Author: Zheng Senhong

Which model of car on the market has both a high-end market value and a price that ordinary people can afford?

Changan Shenlan SL03 may be the first such model in history.

On July 25th, Changan Shenlan SL03 was officially launched. The new car had appeared offline many times before and the configuration table was also released before the press conference. Therefore, the price became the most eye-catching point of the whole release conference of Shenlan SL03.

• The 1200km extended range version is priced at 168,900 yuan

• The 515km pure electric version is priced at 183,900 yuan

• The 705km pure electric version is priced at 215,900 yuan

• The 730km hydrogen-electric version is priced at 699,900 yuan

The price of a hydrogen-electric version of Shenlan SL03 is equivalent to the price of three pure electric versions or four extended range versions. However, based on the positioning of the Shenlan SL03B-level sedan, the hydrogen-electric version is more symbolic because it is the first mass-produced hydrogen-electric consumption-grade model in China.

On the contrary, the starting price of Changan Shenlan SL03 is as low as 168,900 yuan, which undoubtedly puts pressure on the entire B-level sedan market, including BYD Dolphin, Zero Run C01, and NETA S.

So, how good is this car called “the first rear-wheel drive car for young people”?

EPA1 platform: three power options, supports advanced driving aids

As the first model of Changan Shenlan, Shenlan SL03 is built on the EPA1 platform, which is also the killer of Changan Shenlan’s march to the mainstream market.

EPA1 platform is a fully electric digital platform developed by Changan’s R&D team of more than 2,000 people over the past 5 years.

What is a “fully electric digital platform”?

Changan Shenlan CEO Deng Chenghao explained that the hardest thing for a platform is to become fully electric, and Shenlan has chosen the hardest path because full electric means that it must be compatible with extended range and hydrogen fuel cells, which no carmaker has done in the industry.

This also explains why Changan Shenlan SL03 can simultaneously launch three different power versions of the car, including future Changan Shenlan models.

In addition to being compatible with pure electric, extended range, and hydrogen energy sources, from a technical point of view, the highlight of the EPA1 platform is that each technology can effectively solve current user pain points.

In simple terms, it fully integrates the three-electric system to achieve smaller volume, lighter weight, more integrated functions and performance, improving the utilization of the vehicle and space weight ratio, and optimizing the safety and efficiency of the three-electric system.

For example, to alleviate range anxiety, Changan Shenlan has introduced a new generation of super-aggregated electric drive, which brings the highest efficiency of up to 95%.

The mainstream level of this data in the industry is currently around 85%. Clearly, the efficiency of Changan Shenlan’s electric drive system has reached the top domestic level, and the high efficiency of the electric drive system directly leads to a reduction in electricity consumption, improving the range.

Under CLTC conditions, the energy consumption of Changan Shenlan SL03 515 pure electric version is as low as 12.3kWh/100km, which is almost equivalent to the lowest electricity consumption of 11kWh per hundred kilometers of Tesla Model 3.

Furthermore, to tackle the nightmare of electric vehicles in the northern winter, Changan Shenlan has launched the world’s first micro-nuclear high-frequency pulse heating, which can improve the low-temperature power performance by 50% in extreme cold weather of -30℃, shorten the charging time by 15%.

If this is still not enough to dispel concerns about pure electric range, then you can choose the range extender power system with a pure electric range of 200km and a full fuel and power range of 1200km. Under CLTC conditions, one liter of fuel can generate about 3.3 degrees of electricity; even more, you can also choose the hydrogen-electric version that generates 20.5 degrees of electricity from 1kg of hydrogen and completes energy replenishment in 3 minutes.

Whether it is pure electric, range extender or hydrogen-electric, Changan Shenlan has demonstrated ultimate efficiency, which is also the part that Changan Chairman Zhu Huarong is most proud of.

In addition, the Changan Shenlan all-electric digital platform is a platform based on rear-wheel drive genes and supports four-wheel drive expansion.

The advantage of a rear-wheel-drive vehicle is that the weight distribution is more even, and the stability and handling performance are better. Rear-wheel-drive models used to be only standard on high-end models, but BYD Dolphin has also broken this industry precedent.

The peak power of the Changan Shenlan SL03 single-motor version is 190kW, the peak torque is 320N·m, and the acceleration time per hundred kilometers is 5.9s, which is consistent with the BYD Dolphin single-motor version.

Meanwhile, Changan Shenlan adopts the industry-scarce latest-generation dual-redundant brake system + H-arm multi-link independent suspension system, with a product that can achieve a 50:50 front-to-rear golden axle load ratio, a wide body, and a low center of gravity. Similar suspension structure layouts are typically enjoyed only by high-end models, such as the Tesla Model S and Model X, ensuring excellent ride comfort, high sensitivity, and good NVH performance.

If range and performance are the hard indicators that most directly affect consumers who purchase electric vehicles, then intelligentization and battery safety are the soft indicators that govern consumers’ choices.

