Author: Zheng Senhong
On October 8th, the New Force Car Brand Ziyujia’s first model, the Ziyujia NV, was officially launched.
This should be considered Li Yinan’s third entrepreneurship project in his life-as the eve of the Ziyujia NV launch conference, Niuchuang New Energy was renamed “Mars Stone Technology,” and the car brand was named “Ziyujia (NIUTRON)” with the positioning of intelligent high-end new energy vehicles.
Genius teenager, Huawei successor, Baidu CTO, and Little Cow Founder Li Yinan now has a new label: New Force Car Founder.
Unlike the radicalism of other new force car makers, the Ziyujia led by Li Yinan does not talk extensively about intelligence, only guaranteeing “on-time and high-quality delivery.”
This seemingly routine car-making attitude brings another voice-products are not eye-catching and have no features.
Like Lei Jun betting half of his reputation on himself, this is undoubtedly something that Li Yinan, who is 52 years old this year, has fallen into a certain passive state.
Are There Any Highlights of Ziyujia NV?
With the Ideal ONE as the boundary, the new world of domestic new energy mid-size SUVs was opened in just four years, and the blue ocean became a red ocean.
On the one hand, the top new force players, NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto, have successively gathered in the midsize new energy SUV market. Especially after the Ideals played the L9, L8, and L7 combination punches, the market’s accommodating capacity was also compressed.
On the other hand, players such as RisingAuto Motors, Avtar, and AITO Questioning World also regard mid-size SUVs as a brand gamble. In addition to competing in product strength, even user rights are involved in this intense competition.
It can be said that if there is no particularly eye-catching product strength or an absolute advantage in user rights, the likelihood of failure will significantly increase when rushing into this segmented market.
The NV of Ziyujia, which was officially launched this time, played a “city exploration” tag with the added intelligence that is “just right.”
In the context of “city exploration,” the Ziyujia NV is not a mobility tool created only for family use but is used to seek more driving scenarios, such as off-road, camping, and other outdoor scenes.
This is Ziyujia NV trying to guide users to recognize the product, which means that Ziyujia NV has taken a “non-mainstream” route.Except for its body size and trunk space being superior to its competitors such as the WENJIE M5 and the Voyah FREE, the Ziyoudian NV also adopts a range-extended + pure electric dual-mode power system, with the iAWD intelligent dual-motor four-wheel drive system as standard on all models, and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 5.9 seconds.
The driving range of the pure electric CLTC version are: 440km (standard range) and 560km (extended range), and the driving range of the range-extended WLTC version is 939km, CLTC achieved 1257km on driving range.
Market tests have shown that range-extended models are more suitable for most driving scenarios than pure electric models, dispelling the first biggest consumer fear about driving range and charging anxiety.
Thanks to the boost provided by the range-extender system, the Ziyoudian NV can provide consumers with diversified choices between range-extended and pure electric power systems. In this regard, the NV can already outcompete those pure electric competitors who have driving range and charging anxiety issues.
In the area of advanced driver assistance systems, some automakers choose to adopt a “one-car, one-situation” methodology to keep their vehicles modular upgradable, including Ideal, XPeng, and ARCFOXhu. Meanwhile, some carmakers choose to embed the hardware and enable features via paid subscription, including Nio and AVETA.
Both methods cannot get the best of both worlds. The one-car, one-situationmethodology prioritizes safeguarding sales volume, but it also results in vehicles with embedded hardware that cannot satisfy consumers’ demands, and therefore cannot be sold as expected. For instance, the main selling point for XPeng P5 is the 550 E version (the model without LiDAR), which consumers generally believe has a better cost-performance ratio.
On the other hand, implementing a hardware embedding scheme throughout the entire lineup means consumers end up paying for various features, even if they don’t need or want them.
Against this backdrop, Ziyoudian NV has proposed a new path for intelligent driving that is scalable.
Advanced Assistant Driving (AAD) system is standard equipment throughout the Ziyoudian NV line, based on the Horizon Journey 2 chip, and it adopts the Horizon Matrix Mono monocular visual perception plan.
In terms of sensors, the entire vehicle is equipped with:
- 11 cameras covering a 360° range;
- 5 millimeter wave radars;
- 12 ultrasonic radars;
- And an in-cabin driver state monitoring camera.The sensor configuration is standard and provides L2 level functions: including AEB (automatic emergency braking), ACC (full-range adaptive cruise control), LCC (lane centering control), LCA (lane changing assistance), BSD (blind-spot monitoring), APA (automatic parking), and so on. They are available for use upon delivery.
