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NIO’s EV ET7 Wins the “Golden Steering Wheel” Award
On November 9, German media Auto Bild and Bild am Sonntag announced the annual “Golden Steering Wheel” awards for 2022. NIO’s EV ET7 won the award in the midsize sedan category and became the champion of the Golden Steering Wheel Award. It is worth mentioning that the ET7 is also the first vehicle of a Chinese brand to win this award.
BILD am SONNTAG and AUTO BILD have been awarding the Golden Steering Wheel to the best new cars in the market every year since 1976 under the auspices of the publishing magnate Axel Springer.
During the 2019 Golden Steering Wheel Awards ceremony, Diess presented the award to Musk, creating a hilarious atmosphere. As the birthplace of automobiles, the impact brought about by the Model 3 became even more severe in the following years. Tesla has even started producing cars in its super factory in Berlin.
As for the rules, the basic requirement for the selected vehicles is that they must have been released for sale that year. Next, editors screen new models and choose the first round of entries for readers to vote on.
Readers must vote for the three models with the highest number of votes in each category, and then the final will be held.
The panel of expert judges who participated in the finals’ test included editors, car designers, car enthusiasts, technicians, digital experts, and racers, among others, who ultimately determined the results.
A total of 47 cars were nominated for the award this year, in 11 categories. In the large and medium-sized car categories, the ET7 was nominated for the award and won first place over Mercedes-Benz EQE. In addition, NIO’s battery swapping station was also nominated for the Innovation Award.
Quick Comment:
Following Tesla Model 3’s Gold Steering Wheel Award, NIO ET7 also received this award. NIO’s opponent is Mercedes-Benz’s flagship EQE, as it electrifies its transition.
For our extremely insular domestic market and brands that are going abroad, NIO’s award gives everyone confidence that European consumers do not reject excellent products from China. To put it bluntly, “if you’re popular at home, going overseas isn’t a problem!”For Germany, actually for the whole Europe. This marks the trend that a group of Chinese automakers represented by NIO are launching a counterattack against the birthplace of the automobile, and the trend is likely to expand.
NIO Reports Q3 2022 Results: Revenue of RMB13.002 Billion, Gross Margin of 13%
On the evening of November 10th, NIO released its financial report for the third quarter of 2022, which contains the following information:
- Total revenue of RMB13.002 billion, a year-on-year increase of 33% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 26%;
- Automotive business revenue of RMB11.933 billion, a year-on-year increase of 38% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 25%;
- Total gross profit of RMB1.735 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 13% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 29%;
- Overall gross margin was 13%, compared to 20% in the same period last year and 13% in the previous quarter;
- Gross margin per vehicle was 16%, a slight decrease from the previous quarter (17%);
- Sales cost was RMB11.267 billion, a year-on-year increase of 44% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 26%;
- Net loss was RMB4.111 billion, with a net loss of RMB2.758 billion in the previous quarter;
- The company’s cash reserve (cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and balances of time deposits and short-term investments) was RMB51.4 billion, compared to RMB54.4 billion in the previous quarter;
- NIO’s R&D expenses in the third quarter of 2022 were RMB2.945 billion, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 37%, accounting for 23% of the quarter’s total revenue;
- Sales and administrative expenses were RMB2.713 billion, a year-on-year increase of 49% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 19%;
- NIO expects to deliver 43,000 to 48,000 vehicles in Q4 2022, an increase of approximately 72% to 92% compared to Q4 2021;
- The estimated total revenue in Q4 2022 is between RMB17.368 billion and RMB19.225 billion, an increase of approximately 75% to 94% compared to Q4 2021.
During the subsequent financial report conference, William Li mentioned several key pieces of information:
- NIO is expected to achieve a balance between profit and loss in Q4 of next year, and the main reason for the current imbalance is the high price of lithium carbonate.– NIO has launched the Orin X chip, which has a close relationship with NVIDIA, and has enough A100 chips in the chip supply chain, and vehicle production capacity will gradually increase;
- NIO is targeting the global market, and will first focus on the European market overseas;
- NIO’s current model sales have not been affected by Tesla’s price cuts, and it will launch five new models next year.
Quick Comment:
From the financial report data, NIO’s overall development is on a positive trajectory. At the same time, NIO’s global plan is gradually yielding results, as evidenced by the ET7 winning the Golden Steering Wheel award.
With the popular model ET5 starting to be delivered, as long as the factory production capacity can be maintained, NIO’s monthly delivery volume of breaking 10,000 should not be a problem in the future. Even a monthly delivery volume of 15,000 or higher is not out of reach.
BYD’s high-end brand, Yuanfang Auto, design drawing exposed! And laser radar?
Yuanfang Auto, BYD’s high-end brand, has exposed the design drawing of the exterior, with the most eye-catching part being the front of this tough SUV. At first glance, you will notice the square logo in the center of the grille, and currently, Yuanfang Auto has not formally released its brand logo, so everyone can use their imagination.
Many people have expressed that the large area of the grid in the front air intake grille uses a dot matrix-style diamond decoration, which can cause trypophobia and is a bit uncomfortable. However, considering that this model belongs to BYD’s PHEV route, it first needs a large area of the air intake grille, and the design drawing background is white, so the actual car should look much better with a black decorative net later.
In addition, the diamond matrix on both sides of the front, in the position above and below the headlights, should be interactive light groups, and the appearance can refer to GAU.
However, it can be seen that the angle of this front is still very flat, with a large wind resistance area, and does not adopt the low wind resistance design that is now popular in pure electric models. However, considering the heat dissipation requirements of tough off-road vehicles, as well as the relatively lenient energy consumption performance requirements, this design will still be more practical.
