Author: French fries fish
Yesterday, we interviewed the first fresh graduate in the history of supercharging stations, and she shared with us a story about time.
Four years ago, she entered the university campus across China; four years later, she completed her studies and embarked on her journey in Beijing.
Four years of time transformed her from a university freshman to a newcomer in the workplace.
So, what does four years mean for a car brand?
On Children’s Day four years ago, NETA car brand was officially released.
On another Children’s Day four years later, NETA car CEO Zhang Yong posted a long post on Weibo to commemorate NETA’s fourth birthday.
“NETA car achieved a leap from 1 to 10 in four years.”
Upward Momentum
While many people were still wondering if they had ever seen NETA car on the road, in Zhang Yong’s heart, NETA had already crossed from 0 to 1 stage.
That is, in Zhang Yong’s eyes, NETA car has come alive.
Crazy entrepreneurs rely on hype, while rational entrepreneurs look at data.
Obviously, Zhang Yong’s confidence comes from two sales data of NETA car.
One is the absolute delivery volume. From January to May 2022, NETA car delivered a total of 49,974 units, a year-on-year increase of 213%.
The second is the industry ranking. Since January of this year, NETA car has not dropped out of the top three in the new forces’ delivery volume ranking every month.
If it were an ordinary person, after finally making it through, wouldn’t they take a few days off?
Either I can’t be a CEO now, or I have to exaggerate Zhang Yong as a rational entrepreneur who looks at data —
“The sales gap between NETA and NIO exceeds the gap in our prices.”
As early as a few months ago, Zhang Yong had an understanding of the fast ship he was steering, and this understanding also came from data.
According to the data released by 360 when it invested in NETA car last year, in the first half of 2021, NETA’s revenue was 1.63 billion yuan, the number of vehicles insured was 17,000 units, and the average single-vehicle revenue was only 95,800 yuan.Comparing the average revenue per bike of the new forces, the old brands, and the top brands in 2021, XPeng’s revenue is 213,800 yuan, Li Auto’s revenue is 296,600 yuan, and NIO’s revenue is as high as 395,300 yuan.
“Maintaining the original intention of making cars for the people and returning to the origin of starting from 1 to 0 without breaking or standing.”
The average revenue per bike of Niu Technologies is even less than the others, which may be the biggest reason why Zhang Yong made this statement.
Meanwhile, the pre-sale price of 338,800 yuan for the NIO S YAO SHI Edition is, in my opinion, the one that NETA used to break through upward pressure with gritted teeth and waving his fire spear.
“Being pretty can let more people know me. And for a car with such a cost-effective orientation, piling up materials is the final secret. As for the design, no design is the best design.”
I guess some people might think so, so let me clarify in advance.
According to Chang Bing, the design director of NETA, a good design is necessary for the NETA S, as “we are still a new brand and our popularity is relatively low.” A good or different design that does not violate aesthetic principles will arouse potential users’ curiosity.
It is worth mentioning that according to feedback from NETA’s marketing department, many users became aware of the NETA brand after seeing the unique logo, color, and design of NETA cars in traffic jams or car washes.
This small story is the positive significance of design for the NETA brand.
As for the specific design aspects, first of all, the placement of lidar must be mentioned.
Lidar is the loudest voice of NETA’s “technology equality” slogan. After all, to some extent, with it, NETA S has the confidence to challenge L4 autonomous driving.
Regarding the design of lidar placement, there are two very clear ideas within NETA.One approach is hidden design. The LiDAR is a flat rectangular component, and by design, it is integrated into the overall styling of the car, making it visually appealing.
The other approach is bold display. After all, LiDAR is a fashionable technology today, and using a design with aesthetics to highlight the LiDAR on the exterior can also inform users of the new feature of the car.
However, NETA chose the first approach. The reason for this is that as an emerging component, NETA believes that LiDAR will soon undergo iterations and its size and appearance will become more user-friendly and easier to integrate into the overall styling of the car.
Therefore, NETA S opted for the hidden design.
As for the overall styling direction, NETA has shown a non-following attitude.
As a sports car, NETA’s front end must pursue a sense of low sports posture. However, NETA also wants to avoid the low-profile exterior affecting the interior view.
“In about 2005, the high waistline design became popular, and the waistline of the car was raised, and the side windows became very small. This high waistline design lasted for more than a decade, and many cars still use this concept, which I personally don’t like.” said Chang Bing. NETA pursued a light and transparent feel for the car’s interior view.
Therefore, on the one hand, the side windows of NETA S are pushed down very low, and on the other hand, all the instrument panels in the car are also pushed down very low.
These two actions bring two changes. First, from inside the car, there are no obstacles in sight; second, the lighting inside the car will be very good.
Combining these two points is what NETA hopes to create in the car – a sense of spaciousness and transparency.
And through this, I think what NETA wants to express is that the relationship between external design and internal experience is not a mutually exclusive one, and NETA S can balance the two. And this, perhaps, is what NETA sees as good design.
Advanced Questions
Regarding the design highlights, NETA actually shared many more details during the two-hour online meeting.
However, since it was an online meeting and I didn’t see the actual car, we can talk about the general direction of the design. It would be regrettable if we rely too much on visual graphics to describe the specific details of NETA S.In terms of the design philosophy of the NIO ES6, I still have two small questions.
Firstly, compared to the tension-filled front-end design, the NIO ES6 is relatively plain in terms of wheel hubs, body kit, and interior color.
NIO was candid about this. However, the NIO ES6 did make corresponding reserves during the design process.
For instance, the NIO ES6 can be compatible with 20-inch wheel hubs and has segmented reserves for large body kits on the sides and front and rear. There was even a high-performance carbon fiber version containing the front and rear bumper lips and side skirts inside NIO. Nevertheless, due to high costs, it was rejected by NIO inside.
Here, we can still see NIO’s hesitation and conservatism regarding some of the prices of upward impacts.
Secondly, it is the oscillation of familial design.
“Franchise is the need of carmakers, not users,” said Chang Bing.
In other words, Chang Bing isn’t very optimistic about familial design. As for whether the next step for NIO will launch a stronger family-like design or not, Chang Bing admitted that he has some differences of opinion with the boss on this matter.
As the boss, familial design is a very effective way to grow brand power, which is especially important for a brand that is on the rise. However, the chief designer would rather follow his heart. According to Chang Bing, the next model to be launched by NIO, which is about to be unveiled, will not have a strong familial resemblance to the NIO ES6.
In my opinion, family-like design still has some significance for consumers. At the very least, it can further consolidate consumers’ minimum expectations for appearances while also lessening a carmaker’s design costs. However, if NIO can put in as much effort as it did for the NIO ES6 for every subsequent model, it may even be able to pioneer a new style.
What people are hoping for more than a new style is the upcoming test drive for the NIO ES6.
After all, as a diligent worker, who can refuse the temptation of “technological egalitarianism”?
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.