Vol.12

I believe that for most users, when they hear the words “Ziyoujia”, their minds are full of question marks. What kind of new brand is this?

Actually, compared to Wei Xiaoli, Ziyoujia is a brand that comes with more aura.

Ziyoujia’s original founder is Li Yinan, who was once known as a “genius teenager”. Since he entered the juvenile class of Huazhong University of Science and Technology at the age of 15, he has embarked on a legendary life of entrepreneurship, venture capital, and even imprisonment.

Now, after half a life of ups and downs, Li Yinan still has great ambitions in his later years and has chosen to devote his energy to the car making industry.

In fact, Ziyoujia Automotive was launched as early as 2018, and was officially established in 2021. It was planned to launch its first car, the Ziyoujia NV, on March 31 this year, but it was temporarily shelved due to the epidemic. Half a year later, Ziyoujia NV was finally released on October 8th, and it is planned to begin delivery in December.

Now, let’s take a look at how the Ziyoujia NV performs.

Overview of Ziyoujia NV

The Ziyoujia NV is a 5-seater luxury-medium-sized city exploration SUV, which includes:

• Pure electric standard range version, CLTC working condition endurance mileage of 440km, priced at 278,800 yuan;
• Pure electric long range version, CLTC working condition endurance mileage of 560km, priced at 318,800 yuan;
• Extended range version, pure electric endurance of 150km, CLTC working condition endurance mileage of 1257km, WLTC working condition endurance mileage of 939km, priced at 288,800 yuan.

The length, width, and height of the Ziyoujia NV are 4915mm, 1962mm, and 1755mm respectively, and the wheelbase is 2910mm. The entire lineup comes standard with iAWD dual-motor intelligent four-wheel drive, and the total torque of the pure electric version is 452N·m, while that of the extended range version is 526N·m, with both having an acceleration of 5.9 seconds per kilometer.

In terms of driving assistance, the entire lineup of Ziyoujia NV comes standard with AAD advanced driving assistance system. The system is equipped with the Journey 2 chip, which was jointly developed by Ziyoujia and Horizon, and can realize 24 conventional driving assistance functions. If higher-level functions are needed, you can choose to upgrade to the SuperDrive AAD system for a fee, which can cope with a wider range of driving scenarios such as highways and cities.In the intelligent cockpit, the Zhiyoujia NV adopts a dual-chip and dual-system cockpit and creates the design with the most high-tech style – building blocks plug and play interaction. NIUTRON OS and CarPlay dual systems run simultaneously, making audio-visual entertainment and car control clear at a glance, with low learning costs and high efficiency of use.

From the above basic situation, among the new forces brands, the WENJIE M5 that overlaps highly with the Zhiyoujia NV in price range will be the most direct and strongest opponent of the Zhiyoujia NV.

Appearance: “Tiger” or “Bull”

As a medium-to-large-sized SUV, the Zhiyoujia NV is larger in overall size than XPeng G9 and Nio ES7, which are more expensive than it in price. However, the wheelbase is 88mm shorter than G9 and 50mm shorter than ES7.

It is regrettable that it cannot fully surpass them and bring users more visible cost-effectiveness. However, in terms of various sizes, compared with the similarly priced WENJIE M5, the Zhiyoujia NV can completely overpower it.

In fact, the advantage in size mainly comes from the Zhiyoujia NV body’s multi-dimensional energy dissipation structure design. Anti-collision beams are added on the side and front, which not only improves the safety factor but also lays the foundation for the wider and tougher appearance of the Zhiyoujia NV.

From the appearance point of view, the Zhiyoujia NV is one of the few new force brands that is full of tough off-road style products. Indeed, as a brand that is still completely unfamiliar to users, the Zhiyoujia has to work hard to quickly win the favor of users, and quickly project its strength to the market, which is essential in external design.

First of all, on the front face, a pair of ultra-large double-standard circular daytime running lights like “bull’s eyes” stare ahead. Together with the dotted line connecting the two “bull’s eyes,” and the contrasting cute appearance formed by the tough body looks like a hook, which makes people unable to help but stare at it for a few seconds.

However, as we continue to look at it, the taste begins to change. Perhaps it is the “Land Rover Defender”; perhaps it is the “Haval Big Dog”; even its brother brand, “Little Cow Electric Car,” begins to flash in our minds.

In today’s product homogenization era, it is harmless to be similar to other products. However, as a brand positioning itself as high-end, it degrades the brand’s style to resemble Haval and Little Cow Electric Car, for example.

Looking further back, the large C-pillar is striking, still exuding a strong Land Rover style at first glance. However, unlike Land Rover, the Neouvou NV incorporates a dynamic energy stack on the C-pillar, which allows users to more intuitively view remaining power outdoors during charging and discharging. However, similar designs can still be found on Little Cow Electric Cars.

Continuing to look back, the tail lights of the Neouvou NV also use a dotted line design that echoes the front. It is not just a simple dotted line, however; when connected, it presents the basic shape of “bull horns,” cleverly linking to the “bull’s eyes” of the front face, imbuing the car with an overall “bull” aesthetic.

