Author | Tian Hui
Editor | Wang Lingfang
Do European-style EVs appeal to Chinese consumers?
The so-called “European style” refers to a design concept inspired by European aesthetics, characterized by bold color schemes, premium materials, excellent driving experience, and high safety standards. The most representative brand is Polestar.
However, the product definition of European-style EVs is significantly disconnected from the demands of the Chinese market. Often the weaknesses of European-style EVs are precisely the preferences of Chinese consumers for smart features, panoramic sunroofs, and driver assistance systems. Even Polestar faces a tough time making it in the Chinese market.
Are European-style EVs really a no-go in China?
Is there any chance for Chinese automakers to create European-style EVs?
The Aiways U6, launched by Aiways Motors, is an attempt to combine European style with Chinese consumer demands.
On October 13th, the coupé SUV Aiways U6 was launched with two versions priced at RMB 2.199 million, each with three optional packages for consumers to choose from. Without complicated configurations or car purchase routines, the Aiways U6 stands out in the electric car market priced under RMB 250,000.
Before the launch of the Aiways U6, the Electric Vehicle Observer conducted a test drive in Beijing.
With European exterior and interior designs and driving experience, the Aiways U6 is an innovative solution for Chinese automakers to create European-style EVs for the Chinese market.
European exterior and interior design, and driving experience
The design of the Aiways U6 is full of European style.
The exterior look of the Aiways U6 is not a traditional SUV or sedan model but a coupé style. It is the result of the joint efforts of a three-country design team from China, Japan, and Germany, based on the concept of “global design aesthetics.”
Cars with a similar style are rarely found outside Europe, such as the BMW X4, Porsche Cayenne Coupé, and Citroën DS 5LS (a.k.a Citroën DS5). The Aiways U6 is 4805mm long, 1880mm wide, and 1641mm high, with a wheelbase of 2800mm. Its elegant lines and unusual styling give it a unique aura of sophistication.
Thanks to the sleek design and hidden aerodynamic ducts, the drag coefficient of the Aiways U6 has been optimized to achieve a minimum drag coefficient of 0.248Cd, which is an excellent result among 5-seat SUV models.
In terms of wheels, the Aiways U6 comes with 20-inch low-drag wheels as standard across the entire range, which greatly contributes to reducing the vehicle’s overall drag coefficient.
The interior of the Aiways U6 follows a simple and minimalist design approach, with only one 14.6-inch screen located in the center console and a gear selector that resembles an airplane throttle with “Interstellar Cruise” function.
With bold contrasting color schemes, the interior color palette of the Aiways U6 integrates futuristic and sporty colors, combining blue and red to better suit the aesthetic tastes of young people in the Z era.
The interior design of the Aiways U6 is vastly different from those of other popular electric vehicles in China, without the dual-screen display or diamond-patterned seat perforation. Instead, the color schemes and detail elements of the interior design resemble European automotive products.
The European influence of the Aiways U6 can even be felt while behind the wheel.
As for driving experience, the Aiways U6 feels more “hard” and solid compared to popular Chinese car models that usually have softer suspension, providing a more enjoyable driving experience.The Aiways U6 adopts the front MacPherson and rear multi-link suspension layout. During daily driving, the suspension provides clear feedback to the driver, which can bring full confidence to the driver. Even German household cars on the Chinese market do not bring such a strong sense of road feel to the driver.
Fortunately, Aiways U6 isolates fine vibrations fairly well and does not cause any interference to the driver.
The Configuration is Very Chinese
The huge panoramic sunroof, intelligent car system, L2 assisted driving, which Chinese consumers love, are all available in the Aiways U6.
The Aiways U6 is equipped with a huge 2.1 square meter panoramic sunroof.
This huge sunroof is made of double-layer laminated tempered glass and a special Low-e heat-insulating coating, and can block 99.9% of ultraviolet rays and 78% of external heat from entering the car, according to official sources.
In terms of the intelligent car system, the Aiways U6 system performs well. The UI design is clear, the color matching is fashionable, and the response speed is also very fast.
