Writing | Zheng Wen
Editor | Zhou Changxian
The new energy vehicle industry has once again received good news at the recently concluded Central Economic Working Conference. The conference pointed out that supporting the consumption of new energy vehicles will effectively promote the construction of supporting facilities for new energy vehicles and ensure the safety of the industry chain and supply chain.
Although 2022 is the last year of China’s new energy vehicle subsidies, as consumers’ acceptance of new energy vehicles increases and policies supporting new energy vehicle-related facilities and guidance are strengthened, market demand is still being further released.
Today, the new energy vehicle market has shifted from the previous policy-driven sales volume to a “product-driven” market development path, entering a self-circulating and sustainable development stage. The policy tendency towards new energy vehicles means that the performance of the new energy vehicle market is likely to be stronger than expected next year, and domestic demand for new energy will become a focus.
SAIC New Energy is in Full Bloom, Doubling in Three Years
At present, the new energy vehicle industry is in the stage of “incremental penetration”, and the industry penetration rate is rapidly increasing. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, the retail sales of new energy passenger cars reached 598,000 in November this year, a year-on-year increase of 58.2%, and the penetration rate was 36.3%, a year-on-year increase of 15 percentage points.
Taking SAIC Group, which was the earliest promoter of new energy vehicle research and development and landing in China, as an example, after selling 733,000 new energy vehicles in 2021, ranking first in China and third in the world, SAIC New Energy Cars set a new record for monthly sales in November, with sales exceeding 130,000 units. From January to November, SAIC New Energy Cars sold 930,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 45.8%, accounting for nearly 20% of the group’s overall sales.
Among them, SAIC passenger cars sold 211,000 new energy vehicles from January to November, a year-on-year increase of 43.3%; SAIC-GM Wuling sold 535,000 new energy vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 34.8%; SAIC Volkswagen sold 90,000 new energy vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 84%; SAIC-GM sold 44,000 new energy vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 110.4%, and SAIC Maxus sold 30,000 new energy vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 68.6%.
In addition, in terms of high-end products, IM Auto and Feiteng Auto cover a price range of 200,000 to 500,000 yuan. IM L7 and Feiteng R7 have both been launched and delivered. In the first month of November, 1501 units of Feiteng R7 were delivered, with an average order amount exceeding 320,000 yuan. IM’s second product, LS7, is also planned to begin pre-sales, providing a new option for the mid-to-large luxury SUV market.
Looking at the sales of new energy vehicles across different sectors in the group, there has been a growth of at least double-digit numbers compared to the previous year. In particular, SAIC-GM has achieved a year-on-year growth rate of 110.4%. SAIC-GM Wuling has also performed very strongly in terms of the absolute number of sales, with accumulated sales of new energy vehicles reaching 535,000.
In the independent sector, the overseas performance is particularly noteworthy. In SAIC’s overseas sales composition, the sales of self-owned brands account for more than 65%, with new energy vehicle sales reaching 148,000, a year-on-year increase of 148.8%, which indicates the initial effectiveness of globalization. In Europe, the MG brand has already achieved SAIC’s annual goal of creating a “100,000-level overseas regional market”.
It is worth mentioning that the first product based on the Nebula platform, the MG4 Electric, the “First Global Car Made in China’s Auto Industry”, was officially launched in nearly 30 European countries since September this year, and has received more than 10,000 new orders every month.
In the joint venture sector, SAIC Volkswagen’s ID. pure electric vehicle has reached the milestone of cumulative sales of over 100,000 vehicles, and monthly sales have also exceeded 10,000, which is an outstanding achievement.
As the cornerstone of General Motors’ overall electrification, the Altium platform is gaining momentum, and vehicles based on this platform are being steadily introduced to the market. In the next five years, more than 10 pure electric products from the three major brands will be launched. It is believed that with the introduction of these products, SAIC-GM’s sales of new energy vehicles will enter a period of rapid growth.
Furthermore, SAIC-GM Wuling, which adheres to the strategy of differentiated competition in the market, has already achieved tremendous success in the field of new energy vehicles. Its dark horse image has helped it to gain the top spot in China’s new energy pure electric sales for over 20 months, and it has also topped global new energy vehicle sales several times.
Last weekend, the SAIC Group announced that it is expected that by 2025, new energy vehicles from SAIC will account for 40% of the total sales, achieving a doubling of sales within three years.
Against the backdrop of the rapid development of the new energy vehicle market, higher demands will inevitably be placed on the technological innovation, product iteration, and product upgrades of new energy vehicle products. What is the confidence of SAIC Group with such considerable sales and confident sales expectations?
“AutocarMax” believes that this is thanks to SAIC Group’s long-term investment in electric intelligent connected technology, which has finally paid off.
Systematic Support and Technical Foundation as Internal Driving Force
In March of this year, SAIC Group further integrated and innovated its research and development resources, establishing the Innovation Research and Development Institute, and accelerating the industrialization and landing of electric intelligent connected technology.