Overall, compared to other new energy vehicle models from new players, the Neouvou NV has more off-road capabilities. Regardless of whether it is called an “electric Land Rover,” it is a unique presence in the new energy vehicle market, which means it will have some loyal followers.

Interior Design: Adhering to Tradition

The overall style of the Neouvou NV’s interior still follows a minimalist style. A 12.3-inch instrument panel is placed in front of a double-pillar steering wheel, and there is a mini health display screen that can read temperature, air volume, and PM2.5 in an air-conditioning vent.

In addition, the 15.6-inch center floating screen is placed vertically in the center. Although the viewing and gaming experience may be compromised, it greatly increases the convenience of dual system operation.

Regarding the seats, the immersive co-pilot seat of the Neouvou NV is similar to a queen’s seat, with functions such as massage, ventilation, heating, leg rest adjustment, and 167° reclining. Additionally, the entire Neouvou NV series comes with the pioneering embroidery tensioning technology Nappa seats in the industry. The specific experience of riding in these seats, however, must be evaluated by experienced users.When it comes to the back row, the seats can be laid flat at a 60:40 ratio, with ventilation and heating adjustable over three settings. However, compared to other brands, the NV model from Zoyte Auto does not seem to have many advantages, and due to safety considerations, the NV model retains the panoramic beam, making the visual effect for rear passengers inferior to that of same-level products with a panoramic roof like the Wanjie M5.

Overall, Zoyte Auto NV has not broken the common practice of using excessive materials in interior design for new force brands. However, it is commendable that Zoyte Auto respects the users’ demands, such as replacing the door panel buttons with more delicate ones, and being among the first new energy automakers to incorporate Carplay into their systems. Such user-oriented operational logic and execution demonstrate the brand identity of Zoyte Auto.

Intelligent: Full of Surprises

Firstly, in terms of assisted driving, similar to Tesla, Zoyte Auto NV relies solely on visual perception. The more basic AAD system uses perception hardware including a monocular camera on the top of the windshield, five millimeter-wave radars around the car and one in front of the car, four 360° surround-view cameras, and twelve ultrasonic sensors. This system can achieve more than 24 common driving assistance features.

It is worth mentioning that, as a vehicle priced below 300,000 RMB, Zoyte Auto NV amazingly features basic intelligent configuration that surpasses competitors at the same level, which is quite generous.

Upgraded to SuperDrive AAD, Zoyte Auto NV will be equipped with dual Horizon Journey ®️5 chips with a computing power increase to 256 TOPS, 12 ultra-high definition cameras (2 front-view cameras with 8 million pixels), 4 surround-view cameras, and 5 millimeter-wave radars, which can cover multiple driving scenarios, such as high-speed roads and urban areas.

Next is the intelligent cockpit. The most high-tech feature of the entire Zoyte Auto NV is reflected in the intelligent cockpit.Based on the idea of “technology without perception” of Zhiyoujia, Zhiyoujia NV supports smart wearable devices like Apple Watch to unlock the vehicle. After getting in the car, simply place the phone on the wireless charging pad for seamless charging, Wi-Fi connection, and CarPlay, making the entire process natural and smooth.

Instead of blindly pursuing cool interactions, Zhiyoujia creates a car ecosystem centered around itself without drawing attention to itself. It must be said that Li Yinan is still very experienced in this area.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that Zhiyoujia NV’s interactive plug-and-play system not only supports the NIUTRON OS and CarPlay dual systems, but also supports the bilingual voice platforms of NIUTRON Xiao You and Siri, which makes the feel of a seamless integration between the car and the device more intense.

Moreover, in order to facilitate blind operation, Zhiyoujia NV retains some physical buttons for commonly used functions, which is relatively user-friendly.

The Force Behind Electric Power

In the chaotic new energy market, a single product alone is not the key to breaking through the market, but rather a complex system of product power, brand power, and marketing power.

Compared with the first wave of new forces that are gradually gaining momentum, Zhiyoujia, as the second wave of new forces, has lost its first-mover advantage. This situation has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is knowing the pitfalls that predecessors have encountered and can avoid them, while the disadvantage is the sudden decrease in attention, capital, and other resources, which requires the company to rely heavily on its own hard power to break through.

Among the second wave of new forces, Zhiyoujia has the backing of Xiao Niu and its resources are not bad. The biggest regret is the lack of a breakthrough point in brand promotion. Compared with the development trajectory of Wei Small Trust, Xiao-Peng He, and Li Xiang, the founder’s persona is critical. In this regard, Li Yinan is not inferior to any of them, but the experienced Li Yinan seems to be “enlightened” and has become very “Buddhist” about everything.

The acceleration of Zhiyoujia’s development is in Li Yinan’s hands. Of course, if Zhiyoujia’s self-development goal is to proceed steadily, that is another logic.

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.