On the side of the design drawing, laser radar modules are built into the surrounding inner side of the wheel, and the module of the rear-facing camera is also integrated into the gear-shaped structure that surrounds the edge.
The entire front hood has a noticeable upward bulge design, which should increase the muscular feel of the actual car.
The tail has an obvious central tire package and the taillights have a relatively straight design with interactive light groups that echo the headlamps.
At the rear right position, there is a handle. The opening method is guessed to be pulled to the left instead of upward, which is more practical for those who have off-road experience. And from the price above 800,000 yuan, it can be inferred that the entire car is equipped with electric suction doors.
Of course, friends who want to see all the exterior design information can see below:
In May of this year, Li Yunfei, general manager of BYD brand and public relations department, summarized several major businesses of BYD Group on Weibo.
Among them, it was specifically pointed out that BYD’s passenger car business is composed of the Wangchao, Ocean, Tang and high-end brands. Except for Tang, which is a joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz, other sub-brands are all wholly operated by BYD.
At the same time, the high-end brand will announce the brand and logo in the third quarter of this year, and globally launch the first model of the brand (hardcore off-road vehicle) in the fourth quarter, which will be listed in the first half of 2023.
The high-end brand will apply BYD’s most advanced automotive technology, representing BYD’s strongest capabilities in electrification and intelligence. The price range of the high-end brand is expected to be between 800,000 to 1.5 million yuan. At the same time, in terms of brand, product, sales service network, and operation team, it is brand new and independent.#### Quick Review:
There is no official information about this rugged SUV. Apart from the laser radar + camera multi-sensor fusion perception scheme shown in the design drawing, we can also see the configuration of interactive light groups.
Undoubtedly, this rugged SUV will be equipped with the DM system. However, currently the 1.5T engine on WM Motor’s D9 is already the heaviest product in the current DM system, with a curb weight of 2,665 kg.
Therefore, personally, I tend to believe that this rugged SUV will be equipped with a larger displacement engine and a larger motor.
Of course, supporting an 800,000 RMB price tag not only requires a brand new product. Under the endorsement of BYD, we need to wait and see how the luxury value of the brand itself is reflected and perceived by consumers.
Meizu announces the FlymeAuto design concept, and the familiar Flyme is back!
On the morning of November 11th, Meizu released the Alive Design design concept of some FlymeAuto car systems on the official Flyme Weibo account. Not only does it continue the design concept of Flyme in the mobile phone system, but also brings three major core functions to the large-screen car system: Smart Bar, small window mode, and holiday desktop. These new features make the user feel like they are using a mobile phone system, reducing the learning curve.
According to the official statement, the Alive Design design concept aims to give “life” to functionality, visual effects, and interaction. Now, this core concept originating from the mobile phone system not only perfectly reproduces on FlymeAuto, but also evolves again for the intelligent cockpit, making Smart Bar, small window mode and holiday desktop more beautiful, efficient, and easy to use in driving scenarios.
As for the three major core functions, the new Smart Bar adds dynamic adaptive interaction on the basis of the traditional dock bar, which can intelligently match different scene demands, clearly present key information, and not cover the main screen.
## Small window mode
Small window mode, an immensely popular feature on Meizu phones, can solve a large number of “temporary” interaction needs. It is lightweight, provides temporary interventions, and flexible jumps. Through a more efficient on-screen multi-task display solution, the number of times users repeatedly switch between applications can be reduced. As a Meizu user, I deeply understand this.
Holiday desktop functionality
Holiday desktop functionality is not just a dynamic wallpaper. It updates a 3D rendered scene desktop in real-time according to the current holiday, combined with special holiday interactive Easter eggs, creating a more immersive festive atmosphere for you.
Meizu FlymeAuto car system
Meizu FlymeAuto car system touted as an extension of Flyme’s intelligent cabin system. Meizu officials state that FlymeAuto will continue the Alive Design concept, become a partner that travels alongside the user, sense and understand user needs and establish interconnectivity between people, people and objects, and objects and objects, ultimately achieving multi-terminal, full-scene, immersive integrated experiences.
They also state that being simpler, more efficient, and more intelligent is what Meizu hopes to bring to FlymeAuto’s dynamic and life-like qualities and differentiate it from conventional car systems, hoping that in the near future, it will provide unprecedented intelligent travel experiences for Meizu users and more intelligent car users.
Quick review:
I have used three Meizu phones as my main device in the past five years, and even today, I still carry a Meizu 16s as a backup phone.
As an experienced smartphone user, the decline of Meizu phones always makes me feel sorrowful. Meizu used to dare to insist on top and bottom symmetrical design concepts when all Android manufacturers blindly copied the notch design, and was resolute in saying “no” to the notch design. Combined with the simple and easy-to-use Flyme system, this is also the reason why I have always used Meizu phones.
However, as Huang Zhang is no longer involved in the company’s specific business, Meizu’s persistence in its original vision for the phone has been lost, and more and more Meizu fans have switched to other brands. But regardless of how poor the phone hardware is, Flyme’s design aesthetics are always online, which cannot be divorced from the efforts of the former head of Flyme, Yang Yan.Since Meizu was acquired by Geely’s subsidiary Hubei Xingji Era Co., Ltd., I have been looking forward to seeing Meizu incorporating the design concept of Flyme into the automotive system to save the chaotic car system of Zeekr. Now it seems that this day is getting closer and closer.
Although there is currently no testing DEMO released, I believe that with Meizu’s accumulation in the Flyme system, as long as they conduct serious R&D, the final result will surpass most of the car systems on the market.
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.