Production / Songguo Baba’s Future Travel

Author / Ren Haining

Voyah Dreamer has finally been launched.

I remember during last year’s Guangzhou Auto Show, Voyah’s booth was crowded due to the Dreamer’s debut. We managed to complete the first shoot under the “crowding” of media and users.

One of my friends who went with us asked me: why is this car so popular? I answered him: because it has created a new era.

This is not an exaggeration at all.

As the world’s first large-scale luxury electric MPV, Voyah Dreamer has broken many things that we are used to.

For example, it’s the first time that the price range of domestic MPVs has been raised to 400,000 yuan level; the first time that it’s trying to compete head-on with high-end gasoline MPVs like GL8, Odyssey, Sienna, and even Elfa that monopolize the market, with electric and intelligent empowerment, redefining the product attributes of MPVs, and likely to change the decision-making basis of users when purchasing MPVs for a long time, etc.

All these “first times” have made Voyah Dreamer stand on the center stage for a long time to come.

Redefining Products

The change in products is the top priority.

Before Voyah Dreamer, the MPV product went through two stages of evolution:

• The 1.0 era: It started in the 1990s, when households began buying private cars, and MPV became popular because it could accommodate a whole family and transport goods. At that time, everyone was more concerned about cost-effectiveness, economy, and durability.

• The 2.0 era: This can be traced back to the 2000s. At that time, influenced by many Hong Kong and Taiwan stars, the MPV “nanny car” suddenly became popular. For example, the familiar Elfa, it provides ample seating space and becomes a mobile lounge. MPVs are no longer just means of production to fulfill livelihood but have become a comfortable and dignified high-end travel mode. At the same time, the demand for commercial reception vehicles has also increased, and products like GL8 have also begun to emerge.

Today, Voyah Dreamer is trying to push MPVs into the 3.0 era.

What are the characteristics of MPV products in this era? What kind of new species can truly meet current user needs? Voyah Dreamer first provides several keywords on the product side: smart, performance, and luxury.

Let’s talk about them one by one.Luxury is a key factor for products of this level.

In terms of appearance, the size of the M6 Dreamer is quite large, with a length exceeding 5.3 meters and a wheelbase exceeding 3.2 meters. With the help of the design, its first impression is definitely not inferior to the Alphard and GL8.

I have test-driven this car thoroughly in Wuhan before. When I opened the electric sliding door and entered the car, I felt a sense of luxury right away. The tunnel-connected triple screens, the Denon audio system, the second-row hidden small table, the multi-directional adjustable boss key, massage seats, ventilation and heating are all covered. In addition, having also seen the Xpander before, it is apparent that the Dreamer’s interior is at a completely different level, with more leather wrapping and a more upscale atmosphere.

Furthermore, another feature that is not of the same level is intelligence.

The car’s system in the Dreamer actually uses an 8155 chip, which is currently a high-level product. Vehicles with strong smart capabilities, such as NIO ET7 and XPeng G9, also use this chip, which provides the system with high operating fluency. In addition, the Dreamer offers features such as full-scenario automatic parking, in-car four-audio-zone voice interaction system, 5G car network, and driving assistance. Its at-home OTA upgrades ensure that the system is always up-to-date. Compared to high-end fuel MPVs that currently still need a smartphone support for navigation, its intelligent features exceed its competitors in more than one aspect.

Just talking about it may not give you a strong sensation. But if you have the chance to use it, you will feel like you have switched from Nokia to Apple.

Of course, in my opinion, apart from the advantages of “intelligence” and “luxury”, there is another key factor that is equally important: performance.

After actual experience, I believe that the driving and riding experience of the LanTu Dreamer is different from that of previous high-end MPV products. Previous MPV models tended to emphasize comfort, while the Dreamer emphasizes the balance between performance and comfort.

How should this be understood? Here are two points.

One: comfortable ride.### The Birth of the Lance Dreamer, the Only Dual-Power Layout Electric MPV Using the ESSA Architecture

The Lance Dreamer was born on the ESSA architecture, the world’s first forward development dual-power electric drive architecture. It is currently the only electric MPV in the industry that uses a dual-power layout.

The smoothness and noise control of electric vehicles are naturally better than those of gasoline vehicles. In addition, the Lance Dreamer has spared no expense on the suspension, with standard front double-wishbone and rear five-link independent suspension structures, as well as air suspension and CDC active damping system. Therefore, when I tried the second-row seating, I did feel very comfortable.

By simple comparison, the Elfa and Relfa representative products of 1-1.5 million-level MPVs only use the combination of front MacPherson and rear double wishbone. In this regard, the Lance Dreamer is more than one level above them.

The Second Is Driving Comfort.