The mission of SAIC Innovation Research and Development Institute is to integrate vehicle products as an “integration center,” innovative technologies as a “source center,” and research and development of technical foundations as a “development center.” The Institute provides technical support for its high-end brands IM, Feitian, and its new energy transformation of Roewe and MG.
A few months later, we see the integrated “Seven Major Technical Foundations” are speeding up their implementation.
These include the “SAIC Nebula” pure electric exclusive systematic platform, the “SAIC Zhufeng” mechatronics and integrated architecture, the “SAIC Xinghe” hydrogen energy exclusive architecture, as well as the four key system technical foundations of “lanyuxin” powertrain system, “mofang” platform battery system, “lvxin” electric drive system, and “yinhaida” full-stack intelligent vehicle solution.
The star of it all is the “SAIC Nebula” pure electric exclusive systematic platform (MSP, Modular Scalable Platform), which loads the three main system technical foundations “Mofang,” “Lanyuxin,” and “Yinhaida.” It is the exclusive main platform for SAIC Group to achieve full electrification.
After two generations of architectural development, SAIC has a deeper understanding and recognition of the “pure electric exclusive platform.”
In addition to an easier optimization of vehicle safety structures and higher space utilization efficiency, the body structure of the pure electric exclusive platform is more flexible, making it easier to achieve balanced vehicle weight distribution in order to optimize handling. What else sets the “SAIC Nebula” pure electric exclusive systematic platform apart?
Firstly, the Nebula platform has a future-oriented, highly flexible technological extendibility. Its energy matrix ranges from 44-150 kWh and its power output ranges from 150-600 kW, covering a wide range of global markets of compact cars, mid-size cars, medium-to-large cars, luxury cars as well as sedans, sports cars, SUVs, MPVs and other types and levels of vehicle products.In the future, Nebula platform will be compatible with cutting-edge technologies in both hardware and software, including high-pressure die-casting, solid-state batteries, wire-connected chassis, full-stack electrical architecture, and autonomous driving. In other words, the platform can derive architectures suitable for different brands’ differentiated development and for different levels of the market, reaching the high-end and global markets.
In addition to the basic technical foundation, Nebula platform can add personalized content for different customer groups and different needs, forming corresponding differentiated whole vehicles or whole vehicle technology architectures. That is to say, Nebula can derive different levels of pure electric architectures based on the level of gradient, and have a series of products with performance gradient, intelligence gradient, and cost gradient.
It is worth mentioning that the platform also supports battery swapping mode. In the innovation of the separation of vehicle and electricity mode, SAIC Group is also constructing a complete ecosystem.
In September of this year, SAIC Group jointly invested in Shanghai Jieneng Zhidian New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, China National Petroleum Corporation, CATL, etc., which focuses on power battery leasing business and carries out R&D and promotion of battery swapping technology, battery operation management, big data services, etc.
With the support of more than 50,000 gas stations nationwide of Sinopec and CNPC, Jieneng Zhidian is upgrading to build a comprehensive energy service station that is “swappable and rechargeable.” Brands under the group such as Roewe, MG, and Maxus will launch swappable battery models one after another, covering all categories including SUVs, sedans, MPVs and commercial vehicles.
Jieneng Zhidian will bring consumers a comprehensive new energy replenishment experience: renting instead of buying to reduce the initial purchase cost; the power replenishment method is diverse and more convenient; vehicle value is maintained, avoiding the decrease in the vehicle value caused by battery attenuation.
In addition to pure electric platforms and battery swapping ecosystem, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are also an important direction for future development. In this field, SAIC Group has also made important layouts.
As the first automotive company in China to carry out fuel cell technology research and development, SAIC Group has realized the commercialization of multi-variety fuel cell vehicles and has launched multiple products such as sedans, MPVs, light trucks, buses, light-duty trucks, and heavy-duty trucks. They have achieved commercial operations in multiple cities nationwide.# 2021, SAIC’s subsidiary JHyPower successfully unveiled the new generation of fuel cell system independently designed and developed, with its core technical indicators benchmarked against the leading level represented by Toyota. In June 2022, JHyPower disclosed its prospectus on the Shanghai Stock Exchange website, intending to apply for listing on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board and become SAIC’s first “unicorn” enterprise to initiate a spin-off IPO.
Summary:
Some people say that products without a technical foundation are like passive water and rootless trees, while tactics without strategic support are like blind men touching elephants and mice with tunnel vision.
The market performance and future prospects of SAIC are based on its forward-looking strategic layout, solid technical strength, and steady strategic determination.
In fact, this is the endogenous driving force that SAIC is vigorously pursuing under the industry trend of “data determines experience, and software defines cars”, and it is also the confidence that it will double the proportion of new energy vehicle sales within three years.
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.