Author: Tian Hui
“Breaking defense” is one of the top 10 popular words in 2021.
The original meaning of “breaking defense” refers to breaking through the opponent’s defense in the game, causing the opponent to lose its defensive ability. Nowadays, “breaking defense” has been extended to mean losing resistance to something and changing from non-acceptance to acceptance.
In 2021, many consumers were “broken through defense” by new energy vehicles.
In 2021, the sales of new energy passenger cars have been on the rise, and the market share has continuously broken through the three major thresholds of 10%, 15%, and 20%. The general public feels that green license plate vehicles are no longer a novelty on the road, but have become part of everyday life.
The popularity of new energy vehicles has a lot to do with the increase in models and the enhancement of product power. So, which model has the strongest “breaking defense” ability?
At the end of the year, “Electric Vehicle Observer” conducted a vote in the electric reader 1-6 group, core reader group, and Cyber Energy group to select the annual “breaking defense” new energy vehicle in the hearts of readers.
The annual “breaking defense” new energy vehicle is a list of 20 candidate models compiled by “Electric Vehicle Observer” based on the number of insurance risks, model exposure, and product competitiveness, and was finally selected by readers to produce the top ten models.
These top ten “breaking defense” new energy vehicles of the year each have their own reasons for “breaking defense”. Let’s review them one by one according to the number of votes they received.
1st Place BYD Han: Reason for “breaking defense”: The return of the king
In the nomination list of “breaking defense” cars, the BYD Han is the only model with a vote rate of more than 30%, showing its important position in everyone’s hearts.
In 2021, the BYD Han series underwent an annual upgrade, adding features such as Danaher acoustics and DiLink 4.0 5G car networking. After the annual upgrade, sales of the BYD Han series have exceeded 10,000 units for three consecutive months, becoming the first independently branded mid-size car to maintain sales of over 10,000 units a month.
As an important new car under the BYD dynasty brand, the BYD Han EV’s blade battery is another innovation in BYD’s lithium iron phosphate battery technology.
Blade batteries have successfully passed the power battery penetration test without flames or smoke, bringing China’s new energy vehicle industry to a new high in the competition for power batteries. After the launch of Han EV, many carmakers imitated BYD to conduct a needle penetration test on their vehicle-mounted power batteries.
In the face of the influx of foreign brand electric vehicles, the hot sales of BYD Han once again prove BYD’s leading advantage in the pure electric vehicle market, and BYD has completed its return to the king.
2nd Place Tesla Model Y “Breakthrough”: Iron Battery is Delicious
After switching to lithium iron phosphate batteries, the starting price of Model Y hit a new low of RMB 276,000.
As a representative model of smart electric vehicles, it is inevitable for Tesla Model Y to make the “breakthrough” list. The car has the best intelligent driving assistance capability and supports advanced driving assistance functions such as highway navigation assistance.
The 2021 Model Y has undergone multiple upgrades, including an upgrade to the AMD Ryzen processor chip for the intelligent infotainment system, greatly improving its computing speed.
According to third-party tests, Model Y with the AMD Ryzen processor only takes 4.18 seconds to open Tencent video in the intelligent infotainment system, while the old chip-equipped model takes 17.12 seconds, indicating an obvious speed increase.
Model Y’s quarterly sales have continued to rise, and with the launch of lithium iron phosphate battery models, its quarterly sales are expected to exceed 50,000.
It is worth noting that due to the cost-effective production capacity of lithium iron phosphate batteries, Tesla has begun to sell the lithium iron phosphate battery version of the Model Y to the European and American markets.
3rd Place NIO eT5 “Breakthrough”: Unbeatable Computing Power
NIO eT5 is a new model released on NIO DAY on December 18, 2021. The car is positioned as a mid-size luxury sedan with a length of 4.8 meters and a hatchback tailgate design. The car will be equipped with three types of batteries: 75kWh, 100kWh, and 150kWh, supporting battery swapping function. The car can be purchased under the BaaS battery rental model, with a minimum price of only RMB 258,000.
NIO eT5 will have the most powerful computing power for assisted driving among mass-produced cars to date, using four NVIDIA Orin assisted driving chips with a total computing power of 1016 TOPS.# NIO eT5 has up to 33 auxiliary driving perception hardware, including 1 ultra-long-range high-precision Lidar, 7 8 million pixel HD cameras, 4 SONY 3 million pixel high-sensory panoramic cameras, 5 millimeter wave radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors, 1 enhanced driver perception, 2 high-precision positioning units, and 1 V2X perception.
At the hardware level, NIO eT5 already has the hardware foundation to upgrade to L4 autonomous driving. After the car is launched, consumers can enjoy advanced driving assistance functions such as navigation assistance and automatic parking through NAD subscription.
Ranked 4th Reason for Ideal ONE 2021: Popular model
Ideal Motors launched its Ideal ONE 2021 in the middle of the year and achieved a monthly sales of more than ten thousand units in November, with a total of 13,485 units sold.
“Popular model” is the product strategy of Ideal Motors. In the case of only one model, it is not easy for Ideal Motors to achieve monthly sales of more than 10,000 units.
Ideal ONE 2021 adds two new color schemes and switches from Mobileye to local supplier Horizon for the intelligent assisted driving hardware system, which now supports highway navigation-assisted driving functions. Although the price of the car has increased, many consumers still find it cost-effective.
Ranked 5th Reason for Hongguang Mini EV: Unbeatable price
As of November 2021, the number of insurances for Hongguang Mini EV had exceeded 340,000.
