This afternoon, the WENJIE M7 was officially launched, with a price range of 319,800 to 379,800 yuan.
We have high expectations for this car because since the launch of the WENJIE M5 at the end of last year, its sales volume has been steadily increasing, which has surprised us many times. In June of this year, WENJIE broke its monthly delivery record yet again, with a delivery volume of 7,021 units, which was unexpected by many people. WENJIE also announced a large quantity of new orders for that month, totaling 10,685 units.
So will the arrival of the M7 lead to a new sales high for WENJIE? In my opinion, the answer to this question is yes. Although it may seem like a hindsight statement after the number of orders has already been released, what is more important is the underlying reasons behind them.
Product is the foundation
Today’s press conference was a bit lengthy, and we waited for over an hour on the live page before the part I was really interested in finally arrived. Two M7 vehicles were slowly revealed, and I felt reassured because there were no more cumbersome processes to go through; we were presented with the main course directly.
Appearance
Even under the mesmerizing spotlight on the stage, the design of its appearance did not give me any heart-thumping feelings. In my opinion, it seems outdated and could easily pass for a traditional gas vehicle, even when it is labeled with the blue license plate. As the stage rotates, the side and rear of the M7 are revealed one by one. In contrast to the center grille design that tends to give people a “gas car” feel, the stability of the side profile matches its positioning. The straight-line design even reminds us of the IDEAL ONE.
By the way, since it is a model competing head-on with IDEAL ONE, does it have any advantage in basic dimensions and space?
The WENJIE M7 is 5,020/1,945/1,775 mm in length, width, and height respectively, with a wheelbase of 2,820 mm. It has an imposing size similar to that of a mid-size car; the length is equivalent to that of IDEAL ONE, but the wheelbase is over ten centimeters shorter.Therefore, how the interior space of the vehicle is designed has become a hot topic for many people. During the launch event, Yu Chengdong deliberately avoided mentioning the “wheelbase” data and instead highlighted the “passenger cabin length”.
Space
The performance of the second row of seats in the WENJIE M7 in terms of space is as expected since this is a 6-seater model and excellent second-row space performance is the bottom line for this vehicle. At the same time, second-row passengers can adjust their seats for heating, ventilation, and massage, as well as control music and volume through a small screen, which are all standard features.
This is where Yu Chengdong claims that the WENJIE M7 beats the Toyota Alphard. It is also the first time that zero-gravity seats have been found in a car. Compared to regular seats, the entire zero-gravity seat can tilt backwards, the cushion can be lifted up on one side, and it can be opened and closed by pushing and pulling. At the same time, the passenger seat moves forward, and my seat is also moving sideways towards the aisle. Ten seconds later, I’m half lying in the “boss seat” of the M7 in a very relaxed posture. This feature is officially called “zero-gravity seats” by WENJIE.
It has to be said that this feature is very innovative and highly comfortable to use. Electric vehicles have increased the amount of time we stay in the car, and this feature is likely to extend the amount of time we spend in the car even more.
To give you an example, at noon during lunch time, my colleagues either go to the rest area sofa or take a “nap mode” in the car. After experiencing it myself, I believe that the “zero-gravity seat” is the real power nap tool that can provide car owners with a quiet and comfortable resting environment.
But don’t forget this is a 6-seater car, and although the last two rows are not frequently used, they cannot be too uncomfortable for occasional use. Through actual experience, the third-row space of the WENJIE M7 is indeed a bit cramped, and the small slope on the floor can also make passengers feel uncomfortable. However, the configuration and functions do meet the basic needs for use. For example, it provides a sound system, cup holders, and lighting, and you can also interact with “Xiao Yi” in the third row.
In addition, the third-row seats in the WENJIE M7 can be adjusted up to 33°, which can alleviate the “stiffness” of sitting to a certain extent. With the seats in the back row open, the luggage space performance is slightly mediocre, but it still excels in functionality.
The trunk of the WENJIE M7 provides a 220 V power supply and a 3,500 W external power output. In the context of the popular trend of suburban camping, this configuration has almost become a must-have.
# Back to the Driver’s Seat
As a 6-seater family car, the M7 is mainly designed for drivers, except for the ladies of the house and the children. Therefore, the performance of the car cabin is crucial.
The M7 has made significant changes to the gear shift area in the interior. Thanks to its larger size, the M7’s front storage space has also become more abundant. The wireless charging and cup holders have also been doubled. Regarding wireless charging, it is worth mentioning that the maximum power of both wireless chargers is 40W, and the car is also equipped with four wired fast chargers, including two 66W and two 18W. Multiple phones can also be charged simultaneously without being shared.
Of course, the biggest selling point of the M7 is still its HarmonyOS cockpit. The car’s visual system is composed of a 15.6-inch 2K HDR central control screen and a 10.4-inch instrument screen, both powered with Kirin 990A chipset.
Since it has the same configuration as the M5, many users must have already experienced it in the store. However, the company stated that, in the future, the OTA will include the “Super Desktop” function, which allows HarmonyOS system mobile phone users to mirror their phone applications to their car’s central control screen without any adaptation needed. Moreover, the phone and the car’s central control can be called simultaneously. In the past, we used to evaluate the efficiency of the system with the word “open,” but now the sound mapping of the phone’s “Super Desktop” to the center console cannot be described as just “open.” We would have to wait until people have experienced it through OTA more to evaluate its efficiency.
As for visible talk, continuous conversation, and multi-tone zone functions, all of these are HarmonyOS cockpit’s basic abilities, which are not inferior to ReWeypeng’s system.