In terms of UI layout, the Aiways U6 adopts a left-right layout of vehicle state and functional interfaces, occupying about 30% and 70% of the entire screen space respectively. The car system functions are relatively complete.
The entertainment system supports common entertainment content playback software such as Himalaya and QQ Music, and the map software is supported by Gaode Maps. The Aiways U6 car system supports the APP application store, allowing users to install some common applications in the built-in store.
Voice interaction is also a strong point of the Aiways U6 car system, supporting 90 seconds of continuous voice input. During the test drive, I tried to wake up the intelligent car system through continuous voice input several times. The overall voice recognition rate can reach more than 80%, and it can correctly execute common commands such as navigation and music playback.
According to official information, the Aiways U6 intelligent car system supports “visible and speakable” function. In the actual experience process, the car system’s built-in air conditioning and multimedia functions both support “visible and speakable” function, but it still needs improvement in third-party applications.Translated English Markdown:
The central control screen and LCD instrument panel of the entire intelligent car system have linkage function. After the navigation is turned on, the navigation information can be transmitted to the LCD instrument panel for display.
Aiways U6 also supports KTV singing functions that Chinese consumers love. With the Leishi KTV software and the accompanying microphone, car owners can enjoy singing in the car.
The Aiways U6 supports L2 advanced driver assistance system functions, including full-speed range adaptive cruise control, lane center keeping, and advanced turn signal control lane change function.
In actual experience, the lane keeping function of Aiways U6 performs well, and it can keep driving in the middle of the lane during high-speed highway driving under normal lighting conditions. Unfortunately, the turn signal control lane change function advertised by the official was not experienced during the test drive.
Is the U6 a good car? Is Aiways a good brand?
Aiways U6 is not the first electric sedan SUV, NIO EC6 is.
In NIO’s product system, ES6 and EC6 models of the same price are traditional and sedan SUV models respectively. ES6 has surpassed EC6 in sales, but the product popularity of the two cars is similar. Similar situations also exist in the fuel vehicle market, where the sales of BMW X3 are much higher than BMW X4, but the topic popularity of X4 is almost as high as that of X3.
Chinese consumers’ acceptance of sedan SUVs still remains in words, and there is no real desire to buy them. Can the Aiways U6 win sales in the Chinese market?
It is difficult to say. However, for Aiways, the significance of the U6 is not only about sales or the Chinese market.
Aiways is one of the first batch of new forces in China’s car manufacturing industry, and a pioneer of Chinese electric cars exported to Europe. As of this summer, Aiwais has sold more than 4,000 cars in Europe.
As BYD and NIO enter Europe in a big way, Aiwais, the first Chinese electric car company to enter Europe, is now not influential in the Chinese electric car market and is even being forgotten by Chinese consumers.Aiways has made attempts in multiple areas of new energy vehicle technologies, including pure electric, extended range, methanol hydrogenation, and battery swapping. However, these technical attempts have yet to translate into fully functional products.
The launch of the Aiways U6 is a critical product for Aiways to fill the gap in its product line and enhance brand awareness among consumers.
Chinese electric vehicle consumers are the most knowledgeable in the world and have high demands for product performance, with good looks, good handling, and functionality being the basics. Unique characteristics in electrification and intelligence are necessary to satisfy these consumers.
The Aiways U6 meets the demands of picky consumers with both unique exterior styling and decent intelligent features. In the 200,000 RMB electric SUV market, few models can simultaneously balance aesthetics and intelligent technology, making the U6 a niche product.
For Aiways, creating product strength is an entry-level lesson.
For the company, the launch of the Aiways U6 is significant in enhancing brand influence and exploring international business. When designing the U6, the company aimed to enter the European market and adopted a large number of European supplier components, such as French Saint-Gobain’s entire glass components.
As the world enters a rapid development stage of new energy vehicles, the arrival of the Aiways U6 is timely. For Aiways, the U6 can only succeed and cannot fail.
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.