When Hongguang Mini EV debuted at a super low price of 28,800 yuan, it shook the world. Later, it continued to upgrade, but the entry price remained low. In 2021, Wuling introduced the Hongguang Mini EV Macaron version, which has been upgraded in terms of exterior colors and teamed up with many short-video trendsetters to create new and fresh modification ideas for the Hongguang Mini EV.
From small-town youth to working mothers, the Hongguang Mini EV has become synonymous with electric commuter cars in the minds of consumers. What’s more, nobody will feel embarrassed about its price.
Ranked 6th Reason for BYD DM-i Series: Invincible
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In the field of plug-in hybrid vehicles, BYD has been the sales leader for many years. However, since 2020, plug-in hybrid vehicles have become popular and are challenging BYD’s dominance.
The emergence of the DM-i plug-in hybrid vehicle series has once again widened the gap between BYD and its competitors.
Monthly sales have increased from 10,000 or 20,000 to 45,000 and may even exceed 50,000. The DM-i has become an indisputable king. After the DM-i was launched, due to production capacity issues, BYD repeatedly apologized to consumers, demonstrating the strong demand for BYD DM-i.
The DM-i model is equipped with a high-efficiency engine with 43% thermal efficiency and an EHS electric drive system, which is powered by multiple new technologies, making it fuel-efficient even when the battery is fully charged or undercharged.
In 2021, BYD’s monthly sales of the Qin Plus DM-i, Song Plus DM-i, and Tang DM-i exceeded 40,000, and with the launch of more DM-i models, BYD’s monthly sales are expected to climb even higher.
7th Place: XPeng P7 “breaking through” reason: an intelligent benchmark
In 2021, the XPeng P7 entered its season of harvest.
The phosphate iron lithium battery version and Wing Edition have entered the delivery season. XPeng’s P7 has been well received by consumers due to its smart features, and the cumulative amount of insurance for the first 11 months of this year has exceeded 50,000.
With the XPeng P7, XPeng has found a way to create intelligent electric vehicles. Following the benchmark of the P7, the P5, G9, and other models are even more advanced in terms of intelligence. XPeng has thus taken the label of “intelligent” for itself.
8th Place: Volkswagen ID. Series “breaking through” reason: a difficult revival
In 2021, monthly sales of Volkswagen’s pure electric cars finally exceeded 10,000, thanks to the popularity of the ID. series.After being overtaken by Chinese counterparts, Volkswagen turned the tide by pushing out its ID. series despite objections, bringing a notable increase in sales of Volkswagen’s pure electric cars. With the joint efforts of multiple models, ID.3, ID.4, and ID.6, Volkswagen’s ID. series finally achieved a monthly sales breakthrough of over 10,000. However, Volkswagen’s journey of rejuvenation was arduous in the process of switching from a dominant position in fuel cars to the electric vehicle market. Nevertheless, the ID. series made a good start.
No. 9: JAC iCute Alpha S Huawei HI version “breakthrough” – Reason: Because of Huawei
Simply put, JAC iCute Alpha S’ inclusion is due to Huawei.
Without Huawei, iCute Alpha S would not have sold enough to make the “breakthrough” list, as its monthly sales figures are less than four digits. However, due to the inclusion of Huawei’s technology, the iCute Alpha S HI version has made the list. This particular version of the iCute Alpha S is equipped with three laser radars and Huawei’s self-developed MDC autopilot computing system, with a total computing power of 352 Tops. It also supports advanced driving assistance systems for urban navigation and is priced between RMB 388,900 and RMB 429,900.
On December 20, 2021, iCute Alpha S Huawei HI version completed its internal delivery.
No. 10 Guangzhou Automobile Aion S Plus “breakthrough” – Reason: A benchmark for A-level cars, leads the return of two Japanese brands
In 2021, the AION S, AION V, AION LX and other models of the Aion brand completed the Plus upgrade, leading to the brand’s rebirth.
Aion S is selected for breakthrough list partly because of its sales performance, with an expected annual sales of around 70,000 vehicles, making it the champion among A-level pure electric cars; on the other hand, it is also an affirmation of the brand’s breakthrough.
Aion S is the first domestically produced pure electric car sold in Toyota’s 4S stores. To date, it is sold in two other Chinese automakers’ stores, named iA6 in GAC Toyota and EA6 in GAC Honda. Regardless of sales channel, Aion S is sold with GAC’s logo.
Aion S Plus has undergone a significant upgrade in intelligence. The upgraded ADiGO 2.5 autopilot system supports one-key remote parking and ultra-long-range memory parking “black technology” for all scenarios, as well as an OTA experience with regularly added and updated capabilities.AION S Plus offers three versions of range: 410km, 510km, and 602km, fully meeting the travel needs of users in different scenarios.
Epilogue Readers have sharp eyes
Under the rapid growth, the category of new energy vehicles is becoming increasingly abundant, making it difficult for consumers to choose a new energy vehicle.
But readers have sharp eyes.
In the 2021 Annual Electric Observer “Breakthrough” selection of new energy vehicles, Electric Observer readers have chosen not only the best-selling models, but also the ones with the highest level of intelligence and the most down-to-earth models. These models represent the success of a certain subdivision field, or the increasing prosperity of a certain brand.
The Annual “Breakthrough” New Energy Vehicle is not only a “breakthrough” for consumers, but also a “breakthrough” for each subdivision market of automobiles. In the PK with traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles have won victories one after another, and they will win even more victories 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.