This article is reproduced from the autocarweekly WeChat official account.
Author: Karakush
“My friend told me that all the guys in our store are handsome.” Said Cadillac’s friend to me.
This is definitely not the only reason why I came to the mall so early on Sunday morning.
Last month, Cadillac launched its first electric car LYRIQ. Along with it, a group of mysterious “IQ Spaces” appeared in several expensive locations inside the city’s inner ring. One of them is located on the first floor of this Changning Raffles City.
Across from it is the new high ground of the contemporary petite bourgeoisie civilization, M Stand, the Ginza trendy I-PRIMO that does not limit the number of proposals, and Puff Mart, which has the most comprehensive new replenishment on the west bank of Shanghai. It does not carry the extravagance and desire of poor youth, but it is still the center of the universe for fashionable people radiating the Zhongshan Park area.
Although it is said to be “across the street”, in fact, there is no door, but an open space with a generous split. If you are not careful, you will step into Cadillac’s territory.
The small storefront has a quiet display car and an Ottonen platform inside.
The decoration style is extremely minimalist, Silicon Valley-style minimalism, so it can still burst out a sultry power in the coldness, and grasp the electrical engineering to create a Ridley Scott-style sci-fi atmosphere.
In fact, the unusual silver door shields on the IQ Space door lintel have already marked the difference between Cadillac and the colored label. It is like the prelude to transforming from a colored shell to a black shell superhero to smash all enemies.
The biggest soft outfit in the space is probably the walking “little brothers”, who are not the kind of pure desire macho in ordinary canteens, but polite and fresh young men in uniforms. They usually hide behind the pillars in the corner, pretending to be unobtrusive statues. It’s just that when you have doubts like “What the hell is this thing”, they will bubble up and explain in a timely manner:
“This thing is a pure electric car platform with 12 modules and a 100 kWh battery pack, and the CLTC range can exceed 650km; combined with a rear-drive motor, it can provide a maximum power of 255 kW and a maximum torque of 440 Nm.”
Most passers-by will unconsciously be attracted by this thing, and then go to sit in the display car. They will turn around and find that the next group of friends are hesitating by the car window, occasionally tasting the false action of the hidden door handle, and unable to conceal their urge to peer inside the car.On Sunday morning, visitors to the store were constantly streaming in. According to “Little Brother,” it was still early and the peak was always after dinner. It made me think of the fear I felt half a month ago at the Guangzhou Auto Show, when I was queuing to touch cars.
IQ Space is a direct-operated store set up by Cadillac for electric cars. The first batch of six stores are located in five cities (Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen). It is said that it will quickly expand to 20 stores, landing in high-end commercial centers all over the country. This is the common trend in the electric car industry, getting close to the masses in bustling areas rather than waiting for them to come to the suburbs.
In fact, this is an art of investment return. For new brands that are the first to invest heavily, in addition to attracting foot traffic to the store, it is more important to increase brand exposure and credit endorsement. Therefore, even if the cost of the centrally located store is relatively high, its invisible benefits are worthwhile, and even greater than the profit from direct transactions.
The question is, as a well-known luxury brand, does Cadillac still need to make efforts to stand out?
When the times are pressing, all different fates face the same dilemma. As we all know, the spirit of innovation that dares to break through oneself is rooted in the Cadillac brand gene. Under the pure electric wave, Cadillac embraces change and bravely enters the pure electric era, a difficulty no less than that of a new brand from scratch. The offline store opened by innovation is the most direct touchpoint for Cadillac to establish a new atmosphere.
Cadillac’s pure electric IQ Space is a completely direct-operated store, where all sales consultants and management personnel are official employees of SAIC General Motors. First, through direct sales, transparent and stable prices can be maintained, which is very important for luxury brands.
Secondly, Cadillac hopes to establish a direct connection with front-line employees through this venture. Taking the Shanghai store as an example, its golden geographic location is not only “close” to consumers, but also “close” to management. Leaders visit and discover problems at any time, quickly iterating experiences on the front line to fully carry out the brand’s will.
At the same time, the brand can also strengthen direct communication with users. When I was wandering around on Sunday, I met two engineers from the Cadillac product group who explained and communicated with visitors about their actual needs, in order to quickly change and iterate subsequent products. Since there are only two stores in Shanghai at present, and capacity is limited, employees have to sign up internally to come and learn.
