This article is reproduced from the autocarweekly official account.
Author: Karakush
Huawei’s world must be full of corpses.
Because it always kills this one and kills that one, never leaving any survivors.
At yesterday’s winter flagship new product launch conference, Huawei released its first original Huawei car – AITO Wanjie M5.
In name, it is still “Huawei’s strength in helping car companies build and sell good cars”, and the teammate is still Cyrus, but this time the helper took on all the responsibilities.
Yu Chengdong revealed that the product definition and industrial design of Wanjie M5 are all done by Huawei. He asked the team to insist on the extreme, simplicity, and purity of the consumer BU’s ten-year-old concept and spirit.
Therefore, compared with the previous Huawei-selected Cyrus, AITO is a more pure Huawei car. Wanjie M5 inherited the ancestor’s killing power, killing from Porsche to BBA to Tesla without leaving any survivors.
Look at this power:
Look at this performance:
Look at this wind resistance:
Look at this energy efficiency and endurance:
Look at this space:
Look at this NVH:
Take a look, after all, the shooting equipment is also the iPhone13 PRO that was killed.
Yu Chengdong said, “Our requirements for the team are to build our car according to the standards of a million-dollar luxury car in terms of appearance, interior, performance, experience, and quality requirements.”
After the comprehensive subsidy, the pre-sale price of AITO Wanjie M5 is only 250,000 yuan for the standard rear-drive version, 280,000 yuan for the four-wheel drive performance version, and 320,000 yuan for the four-wheel drive flagship version.Is it expecting the tank to be full? However, the reviews of this mid-size luxury SUV from car critics are not high.
The first issue is the design:
A million for sure will have a large amount of change.
Secondly, extended-range electric vehicles, although proven to have considerable market potential at this stage and able to compete with pure electric in terms of endurance and acceleration with gasoline vehicles, it is challenging to demonstrate strength and strategic vision solely based on technology hotspots that are not currently on the track, mainly relying on pragmatism in scenarios and reality.
Thirdly, not smart enough. They have not reached the top-notch level of Huawei in terms of intelligent driving capability, only providing L2+ level of assisted driving function. In terms of perception hardware, there is one visual perception camera, three millimeter-wave radars, four APA cameras, and twelve long-range ultrasonic radars, and there will be little room for further upgrades in the future.
To sum up, there are good sentences, but not good chapters. The quality is good, but the surprise is lacking. Perhaps it will sell well, but it lacks industry height—after all, it is Huawei, and people always inevitably expect grandeur.
So, is that all there is to Huawei? After careful consideration and bold inspiration, I believe—not at all. When you see Huawei narrow the road, it must be because you have narrowed it down. Huawei is likely using the shell of the car to convey the following three true values worth millions of dollars to potential partners in the automotive industry:
Firstly, a million cockpit. In this ordinary million-dollar car, HarmonyOS intelligent cockpit has become the most upscale part.
It is not only reflected in hardware, such as the 15.6-inch 2K HDR intelligent central control screen, which uses the latest generation of screen technology, with higher contrast and sharper picture quality, but also in many subtle experiences during operation.
For example, the UI is very similar to that of smartphones and tablets, with a zero-level desktop and a large visual interaction area that can drag service cards to customize a comfortable interface. A Smart Dock quick access bar is always available below the desktop, which not only can be manually adjusted but also actively recommends content, reminders, and services based on road conditions, user status, and car conditions.Through HarmonyOS distributed technology, navigation, music, video, and other services can be seamlessly connected between mobile phones and car machines logged into the same Huawei account, without physical connections or re-entry. By approaching and confirming, smooth transitions are achieved.
These are not black technology, but they stand out in car machines that still require layers of clicking. You don’t understand why the basics of consumer electronics can be played to death, but when transferred to cars, it becomes so difficult.
Smooth swipe operations and interface switches are all demanding, and high frame rates and response delays often make many “smart” cars look less intelligent than before. Through intelligent background control and VIP scheduling of memory allocation, HarmonyOS can keep car machines running smoothly for a long time.
