Author | Wang Yunpeng
In the book “Only the Paranoid Survive,” Andy Grove, the founder of Intel, believed that it was his “paranoia” that allowed Intel to develop and become the world’s largest chip manufacturer in a fiercely competitive market.
Similarly, in the Chinese business world, there are also many people who are “obsessed” like Andy Grove, such as the founder of Skyworth Group, Huang Hongsheng.
Born in 1956, Huang Hongsheng, the founder of the famous Chinese home appliance brand Skyworth, can be considered an “elderly” figure who has experienced the ups and downs of the business world. However, after leading Skyworth to create countless brilliant achievements, Huang Hongsheng not only did not stop his entrepreneurial steps, he also set his sights on the automotive industry and vowed to “make Skyworth’s car one of the top ten car brands in the world.”
It is worth mentioning that for Huang Hongsheng and Skyworth, the desire to “create one of the top ten car brands in the world” is not just a slogan. Especially after the release of their first car model, EV6, last year, Skyworth’s pace in car manufacturing has accelerated significantly.
This year on April 27, Skyworth Automobile held its 2022 global strategic partner conference. At the conference, Skyworth Automobile summarized its past achievements, announced its future development plans and strategic deployments, while also releasing its new product, Skyworth HT-i, and the 2022 version of the Skyworth EV6.
“Skyworth HT-i is characterized by being able to switch between gasoline and electricity, ultra-low fuel consumption, smooth and powerful functionality, pure electric endurance of 200 kilometers, and fuel consumption of 5.3 liters per 100 kilometers when running on electricity. The comprehensive endurance range can reach 1,267 kilometers,” said Li Hu, the head of the Skyworth automobile R&D center project. To him, the Skyworth HT-i will be the replacement of traditional fuel vehicles, as well as the horns of assault on the territory of fuel vehicles by Skyworth’s cars.
Meanwhile, Skyworth Automobile also revealed at the conference that they have developed three new energy platforms: BE, CE, and AE, and they will launch more than fourteen new car series, totaling seven models in the next three years, all of which will have both full electric and HT-i hybrid power.
“Skyworth Automobile is following the national trend, focusing on the issues of the times, building differentiated competitive advantages, and in implementing the ‘double carbon’ strategy, is committed to ‘zero’ carbon smart solutions,” Huang Hongsheng said when discussing Skyworth Automobile’s future development plans.
A Decade of Prospecting and Gold Mining
Speaking of Skyworth’s involvement in the new energy vehicle market, we can turn back the clock to 11 years ago.In December 2010, Kuaiwei New Energy Automotive Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as Kuaiwei Group) was established with funding from Huang Hongsheng, the founder of Skyworth Group. After completing the independent research and development of the “three-electric” core technology for new energy buses, Kuaiwei Group turned its attention to the passenger car market. In 2017, Kuaiwei Group obtained the qualification for passenger car access. In November 2019, Kuaiwei Group officially established the Tianmei automotive brand and released its first model, the Tianmei ET5 in 2020.
According to the data, the Tianmei ET5 is positioned as a mid-size pure electric SUV with four models available, NEDC ranges of 410km and 520km, and a sale price range of RMB 15.28 million to RMB 19.88 million. ET5 is manufactured by Skyworth in terms of both hardware and driving systems, and it can connect with Skyworth smart homes via mobile apps, which feature pre-cooling functions.
However, as a member of many new car-making forces, Tianmei automobiles have not conducted high-profile marketing since their inception. Moreover, the low brand awareness made its first model, the ET5, mistakenly regarded as Tencent’s “Tianmei Workshop” product.
Perhaps due to the low brand awareness, the sales of Tianmei cars have been very poor since the launch of the ET5. According to data, the cumulative sales of the Tianmei ET5 since its launch has been only more than ten thousand units. In comparison, the brands such as NIO, XPeng and Li Xiang, which are also new power car companies, had a relatively good performance in the same period. For example, in 2020, three leading new car-making forces sold 43,728, 27,041 and 32,624 new cars respectively. The trend of growth for these three car companies in 2021 has continued, with yearly delivery of new cars exceeding 90,000 units.
Facing the decline of the Tianmei brand, the obvious solution for Huang Hongsheng’s “car-making dream” is to rebrand the company with the Skyworth logo.
On March 26, 2021, Kuaiwei Group signed a trademark transfer agreement with Skyworth Group. “Skyworth Auto” became the intelligent automotive brand under Kuaiwei Group.