However, to ensure that users can experience higher-level driving assistance functions in the future, Zhiyoujia NV provides comprehensive hardware upgrade services.
Users can choose to upgrade the controller and sensors, which are the SuperDrive AAD system, capable of achieving NOA functions on highways and urban roads, as well as fully automatic parking functions in more scenarios.
As for this controller, it is actually the Horizon dual J5 computing platform, with a computing power of 256 TOPS.
Earlier reports stated that Zhiyoujia plans to provide upgradable SuperDrive AAD systems to users in the third quarter of 2023. However, Li Yinan did not further clarify this time point or reveal specific upgrade costs at the Zhiyoujia NV press conference.
As smart electric vehicles mature, consumers should be able to purchase and upgrade their intelligent cars on-demand, giving more choice to consumers.
But how to overcome the time gap between mass production delivery and technological iteration? Zhiyoujia NV’s upgradable hardware solution can be seen as a new approach that not only ensures the flexibility of iteration in the era of smart cars but also retains the practicality of on-demand purchasing in the era of traditional cars.
In terms of intelligent interaction experience, Zhiyoujia NV innovatively introduced Smart Stacks modular plug-and-play interaction, with the vehicle control part running on the native NIUTRON OS system, and the navigation and entertainment part running on CarPlay, with both sides running independently.
Specifically, Zhiyoujia NV uses a clever way:
On a 15.6-inch central control screen, the bottom section consists of Zhiyoujia’s vehicle system, including basic features such as vehicle settings, while the upper half is specifically for CarPlay screen projection for users.
At the same time, to reduce the learning cost for users, Zhiyoujia NV maintains a high degree of consistency in operational methods and interaction logic between the two systems.
At this point, similar to the smart driving section, the product logic of ZYJ NV has always revolved around “practicality and cost-effectiveness”.
In summary, in the ongoing fierce competition of large-sized SUVs in new energy, it seems that every product that wants to achieve explosive sales should be like a terrible “hexagonal warrior”: without any shortcomings.
ZYJ NV indeed only guarantees that the product will not be outdated or below the passing level, users will have everything they need, but not much more.
And this is also the core reason why ZYJ NV cannot leave a deep impression on consumers.
When a new boundary is rolled out from top to bottom in the market, consumers’ expectations for new products will also rise.
Whether it meets the standard or not depends entirely on the impact that the product itself brings.
From the perspective of consumers, after several years of continuous penetration and precipitation, their understanding of an excellent product has become more perfect and mature, and their car buying needs are becoming more demanding.
From what we have seen so far, ZYJ NV completely underestimated the degree of competition in this red ocean.
Can ZYJ NV achieve “freedom” of orders?
If ZYJ NV goes back to the ideal ONE start-up period, there may be a great chance to enjoy a blue ocean alone, but now ZYJ NV has entered a red ocean.
The J.D.Power report shows that from 2021 to the first half of 2022, the proportion of new middle and large-sized new energy SUVs is as high as 83%.
From the perspective of the terminal market, the purchase intention of the middle and large-sized new energy SUV sub-market has increased by 13% compared with 2021, while in terms of actual sales, the sales share of middle and large-sized new energy SUVs has increased by 14% compared with the previous year, becoming a sub-segment with very rapid growth.
Among them, the growth rate of extended-range electric vehicles is higher than the average level, and the sales of extended-range models in China increased from 33,000 units in 2021 to 105,000 units, and it is expected to reach 720,000 units in 2025, accounting for 6.9% of the entire new energy sales.
This means that from the middle and large-sized SUVs to the extended-range sub-market, ZYJ NV’s vehicle is in a positive expansion environment.
How big is the opportunity for ZYJ NV to catch up with the current trend?
Unlike other new forces players such as NIO and Ideal, ZYJ NV doesn’t want to define its own user group.
“I don’t want to define our crowd, I don’t want to define our age group, and we don’t want to compare with anyone. The most important thing is that after buying our own self-driving NV car, can you feel proud of yourself.”
In Li Yinan’s view, whether single men, couples, families of three or four are all suitable for the self-driving NV.
This also to some extent indicates that self-driving NV does not have a clear user profile, which means that self-driving NV needs to go through a process of “seeking directions with thrown stones,” weakening its own initiative.
Secondly, from the perspective of market competition, as a “city exploration SUV”, self-driving NV does not have air suspension as standard across its range.
Compared with Ideal L7 and Wanjie M5, self-driving NV’s power performance and intelligent level are not the strongest.
Even on the day of its launch, Li Xiang once said on social media that it cannot be compared with even the ideal entry-level model (Ideal L6), how could it match Ideal L7?
