Introduction
Although there are many high-end and low-end new energy vehicle models at this year’s Shanghai Auto Show, only NETA U Pro truly pierces into the heart of fuel vehicles like a sharp blade.
On April 19th, the biennial Shanghai Auto Show opened again. The theme of this year’s exhibition is “embracing change”, and one of the important changes is new energy. This is also supported by data. According to monitoring and statistics from Wilson, a total of 88 new cars were exhibited at the Shanghai Auto Show this year, of which 34 were new energy vehicles, accounting for 38.6%.
This is from a data perspective. There are also non-data aspects, such as media attention. It is obvious that new energy and unmanned driving have become the main theme, and even outstanding fuel vehicles can hardly attract attention anymore. This is not their problem, but rather a choice made by the times.
Among the many new energy vehicles, there is one car that we think is the most noteworthy, which is the NETA U Pro. Why?
New energy vehicles have not been accepted by the public, in addition to issues such as short range and slow charging speed, the core issue is high prices, at least higher than competing fuel vehicles. So, when it comes to choosing between similarly-sized electric vehicles and fuel vehicles, the vast majority of consumers still choose fuel vehicles. But the launch of the NETA U Pro tells us that this situation is changing.
First of all, the “range and price ratio” of the NETA U Pro is the best among similar vehicles, and it can get more range for the same price. Secondly, the price directly targets competing fuel vehicles, and has the advantages of intelligent auxiliary driving and other intelligent configurations. Simply put, the NETA U Pro has become the benchmark for similar intelligent electric vehicles, and the first compact intelligent electric vehicle to compete head-on with fuel vehicles of the same level.
So, how strong is the NETA U Pro?
Comparison of similar intelligent electric vehicles, the advantages of the NETA U Pro are highlighted
On the NETA booth at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 19th, when the Chief Marketing Officer of NETA Motors, Jiang Feng, announced that the NETA U Pro would be priced between 99,800 yuan and 159,800 yuan after subsidies, it ignited the enthusiasm of the media present.
Because a month ago, the pre-sale price of the NETA U Pro was still starting at 140,000 yuan. Compared with the prices of similar products at the time, this pre-sale price was not particularly attractive. However, when the final price was announced this time, the starting price of the NETA U Pro is now less than 100,000 yuan, which is incredibly low. The difference of 40,000 yuan caused a very exaggerated reaction from the media present.## Introduction
As a translator in the automotive industry, your responsibilities include English translation, spelling and wording modifications while ensuring that the meaning remains unchanged. Below is the translated Markdown English text with HTML tags preserved, focusing only on corrections and improvements without explanations.
Comparison of Core Configurations of Nie-UPRO and Competing Compact EVs
Nie-UPRO, a compact intelligent electric SUV, has a strong advantage in terms of price and performance. The highest configuration for Nie-UPRO is below 160,000 yuan, with a comprehensive range of up to 610 kilometers, ranking first among its peers. Additionally, it comes with a full range of intelligent driving assistance features. In the market, electric cars with a range exceeding 600 kilometers either cost over 200,000 yuan or do not have driving assistance. Nie-UPRO has both features and is well worth the price.
To fully understand the exceptional price-performance ratio of Nie-UPRO, we compared the core configurations of several compact EVs within the same class, including Nie-UPRO Explore edition priced at 159,800 yuan, Leading edition of WM EX5-Z, and YueXiang edition of Xpeng G3. The comparison of core parameters is shown in the table below.
From the table we compared the space performance of Nie-UPRO to the competitors. Although the three vehicles have similar measurements, Nie-UPRO has the longest wheelbase, which means that it has a relatively spacious rear interior. Our actual experience shows that the rear space of Nie-UPRO is indeed outstanding, and it can even be described as top-notch.
In fact, there is a profound reason for the difference in space performance among the three vehicles. WM EX5-Z and Xpeng G3 are essentially oil to electric conversion models, while Nie-UPRO is built on the Nie HPC pure electric platform, which has a significant four-wheel-corner design and an ample internal space. Additionally, pure electric platform vehicles have better mechanical and driving capabilities than oil to electric conversion models.
When it comes to the most critical factor of range-performance ratio, Nie-UPRO ranks first with a comprehensive range of 610 kilometers, which is 207 kilometers more than WM EX5-Z and 90 kilometers more than Xpeng G3 at the same price of 159,800 yuan. Furthermore, only Nie-UPRO and WM EX5-Z offer L2+ driving assistance at this price point.
In terms of motor parameters, Nie-UPRO has a maximum power of 150 kilowatts, which is between WM EX5-Z and Xpeng G3, but the torque is as high as 310 Nm, ranking first among the three vehicles. The rich motor torque, combined with the lightweight design of the pure electric platform, makes the acceleration of Nie-UPRO only 7 seconds per 100 kilometers, more than one second faster than WM EX5-Z and Xpeng G3.The NETA U Pro undoubtedly becomes a benchmark among its peers in terms of several core configurations of intelligent electric vehicles. With such performance and ultra-low price, the seeds of a best-seller have already been planted by the NETA U Pro.
How does it compare with the benchmark of joint-venture electric vehicles?
Of course, as the new energy market continues to develop, more and more foreign brands have launched intelligent electric vehicles. The Volkswagen ID.4, for example, is a benchmark for joint-venture compact pure electric SUVs. So, how does it compare with the NETA U Pro in terms of competitiveness?
