Author: Tian Xi

In the era of intelligent cars, not only has the traditional production model and supply chain organization been subverted, but the relationship between car companies and users has also undergone subtle changes.

Recently, the launch of the XPeng G9 caused a big stir due to complex SKU, lack of intelligence in the low-end version, which made the previously committed car owners dissatisfied. The latter and the media repeatedly issued “soul inquiries” to XPeng Auto, which caused a huge momentum and even made it to the hot search of Weibo.

After experiencing a “44-hour nightmare”, XPeng Auto quickly launched rectification measures, restructuring product names, combinations and configurations, and took out real gold and silver, further relinquishing many rights to users.

Fortunately, this move successfully regained the recognition of users for the car company. The car owners who cancelled the order in anger and “looked to other companies” have returned one after another and re-subscribed to XPeng G9.

XPeng’s case is not an isolated one. Previously, Zeekr learned that the market was dissatisfied with the outdated cockpit chips of the Zeekr 001 model, and immediately launched a plan to “exchange chips for users for free”, which also gained a wave of favorability for the company.

Since then, the sales of Zeekr 001 have also shown a significant increase.

It can be seen that as the end-users in the automotive industry chain, they are gradually exerting their influence and conveying their voices about “what kind of car the market really needs” from back to front.

A series of changes indicate that the era of co-creation of intelligent car users has arrived.

According to the latest news, another car company has joined the “listen to users” team and launched a larger-scale equity offer.

On September 25th, AVITA 11 announced the first batch of user lock-in entitlements. Based on the previous pre-order entitlements, users who lock-in before October 31st can receive four-time-limited gifts.

AVITA offers ¥40,000 worth of red envelopes and free urban driving navigation assistance

According to the latest policy, the first batch of AVITA 11 users will receive lifelong vehicle quality guarantee for the first car owner, lifelong three-electric quality guarantee for the first car owner, and additional NCA urban driving navigation assistance/ICA intelligent cruise-assist, and AVP valet parking assist. The original personalization option fund has now doubled from ¥6,000 to ¥12,000 (applicable to all optional configurations), and other four-time-limited gifts.

For AVITA 011 users who have already successfully locked-in, they will also receive new entitlements, including lifelong vehicle quality guarantee for the first car owner, lifelong three-electric quality guarantee for the first car owner, and AVATR0PIA surprise membership gifts.

In addition to the car purchase entitlements announced this time, AVITA’s previously announced car owner entitlements are also full of sincerity.The only on-board benefits include free roadside assistance for 10 years regardless of mileage, free basic vehicle networking traffic and 10GB cabin entertainment traffic per month, providing car owners with a 24/7 exclusive and convenient communication service in all scenarios through the mobile service vehicle, addressing user concerns at home.

In terms of intelligent service scheduling and accident protection, AVETA also takes care of the needs of car owners: it can identify the maintenance needs and fault conditions of vehicles, recommend appropriate service resources through cloud scheduling, and match the most suitable services for car owners intelligently.

When a major accident occurs, it can automatically trigger an E-call alarm. If it is a minor vehicle accident, customers can report online with guidance. For the maintenance of accident vehicles, it provides professional maintenance and full custody services. It should be pointed out that all of the above are on-board benefits.

In addition, AVETA also offers car owners an exclusive intelligent home charging pile and free basic installation services. It is reported that new car owners who are temporarily unable to install a charging pile can provide lifelong rights to reserve or a one-time conversion of 3000 degrees of public charging credits.

At the same time, the first car owner can also receive brand points through E points.

Now, AVETA is releasing another wave of great news to car owners. Someone has calculated that the new first car owner’s lifetime quality assurance, plus 12,000 yuan of optional fund and full-scenario advanced intelligent driving functions, is worth at least 40,000 yuan.

With the doubling of the optional fund, AVETA car owners can achieve “free choice” to some extent.

