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MIIT Calls for Investigation of Safety Hazards in New Energy Vehicles
On June 17th, MIIT issued a document, requiring the new energy vehicle manufacturers to carry out safety hazard investigations on their products. If a new energy vehicle model has a fire accident, the manufacturer should report the basic information of the accident within 12 hours (or within 6 hours if it caused personnel death or major social impact), and submit detailed information of the accident to the leading department of the NEV working joint meeting and equipment center within 48 hours.
Comment: The summer of 2019 came earlier than usual. A few electric fathers “couldn’t bear the burden” and ended their lives ahead of time. This is truly a sad story.
Fortunately, MIIT promptly required all automakers to submit basic information of accidents, which not only prevents them from concealing the truth but also enables them to quickly identify and address the causes of accidents.
If an accident causes personnel death or major social impact, “the basic information of the accident shall be reported within 6 hours”. Are you ready, NIO and Tesla? After all, you are either causing major social impact or on the road to causing it…
GAC Aion LX’s Application Information Revealed
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China released GAC Aion LX’s application information, with two versions, the maximum output power of the electric motor being 135 kW and 150 kW respectively. Previously, the official announcement at Guangzhou Motor Show stated that Aion LX NEDC has a range of 600 km and an acceleration of 3.9 seconds per 100 kilometers. It is scheduled to start production in September of this year!
Quick comment: Based on the motor parameters currently exposed, 135 kW and 150 kW, according to the acceleration level of the NIO ES6 Standard Edition (total power of 320 kW), even if both front and rear use 150 kW motors, it should only be able to achieve an acceleration level of just over 5 seconds. It seems that there will be other versions of the motor for the Aion LX, which can run at 3.9 seconds per 100 kilometers.
However, comparing power levels, I am more concerned about the Aion LX as a mid-size pure electric SUV, with a range of up to 600 km under NEDC, what is the battery capacity?
The 10,000th XPeng G3 officially rolls off the production line
On June 18, the 10,000th XPeng G3 was officially produced at the XPeng factory in Zhengzhou, which also became the third automaker of new forces to achieve the goal of producing 10,000 vehicles. It’s faster than expected. From January to May, XPeng G3 delivered a total of 7,359 vehicles. If it can keep up, breaking 10,000 sales in June would not be difficult, but after June, it officially enters the 2019 subsidy policy, and the next wave of challenges continues.
Quick comment: Considering the current price, body size and range of the XPeng G3, many people do not expect high sales for the XPeng G3. But now, from both the perspective of production and sales, it has far exceeded many people’s expectations, including my own.
However, from the perspective of “visibility”, in the first few months, the XPeng G3 was difficult to spot in cities other than Guangzhou. But based on recent feedback from our community, the probability of encountering the XPeng G3 on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai has increased significantly compared to before, which also indirectly proves that the sales of the XPeng G3 are indeed rising.
WM Motor’s second factory is about to start construction
WM Motor announced that its second self-built factory – the Yichun factory, will begin construction on June 27, and is expected to be officially put into operation by the end of 2020. The total investment of the project is RMB 5 billion, with an area of 500,000 square meters and a planned capacity of 100,000 vehicles per year.
Back in May last year, the first self-built factory of Zotye Auto, the Tongxiang Factory, was completed and put into operation. The first model, N01, has also been mass-produced with good sales performance in the A0-class electric SUV market.
Comment: Compared with NIO, Xpeng, Li Auto, and WM Motor, Zotye Auto has always been low-profile in the new car-making forces. Although the first model of Zotye Auto, N01, has been on sale for some time, many consumers still haven’t heard of this brand as it focuses on the low-end consumption market. Unconsciously, the second self-built factory of Zotye Auto is about to start construction. Zotye seems to be steady… It feels a bit like “While the war drums are beating, the food and grass supply goes first.” However, for Zotye, what really can solidify its position in the market is its second model, U, targeting the 150,000-200,000 yuan market. Time is running out for Zotye, and it is more important now to seek progress while maintaining stability.
Volkswagen is developing VW.OS
According to Bloomberg, Volkswagen is developing VW.OS. Previously, Volkswagen has established a software team of 500 people and plans to recruit an additional 2,000 engineers in software and electronic development. By 2025, the software department is expected to expand to 5,000 people, and the proportion of independently developed vehicle software will increase from 10% to 60%. Starting from 2025, all Volkswagen’s new cars will be equipped with this system.
In addition, Volkswagen Group CEO HerbertDiess also stated that software development will account for 90% of automotive innovation in the future, and the cost of software development will account for 50% of the total R&D cost of Volkswagen by 2030.
Volkswagen ID.3 will be the first mass-produced car to be equipped with VW.OS.
Comment: Regarding the car operating system, many people think that as long as CarPlay, CarLife, and a mobile phone are available in the car, it is enough. After all, cars are used for driving, not for browsing Weibo.Yes, currently speaking, this combination is indeed much more convenient compared to traditional car infotainment systems, but for the new generation of car infotainment systems based on the overall vehicle electronic and electrical architecture, there are significant gaps whether it be in terms of functionality, or in terms of usability. Many times, once you have experienced it, it is difficult to go back.
A Small Survey This Week
As we all know, the Model 3 is a car model with very distinct advantages and disadvantages. There are many negative comments about the Model 3 online, but I think the car owners who have truly used the car for a long term are the ones who have the most right to speak about Model 3’s shortcomings.
Let us take a look at what unsatisfactory aspects of the Model 3 are in the eyes of real car owners.
The top three unsatisfactory aspects are NVH, changes in sales strategy, and workmanship and quality issues respectively.
There’s actually not much surprise in this result, considering that after the real experience, the ride comfort and operation convenience of the Model 3 really are not as good as everyone imagines. At the same time, it can also be seen that Tesla’s arbitrary sales policy has really chilled the hearts of many old car owners.
But what’s interesting is one of the opinions in this vote:
As Phil Robertson said, if you only read the first half, I thought we were going to return the car…
If you have any other complaints about the Model 3, please click on the small program below to participate in the Model 3 Spitfire Conference.
* Aiways secures $100 million investment; DENZA Concept X debuts | E Weekly News
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.