IAA New Car Review; August Insurance Data Released for New Players; Domestic Model Y Price Increase|E Weekly News

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Many new car models made their debut at the IAA Munich Auto Show

At this year’s IAA Munich Auto Show, many domestic and foreign car companies participated in the exhibition.

  • Volkswagen unveiled its compact crossover pure electric concept car, the ID. LIFE, at the IAA.

The production version of this car will be launched in 2025 at a price of around 20,000 euros.

The ID. LIFE is the first MEB platform vehicle with front-wheel drive. With a 234 horsepower electric motor, it will be able to accelerate to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. The 57 kWh battery pack can provide a range of approximately 400 km under the WLTP standard.

The interior also features a multifunctional space with a game console and projector. The front seats can be fully folded down to create a cinema-like experience.

  • BMW unveiled a concept car and a concept electric two-wheeled vehicle at the auto show.

The design concept of the i VISION Circular concept car is to use 100% reusable materials and all components of the car are 100% recyclable.

The interior components are also made of recyclable materials, and all parts can be easily disassembled for recycling.

As a longtime motorcycle manufacturer, BMW has also unveiled an electric concept motorcycle BMW i VISION AMBY, which combines bicycles, electric bicycles, and motorcycles, aiming to solve the problem of two-wheeled travel in future cities.

  • Mercedes-Benz has brought a lot of good things, with the EQE, AMG EQS 53, EQG concept car, EQS Maybach SUV concept car under the Mercedes-Benz brand, and the smart brand has also brought a pure electric concept car.

First look at the “Trident” EQE, the body size is 4,946 × 1,961 × 1,512 mm, and the wheelbase is 3,120 mm. The power configuration of the EQE 350 model released this time is a rear single permanent magnet motor with a peak power of 215 kW (292 horsepower) and a maximum torque of 530 N·m. The EQE 350 equipped with a 90 kWh 811 ternary lithium battery pack can travel up to 660 km on a WLTP cycle and supports 170 kW DC fast charging.

At the same time, as a global model, the EQE will be produced in two places. The international market version will be produced by the Mercedes-Benz factory in Bremen, Germany, while the Chinese market version will be produced by Beijing Benz. The EQE will be officially released in 2022.


As a representative of Mercedes-Benz performance cars, AMG is naturally not lagging behind in the field of electric vehicles. The AMG EQS 53, which was released this time, has a power of 480 kW (658 horsepower) and 950 N·m, and it will be upgraded to 560 kW (761 horsepower) and 1020 N·m with optional AMG package, with the acceleration of 3.8 seconds and 3.4 seconds respectively and corresponding top speeds of 220 km/h and 250 km/h. It is equipped with a 107.8 kWh battery, and the WLTP maximum range is 580 km, with a maximum DC charging power of 200 kW.

AMG

There are also two high-end concept cars. One is the EQG electric off-road vehicle, which has a similar appearance to the current fuel-powered G; the other is the Maybach EQS concept car, which still embodies the essence of Maybach’s “luxury”.

EQG
Maybach

Let’s take a look at smart again.

A pure electric smart concept car was released, with a size of 4,290 × 1,910 × 1,698 mm and a wheelbase of 2,750 mm, built on the Geely “Sea Horizon SEA Architecture”. The architecture supports OTA for the whole vehicle, and 75% of the vehicle’s ECU supports OTA upgrade.

Smart
Smart OTA Upgrade

  • WEY and Euler, both owned by Great Wall, made their first appearance at IAA.

WEY showcased the Mocha (named Coffee 01 in Europe) PHEV at this year’s car show, using the P2 + P4 architecture and achieving a pure electric range of up to 150 km.

Quick Review:

At this year’s Munich car show, automakers mainly focused on the field of electric vehicles. Currently, the sales of pure electric vehicles have exceeded 10% in Europe, and the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China has reached 16.57%. In the future, the trend of electrification will inevitably deepen even further.

Through the various concept electric products displayed at the show, it can be seen that automakers are all “tagging” themselves to expand into more segmented markets. Volkswagen is trying to make its ID model image more youthful and minimalist fashion, while BMW is taking big steps towards the concept of “environmental protection”. The concept of these products is to reduce carbon emissions from transportation and build clean energy cities for the future. Mercedes-Benz continues to embody its luxury brand philosophy, but in the era of electrification, has embraced more new technologies and designs. WEY is also positioning itself in the European market, exploring more potential in the international market.

Although most of the products released now are concept cars, it is evident that traditional automakers are working hard to enter the electric vehicle industry. Each automaker’s product is trying to find a way to inherit their brand legacy while also striving to break free from the shadow of the gasoline-powered age. It is hoped that more personalized electric vehicle products can enter the market in the future.

August’s New Forces Insurance Data is Out

The insurance data of new forces in August is now available.

