Author: Guo Hehe
Recently, the official interior image of the AITO WENJIE M7 was released. Looking at the previous declaration information, whether it is the seat layout, extended range power, or interior configuration, this car is obviously aimed at the IDEAL ONE. It is reported that the new car will be officially launched at the end of June, and will be delivered in July.
During the period when new forces brands sprouted like mushrooms, I was once lost. I was lost in the fact that the rhythm of making cars by new forces and traditional ones is not the same. Instead of inheriting the past models and conveying the design concept, there’s just one person and a minimalist style PPT, along with ridicule towards competitors or fuel cars, and of course, “grandiloquence” that is indispensable for technical imagination. This scene, I seemed to have seen a glimpse of it in Steve Jobs’ press conference more than ten years ago. Indeed, new force cars and marketing styles are becoming more and more like smartphones. Perhaps this is what they call “Internet thinking”.
Speaking of the IDEAL ONE, few people can forget the glorious deeds of William Li, the founder of the company, who offered 5 million yuan to pick any car under that price but ultimately chose IDEAL ONE that only costs around 300,000 yuan. Let alone the blind self-awareness factor in it, it did indeed cause viral spread. IDEAL ONE has also become the best-selling new force SUV every month with its good comprehensive strength.
As Huawei has been fighting with its smartphone competitors for many years, it is natural that Yu Chengdong is familiar with this routine. At the beginning of WENJIE M7’s development, Yu Chengdong said: “This is the world’s first car that makes leaders very comfortable, surpassing luxury cars such as Alphard and Lexus LM”, and he also said that the goal of this car is to surpass the comfortable and intelligent experience of million-dollar luxury cars.
Although the nickname “Yu Big Mouth” is well known, Huawei’s strength is indeed not to be underestimated. Even though it has been sanctioned by foreign countries, Huawei still insists on being a lone pioneer in Chinese technology innovation. Especially after integrating Hongmeng system into the car, it has indeed defeated many brands. Not to mention that the interface logic of some Honda models is still several years behind its peers. Even noble brands such as BBA are far from the opponent of Chinese brands in terms of intelligent car systems.
In addition, the advantage of AITO WENJIE lies in its unique distribution network.Although the name “Sailis” is prominently displayed on the rear of the vehicle, unlike brands like JIHU and others that only use Huawei’s different degrees of vehicle solutions, WENJIE can be regarded as Huawei’s “own son”. And it can be directly displayed and test-driven in Huawei flagship stores, which is an overwhelming sales network that many new force brands cannot compete with.
To be tough, we need to hone our skills. Despite the great reputation of Huawei, we still need to focus on the products themselves. In terms of appearance, the design style of the WEY M7 is similar to that of the WEY M5, using a double-grille design. The upper part is a narrow trapezoidal shape that connects to the two-side light groups, forming a through style, and the logo can be lit. The lower part is a large trapezoidal air inlet with air guiding slots on both sides.
The necessary floating roof and hidden door handles are not absent in the WEY M7. The overall side lines are simple and straight, and the tire size uses 20-inch rims, which is quite imposing. The tail uses the popular through-style taillights, and the shape of the vehicle is minimal, with not even a diffuser on the lower bumper.
Perhaps due to the different positioning, or perhaps the same design style has different display effects on different sizes, the appearance of the WEY M7 is relatively simple and plain compared to the more robust and stylish M5. Perhaps the designer believes that a plain family-style SUV is the real deal.
In terms of body size, the length, width, and height of the WEY M7 are 5020mm/1945mm/1775mm, with a wheelbase of 2820mm and positioning as a mid-to-large-sized SUV. From the perspective of size, the WEY M7 can indeed be considered a mid-to-large-sized SUV, but the wheelbase is only 2820mm, more than 100mm less than the ideal ONE, which makes me puzzled about the seating space of the WEY M7.
In terms of seat layout, the WEY M7 uses a 2+2+2 six-seat layout, with the headrests of the first two rows of seats using aviation seats similar to those of the Alphard, which looks very comfortable. Judging from the appearance and interior decoration, the WEY M7 is obviously not positioned as a commercial vehicle or commercial SUV, so when Mr. Yu mentioned making the “leaders” comfortable, he was probably referring to the head of the household who pays the bills.
The material and intelligent configuration of the interior of M7 are believed to be satisfying, exceeding the material standards of M5. From the official pictures released, there are wooden decorations behind the white seats, combined with Mr. Yu’s statement “comfort dominance over LM,” the second-row seats will not only have multi-angle electric adjustment but also ventilation, heating, NAPPA leather, and even seat massage or some unknown black technology, which specific details will be released by the official.
Although the official pictures did not reveal any information about the central control of the interior, from the screenshots of spy video previously leaked on the internet, the central control design is similar to M5. The central control is a suspended screen with two wireless charging pads below it. The key point is that the new car will be equipped with Huawei HarmonyOS intelligent cockpit system, which is leading in the same level in terms of fluency and connection with the “Huawei family”. I believe this is also the most important part for Huawei fans.
In terms of power, it is expected that M7 would provide the same power modes as M5, including hybrid and pure electric modes. The disclosed hybrid version would be equipped with a 1.5T four-cylinder turbocharged booster, with a WLTC fuel consumption rate of 1.05L/100km, a maximum power of 92kW, equipped with a drive motor, rated power of 72kW, peak power of 200kW, and a 40.06kWh battery pack provided by CATL. The pure electric cruising range can reach 150km under WLTC condition.
Under the wave of new energy vehicles, Li Bin from NIO stated: “I can’t think of a reason why people are still buying fuel cars till now. This is how nostalgic they are. Other than being able to smell some gasoline, what’s good about fuel cars?” While Yu Chengdong said: “The era of pure fuel cars will surely end quickly. If people still buy fuel cars today, it’s just like when smartphones just came out, many people bought functional phones. I think the era of functional phones will end quickly.”Certainly, today with the 95# fuel price exceeding 1 yuan per liter, the advantages of fuel-powered cars become worthless compared to their usage costs. More and more people are considering switching to new energy vehicles. While charging conditions are constantly improving, it is not easy to harvest the wool of new energy vehicles. The premise is that you have a fixed parking space at home and a home charging pile. It is not convenient to charge outside all day, and the usage cost is not low. For most people, the cost of being able to afford a fixed parking space and to install a charging pile in the community is enough to refuel until the vehicle is scrapped. This is also the reason why there are more and more plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which can be powered by oil or electricity. If pure electric vehicles are popular enough, there would be no need to introduce extended-range technology.
On the Internet, there is speculation that the price of AITO Wanjie M7 is between RMB 2.9-3.5 million. Considering the prices of Toyota Highlander, BYD Tang, and Ideal ONE, this is very likely. The biggest advantage of the AITO Wanjie M7 lies in the Huawei HarmonyOS and the so-called comfort capabilities that outperform Tesla’s Model S. With another participant in the race track of new energy multi-seater vehicles, the more crowded the race track is, the more favorable it is for consumers. If you want to buy a car this year, you may want to wait a bit longer.
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.