Author: Chen Jianli
After 188 days, the first mass-produced model of GigaCar 001 has finally rolled off the production line, and the first batch of cars is scheduled to be delivered to customers starting from October 23. Finally, the new car that has been awaited for half a year can be mentioned. I wonder how the GigaCar 001 owners feel at this moment?
With a subsidised price starting from CNY 281,000 and a preferential policy of CNY 5,000 off for CNY 20,000 when it hits the market, it means that you can own a mid-to-large-sized pure electric car with optional air suspension/electromagnetic suspension, frameless doors, and a driving range of over 700 km by paying just CNY 266,000. Even a baby who has just learned to speak might not be able to resist saying “This is really awesome!” upon seeing the release price of GigaCar 001.
Do you still remember that on the night GigaCar 001 was launched, it became the protagonist of WeChat Moments and had the highest exposure rate among all cars I have seen since entering the automotive industry. Both automotive media and ordinary consumers find it hard to resist the temptation of the GigaCar 001 price, including myself.
Some of my friends even chose to wait for the launch of GigaCar 001 before buying a car. However, due to the uncertain and relatively long delivery time, the would-be owners who lost their patience directly refunded their deposits and turned to the embrace of Tesla. This kind of case is not uncommon.
On the one hand, the would-be owners complain about the slow delivery speed, and on the other hand, the starting price has been raised to CNY 299,000, which is like pouring oil on the fire. GigaCar seems to have jumped into the fire pit and has been accused of “cutting the leek”. Although GigaCar has responded to the price adjustment by stating that users who have a “big order” and take delivery before July 31, 2021, will still be charged the original guide price, and the adjusted guide price does not include the national subsidy amount for 2022, as a new brand that has just gained reputation and attention, GigaCar may have been a little “ruining its future” by rushing to adjust the price.
After the “price increase storm,” the equity changes of Xpeng Motors have once again alarmed everyone. The major shareholder has changed from Geely Motors to Shanghai Haitong Guyun Motors Co., Ltd. Has Xpeng Motors, which has received the payment, been sold so quickly? Fortunately, this is just an internal capital operation of the large group, aiming to incorporate Xpeng Motors into Geely’s listed company system. No matter how the equity changes, the actual behind-the-scenes BOSS is still Li Shufu.
Although Xpeng Motors has not changed hands fundamentally, the continuous negative news and storms have indeed caused many people to doubt the future of Xpeng Motors. Can Xpeng P7 really be produced? If this is not a scam, why did it take half a year to start delivering vehicles?
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geely, Xpeng Motors was born with superior resources and huge assets. It is easier to create an excellent model than any new brand of new forces, and Geely does not need to affect the image of the entire “Geely Kingdom” because of the new sub-brand. If anyone has to blame, it can only be blamed on Xpeng Motors for being “born at the wrong time.”
As we all know, the most severe “COVID-19 epidemic” in the world has passed, but the post-epidemic era has exposed the impact of the epidemic on the world from another perspective. The disorder of cross-border logistics, the suspension of foreign factories, and the increase in remote office needs have all led to the global shortage of chips. Modernized cars are inseparable from this hardware. Therefore, with the emergence of the “chip shortage,” the entire automotive industry has suffered an unprecedented blow. The production capacity has plummeted, and there is no exception for cars that cost tens of thousands or millions. Therefore, the Xpeng P7, which was launched in April, can be said to be born in the most difficult time in the global car market. This also explains why it takes 188 days from the initial launch to the offline production of the first batch of cars.
The cars are finally ready for delivery, and the autonomous driving hardware is also directly equipped on the new cars. However, official sources claim that due to chip shortages, testing and verification of autonomous driving functions are still ongoing. As a result, the current delivered vehicles have not enabled driving assistance functions such as ACC and lane centering, which need to wait until December for OTA upgrades. As for more autonomous driving assistance functions, they still need to be realized in 2022. The insufficient completeness of the functions and software also reflects the problem of insufficient preparation by Jidu Auto.
As for Jidu Auto 001 vehicle itself, despite the tortuous journey, there is no denying that Jidu Auto 001 is definitely a Chinese car with extremely strong product power. According to colleagues who have test-driven the Jidu Auto 001, the car shows amazing performance in power, noise isolation, and chassis comfort (mechanical suspension), and can even reach the level of a D-class car. Therefore, it is evident that Jidu Auto does indeed want to create a good car.
Although this brand has many shortcomings in various aspects, as Jidu Auto CEO An Conghui said, “As a young brand, Jidu Auto is not perfect, and there is still a long way to go.” However, from the perspective of the entire Chinese automobile industry, what China needs is the kind of brand like Jidu Auto that dares to innovate boldly and can create good cars with excellent cost-effectiveness. Therefore, sometimes, we should exercise more patience and put away the harshness, giving young and outstanding domestic brands like Jidu Auto some time to bring more good cars to Chinese consumers.
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.