Ideal is ranked first with 9,394 vehicles, followed by XPeng with 2,449 vehicles less. There is not much difference in the upper limit data between XPeng and NIO, who rank second and third respectively. The insurance amount of Zero Run and WM, which make up the second-tier, is also approaching the first-tier, and WM may need to step up its efforts. Although ARCFOX’s August data is still decent, it is surprising that Voyah has less insurance amount compared with GAC Aion.

Quick Review:The ideal sales volume has reached 9,000 cars. Ideal ONE is a 6-seat mid-to-large SUV in the 300,000-level, with insurance rates that are better than many high-volume models of brands with lower prices. Since the redesign of Ideal ONE in June, Ideal has been breaking its sales records. We can expect that Ideal will break 10,000 insurance policies in the coming month.

Compared with NIO, Xpeng, Li Auto, and WM Motor, the data of some car manufacturers has slightly decreased. According to the data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the retail sales of passenger cars in August reached 1.453 million, a year-on-year decrease of 14.7%, and a decrease of 7% compared to August 2019, indicating a weak growth. It is the first time since July 2020 that there has been a year-on-year decline. However, in the new energy industry, the wholesale sales of new energy passenger cars in August reached 304,000, an increase of 202.3% year-on-year and 23.7% month-on-month, which is completely contrary to the overall decline in the market. It can be seen that there is still great potential in the new energy market in the future.

Xiaomi’s acquisition of Beijing Hyundai’s factory? It’s fake news.

According to the International Finance News, the news circulating on the web that “Beijing Hyundai intends to negotiate the sale of its second factory with Xiaomi’s automobile business” is a false report, and the news of negotiations and sale is a subjective assumption, and Beijing Hyundai has no relevant plans.

Comment:

After Xiaomi announced the development of its car-making business, any movement will become a hot topic for netizens. This rumor is not groundless either. After Xiaomi’s automobile business announced its registered address in Beijing, netizens began to speculate which factory Xiaomi might acquire. Meanwhile, given Beijing Hyundai’s declining sales in recent years and its surplus factory capacity, and the foreign media’s report of the listing of Beijing Hyundai’s second factory for sale, people began to associate Beijing Hyundai with Xiaomi’s automobile business. However, rumors stop at the wise, and we still need to rely on official announcements regarding such important news.

Model Y also raised its price.

According to Tesla’s official website in China, the domestic Model Y Performance has increased by 10,000 yuan, with the current price at 387,900 yuan.

Comment:Finally, the Chinese market has also seen a price increase. The Model 3/Y had a $1,000 increase in the US market in July this year, but it has increased by 10,000 yuan at once in China, which is relatively higher than in the US. The last price increase in the Chinese market was on May 8th this year, with a $1,000 increase across the board for Model 3.

The impact of chip shortage may have ultimately led to the price increase, but fortunately, some netizens have reported that Model Y Performance is expected to be delivered in mid-September.

MIIT Exposes New Products

On September 8th, MIIT announced the 348th batch of “Road Motor Vehicle Production Enterprises and Products Announcement” new product release, showing the brand new NIO ET7 and ZHJI L7.

About the ET7:

  • ET7’s length, width, and height are 5101mm, 1987mm, and 1509mm respectively, with a wheelbase of 3060mm.

  • The curb weight has two options: 2,349kg and 2,379kg.

  • There are also two tire specifications: 245/50 R19; 245/45 R20.

  • The power level is 480kW.

  • The new car may be equipped with a lithium iron phosphate battery (or a mixed AB phosphate and ternary battery).

Regarding the 30kg difference in curb weight, it is speculated that it may be the weight difference between the 70kWh and 100kWh ternary battery packs, or the quality difference between the iron phosphate and ternary lithium with a unified energy density.

About the ZHJI L7:

  • The ZHJI L7’s length, width and height are 5098mm, 1960mm, and 1485mm respectively, with a wheelbase of 3100mm.

  • The curb weight also has two options: 2,290kg and 2,165kg.- There are three optional tire specifications, front and rear respectively: 225/50 R19, 245/45 R19; 245/45 R19, 275/40 R19; 245/40 R20, 275/35 R20;

  • Equipped with a ternary lithium battery pack;

  • The power level is divided into two versions: single-motor and dual-motor. The peak power of the single-motor version is 250 kW; and the peak power of the dual-motor version is 425 kW.


Finally, the 3,000 spots for the Angel Wheel have been released.

Quick Review:

As rivals in the same segment, the body size of the IM L7 is slightly smaller than that of the NIO ET7, and it offers more options for tire size and wheel hub style, but has slightly less horsepower. The design of both cars looks quite fashionable, but it can also be seen that NIO is more rounded and IM has more of a linear feel in terms of detail design.
Of course, we still need to wait for the formal launch of the vehicles and see what kind of response they will receive once they become available.

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.