When an industry lacks competition, the leading companies will squeeze toothpaste, which is a natural law.
The compact car market has always been a battlefield for independent brands. Although the compact car is still a relatively fierce area in the new energy industry, the competitors are uneven, and the competition pressure is not comparable to the fuel car market.
A few years ago, from the perspective of endurance, personal consumers seemed to have only BYD products worth buying.
And BYD’s products are relatively inferior in design, quality perception and imagination. Therefore, consumers have little choice in this interval. If you want endurance, don’t expect much from anything else.
Later, GAC found this gap and produced Aion S, a product that is slightly inferior to BYD in terms of endurance, but is stronger than Qin PRO in design, quality perception, and space.
Two years later, this product has achieved considerable results in the market. Its figure can often be seen in the front of the pure electric sales charts.
And Aion S has also shown by practice that consumers in this segmented market do not just recognize BYD.
They need a car with overall strength like Aion S. Even if it is more expensive than BYD or new products.
Today, Roewe has once again filled this gap with a carefully crafted product, ER6, which starts at RMB 160,000 and has an NEDC endurance of 620 km.
Since later, why not go ahead
As the first product of the Roewe R brand, the launch of ER6 can be said to have finally filled the blank of Roewe in the compact pure electric car market.
Before its arrival, let’s take a look at the competitive products of the mainstream “predecessors”.
I listed three cars and their corresponding highest endurance (NEDC) and the entry-level prices of the highest endurance models.
- BYD Qin PRO EV, maximum endurance of 520 km, RMB 189,900
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BAIC New EU7, maximum endurance of 451 km, RMB 159,900
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Guangzhou Automobile Aion S, maximum range of 510 km, priced at 159,800 yuan.
As for ER6, it can travel up to 620 km with a single charge.
As a consumer buying an electric vehicle, the most important factor is the range. The performance of ER6 can be described as stunning, and it’s worth the wait even though it’s the last one to hit the market.
Another important factor is the price, and ER6 is surprisingly competitive:
- 620 km Intelligent Driving version: 162,800 yuan
- 620 km Intelligent Enjoyment version: 175,800 yuan
- 620 km Intelligent Ultimate version: 200,800 yuan
Let me briefly explain the differences between the three versions:
The Intelligent Enjoyment version has more practical and technological features than the entry-level Intelligent Driving version, such as AR real-sight navigation, seat heating, driving recorder, panoramic image, and side-curtain airbags.
The top-of-the-line Ultimate version features more advanced driving assistance and automation technologies, including AEB automatic emergency braking, full-speed-range ACC, lane centering and departure warning and correction, adaptive headlights, rain-sensing automatic wipers, speed assistance system with traffic sign recognition, and memory seats.
You can find the complete configuration of ER6 by replying “ER6 Configuration Table” in our official account backend.
The 620 km range and 160,000 yuan price tag make ER6 very attractive compared to its competitors.
The outstanding range of 620 km is supported by the impressive three-electric powertrain.
The foundation of 620 km range
ER6 uses a 523 formula ternary lithium battery with a capacity of 72.7 kWh.
Some may wonder how this compact car accommodates such a “large cup” of battery capacity, especially with a formula (523) of lower energy density than 811?
The answer is that Roewe has significantly optimized the battery pack structure and achieved a very high level of cell grouping density, reaching a volumetric utilization rate of 60%, a mass utilization rate of 75%, and an energy density of 180 Wh/kg for the battery pack of the ER6 model, despite the limited battery density. This lays a solid foundation for the range of the ER6.
Amazingly efficient motor
Don’t misunderstand the title, the “amazing” here means “amazingly efficient.”
To begin with, the ER6 achieved an ultra-low power consumption of 12.2 kWh/100 km with this 135 kW motor, a reduction of 11.5% compared to before.
This efficiency comes from the industry-leading 8-layer Hair-pin motor with a multi-layer coil structure and extremely low resistance, which also brings high utilization of electrical energy.
This motor has an efficiency of up to 93% at a speed of 14000 rpm, which, in the words of chief engineer Zhu Jun, is enough to cover 90% of the usage scenarios in the rpm range of 0-14000.
Thanks to this motor’s consistently high efficiency across such a wide range, Zhu Jun is confident in the vehicle’s actual range and claims you can “step on it.”
Reliable? The data speaks for itself
As for safety, all Roewe R-branded products meet the UL-2580 standard.
This standard requires that the time from a single battery cell losing control to the occurrence of open flames outside the battery pack must be greater than 30 minutes, which is the strictest standard in the industry, with the corresponding national standard being 5 minutes.
Regarding battery degradation, Roewe provides 8 years or 300,000 kilometers of warranty, with a degradation rate of no less than 70%, for the first generation of vehicle owners.
According to Roewe’s statistics, the median battery degradation after 100,000 kilometers for their historical models is 8%.
ConclusionThe release of the ER6 was a bit late compared to its competitors, but its outstanding performance in the three-electric data cannot be overlooked. In fact, it can be proudly said that it has surpassed BYD and taken the first place.
End of the Competition, Return to Strengths
For me, the outstanding performance of the ER6’s three-electric system is a “pleasant surprise”. Returning to strengths, the ER6 is like playing on home ground.
Intelligent Connectivity, An Old Skill
As the pioneer of “Internet Cars”, Roewe once again indulges in creativity on the ER6.
For example, the SKYEYE system on the ER6 supports face recognition. In the past, the engine ignition could now be done with “face recognition”.
The BYOD multi-user control setting also allows rear passengers to control the car’s media through voice commands. When different users log in to the car system, the system will record their individual custom settings, such as seats and rearview mirrors.
There are many intelligent functions in this regard, such as one-click picking up people and intelligent reminders, but we will stop here.
Design, A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
I think the ER6’s exterior design is okay, but I want to give a good review for the interior design. The blue and white color scheme is fresh and unique, with simple and coordinated lines. It looks particularly innovative in this segment of black interiors.
As for the effect, it’s not worth saying too much, you can see for yourself from the pictures.
Thoughts
I have always believed that Chinese consumers value quality.
If a critical performance of a car can reach mainstream levels, and on top of that, it is refined and beautiful, then it will definitely have a market.
Returning to the topic at the beginning, the market for compact pure electric sedans lacks products like this.
Although driving is a necessity and endurance is a priority, a car is not just a tool.The demand of consumers lies in the desire for a compact and high-quality pure electric family sedan that is good-looking and exquisite with long endurance, even if the budget is less than 200,000 yuan or they are forced to buy a pure electric sedan due to license restrictions.
Some may think this is an exaggeration. Let’s take a look at the following statistics. The personal insurance policies of Aion S sold from January to June this year totaled 5,167, while Qin Pro EV only had 3,686.
This is the result of consumers voting with their wallets.
So, ER6, it’s your turn to perform.
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.