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Geely Auto Releases Financial Report with Annual Revenue of CNY 92.1 Billion and Launches New Pure Electric Brand Geometry
On March 23, Geely Auto released its financial report for 2020 with the following important data:
· Annual revenue: CNY 92.1 billion
· Net profit: CNY 5.57 billion
· Cash balance: CNY 19 billion
· Cumulative sales: more than 1.32 million vehicles “including 175,000 Lynk & Co vehicles”
· R&D investment: CNY 4.8 billion
In addition to the financial report, Geely officially announced the establishment of Geometry, a new pure electric brand, which focuses on the development of cutting-edge technologies in the field of intelligent pure electric. Geely Auto holds 51% of the shares, Geely Holding Group holds 49% of the shares, Li Shufu serves as the chairman of Geometry, and An Conghui serves as the CEO.
Commentary：
Geometry will integrate various assets and technologies of Geely, including but not limited to electric vehicle model technology, SEA architecture usage rights, brand authorization, three-electric technology, supply chain system construction, and user ecology construction, indicating Geely’s “favor” for Geometry.
Earlier, Reuters reported that Geely Auto plans to launch a new high-end electric brand – “Zeekr”, positioned to compete with Tesla. The official unveiling of Geometry to a certain extent confirms the previous Reuters report.
Should Tesla remind drivers if their attention is not focused?
On March 24, Electrek reported a new report from Consumer Reports related to the Tesla in-car camera issue. It raised a discussion-worthy question: “Should Tesla make timely reminders like most driver monitoring systems if it detects that the driver’s attention is not focused?”Consumer Reports believes that if Tesla already has the ability to monitor attention, it should promptly remind the driver when their attention is not focused, and General Motors’ Super Cruise can already achieve this. Consumer Reports also pointed out that using driver-facing cameras may raise data security and privacy concerns.
Subsequently, well-known Tesla hacker Green, left a comment on Electrek’s Twitter, saying: “Besides fatigue driving and falling asleep, do you think those who play with their phones while driving don’t know that they are playing with their phones?”
Quick comment:
Tesla is often criticized for not doing enough in terms of driver monitoring. Recently, Tesla also confirmed the use of driver-facing cameras in the FSD Beta version to monitor whether the driver’s attention is focused.
As the intelligence of assisted driving systems continues to improve, it may be a topic of discussion as to what extent assisted driving should “assist”. If it is detected that the driver’s attention is not focused, should the system remind them in time?
Green’s comment is thought-provoking. In the process of gradually perfecting assisted driving, humans are still the absolute subject of vehicle control, so it is necessary to remain sober and be prepared to take over at any time when using assisted driving.
Didi may go public in New York with a floating valuation of at least $100 billion.
On March 24, Reuters reported that Didi Chuxing is more inclined to choose New York for its initial public offering. However, due to commercial operations such as the use of unlicensed vehicles and part-time drivers, it may face stricter regulatory scrutiny, and Hong Kong IPO remains an option.
It is said that Didi internally also discussed the possibility of going public through SPAC, but it has limited feasibility considering Didi’s valuation target.
Another source said that Didi is considering repurchasing some shares from existing shareholders and company executives before going public.
Quick comment:If Didi chooses to go public in the US with an estimated valuation of $100 billion, it will be the biggest IPO in the US since Alibaba’s $25 billion listing in 2014. However, there is currently no news from Didi regarding its public offering.
Reports of Didi’s IPO have been ongoing. The earliest plans were announced in 2018, but it was delayed due to several safety incidents related to its ride-sharing services. Didi announced an ambitious international plan earlier this year, and whether or not it goes public, the company will face fierce competition with Uber, its major rival in the US.
Tencent and Baidu executives present at the release of Hengchi intelligent cockpit system
On March 25th, the Hengchi intelligent network-connected system was unveiled by GAC Aion. It is the result of a collaboration with Tencent and Baidu over 11 months.
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It achieves long-distance warning, collision warning, and green wave passage through V2X vehicle-road coordination technology.
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Embracing a 3D curved large screen, it displays nine screens with seven linked displays.
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It is equipped with the world’s first 7nm digital cockpit platform with a customizable vehicle-mounted holographic projection AI assistant “Xiaochi.”
Features such as health monitoring and prompt medical diagnosis in new Hengchi cars derive from the high-level integration of Hengchi cars and other businesses under Guangzhou Auto. This demonstrates the commercial uniqueness of Guangzhou Auto’s business ecosystem.
Aside from being a means of transportation, Hengchi cars can also be seen as a port within Guangzhou Auto’s business portfolio for generating additional product interactions and ancillary services.
Tesla may open its charging network to third-party vehicles
Recently, a video posted by YouTube user Bjørn Nyland showed third-party vehicles using Tesla charging stations.## 2019: Speedway is the brand with the most gas stations in the US, with a total of 3,450 locations. In 2020, Tesla had 908 Supercharging stations in the US and over 23,000 Superchargers worldwide.
To get the subsidy in the Biden Infrastructure Plan, Tesla may partially or fully open its charging network. Third-party users may have to use Tesla App to charge.
The interior design of the EQS, which has the largest screen in the Mercedes-Benz series, has been officially released.
On March 28, Mercedes-Benz officially released the interior design of the EQS:
- About the exterior design
At the beginning of the EQS project, Mercedes-Benz wanted it to be a large electric sedan over 5 meters in length that could carry four people.
Although the exterior of EQS has not been officially revealed, it can be seen from the spy photos that the front of the EQS is very short, and the roof extends from the front to the rear, which Mercedes-Benz believes can provide more spacious space for the passenger cabin.
In terms of data, the drag coefficient (Cd) of EQS has reached an amazing 0.2, which is the lowest among the currently mass-produced vehicles.
- About the interior design
EQS has two styles of interior design. One is the same interior as the new S-Class (W223) that has been released, and the other is the new MBUX Hyperscreen system released in January this year.
This system also uses the popular three-screen design. On top of the three screens, Mercedes-Benz uses a one-piece curved glass. Therefore, the overall feeling is very strong. The width of the glass is 140 cm, and there are 12 sensors below the touch screen. When a finger touches a specific area, the actuator sends vibrations as feedback.
From the picture, you can see that this MBUX system has also officially abandoned the COMAND touchpad, and all operations are completed by touch.
- Other information about EQS
It uses CATL’s 811 formula battery cells, with a total capacity of 108 kWh and a WLTP range of more than 700 km.
Equipped with HEPA filter.
Supports OTA update.
It will be officially released at the Shanghai Auto Show in April.
Note:
From a positioning standpoint, EQS competes with NIO ET7 and Tesla Model S. However, the target audience is quite different.
The all-new EQS has revolutionized its interior design, featuring MBUX Hyperscreen which provides a unique experience unlike any other Mercedes-Benz vehicle, along with many matching designs. However, it is foreseeable that there will be differences in opinions among users regarding the EQS interior. Let’s wait and see the sales performance of mass production.
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.