The M7 is equipped with a total of 19 speakers, powered by Huawei Sound technology that constitutes a 7.1 surround sound field. By the way, four of these 19 speakers are hidden in the driver’s headrest and support mode selection.
Besides, the M7 also has several valuable features, including an external safety seat and a one-key car searching function. Although they may seem simple, they require connecting hardware and software with the underlying OS to achieve.# Intelligent Car Finding Function
The intelligent car finding function refers to the vehicle’s ability to call upon the recorder and the surround-view camera to confirm the position of the vehicle based on an algorithm, and ultimately send the information to the user’s mobile phone. Although taking pictures can also solve the problem of finding a car, it is not as clear as relative position.
Compared to the M5, the M7’s most significant improvement is in its assisted driving, which even made Yu Chengdong appear somewhat lacking in confidence at the launch event. He claimed that the assisted driving is sufficient.
Like the M5, the M7 also uses Bosch’s front monocular solution. The only reason it did not use Huawei’s ADS solution is that the underlying architecture does not support it. However, in terms of parking, the M7 uses the visual perception solution provided by Zongmu Technology. According to the launch event demonstration video, this parking capability is still worthy of attention, able to park in extreme parking spaces with limited space, unmarked unconventional parking spaces, and so on.
Powertrain
Regarding the powertrain, the M7 uses Huawei’s DriveONE pure electric drive hybrid platform. This system consists of a 40.06 kWh battery pack, a 1.5 liter four-cylinder range extender, and an electric motor. The rear-wheel-drive version is equipped with a 200 kW permanent magnet synchronous motor, providing a pure electric range of 230 km under CLCT driving cycle and a comprehensive range of 1,220 km.
The four-wheel-drive version adds a front permanent magnet synchronous motor with a power output of 130 kW based on the 200 kW motor at the rear. It can provide a pure electric range of 200 km under CLTC driving cycle and a comprehensive range of 1,100 km.
First, this car is a new energy vehicle, which is already better than a fossil fuel-powered car by half. Second, it can also refuel, which makes it better than a pure electric car by half.
As we can see, since Ideanomics put a large battery in their car, all the hybrid models that use large batteries have become popular. The BYD DMi is a good example. For many users who have only one car in their family, hybrid models with a large battery and long pure electric range are the most suitable. They have low electric usage costs and good driving experiences in the city, and there is no anxiety about fuel consumption for long-distance driving.## Huawei Achievements in the Automotive Industry
Some people may still argue that extended-range technology is lagging behind, but it is pointless to interpret user needs in a way that wastes efforts. This is the most authentic user demand, and under the catalyst of economic downturn and skyrocketing oil prices, such demand will only be continuously enlarged.
Above, we analyzed the product strength of Wanjie M7. Looking at this point in time, it is difficult to say that the product strength of this car is very strong, but compared with ordinary fuel vehicles, it still has some highlights. Under such product basis, the most crucial factor in achieving breaking 10,000 orders in 2 hours comes from Huawei.
A very powerful data comes from Wanjie M5. In this past June, the sales volume of Wanjie M5 surpassed 7,000, and an even more amazing data is that the number of large orders in June exceeded 10,000.
Starting in March, the delivery volume of M5 started to soar. As a car model priced between 250,000 and 350,000 yuan, a monthly sales volume of 7,000+ is enough to make Sailisu enter the top 15 of the China Passenger Car Association’s new energy vehicle manufacturers sales ranking.
As the strongest Chinese product brand, Huawei has a strong traffic foundation both online and offline. First of all, we can see that the launch of Wanjie M7 was at Huawei’s summer launch event, and it was placed in the finale segment. Compared with Wanjie holding an independent launch conference as a car brand, there is already a qualitative difference in the attention on Weibo and in our community.
Offline, Wanjie M5 has entered a large number of Huawei’s sales stores, which is the channel advantage that new forces are striving to gain.
In an interview at Hupan University in 2020, Li Xiang revealed: “In a city, the market share of ideal automobile stores is 8 times different from that of no stores, which means that physical stores can greatly increase automobile sales.”
Therefore, at this time point in 2020, the new forces that have just begun to sell the first or second car models are busy setting up sales stores. To increase the coverage of cities by stores, NIO also launched NIO Space stores, which have lower investment costs and reach more users.
From the perspective of users, for newly launched brands, there will be a huge difference in confidence between having stores and not having stores in the same city. This is also one of the reasons why the market share of ideal cars with stores and without stores differs by 8 times.
According to Huawei’s official disclosure, starting from July 4th, Wanjie M7 will gradually display real cars in more than 150 cities and 600 Huawei stores nationwide, and test drives will be available from July 23rd.As a comparison, the recently launched Ideal L9 had reached 247 retail centers in 113 cities across the country on July 2nd.
The differences in data are readily apparent.
Another key factor is the endorsement from Huawei’s Yu Chengdong. According to sales at Huawei’s stores, the majority of car buyers are Huawei phone users.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of whether you acknowledge the M7 hype or not, the order volume speaks for itself. After mass deliveries begin in September, the sales data will be the most direct measure of the car’s success.
For the entire industry, such a scene is more heartening to see. The huge traffic from Huawei has fueled the promotion of extended range, cabins, and autonomous driving. The large-scale spread of extended range will enable more and more users to adapt to the electric charging lifestyle. The advent of Hongmeng cabins will not only educate users to adapt to the new era of car cabins, but will also raise the industry’s evaluation of cabin indicators by a notch.
Although Huawei, which entered the automotive industry through HI and smart car modes, has repeatedly claimed not to produce cars, they have already made a significant impact on China’s automotive industry in 2022.
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.