Faced with Li Xiang’s statement, the only thing that can stand up for self-driving NV is its price advantage.
However, if it is targeted at the Voyah FREE, self-driving NV not only has a price advantage, but also Carplay as a card to play.
Since its official delivery in August 2021, Voyah FREE has delivered a total of 17,465 units with an average monthly sales of over 1000 units.
To some extent, it is expected that the climbing sales of self-driving NV can take Voyah FREE as a reference, after all, the two have the highest overlap in comprehensive product power. The only consideration is whether self-driving NV can make a certain amount of noise in a short time.
In addition, BYD Tang DM-p and Mocha DHT-PHEV, both hybrid systems, are also strong enemies that self-driving NV cannot ignore.
The former only took 5 hours to get 35,000 orders after launching. Although the latter’s current sales performance is neck-and-neck with Voyah FREE, it also has a certain outbreak potential under the empowerment of subsequent high-end assisted driving.
At the same time, there are also many “powerful generals” waiting for self-driving NV in the pure electric market, including Tesla Model Y, XPeng G9, and RisingAuto R7…
Among them, Tesla Model Y has long been the best-selling electric car in the world, while XPeng G9 has reversed its reputation after undergoing a round of price and configuration adjustments. RisingAuto R7 even used the car-electric separation purchase model to lower prices to the A-level SUV market.
In this regard, everyone is trying to find ways to attract users.Even if some car models may not seem like direct competitors to the ZYJ NV, it must be made clear that sometimes potential customers’ budgets are not set in stone, and ordinary products are often the first to be eliminated.
Therefore, it seems that the market pressure on ZYJ NV will not decrease until the brand has established a deep-rooted label or a clear selling point.
Is positioning as a “city explorer” a false proposition?
In fact, any new energy SUV on the market that supports outdoor discharge function has the label of “city exploration”, which is just a bonus point in their eyes and not a killer move.
On the contrary, if ZYJ NV positions itself as a “honest product”- emphasizing cost-effectiveness, practicality, and a product logic focused on user choice in assisted driving, and adding the label of “city exploration” as an extra, at least consumers who focus on cost-effectiveness will still remember ZYJ NV.
However, if “city exploration” is the main theme, and with ZYJ NV’s current comprehensive product strength, combined with a series of unknown branding factors, it is difficult for consumers to pay 300,000 RMB to support it.
After ZYJ NV was listed, car fans once surveyed its orders, and consumers’ choices, in addition to the Ideal L7, mainly focused on the hardcore off-road market, including the Pajero and the Prado.
This is almost a niche market. During the peak period of the Pajero and the Prado, their sales were only maintained at around 2000 units, but they have already withdrawn from the market.
After ZYJ NV was listed for 48 hours, the official announcement of receiving more than 20,000 orders can be seen as a good start for ZYJ NV. However, the final actual sales volume still depends on the conversion rate of orders.
Is the lack of brand effect and pressure resistance ZYJ’s Achilles’ heel?
Is positioning as a “city explorer” a unique selling point for ZYJ NV?
ZYJ NV still needs a selling point to ignite the market and support the product.
This is the most important thing that ZYJ NV needs to do before delivery, which largely determines the future of ZYJ NV.
Li Xiang once proposed a product method: the market share of new energy vehicles determines consumers’ awareness of the product, and conversely, a product cannot leave three levels:- User’s expressed clear needs
- Implicit needs that users may have
- Insight into user needs and creation of functions
Li Xiang believes that only by comprehensively considering these three dimensions can we observe, analyze and validate users on both rational and emotional levels, and then develop products that exceed user needs.
As the brand’s stepping stone, when the market feedback of ZIYOUJIA NV did not meet the expected volume, Li Yinan was asked whether this approach was feasible.
As Li Yinan said, the positioning of ZIYOUJIA NV is unseen among other brands, but ZIYOUJIA just wants to explore and test whether this approach is feasible.
For ZIYOUJIA, the secretary-general of CAAM, Cui Dongshu believes that high-profit medium and large SUVs can improve the overall anti-pressure ability of car companies, which is the key reason why this segmented market has become a battleground for car companies.
For ZIYOUJIA, if they follow the product thinking of the past two rounds of electric vehicles, being eliminated by the markets will only be a matter of time, as they have chosen a fiercely competitive segmented market at the beginning phase of their brand.
In fierce competition, only forward-looking market judgment and product strength can win the market.
For Li Yinan, the first checkpoint for ZIYOUJIA is whether they can deliver outstanding sales performance in December of this year.
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.