly reduced compared to 2018’s 818,800 yuan.
The so-called “Super Cruise” is an assisted driving system that incorporates GM’s Super Cruise to achieve Hands-Free driving. The system was actually launched in North America and Canada in 2017, and entered the domestic market in 2018, but only the top-end models were equipped with this system, so it was a rare sighting among the public.
Quick Comment:
The system has not undergone many changes since its launch in 2017, but the area covered by high-precision maps has increased significantly compared to two years ago, so the overall experience has greatly improved. At this year’s Chengdu Auto Show, we started from Shanghai to experience Super Cruise by driving CT6 ourselves. The performance exceeded my expectations.
The Super Cruise advanced driving system is based on high-precision maps and high-precision GPS. It remains stable even in heavy rain and offers an excellent user experience. However, in some long tunnels, the high-precision GPS signal loss can cause the system to quit.
At the auto show garage, Super Cruise’s North American engineer stated that “Super Cruise is a system designed for all models, so it will definitely be gradually introduced to other Cadillac models.” Currently, in addition to the CT6, the Cadillac Escalade also has Super Cruise installed.
Now that Super Cruise has made a comeback, we strongly recommend that everyone have the opportunity to experience this truly hands-free advanced driving system.
Roewe ER6 Presale Price Announced
On July 24, Roewe, a brand of SAIC, announced that the presale price of Roewe’s new R pure electric vehicle ER6 is between 160,000 and 220,000 yuan at the Chengdu Auto Show.
The ER6 is equipped with a 72.7 kWh ternary lithium battery with a NEDC range of 620 km, and Roewe has also launched exclusive rights and benefits for car owners during the auto show.
The presale price of the ER6 is 66 yuan and customers can enjoy 9 benefits, among which the most innovative is a 2-year, 70% repurchase policy (exclusive for the vehicle-to-battery separation scheme), which can enhance consumers’ purchasing confidence.
Quick Comment:According to the manufacturer’s statement, the ER6 is designed for the younger generation. Judging from the design, interior workmanship, and neat assembly of the ER6, it can be considered excellent in the 200,000 price range, including joint venture cars. However, due to platform constraints, the rear space of the ER6 is the one I personally want to complain about the most. With a height of 177 cm, both headroom and legroom in the rear seats of the ER6 are not spacious.
That being said, with the endorsement of SAIC and a range of 620 km under the NEDC, Roewe EV6 seems to have achieved a good balance in quality, price, and design. It has to be said that in this range, GAC Aion S should be its strong competitor. As for the battle between the two, we look forward to the sales data in the future.
Tesla 2020Q2 Financial Report Released
On July 23, Tesla announced its Q2 2020 financial report, which made a profit for four consecutive quarters and is expected to be included in the S&P 500 index. Let’s take a look at some key data:
- Total revenue of $6.036 billion, up 0.85% from the previous quarter, down 4.94% year over year;
- Total gross profit of $1.267 billion, up 3% from the previous quarter, up 38% year over year, and a single vehicle gross margin of 25.4%, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous quarter;
- Cash and cash equivalents increased by $535 million to reach $8.6 billion;
- The next US super factory site has been selected, and preparations are underway. The construction of the Shanghai Model Y factory is underway as planned and is expected to start delivery in 2021.
#### Quick comment:
During the Tesla Q2 2020 earnings call, Elon announced that the next Gigafactory will be built in Austin, Texas. The Fremont factory will produce Model S & X, while also producing Model 3 & Y for the Western US market. The Austin Gigafactory will produce Cybertruck and Semi, while also producing Model 3 & Y for the Eastern US market.
More compact models and higher-range vehicles may be released in the future, but there is still a long way to go. The Shanghai factory in China is expected to achieve 80% localization of parts by the end of 2020. With sustained profitability, in addition to paying attention to Tesla’s stock, can we also look forward to domestic Tesla prices?
BMW Car System Launches Watermelon Video and Parking Map
On July 27th, BMW Technology Day released three new car system features:
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Watermelon Video is now available on BMW car systems. Car owners can use fragmented time to quickly obtain information, with a speed limit of 5 km/h. QQ music and Himalaya APP appeared on the BMW car system at the Chengdu Auto Show.
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Indoor maps of parking lots showing the layout of each floor within the parking garage. Based on high-quality sensors and high-precision data of the vehicle, the car system can assist the car owner in parking and finding their car.
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Digital car key, where iOS devices can unlock and start vehicles through NFC, replacing physical car keys.“`markdown
Quick Comment:
It’s not surprising to introduce video function into the car system, but after most vehicles are introduced, they can only be used when parked, while BMW limits it to below 5 km/h. Unlike other carmakers who have introduced more apps such as “iQIYI”, BMW chose “Xigua Video”, and each video is only 90 seconds long.
In addition, the indoor parking map function that cannot be ignored is very suitable for the usage scenarios in China. In some complex parking lots, this function can help you find parking spaces and leave the parking lot more quickly.
At the cloud launch event, Jochen Goller, President and CEO of BMW Group Greater China, revealed: “China has the largest research and development network outside Germany, and China will lead the future development of travel.” In addition to the digital car key function, all other features in this release are launched first in the Chinese market. For traditional automobile giants like BMW, I am full of expectations for its China-oriented car system in the future.
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This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.