Author: LYNX
With the wave of electrification in the automotive industry, more and more electric cars are available for purchase. Just last week, a less familiar new brand – Hechuang Automobile – officially launched its second pure electric model, Hechuang Z03.
Hechuang Z03 is a compact pure electric SUV with four versions priced between 132,800 and 168,800 yuan, and two versions with CLTC range of 510 km and 620 km. In addition, the official stated that a special edition Z03 with 800 km range will be launched next year.
When Z03 was launched last week, SuperCharging Station had brought detailed reports for everyone, which can be reviewed by clicking Z03 Launch, a new beginning for Hechuang?.
Hechuang Automotive positioned this new car as a “trendy intelligent pure electric SUV,” aiming at young consumers who pursue fashion and love life. However, whether this car can capture the hearts of young people still needs actual experience to draw conclusions.
Fortunately, SuperCharging Station has received a test drive invitation from the manufacturer shortly after the new car was launched, providing an opportunity to experience the product features of Hechuang Z03 up close.
However, before introducing the specific product, let’s first answer the question that everyone may have in mind – Who is Hechuang Automotive?
In 2019, GAC Group and NIO jointly invested in forming the “HYCAN Hechuang” brand. However, NIO had explicitly stated the relationship: only an investor, not involved in its daily operations.
Subsequent capital level operations more directly reflect this.
In February of this year, GAC-NIO brought in Zhujiang Investment Management Group with a 2.405 billion yuan investment, which became the largest shareholder of the company. At the same time, GAC Group increased its capital by 482 million yuan through GAC Aian New Energy Co., Ltd.
With the completion of this round of capital increase, Li Bin, the founder and chairman of NIO, resigned as the legal representative of GAC-NIO.
On April 1st, GAC-NIO New Energy Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. was officially renamed Hechuang Smart Technology Co., Ltd., completing the unification of the company name and brand name.
Thus, GAC-NIO became history, and Hechuang Automobile took the stage.
After talking about the evolution of the enterprise and brand, let’s take a look at the product highlights of the Hozon Z03.
In terms of appearance, the Hozon Z03’s perforated headlights and smoky bottom air intake on the front face give the car a sporty look.
At the same time, the Hozon Z03’s headlight group is composed of 132 LED light sources, and the inside still has the Hozon’s iconic “7” shape, which echoes the first model, Hozon 007.
From the side view of the Z03, we can see that it does not have an obvious waistline, but the tough and square-shaped wheel arches and the smooth shape of the entire car form a contrast, and the black decoration on the side skirts also effectively reduces the visual sense of bloatedness. Nowadays, the hidden handle commonly seen on electric vehicles is naturally not absent.
The overall length, width, and height of the Hozon Z03 are 4602/1900/1645 mm, and the wheelbase is as long as 2750 mm. At first glance from the side, the new car obviously adopts the “four wheels at the four corners” arrangement of the pure electric platform, ensuring ample space performance in the car. As for how spacious it is, you can see the rear space performance chart below.
The Z03’s tail shape is relatively square and simple. The horizontally crossed tail lamp group with a smoky bottom is composed of 261 LED light sources. Together with the horizontal lines of the tail wing and lower bumper, it further enhances the visual width of the vehicle.
It is worth mentioning that the Hozon Z03 is also equipped with intelligent lighting language, including different effects such as the “welcome mode” when unlocking and starting, and the “farewell mode” when locking. The official stated that the lighting language mode can also support OTA upgrades in the future.
After looking at the static appearance, let’s talk about the dynamic performance of the Z03.
The Hechuang Z03 includes two versions of the maximum power of 135 kW and 160 kW. The test-drive model this time is the 135 kW top-intermediate model. The official zero-to-hundred acceleration time given is 7.9 seconds.
Although it does not have the exaggerated zero-to-hundred acceleration performance of 4-5 seconds as other electric cars on the market today, the acceleration performance of the Hechuang Z03 is still satisfactory: the power output is smooth, and stepping on the accelerator pedal can remind people of some same-priced gasoline-powered cars, yet will not cause significant dizziness to passengers in the car.
In addition, the chassis texture of Hechuang Z03 can also be regarded as excellent in the same type of car. It uses front McPherson and rear torsion beam suspension just like the Guangqi Aion Y. The suspension tuning is more biased towards comfort. In the turning actions at the daily driving level, the vehicle’s support and roll suppression are both done quite well.
It is also worth mentioning that the Hechuang Z03 offers four driving modes: NORMAL, ECO, I-PEDAL (single pedal), and SPORT, corresponding to different energy recovery settings.
In the energy recovery level, there are two options that are easy for people to understand: “pure electric car style” and “gasoline car style”.
When you choose the gasoline car style, you almost can’t feel the drag of kinetic energy recovery, as if you are driving a gasoline car costing 150,000 yuan.
Finally, we naturally want to see the performance of this car in terms of intelligence.
The Z03 interior adopts the most common design for electric cars today, that is, a big screen at first sight.
In terms of specific performance, Hechuang has demonstrated full sincerity. Both the visual experience and the touch experience of this 14.6-inch central control screen in the car are very clear and smooth.
The H-VIP intelligent driving interconnection system integrated on the center control screen has a clear UI interaction logic, allowing passengers to find the required functions with just one or two taps. Additionally, it has a complete range of audio and video entertainment applications such as Kugou Music, Changba, and B station.
What impressed me even more is the intelligent voice system of the Hechuang Z03.
According to official introductions, this system is still provided by iFlytek. However, what is rare is that the functions covered by this voice system are much more than those of many traditional manufacturers’ electric vehicles: in addition to being able to use voice to control “traditional” functions such as windows, air conditioning, and navigation, vehicle owners can also use voice to switch driving modes, wake up ACC, and enjoy other “deep” driving functions.
According to official introductions, the voice control coverage rate of Hechuang Z03 is over 95%, which can increase to over 99% after OTA.
By using voice control to command “XiaoCAN,” users can manage multiple ADAS functions quickly and easily during complex driving situations, including turning on/off ACC and setting vehicle speed, lane departure warning, lane departure inhibition, and lane centering maintenance.
Some of you may be wondering if this could lead to some driving hazards. In fact, taking this into account during actual test driving, I tried using voice control to turn on the ACC. At this point, the voice assistant will ask again whether you are sure to turn on ACC to ensure driving safety.
Conclusion
After half a day of testing, Hechuang Z03 actually exceeded my expectations in some respects: ample space, good driving and riding quality, and sensitive voice control… These features have reached a good level among domestic 150,000-yuan-level electric vehicles.
However, when thinking about Hechuang Z03, there is still an inexplicable feeling that “the car is well made, but something seems to be missing.”
After all, for a completely new brand, there are many aspects to work on besides making a good car, such as brand marketing and channel construction. For Hechuang, how to make more consumers know, remember, and love this brand after launching Z03 is probably a more challenging issue.
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.