This article is reproduced from the public account “autocarweekly”.
Author: Karakush
Last night, NIO released the 2021 NIO ONE.
An annual facelift that gives people the illusion of a century-old car, ninety percent of which comes from the overwhelming applause at the scene, which can be said to be a soul-stirring moment. However, the crowd of a hundred people created the momentum of an army of thousands, indicating that this new model is indeed new in the hearts of car owners.
According to the press release, the 2021 NIO ONE is based on the 2020 product strength and has conducted comprehensive upgrades on “extended-range electric systems, NIO AD advanced driver assistance, intelligent cockpit, and passenger comfort”.
That foundation was the sales champion of new energy SUVs in 2020 and also the sales champion of domestically produced cars over CNY 300,000.
Isn’t it amazing?
No, it’s not. The invincible is not lonely, NIO has proposed a metaphysical new proposition for themselves: “How to create an intelligent electric car that makes families happier.” It is really perplexing: Why can an SUV “make families happier”? Isn’t it beyond the scope?
Seeing is better than imagining. Through unscientific statistical analysis of the applause volume on the spot, it was found that the three upgrades that impressed car owners the most were indeed centered on the old-fashioned male highlights of “making families happier”:
Firstly, longer lasting.
The 2021 NEDC comprehensive range has been increased from the original 800 km to 1080 km, deepening the mileage anxiety — “how can you bear to let your family wait for charging?”
On the one hand, a larger fuel tank was simply given with a capacity increase of 10 L to 55 L; on the other hand, a new permanent magnet motor was adopted, and the efficiency of the intelligent power generation system was optimized. In the mode of fuel power generation, the thermal engine oil consumption dropped to 6.05 L/100 km, which is “definitely top-level among large SUVs with four-wheel drive.”
Many friends like to directly compare this data with Camry. Li Xiang said, don’t compare like this, compare with the same level to be scientific.
A reasonable reference has been raised. The all-new HIGHLANDER unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show, after switching to the 2.5 L hybrid system, announced a fuel consumption of 6.1 L/100 km. It is indeed a precise win.
At the same time, the NEDC pure electric comprehensive range has also slightly increased to 188 km. In actual use, pure electric power is more frequently used than imagined. According to the data released at the press conference, 94% of NIO users have stable charging conditions, and 80% of the mileage in the city is actually driven by pure electric power. The cost per kilometer of travel is less than one cent.
Secondly, better for protection of waist.
The interior has been finely processed, including a newly designed steering wheel, newly shaped door panels, and frameless internal rearview mirrors. The most popular feature is the seats, which not only have added comfort sponge, but also have electric lumbar support massage as standard for the first and second row of four seats, providing travel health care anytime, anywhere.
Is this the hot spot of the whole scene? Even existing car owners can upgrade their seats by simply switching them out, with specific plans to be released in the third quarter.
Additionally, the size and space have been slightly increased. In the Ideal Car Owner research, space was mentioned as the most important reason and advantage for buying and using a car. The new model directly canceled the seven-seat version, which took up space and was not very practical, and only provided a six-seat version, as 96% of users chose it.
Thirdly, it can discharge power to the outside.
This feature, which has been on the market for a long time, can support a series of electrical appliances in advertising pictures, allowing people to enjoy the occasional camping time; on the road, it “can provide support for other electric vehicles,” giving people a sense of confidence, kindness, and happiness.
Li Xiang summarized, “This is a milk car.” So, all the fathers were happy.
It is strange that, based on the road experience of our colleague Jiang Xiaohua, he believes that there are many female car owners of the Ideal ONE. However, looking at the scene, it seems like a gathering of straight male car enthusiasts, with no lack of some cute ones, making people feel like they’re in an Eastwood movie, full of vitality.
Of course, the most significant update this time is the higher-level automatic driving ability. After all, the new model is priced 10,000 yuan higher than the old model, with most of the cost in the AD high-level auxiliary driving system. With the upgrade from L2 to NOA navigation-assisted driving, the Ideal has caught up with the current market.
It can achieve more precise acceleration and lane changes on some closed roads, and can identify traffic lights, barrels, and roadblocks. In addition, it is equipped with a fully automatic parking assistance system.
But Ideal still maintains its own way of pursuing perfection.
