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Ideal ONE Caught Fire in Changsha
On May 8th, a video of an Ideal ONE catching fire on the streets of Changsha went viral on social media, and the company promptly released the following statement:
“\”On May 8th, 2020, around 11:30 am, a smoke emission occurred in the front cabin of an Ideal ONE vehicle in Changsha, Hunan Province. The vehicle battery system did not appear to have any problems after on-site inspection. The vehicle has been moved to a safe area for further testing. Any investigation results will be released in a timely manner.\””
Quick Comment:
According to sources, the vehicle involved in the incident was a new car that had been driven for only seven days and had not yet been officially licensed. The company responded promptly after the incident, but the use of the term “smoke emission” was not accurate enough. In addition, it has been three days since the incident occurred, and the company has not yet officially announced the cause of the fire.
After conducting a preliminary investigation, 42 Car Garage learned from various sources that the accident was not related to the battery pack, high-voltage wiring, range extender, or fuel system, and that the real cause of the fire may have been a foreign object igniting the exhaust metal pipe in front of the three-way catalytic converter. However, the official investigation results will still need to be reviewed by firefighting and other government departments. We are still waiting for the official announcement from Ideal ONE.
WM EX5-Z Debuts at a Price Range of 1.498-1.988 Million RMB
On Sunday last week, WM held an online “WM Imagine Day” event, during which the WM EX5-Z officially debuted. The three models are priced between 1.498-1.988 million RMB and come with three years of free charging.
In terms of power, it is equipped with a permanent magnet synchronous motor with a maximum power of 160 kW and a maximum torque of 315N·m, consistent with the current version of Weima’s EX5. The high-end model is equipped with a 69 kWh ternary lithium battery, with a maximum NEDC comprehensive range of 520 km.
In addition, Weima unveiled the MAVEN concept car for mid-to-large-sized sedans, which will be mass-produced in 2021. Weima claims that its NEDC range can reach 800 km, with L4 level autonomous driving capabilities and 5G connectivity technology. It can control the power consumption within 14 kWh per 100 km and wind resistance coefficient at 0.23 Cd.
The Weima MAVEN concept car will be equipped with Weima’s self-developed Living Pilot intelligent driving assistance system. The official claims that it can achieve L3 level autonomous driving in full-speed scenarios and L4 level autonomous driving in specific scenarios, such as automatic parking.
Quick Review:
Compared with the 2019 EX5, the new model EX5-Z mainly reduces the number of models, reducing the original 5 models to 3, with more concentrated configurations. In terms of price, there have also been some changes. The original lowest-priced model had a price of 139,800 yuan, and the highest-priced model had a price of 189,800 yuan. The lowest-priced model of the new EX5-Z is priced at 149,800 yuan, and the highest-priced model is priced at 198,800 yuan. The main adjustment is in the configuration.
As for the L3 and even specific L4 on the MAVEN concept car mentioned at the press conference, let’s wait until 2021. At present, are we satisfied with the current L2 assisted driving of Weima EX5?
Roewe R debuts and introduces battery swapping policy
Roewe R will use a brand-new “R” logo to completely distinguish it from the previous Lion logo of Roewe, positioning itself as the high-end pure electric brand of SAIC Group. The Roewe R released its first SUV Marvel R and its first car ER6, both of which are expected to be launched in July this year, will be equipped with 5G technology, and achieve L3 level autonomous driving. The official claims that the NEDC range of the ER6 is 605 km, equipped with a 70 kWh battery.
Another highlight of the press conference is that Roewe R will launch an “battery swap policy” and provide a two-year “resale value repurchase plan”. In addition, in order to alleviate consumers’ concerns about electric vehicle spontaneous combustion, the company has purchased a million spontaneous combustion insurance for each vehicle owner.
Brief Comment:
This should be the second consumer-grade passenger car company in China to introduce a battery swap policy, and the first is NIO. From the new subsidy policy introduced by the country, it can be seen that support for battery swap policies is growing, and I believe that there will be more car companies introducing similar policies in the future. For car companies, battery swaps can also achieve separate sales of vehicles and batteries, with lower starting prices. How the battery swap mode will develop and whether a unified standard will be formed is something to look forward to!
For consumers, they can solve various concerns about electric vehicles, purchase a million spontaneous combustion insurance for vehicle owners, and a two-year “resale value repurchase plan” to resolve concerns about resale value. I don’t know the real effect of these policies when implemented.
Tesla Shanghai Factory Receives Another RMB 4 Billion Loan
According to Reuters, Tesla has reached an agreement with a Chinese loan institution to provide RMB 4 billion (USD 565 million) in operation loans for its super factory in Shanghai. The loan will be provided by ICBC and will only be used for production expenses related to the Shanghai factory.
At present, the production capacity of Tesla’s Shanghai factory is higher than expected, and it is expected to achieve a production capacity of 4,000 vehicles per week by mid-2020, which is a production capacity of 200,000 vehicles per year. At present, the gross profit of Model 3 produced by the Shanghai Super Factory has approached the level of the Fremont factory in the United States. With the construction of the second phase of the Shanghai Super Factory, it is expected to start delivering Model Y in 2021.
Brief Comment:
In the 42nd interest group, some car owners who have ordered a domestically-manufactured Model 3 have received news that the factory will soon start producing long-life models, which are expected to be delivered in June, as shown on the official website. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, the supply of overseas parts has been affected, which has also affected the production progress of the Shanghai factory.On May 8th, Elon sent a company-wide email, aiming to have Fremont factory resume production on Friday afternoon. Of course, if employees feel uncomfortable returning to work, they can choose to stay at home. Tesla’s HR department hopes to have 30% of employees back at their workstations for the factory to reopen. However, as soon as Tesla sent the email, the government department that Tesla belongs to issued a statement: no resumption of work is allowed as early resumption of normal activities may lead to a surge in cases.
NIO ES6 Delivery Volume Hits Historic High
In April, NIO delivered 3,155 vehicles, including 2,907 ES6, marking a new historic high in deliveries, an increase of 180.7% year-on-year and 105.8% month-on-month growth in March. The cumulative deliveries for 2020 amounted to 6,993.
According to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), NIO ES6’s sales in April were also very impressive, with sales of 2,907, steadily increasing compared to March. Prior to this, in the report by Huxiu, after the new subsidy policy was introduced on April 23, NIO received nearly 2,000 large orders within four days until April 26.
Quick Comment:
April was truly remarkable for NIO, as the new subsidy policy was introduced, followed by the “exemption” of the battery-swap policy, and then at the end of the month, NIO received financing from the Hefei government. Considering the current growth rate and business strategy, there is no need to worry excessively about NIO’s future development. However, at the same time, ES6’s competitor will arrive soon.
Currently, there is only one mid-size SUV model in the 400,000-class electric vehicle market, the NIO ES6, with no direct competitors, but by the end of this year, another mid-size SUV, the domestically produced Tesla Model Y, will be launched. How will NIO respond to Tesla’s price war?
Written and edited by Changhao Lewis.
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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.