The EPA1 platform is equipped with an intelligent vehicle domain controller, Changan Smart Core, which has three domain control functions: vehicle control, cabin domain, and intelligent driving domain, and supports high-speed OTA updates for the entire domain. The OTA upgrade time is controlled within 3 minutes and can be realized in the background without disturbing the driver, thereby avoiding the possibility of vehicle breakdown caused by an unsuccessful infotainment upgrade.

Regarding the cabin domain, Changan Shenlan SL03 is equipped with the Qualcomm 8155 chip, which, with its strong computing power and storage bandwidth, can provide instant command response and support continuous 20-second voice commands.

As for the intelligent driving domain, all Changan Shenlan SL03 models are equipped with L2 level advanced driving assistant as standard. The whole car is equipped with 15 perception hardware devices:

• 3 millimeter-wave radar units

• 6 ultrasonic radar units

• 1 2-megapixel front camera

• 4 1-megapixel panoramic cameras

• 1 DMS fatigue driving monitoring camera

This system adopts Bosch’s solution, which realizes common L2 level advanced driving assistance functions such as integrated adaptive cruise control, lane change assistance, lane keeping assistance, and lane departure warning.

Users can also subscribe to an upgraded high-end intelligent driving assistant for an additional RMB 20,000, which upgrades to 34 perception hardware devices:

• 1 4D imaging millimeter-wave radar

• 4 high-density point cloud millimeter-wave radar

• 12 next-generation encoded ultrasonic radar units

• 1 8-megapixel front camera- 4 panoramic cameras with 2 million pixels each

• 5 surround view cameras with 2 million pixels each

• 6 micro-touch sensors.

Based on multiple environmental perception algorithms and behavior decision algorithms that combine rules and big data, NID 3.0 Navigation Driving Assistance brings functions such as full-speed adaptive cruising, lane-changing with turn signal, and high-speed NOA.

At the same time, the advanced intelligent driving assistance also includes APA 7.0 remote valet parking service, which realizes functions such as in-car parking, remote control parking, and memory parking.

The advanced intelligent driving assistance is currently only available for subscription of pure electric vehicle models, and will be delivered and opened for service on December 31 this year.

In summary, except for the difference in power system and battery life, the four models of Deep Blue SL03 have basically the same configuration.

In the market of 200,000-level new energy vehicles, Deep Blue SL03 is aimed at hardcore competitors such as Tesla Model 3, BYD Dolphin, and XPeng P7. With many technical advantages of EPA1 platform, Deep Blue SL03 undoubtedly has comparable product competitiveness with the above mentioned models.

Deep Blue becomes a bet of Changan Automobile

Changan Deep Blue is actually the predecessor of Changan New Energy, similar to the relationship between GAC New Energy and GAC Aion.

With the expansion of the Deep Blue product line, the original Changan New Energy products will gradually stop production and delist.

In the past few years, although Changan has not completely sunk on the road of new energy transformation, it can only be left on the micro-car market at best.

In 2021, Changan New Energy’s cumulative sales exceeded 100,000 vehicles, of which the sales of Changan Benben single-car exceeded 70,000 vehicles, accounting for 76.3%.

In 2022, Changan New Energy’s sales target is 200,000 vehicles. As of the first half of this year, only 85,000 vehicles were sold, and Changan Benben still accounts for more than half of the sales.

A micro-car with a price of only 100,000 yuan has become the sales mainstay of the entire new energy system. Changan Automobile cannot claim to have the initiative in the era of electrification, and even due to upstream raw material shortages and component production capacity issues, Changan Benben has stopped sales since July, and Changan New Energy urgently needs a popular model to fill the sales gap.# Longan Deep Blue: A Hope for Changan Automobile

Longan Deep Blue has become the only hope for Changan Automobile in this passive situation. Although Changan Automobile had cooperated with Huawei and CATL to create the Avatar brand before Longan Deep Blue, Avatar targeted the high-end market, and its first model, Avatar 11, could not become the main sales force of Changan new energy within a short period.

In contrast, when Longan Deep Blue was defined, its core development goal was to bear the transformation of Changan Automobile. Its products, technologies, and strategic planning were completely different from those of Changan New Energy before.

Longan Deep Blue targets the popular market of 150,000-300,000 yuan, which is considered the most dynamic segment of the Chinese automobile market. It even generates the saying “whoever gets the B segment car will conquer the market,” equivalent to the status of Camry to Toyota and Passat to Volkswagen.

Under the wave of electrification, the performance of this segment is as always remarkable. In 2021, the cumulative sales volume of B-segment pure electric vehicles was 773,000, an increase of 239% year-on-year, accounting for 28% of China’s new energy passenger vehicles, second only to the A00 segment.

The surge of B-segment pure electric vehicle market has also given birth to millions of scale popular models such as Tesla Model 3, XPeng P7, and BYD Han. The B-segment pure electric sedan market has gradually become a must-win battlefield for car companies, with models such as BYD Dolphin, Leapmotor C01, and WM Motor NETA S entering the market one after another.

