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MIIT’s Opinion: Unauthorized OTA Upgrade of Autonomous Driving Function and Vehicle Parameters Prohibited
On August 12, 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the “Opinions of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Strengthening the Access Management of Intelligent Connected Vehicle Production Enterprises and Products” to strengthen the security management of automobiles from six aspects: data security, network security, software upgrade, functional safety, and expected functional safety, to ensure product quality and production consistency, and promote high-quality development of the intelligent connected vehicle industry.
Comments:
Intelligent connected vehicles are the strategic direction of the automotive industry and are in the early stage of rapid development. There are significant differences between intelligent connected vehicles and traditional automobiles in terms of product structure and function implementation. The basic safety characteristics and technical parameters of vehicle safety are continuously changing. The country has also established a standard system to promote development.
In the process of intelligent development, automobiles generate many safety issues, such as network issues, data security issues, failures of driving automation systems, functional issues that cause road traffic safety problems, and security risks introduced by OTA upgrades. Therefore, the “Opinions” were developed to strengthen the access management of intelligent connected vehicle production enterprises and products, and to clarify management requirements for automobile data security, network security, and online upgrades.
In the future, major automakers cannot upgrade their products via OTA updates without review at the national level. This will further enhance quality control and is also good news for users.
Euler’s New Black Cat and Kitten officially released
On the afternoon of August 14, Euler Automobile held a large-scale fashion show called “Encounter Innovation and Fashion New Species” along with Rui Li. The 2022 Euler Black Cat and the all-new Euler Little Kitten were launched.The new Euler Black Cat has updated LED headlights and a luxurious interior design with a variety of color options, making it more appealing to female users. As an original modified model, the Euler Little Cat is obviously based on the Euler White Cat. The sharp design of the surrounding body and the pattern on the front completely changes the previous cute image of round corners and squares, becoming a cool and trendy car that can be enjoyed by both men and women.
The 2022 Euler Black Cat is priced at 69,800 to 84,800 yuan; the upgraded 2022 White Cat is priced at 71,800 yuan, and the Little Cat version is priced at 79,800 to 88,800 yuan.
Quick Review:
Euler has a thorough presence in the women’s car buying market. At the Shanghai Auto Show in April this year, Euler had a princess castle internet celebrity exhibition stand with a vivid pink princess dream theme. At the just-concluded 2021 China Joy, Euler collaborated with many brands and IPs, held a cross-border press conference like this one. In addition, Euler has broken the boundaries in fields such as beauty makeup and sports events.
BYD Dolphin Officially Released
On August 13th, BYD Dolphin was officially released at a price of 96,800 to 124,800 yuan, with an NEDC range of 301 km to 405 km.
In addition, BYD has launched the “Dolphin leading YOUNG plan” for the major customers during the pre-sale period, which includes many preferential policies. Among them are 2-year interest-free, 40% down payment, up to 4,000 yuan exchange subsidy, and 4 years of free maintenance.
Quick Review:
As the first model of BYD e platform 3.0 and Ocean series, Dolphin targets young users, and the ocean series has younger product settings and a more distinctive new energy attribute. Its product characteristics, price, and range are relatively similar to the currently available BYD e2. Last month, the number of cars insured for the BYD e2 was 2,922. I don’t know if Dolphin will take over the baton from the e2 in the future. However, as far as range is concerned, since it is aimed at young people, the 405 km NEDC will be somewhat insufficient in the middle of 2021.
Evergrande is selling its new energy vehicles and property businesses
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has announced that Evergrande has officially announced the sale of its new energy vehicle and property businesses. Previously, rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Evergrande’s rating from B- to CCC. Evergrande’s rating has been downgraded two levels in the past two weeks.
Quick Take:
Do you remember Evergrande Auto, who showed great ambitions at the Shanghai Auto Show this year? They may not last long.
In 2019, Evergrande made up their mind to enter the new energy vehicle market, signing contracts with five top global automotive engineering technology companies, and established Evergrande Auto, announcing a plan for nine products at once. However, according to Evergrande’s announcement, Evergrande Auto lost 7.7 billion yuan in 2020 and is expected to lose 4.8 billion yuan in the first half of this year. What was once known as PPT car manufacturing is now being sold, and whether Evergrande Auto can successfully mass-produce and enter the market has become a problem.
NIO 2021 Q2 Financial Information
NIO delivered a total of 21,896 new cars in the second quarter of 2021, including 4,433 ES8s, 9,935 ES6s, and 7,528 EC6s.
This delivery volume once again broke NIO’s record (an increase of 9.2% month-on-month and 111.9% year-on-year), confirming Li Bin’s judgment in the first quarter financial report “expected to deliver 21,000 to 22,000 vehicles in the second quarter of 2021.”
In the financial report, Li Bin stated: “In 2022, three new products based on the NIO Technology Platform 2.0 will be launched, including the flagship premium smart electric sedan ET7.”
In Q2 2021, NIO’s automotive sales revenue was RMB 7.9118 billion, an increase of 6.8% month-on-month and 127.0% year-on-year. (Total revenue was RMB 8.448 billion, an increase of 5.8% month-on-month and 127.2% year-on-year). Achieved the Q1 2021 forecast target.
NIO’s total gross profit in Q2 2021 was 18.6%, and the gross profit per vehicle was 20.3%, slightly narrowing. NIO’s total gross profit in Q1 2021 was 19.5%, and the gross profit per vehicle was 21.2%. (By comparison, Tesla’s total gross profit was 24.1% in Q1 2021, and its vehicle gross profit margin was 28.4%.)
NIO’s net loss in Q2 2021 was RMB 587.2 million, a year-on-year decrease of 50.1% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 30.2%.
Quick Take:
NIO accumulated a total of 41,956 deliveries in the first half of 2021, which is equivalent to 95.9% of the total deliveries in 2020.In terms of revenue, with no substantial increase in production capacity, supply chain costs remain stable; however, in the second quarter, NIO made certain concessions to consumers in terminal purchases, including the interest-free policy for cars priced at RMB 200,000 or below launched in June, resulting in a lesser growth rate in NIO’s revenue.
As the tide of new energy vehicles advances, traditional automakers transform, and technology companies get involved, NIO and other emerging forces bear enormous pressure.
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.