As soon as the news was released, the industry speculated that “compared with Tianmei cars, Skyworth has a better advantage in brand awareness, and after the rebranding, the product sales are highly likely to increase.”It is worth mentioning that the performance of Skyworth Auto did not disappoint. According to Wu Longba, co-founder of Skyworth Group, since the delivery of their first model, EV6, on July 27th, 2021, Skyworth Auto has achieved a domestic ordering volume of 11,105 cars within 9 months, and also established a network of 218 domestic dealerships and 43 channels in foreign countries.
In other words, after more than a decade of hard work and technological accumulation, Skyworth finally has a place in the Chinese passenger car market.
The Strength and Ambition of Skyworth Auto
Cross-border companies have never been in short supply in the automotive industry, especially those from home appliance enterprises.
However, considering the experiences of enterprises such as Chunlan Group, Aux Group, Midea Group, Gree Group, and Dyson, who sold home appliances at luxury prices, it seems that car manufacturing may not be the most suitable area for home appliance companies.
In addition, the new energy vehicle market in China has become increasingly crowded. Public data shows that if Skyworth is included, more than 10 technology or manufacturing giants have announced or have already entered the automotive industry since the end of 2020.
In the future, the market for new energy vehicles in China will be dominated by new forces in the industry such as XPeng, Ideal, and Nio, with Baidu, Xiaomi, and Apple also making significant strides.
Under such circumstances, can Skyworth Auto, which has just taken its first steps in the market, gradually gain momentum and inject new vitality into China’s new energy vehicle market?
In my opinion, we can find the answer to this question from Skyworth Auto’s new car and future product plans released at the 2022 Global Strategic Partner Conference.
Let’s take the Skyworth HT-i and the 2022 Skyworth EV6 as examples.
As the first hybrid model under the Skyworth Auto brand, the biggest highlight of the Skyworth HT-i is that it is equipped with a hybrid system jointly developed by Skyworth Auto and Freddie Power. It is reported that the hybrid system uses a dedicated 1.5L high-efficiency engine, with a maximum power of 81 kW, a maximum torque of 135N·m, and a thermal efficiency of 43.04%. The Skyworth HT-i has a pure electric range of up to 200 kilometers and a total range of 1267 kilometers, with a minimum consumption of 5.3L/km.
The 2022 Changhe HT-i and EV6 are both equipped with strong product capabilities and outstanding features. The EV6 is equipped with a Changhe Car Home Interconnected Smart Travel Cabin, the Changhe Smart Eye, and a gaming area that is compatible with the Changhe game controller. The new pure electric version also comes with a new color option, the Lunar Blue, providing users with more choices. With regards to endurance, the 2022 Changhe EV6 offers an optional 85.97 kWh battery with a comprehensive cruising range of up to 620 km.
It is worth mentioning that the HT-i and 2022 EV6 are just the “prelude” to Changhe’s future complete product matrix. According to Changhe, they have already developed BE, CE, and AE three new energy platforms, and plan to launch a total of over 14 new cars in 7 series, featuring pure electric and HT-i hybrid power.
The specific plan is to release the Changhe HT-i/new EV6 in 2022; complete the deployment of the new generation EV6 in 2023; complete the development of the first vehicle, EA8, on the CE platform in 2024. EA8 is a mid-to-large-sized CROSS intelligent cabin with six seats, priced from 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. In 2025, the EA-7 on the CE platform will be released, positioned as a mid-to-large-sized “future black technology sports coupe” priced from 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. They will also complete the deployment of the first product, EA3, on the AE platform.
In addition, Changhe’s intelligent health management system will be upgraded from 2.0 to 3.0, and Changhe will create unique technology and ecology for the brand. The charging feature will include 800V high-voltage platform technology. In terms of intelligent driving, the next generation of production models will achieve L4 level of automatic driving assistance, combined with the Changhe EHB line control platform and intelligent driving.
Based on the aforementioned strengths, Changhe has set a sales target of “30,000 units in 2022, of which 4,000 are for overseas markets; 100,000 units in 2023, of which 15,000 are for overseas markets; 250,000 units in 2025, of which 80,000 are for overseas markets.”
In conclusion, the answers to the aforementioned questions should be self-evident.The era of change has given birth to adventurers and ambitious people, but for Changan Automobile that has entered a new track, what it possesses is not just passion and ambition, but also technical accumulation and clear product planning. These are the foundation of its confidence to enter the market and set clear goals. And this will also be the key to Changan Automobile achieving its “World’s Top 10” vision.
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.