IHS Markit’s research data shows that:

• In the next 10 years, the penetration rate of mainstream new energy automotive products priced from 150,000 to 250,000 yuan will increase to 40%;

• By 2030, products priced from 150,000 to 250,000 yuan will account for about 60% of the market.

However, judging from the current development trend of China’s new energy, this prediction may be somewhat conservative.

In other words, Longan Deep Blue targets a market with huge potential, and the market performance of the first model, SL03, is critical to the future direction of the brand.

After the press conference, Longan Deep Blue officially announced that the pre-orders of SL03 had exceeded 10,000 in half an hour. Compared with the pre-sale volume of more than 20,000 for Leapmotor C01 in four hours and BYD Dolphin in six hours, the growth rate of SL03 was even stronger.From the Shangri-La Project five years ago to the release of the Deep Blue brand, Changan Automobile has missed the golden five years of the development of new energy vehicles in the domestic market. Now, with the Deep Blue brand and the EPA1 platform, Changan Automobile has at least gained the basic elements in the field of new energy.

Can the ambition to sell 20,000 vehicles per month be achieved?

According to the plan, the delivery of Changan Deep Blue SL03 will begin in the third quarter.

As for the sales expectations of Changan Deep Blue SL03, Deng Chenghao’s goal is to deliver more than 10,000 units in the first month and 15,000 to 20,000 units per month afterwards.

Considering the price and product power of Changan Deep Blue SL03, achieving the first target is not difficult.

Including the previously pre-sold order volume, the current order volume of Changan Deep Blue SL03 is more than 30,000. As for maintaining monthly deliveries of more than 10,000 units or even exceeding 20,000 units, Changan Deep Blue can be said to have ambitions to dominate the B-class pure electric sedan.

Looking at the entire new energy vehicle market, there are only a few car models that have a monthly delivery volume of over 10,000 units, such as the Ideal ONE, GAC Aion S, BYD Han, and Tesla Model 3/Y. If the monthly delivery exceeds 20,000 units, only the BYD Han and Tesla Model 3/Y are left.

Obviously, the sales target of Changan Deep Blue SL03 is on par with the leading players of the current B-class pure electric vehicle market. And the EPA1 platform behind it is the confidence of Changan Deep Blue SL03:

• Compared with the GAC Aion S and BYD Han, Changan Deep Blue SL03 is superior in intelligence.

• Compared with the XPeng P7 (single motor), Changan Deep Blue SL03 is superior in performance.

• Compared with the Tesla Model 3, Changan Deep Blue SL03 is superior in cost-effectiveness.

Therefore, the comprehensive product strength of Changan Deep Blue SL03 has threatened the leading players in the field. And if the pure electric market alone is not enough to support the sales target of 20,000 units per month of Changan Deep Blue SL03, then the extended range version will target an even bigger market.

At less than 170,000 yuan, the extended range version of Changan Deep Blue SL03 is aimed at the same price hybrid market, such as the BYD Qin PLUS DM-i, BYD Tang 05, Geely Dihao L Hi·X, and Nissan Sylphy e-POWER. Changan Deep Blue SL03 has once again demonstrated the advantage of its comprehensive product strength.

In addition, the extended range version also exerts competitive pressure on the same price fuel market, such as the Lynk & Co 03, Honda Civic, and MG Hector. And the performance of Changan Deep Blue SL03 is no less than these “sporty” fuel vehicles.

Therefore, for the user profile of Changan Deep Blue SL03, Changan Deep Blue has set a strategy of “grab, convert, occupy”.- Grab: Use the pure electric version to grab the favor of pure electric trend users.

• Convert: Convert existing fuel car users with hybrid versions.
• Occupy: Get an early position on the hydrogen energy track with the hydrogen energy version.

Whether it is the new energy market or the fuel car market, Changan Shenlan SL03 is more like a product that takes both into account. It is at least a new benchmark for 200,000 yuan, although it is not perfect. A popular model may have already been set.

Faced with the layout of production capacity and product line, Changan Automobile once announced the implementation of the Yubei factory replacement and green intelligent upgrade construction project, with a total new investment of about 6.291 billion yuan, including a new construction investment of 4.8 billion yuan and new bottom-up working capital of 1.49 billion yuan.

It is estimated that after the completion of the project in 2024, it can form an annual production capacity of 280,000 new energy vehicles.

Zhu Ronghua said that in the next five years, Changan Shenlan will bring 6-7 models, covering the compact to large car markets.

If cars such as Benge E-Star and Eado EV are regarded as expedients for Changan Automobile’s early development of new energy, they are fighting for time for more subversive new energy products in the future.

Now they have achieved their goals and handed over the baton to Changan Shenlan. Whether it is a success or a failure, we still need to wait and see.

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.