Compared with the NETA U Pro, the overall price range of the Volkswagen ID.4 is 100,000 yuan higher, and its maximum range is only 550 kilometers, which is 60 kilometers less than the former. For the sake of horizontal comparison, only the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro intelligent long-range version, with the same core product power as the NETA U Pro Ignition Edition, equipped with L2+ assisted driving, and a comprehensive range of 550 kilometers, which is its main sales version, can be compared.
As shown in the chart, the motor parameters of the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro intelligent long-range version and the NETA U Pro Ignition Edition are the same, and the latter has an additional range of 60 kilometers in the comprehensive range. As for space, although the body of the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro is longer, the wheelbase of the NETA U Pro still performs better.
Although both the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro intelligent long-range version and the NETA U Pro Ignition Edition are equipped with L2+ assisted driving, the latter is much more comprehensive in terms of intelligent safety and technology. For example, in terms of intelligent safety, the NETA U Pro Ignition Edition is equipped with the unique Transparent A-pillar 2.0 system in the world, as well as the Small you intelligent robot. In terms of intelligent technology, it includes the Sentry mode and other fresh configurations.
Therefore, in terms of these several core points of intelligent electric vehicles, the NETA U Pro Ignition Edition has undoubtedly a stronger product competitiveness, but its price is about 76,000 yuan lower than the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro intelligent long-range version. Its cost performance is very prominent. So, the final question, which is also a very realistic question, is whether the brand advantage of Volkswagen compared with NETA in the new energy vehicle field is worth a premium of 76,000 yuan? I think it’s hard to say.
In the era of fuel vehicles, Volkswagen did have a high brand premium, but it’s not necessarily the case in the electric vehicle era. Judging from the time when new energy vehicles started to take off, Volkswagen started later than Chinese new energy brands, which means that the overall product power of Chinese new energy vehicles is leading, and the market is the most realistic reflection. Currently, the best-selling new energy vehicles are still dominated by pioneers such as Tesla and Chinese new energy brands.The times have changed and we should trust the market’s choices. So, in the smart electric car arena, if the core product feature of the Li Auto Li One Exploration Edition is stronger than that of the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S Smart Long Range Edition, and it is also 76,000 RMB cheaper, would you choose Li Auto or continue to favor Volkswagen’s beliefs?
Compared to other domestic fuel-powered vehicles, the Li Auto Li One has superior smart features
According to Li Auto, the Li One’s minimum price is already less than 100,000 RMB, which not only gives it the power to surpass the same level of smart electric vehicles, but also to overpower the same level of fuel-powered cars. Since that’s the case, let’s do a comparison of the core product features against same-level fuel-powered cars, to see if the Li One has any advantages.
To use the recently popular BYD Song Pro and Changan UNI-T as comparisons with the Li One, all three cars are compact SUVs. Considering the different pricing ranges of the three cars, and that buying a fuel-powered car requires paying the equivalent amount of purchase tax, whereas there is no such cost for purchasing a new energy car, we chose the Li Auto Li One Exploration Edition, Changan UNI-T Deluxe Edition, and BYD Song Pro Automatic Xiaoyun Deluxe Edition.
Looking at the chart, we can see that for the same budget of 130,000 RMB, as an electric car, the Li Auto Li One Exploration Edition provides a 500km range, as well as L2+ assisted driving and other core features. Whereas the Changan UNI-T Deluxe Edition and the BYD Song Pro Automatic Xiaoyun Deluxe Edition are only more convenient for refueling and have a slightly more advanced engine torque, with a weaker aspect being their smart features.
Therefore, for users who can install a charging station at home, or who can accept fast charging and also like intelligent driving assists, the Li Auto Li One is a very good compact fuel-powered SUV alternative. Of course, for users who are particularly concerned about range, they can also spend 160,000 RMB to buy the 610km version. Considering the increasing convenience of charging facilities, range anxiety will be significantly reduced.
What the electric vehicle trend has to say:
Currently, the pure electric vehicle market presents a typical “concave” shape, with continuous hot sales of both high-end and low-end vehicles, and a middling market that’s recessed. We believe that this is fundamentally due to factors such as technology and cost constraints in the middle market, where the product’s strength advantage over fuel-powered vehicles is not significant, making the situation more complex, but of course, it’s also the largest market.How to tap into the mid-range market, the gold mine in the automotive industry? Only through technological innovation while controlling costs, can performance and price achieve a perfect balance. With a price of less than 100,000 and a range of 610 km, as well as L2+ features that cost less than 160,000, the arrival of NIO’s U Pro has not only become a benchmark in the same class of intelligent electric vehicles but also directly challenges the same level of gasoline cars, undoubtedly breaking the product power limit of A-grade electric vehicles.
Therefore, we believe that the NIO’s U Pro, which has emerged this time, has a great chance of becoming a door-knocking brick for opening up the A-grade electric vehicle market. Even though the new energy market is complicated and the road ahead is fraught with dangers, if the U Pro achieves success, it will become the first truly intelligent electric vehicle popularizer.
Therefore, despite many high, medium and low-end new energy vehicle models on display at this year’s Shanghai Auto Show, only the NIO’s U Pro can truly penetrate the gasoline vehicle market like a sharp knife. How can we ignore such a vehicle?
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.