For example, an additional 2,000 yuan can allow customers to choose 22-inch beam multi-spoke wheels, or 3,000 yuan to get NAPPA vegetarian black interior. If customers are particularly interested in the intelligent induction electric door, they can also choose to add it.

Of course, the most eye-catching feature is AVETA 11’s Huawei HI advanced intelligent driving system provided to customers who lock in before October 31, which includes high-speed NCA intelligent driving navigation assistance, high-speed ICA intelligent cruise assistance, urban NCA intelligent driving navigation assistance, urban ICA intelligent cruise assistance, APA automatic parking assistance, RPA remote parking, AVP valet parking and other functions.

It is worth noting that even the recently emergency-adjusted XPeng G9 did not “loosen” its XNGP advanced driver assistance package and still requires an additional charge.

In Musk’s words, intelligent driving functions are the most valuable part of an automobile, determining whether Tesla is ultimately valuable or “worthless”.

Starting from September 5, Tesla raised the price of its Full-Self Driving (FSD) system in North America by 25%, from $12,000 to $15,000, which is the second price increase this year for FSD.In comparison, it is clear that the Avita brand has a great love for car owners.

Behind the incentives and gifts lies a “flexible and efficient” car company that aims at the market.

To the average person, a car company like Avita, which has backgrounds in Changan Auto, Huawei, and CATL, may face some constraints in decision-making and execution despite having an irreplaceable advantage in the supply chain.

However, Avita has demonstrated strong decision-making and execution abilities with practical actions that prove its market vitality.

At the same time, the trust of the investors can be seen. In major decision-making, the management team has the flexibility and accuracy to exercise autonomy, which is clearly a good start for a new enterprise.

The first batch of Avita 11 will be delivered by the end of 2022, with total orders breaking 20,000 vehicles.

Thanks to the support of the three top players, Changan Auto, Huawei, and CATL, the Avita brand was destined to have an exceptional temperament and positioning since its debut.

At the same time, it has also set three “ceilings”: the most aesthetically tense appearance ceiling, the comprehensive performance ceiling with profound product heritage, and the intelligent driving ceiling leading to the future of driving.

With its sharp and exaggerated lighting, golden ratio side profile, beautiful curves, and distinctive rear window, the stunning appearance of Avita 11 left a deep impression on the outside world.

This is due to the personal touch of the renowned designer, Nader Faghihzadeh, who led the design of multiple BMW models over the past 20 years. Among them, the fifth-generation BMW 7 series is considered to be one of the most beautiful BMW interiors of all time.

Today, Nader has used his own unique insight into automotive design aesthetics in the overall design of the Avita 11. For example, the ratio of the Avita 11’s wheelbase is 0.61, close to the beautiful golden section ratio of 0.618.

For Avita, the ultimate car should be the ultimate beauty.

In terms of intelligence and performance, Avita 11 is “strong and silent”, going straight to the max.

Firstly, the “Huawei Family Pack” is integrated into the car, with three 96-line Huawei LiDARs, six millimeter wave radars, twelve ultrasonic radars, and thirteen HD cameras ensuring Avita 11’s powerful perception. In addition, the Huawei MDC 810 intelligent driving platform, with a maximum computing power of 400 TOPS, makes Avita 11 even stronger, enabling it to merge three major scenes of high-speed, urban, and parking.

From the video released at the press conference, the urban NCA intelligent driving assistance of the Avita 11 includes functions such as active lane change, close-range merging and dodging, active pedestrian yield, traffic light recognition, and unprotected left/right turns.

In terms of power performance, the Avita 11 is equipped with Huawei DriveONE’s dual-motor four-wheel drive, with a maximum power of 425 kW and a long-range version’s acceleration time of 3.98 seconds per hundred kilometers.

If “Intelligent Driving King” Huawei added wings that allow Avita 11 to run freely on roads of all scenarios, then “Battery Leader” CATL has installed a strong heart that beats vigorously for Avita 11.