Moreover, HarmonyOS also introduces the industry’s first Smart Multi-Window feature, which can create full-screen, split-screen, floating window, and other window display modes. For example, when you open music during navigation, navigation does not retreat to the bottom layer. Both interfaces appear simultaneously, and you can switch positions by sliding with 3/4 fingers.
In addition, the interactive methods include gesture and voice assistant XiaoYi. Fast and accurate recognition is the first level; natural and smooth feedback is the second level; continuous conversation, interruption, and dialect in the third level; and XiaoYi is in the fifth level. Based on the analysis of information such as time, date, location, driving time, driving distance, and DMS camera monitoring, XiaoYi can intelligently and dynamically recommend services and applications according to the user’s usage habits and the current scene.
For example, when entering a tunnel or when the air quality outside the car is poor, XiaoYi will suggest turning on the internal circulation mode; when the vehicle’s fuel/electricity is low, XiaoYi will proactively prompt for nearby gas stations/charging stations and ask if you need navigation; when you are about to arrive home, XiaoYi will remind you to pick up any undelivered packages and provide pickup codes. With continuous usage and learning, XiaoYi’s recommendations will become more accurate.
All of these can be decoupled and opened up for those automakers who are not good at software systems. The Wanjie M5 is an excellent procurement case. In situations with average qualifications, how to cast a lot with a little, add value, and leverage smart technology to achieve great things.
From Huawei’s perspective, AITO’s current investment in the automotive business is at most a tactical exploration. Even if it ultimately fails as an automotive brand, its ability to showcase its strength as a supplier window will always be successful. After all, Hongmeng is Huawei’s core. Whether it is self-made cars, empowering car manufacturing, or cooperating with car manufacturers, expanding the influence and power of Hongmeng through various channels is still Huawei’s business purpose.
Lastly, millions of channels.Qianjie M5 will be sold through Huawei’s national retail channel network.
According to the press release, starting from December 23, 2021, Qianjie M5 will be displayed in real cars in Huawei stores in 180 cities, and starting from January 20, 2022, consumers can book test drives and make reservations in 500 Huawei stores in 118 cities. Users can make reservations through the AITO official website and My Huawei app.
For Huawei’s channels, the first meaning is the number of network points in the city center where the stores are located, which lays a natural foundation for opening the AITO new brand’s popularity. The second is to create a brand halo that consumers will not go into detail about. Customers who walk into the store are buying Huawei’s credit. In contrast, the first wave of harvesters is also loyal Huawei fans.
In fact, the market appeal of this operation has already been demonstrated by the previous Seres SF5. For AITO, it is even more righteous and confident. This can also inspire some companies with weak self-brands to sell goods that they cannot sell alone by changing them to have a Huawei label.
Finally, millions of marketing.
Only a part of the awe-inspiring effect is based on material foundations. For example, the million-dollar sound system HUAWEI SOUND, with a professional-grade amplifier, 1000+W, and a 7.1 surround sound field, can optimize the sound effects for each passenger’s position. After listening to a popular song on the scene, some valuable and sincere emotions can indeed be heard.
The vast majority of the awe-inspiring effect comes from everyone’s tolerance and respect for Huawei. This is directly proportional to the ample room for Yu’s big mouth to play.
He said, our car is very simple, unlike many cars that have many lines and angles on the exterior, which are extremely complicated. We believe that great products and designs can withstand the test of time.
He said, our car chassis is a million-dollar luxury car. Its front suspension is a double-wishbone independent suspension, and the rear suspension is a multi-link suspension. We see that many cars use MacPherson suspension to reduce costs, but the driving experience of MacPherson suspension is simply not good enough.
He said, we see some manufacturers still using a 1.3-liter three-cylinder engine. The engine should at least have four cylinders, and it should not be paired with a three-cylinder engine.
He also said that our cruising range is basically three times that of ordinary electric vehicles, at least more than twice the distance, and can beat a group of pure electric vehicles.When a leader speaks crazily like this, the consequences are terrible, as evidenced by Bin, who couldn’t understand how to buy an oil car. Li Bin’s words may withstand the test of time, but not of reality; Big Mouth’s words may not have absolute basis but have a relative mass basis, able to move emotions and get away with unimportant mistakes.
Speaking is an art. If Huawei can also decouple this aspect, it is undoubtedly a business that every car company will flock to.