Actually, for Cadillac and SAIC GM, the significance of LYRIQ is more than just a heavyweight new car. As Pan Mengmeng, Minister of SAIC GM New Energy Strategy Department pointed out, “This is the beginning of electrification transformation, gradually opening up the new energy track, and transforming our value proposition for consumers.”
Of course, the product is still the cornerstone of this transformation. Cadillac hopes that LYRIQ can also achieve a leading position in the market of pure electric luxury medium and large SUVs priced above 400,000 RMB, while continuing to inherit the spirit and tone of American luxury, making it both unique and memorable.
The show car in the IQ Space now is a prototype, but it can already be seen in the production state. It has an undeniable presence with a total length of over 5 meters, a wheelbase of nearly 3.1 meters, and a size that reaches a medium-large level. Yet size is only one aspect of creating an atmosphere. Cadillac has expended a lot of effort on creating a futuristic design to give people something immediately captivating.
The headlights are a good example. At first glance, they still look like a legacy straight-up design, but on closer inspection they are much different. The headlights use the smallest cross-sectional size of any light conductor in the industry, only 15 millimeters, which is extremely thin. The relatively narrow light-emitting unit achieves an anti-glare effect for high beams, providing control of up to 36 pixels and intelligent switch between long and short beams. This required a great deal of effort, and according to some colleagues, many suppliers cried over it, with much investment required.
Cadillac believes that this was worth it. As Pan Mengmeng said, this embodies the value proposition to consumers. Cadillac’s brand spirit is “All great things begin with a bold start,” and owners who are moved by Cadillac are likely to share this spirit as well. What this headlight aims to present is the image of this spirit. It is not necessary to be different from others, but at least it must demonstrate its uniqueness. “This is very important, so we put a lot of resources into it and have very high standards.”
Similarly, high standards and great investment underpin every detail of LYRIQ and exceed the highest standards of design and manufacturing in China and the US. It is built on the Ultium OTE technology electric vehicle platform, with experimental standards in battery technology being two to three times higher than the national standard and even severalfold higher in some parts.
“These are not pieces of information that can be received as soon as you see the vehicle, but rather hidden value that will be appreciated after a long time, only then will the difference be realized.”The immediate value you can receive includes a standard 33-inch curved ultra-high-definition retina screen with a resolution of 9K and a pixel density of 271PPI, which can display up to 1 billion colors. It’s said to have a better image quality than the iPad Pro, but you can’t see it firsthand at the IQ Space showroom until mid to late January next year when the 33-inch screen is turned on and ready for viewing.
Another example is the AKG audio system, with 19 speakers designed to deliver studio-level high-fidelity sound throughout the car. Some may wonder why Cadillac always emphasizes these electronic configurations when it’s not trying to become a consumer electronics company. It’s just based on pre-research of consumers that Cadillac’s car-making skills are unquestionable. Using the Ultium EV platform, it is developing a native electric car, which will represent the dignity of a well-known player in the industry.
Therefore, Cadillac highlights some of the less perceivable features to make people feel like it’s a truly intelligent electric vehicle. The effect is remarkable, and it grasps the wealth code. On the night of the release, within an hour after the pre-sale price was announced, LYRIQ orders exceeded 1,000.
With products in hand, the key is to get consumers to recognize Cadillac as a member of the new energy vehicle club. In addition to selling cars through direct stores, Cadillac has also made a lot of preparations, such as creating the Cadillac IQ APP and mini-program. Consumers can select and order cars online anytime and anywhere, then go to the IQ Space to see the real car.
Regrettably, test drives are not currently available for the LYRIQ. Partners of the IQ Space indicated that this is currently the biggest challenge for sales. However, many consumers are still blindly pre-ordering. Undoubtedly, this is a testament to their trust in the strength of the well-known company and approval of the excellent product power. Placing a pre-order now can even bring great benefits.Cadillac is actively planning for a more perfect experience, such as planning and building a brand-exclusive charging network to provide users with a more luxurious charging experience. Recently, the first Cadillac IQ exclusive supercharging station has been put into operation at B4 level of Lujiazui Plaza in Shanghai, providing four DC fast charging ports, and will be further optimized and upgraded in the future. From now on, the station is open to LYRIQ reservation users for experience, who can be the first to experience it through the mini program. For example, they are also very seriously considering the replacement and additional purchase needs of old car owners.
LYRIQ is clearly not coming ashore. They still need to sail on the long-term waves, keep up with the times, constantly break through and improve themselves, and bring consumers a more luxurious travel experience. This is exactly what makes people feel that the future is boundless.
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.