On the hardware side, it is different. The latest Journey® 3 autopilot chip from Horizon, originally Mobileye EyeQ4, is used with two chips. According to the official website of Horizon, its equivalent computing power is greater than or equal to 5 AI TOPS. The value is not easy to understand, but this chip launched by Horizon for advanced driver assistance seems to be unconcerned with the prosperity and noise background where competitors are competing to reach hundreds or thousands of computing power.
Of course, what specifications to use cannot just rely on parameters, but depends on functional scenarios, solutions, and algorithms.
The ideal solution is a high-precision map combined with vision. At the perception level, an impressive device has been updated, which is the world’s first mass-produced and delivered 8 million pixel visual recognition camera with recognition accuracy reaching 4K level. Its effective visual distance reaches 200 meters, and the angle reaches 120°. It is said that compared with ordinary cameras on the market, the close-range blind area will be smaller, the safety will be higher, the horizontal detection range will be wider, and it will have stronger perception ability for ramps and large curves. At the same time, the number of millimeter-wave radars has increased to 5, and all of them use Bosch’s latest fifth-generation products.
With its self-developed perception algorithm, as the high-precision map is laid out, the NOA function will be pushed through OTA at the end of September and will gradually cover more enclosed roads. It is worth mentioning that Ideals also suggest that they will provide a lot of guidance and training on the car, mobile phone, and store end to ensure that the advanced driving assistance is correctly used.
This generation gap seems difficult for old car owners to catch up. What can be expected is software updates, such as the intelligent voice system has been restructured, which can perform “free conversation throughout the car” and can achieve continuous free conversation in any position inside the car. From the video, the front-row occupants can selectively turn on or off speaking position permission, and it also supports controlling from a slightly farther place outside the car.
This is basically the situation, with only a standard version and no optional accessories, priced at 338,000 yuan. Two special car paints have been added: Deep Green special pearl paint and Tech Blue special cold light paint, which, like the previous Baby Blue, will increase the price by one yuan.
Compared with the previous generation, it is quite different. However, as a facelift, it seems not so thought-provoking since it is only a product that appears once every three years. A few days ago, Li Xiang wrote a long blog post titled “The Upgrade Mode of Hardware Product Managers,” which I think is quite helpful for summarizing the ideas behind this new product.### Level One
Blindly learning and copying, shallow and love to show off, doomed to fail.
Level Two
Choosing the best products in the industry for systematic comparison in terms of product value, quality, cost, and price to find opportunities and achieve cost-effectiveness, which is the key purchasing factor. Those who can do this are the top 10%, outstanding and less risky.
Level Three
Exploring the essence of user needs. First, we must know clearly who the users are, and then what their needs are, and more importantly, what the essence of their needs is, which is the deep essence that some users cannot express in words. Then, we must dare to make choices.
You only saw the second level, thinking that he was at the first level. But since he said so, he must have reached the third level.
The ideal is definitely to understand the essence of your users. Currently, Ideal ONE has accumulated more than 55,000 car owners, almost all of whom are family users, with more than 75% owning multiple cars, and nearly 90% choosing Ideal ONE as their preferred family car and always giving priority to using Ideal ONE.
As you can see: family, family, and damn * (sweet) * family.
We can see the corresponding choices made by Ideal. For example, the acceleration of this car is a mediocre 6.5 seconds per hundred kilometers. Li Xiang said that extreme speed is not necessary for family travel. A person’s journey is about exploration, while a family’s journey is about happiness.
“We create a mobile home, and our users create a happy home.” In the press release, Ideal Automobile defines this as the meaning of its existence. Think about the name of this company, it really does not forget the original intention of cars and homes.
“At this level, the most important requirement for product managers’ abilities is a rich life experience and a wide range of cognitive knowledge levels. They need to have patient insights into material and spiritual needs. The soul of a product manager at this level is relatively free and not bound by traditional rules,” Li Xiang said at the Changbo Versailles track, “…the cost is either becoming a hit product, or becoming a martyr or madman.”
Reverse thinking, I haven’t really seen where it would be a martyr or madman, so it would probably be a hit product.
This car will start delivery in June. In today’s interview, Ideal Automobile revealed that, with the support of the new model and the acceleration of channel expansion this year, the goal is to sell more than 10,000 units per month in September. It’s not too far away, let’s wait and see.
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.