CATL’s ternary lithium-ion battery pack is installed on all models of Avita 11 and uses the high-efficiency integration technology of CTP2.0. The battery pack has 90 degrees and 116 degrees, and the energy density of the entire battery pack is 180Wh/kg and 190Wh/kg, respectively, which are among the best in the industry.

In addition, CATL has also equipped Avita 11 with 750V high-voltage fast charging, NP self-isolation, and other industry-leading electrification technologies, making it the first high-voltage ternary battery system 2.2C fast-charging battery produced in volume in China, achieving a 200-kilometer range with only a 10-minute charge.

Finally, under the profound manufacturing process and high-quality control of Changan Automobile, Avita 11 stands out among many new models.

In terms of power performance, Avita 11 outperforms the Tesla Model Y high-performance version in terms of motor power and battery capacity.

Compared with NIO ES7, LiXiang L9, and XPeng G9 in terms of intelligentization, both hardware and software level and actual performance, Avita 11 is very competitive.

With outstanding product strength and support from the top three players, Avita 11 quickly captures the minds of consumers like a dark horse. Automotive Heart has learned that Avita 11’s orders have exceeded 20,000 vehicles, and the first batch of Avita 11 will be officially delivered in December of this year.Avita has disclosed that over 86% of owners who purchased Avita 11 chose the mid-to-high-end models, the Long-lasting Dual-Motor Luxury Edition starting at 369,900 RMB and the Extra-long-lasting Dual-Motor Luxury Edition starting at 409,900 RMB. The personalized configuration rate exceeded 90%. The average price per car order (including optional configurations) exceeded 400,000 RMB for Avita 11 owners.

“Avita 11 is a comprehensive car with the best performance in the 350,000-450,000 RMB range,” said Avita CEO Tan Benhong confidently.

The Essential Lesson for Smart Car Era: How Car Makers Can “Get Along Well” with Users

After the release conference, Avita has become the topic of interest for major media outlets once again.

“Adding chicken legs,” “unexpected surprises,” and “going crazy” — many articles describe Avita’s rare move using these expressions.

And Avita owners were also full of joy. For example, Avita’s App was flooded with enthusiastic comments, with many users locking in orders immediately upon receiving the news, and some even considering ordering a second car.

The above Bilibili user also updated the comment section with three short words: “already ordered.”

This is a scene almost impossible in the traditional fuel car era. Previously, the relationship between car makers and owners was like “one hammer and one sale,” where the transaction was completed once the payment was made, the car was picked up, and the person left.

Nowadays, from the R&D and design stage to the release and sales stage, car owners can participate and influence the process through public opinion, reflecting the rise of the user co-creation era.

On the one hand, buyers of smart electric cars are generally young people whose age structure leans towards the younger side. Due to long-term immersion in the free and open Internet culture, they tend to have more self-participation consciousness regarding things related to themselves. On the other hand, smart electric cars have added a lot of new technologies and new ways to play, such as unlocking functions, software fees, and so on, which inherently leads to a connection with users far more intimate than ever before.

In this context, car makers need to learn how to “get along well” with users.

The recent incident with XPeng G9 reflects that XPeng Automobile lacked serious market research when developing product strategies and failed to reach out to target users, which will be a fatal flaw in the smart car era.Actually, co-creation with users is not only driven by practical factors, but it also helps car companies avoid the risk of “building cars in a closed room” and falling behind the market.

Currently, the field of intelligent cars is still in the early stage of development, with new technologies and business models emerging constantly, and many participating forces. Keeping necessary connections with users can help car companies grasp product definition, customer acquisition, and establish brand image, and thus gain a competitive advantage.

According to Avita, the opinions of users are the best indicator of direction. In the future, they will further communicate with users to improve and optimize their products and market strategies.

Regarding rights and interests, the company mentioned that there will be more surprises to look forward to in the future.

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.