The Lance Dreamer is an all-wheel-drive with dual motors. The extended-range version has a maximum power of 290 kW, a maximum torque of 610 N·m, and a 0-100 km/h acceleration of 6.9 seconds; the pure electric version has a maximum power of 320 kW and a torque of 620 N·m, with a 0-100 km/h acceleration of 5.9 seconds. The 0-100 km/h acceleration of the Elfa and Relfa, which are high-end gasoline MPVs, is quite fast, but it is still above 8 seconds.

I know some people may say, “Why do you need such performance for an MPV? Why drive so fast?”

But in fact, this is not a question of whether you need it, but of whether you have it. Especially now that the proportion of family cars is increasing, you cannot always make the father driving feel like a driver. At this time, the stronger power redundancy, like computer performance, can be used or not, but cannot be absent. The power of choice is in my hands, and I don’t have to spend more money on it.

Redefining the Brand

After talking about the products, let’s talk about the brand.

Because at this level, users are not just buying products, but also the psychological satisfaction brought by the brand.

Just like why everyone is willing to pay extra for the Elfa, one is because it is indeed comfortable to ride, and the other is because it is face-saving to drive out. The standard for company procurement and reception vehicles is actually the same, that is, to make the boss and clients comfortable and to showcase the company’s strength and recognition.

At this point, someone must have said that the Lance brand has not been established for a long time, and its brand is not good.

But is it really so?

I don’t think so.

The reason is simple. In today’s electric car arena, many brands are reshaping their brand perception in the minds of potential users through a series of product, service, and operation combos, either completed or in progress. Take NIO, Tesla, and Li Auto for example, many users no longer consider them to have lower quality than the BBA brands.

As the popularity of the Voyah EV rises, it will surely be the same.

After the brand’s quality perception has been reshaped, users’ attitudes will undergo subtle changes: for example, driving the Voyah EV, the Tesla, the NIO, or the Li ONE out and parking in front of a BBA brand car is no longer intimidating, and even feels superior.

This does not mean that these brands are much more luxurious, or significantly better than the BBA brands, but rather that these brands have completed a lane change, occupying the user’s cognitive space on a new track. This feeling is not easy to articulate, it’s about taste, perception, and lifestyle. Whatever the case, it represents a demotion for traditional luxury fuel brands.

Moreover, I think the comparison between the Voyah EV Dreamland and its core competitors, the Buick GL8 and the Sienna, is a bit like the comparison between the Li ONE and the Volkswagen Touareg or the Toyota Highlander. Indeed, products are direct competitors, but brand competition is no longer on the same dimension. In the hearts of the vast majority of Li ONE’s users, the brand quality perception of Li Auto can compete with BBA brands, but not with Volkswagen and Toyota. Similarly, the Voyah EV competes with Buick and Toyota in the same way.

Please don’t think I’m joking. Let me give you some data. In the Voyah EV Owner Survey conducted in 2021, more than 60% of the original users were BBA owners, which is very similar to the user profile of Tesla, NIO and Li Auto owners.

Therefore, for example, if you are the owner of a new emerging enterprise and hope that your enterprise can continue to iterate in the ever-changing business environment by obtaining new cognition and acquiring new gains, then choosing a subtle emotional experience brought by the Voyah EV Dreamland, including the subtle experiences of picking up customers, will be more interesting than a GL8, which is not easy to make mistakes but also difficult to stand out.

Redefining Leadership

I talked to my friend at Voyah EV before, and they told me that they hoped the birth of the Voyah EV Dreamland would change everyone’s long-standing perception of MPVs.The abbreviation of MPV used to be Multi-Purpose Vehicles, representing multi-functional cars. Now, Voyah hopes to redefine MPV as multi-passenger Vehicles, where “P” stands for people-oriented. Dreamers will maximize driving and comfort, truly becoming a mobile intelligent space for comfortable and enjoyable trips for multiple passengers.

This is interesting because it points to a keyword—leadership.

Five years ago, when we talked about leadership, we always mentioned Tesla, such as the Model S using a large screen and the Model 3 canceling the dashboard.

But in these past five years, you will find that more and more Chinese brands are beginning to lead in product definitions and core technologies. At that time, people doubted NIO’s battery-swapping mode and technology, but they made it work; people doubted the ideal’s extended range and claimed they didn’t understand the product, but they made it work; people also questioned the usefulness of XPeng’s assisted driving technology, but they also made it work.

This time, it’s the Voyah Dreamers’ turn.

From fuel to electric, from classical to modern, with so many new product definitions and new technological applications, Dreamers are destined to be questioned. However, as the first Chinese brand to represent the world standard in luxury electric MPVs, I believe that the Dreamers can also bring about change and lead certain things.

Let’s wait and see.

The end.

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.