No.1 An important moment in the history of the automobile industry
Just yesterday, BYD officially announced its results for the last month of 2023, completing sales of 340,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 45.0%. The sales target of 3 million units set at the beginning of the year, which many people considered difficult to achieve, was successfully achieved due to the outbreak in December. A total of 3.02 million vehicles were sold throughout the year, with a year-on-year growth rate of 61.8%.
There is a number in this report card. Although it is insignificant compared to the market of 3.02 million, it is full of gold. In the past December, that is, the first full trading month when it started to be delivered, YangWang U8 delivered a total of It has sold 1,593 units, and if nothing unexpected happens, it will be among the top 5 in the million-SUV sales ranking. If you include the 408 units delivered starting in November, the cumulative delivery volume of YangWang U8 so far has reached 2,001 units.
This figure is enough to stop some people who think that BYD cannot be high-end.
In the past year, although BYD has maintained a very strong momentum in sales, it cannot escape the word “volume”, so it has no choice but to make its cars cheaper and cheaper. It can be said that the price war has become a stumbling block for BYD’s brand improvement, even if it later launched two relatively high-end brands, Denza and Fangbao.
The purpose of YangWang’s sudden emergence is to enable BYD to escape from the involution of the industry and continue to ride on the rise of the Dongfeng brand in new energy. However, YangWang has not only entered the no man’s land in the technical field, but also entered the no man’s land of Chinese brands in terms of price: no Chinese car company has ever successfully sold millions of luxury cars to the public market in large quantities.
Can the YangWang U8, which sells for as much as 1.098 million, be successful? I believe that most people have no idea in their hearts. Therefore, when YangWang U8 announced sales yesterday, I think many people would rub their eyes repeatedly and be shocked. After all, this is the first time in the history of China’s automobile industry that a Chinese figure can appear on the sales list of million-level luxury cars, and the ranking is not far behind.
There is no doubt that this is an epoch-making sales volume.
From 1953 to 2023, China’s automobile industry went through a full 70 years before finally handing in this answer sheet today. It proves that China’s automobile industry is no longer just “big”, but has more confidence to be called “strong” and “big”. It proves that Chinese automobiles have finally achieved overtaking on corners in the true sense.
You must know that automobiles have always been the crown jewel of industrial manufacturing, and the million-dollar luxury car market is the brightest shining point on this pearl. There are very few brands in the world that can touch these shining points. .
If someone takes stock of the key points in the history of Chinese automobiles in the future, December 2023 may be worth writing about.
If you cut open this ranking, you can even see some more epoch-making details.
First of all, in this list, YangWang U8 is the number one selling new energy SUV.
Don’t think that the million-level new energy SUV is a small arena, and it is easy to be first. In fact, there are many well-known models here that are priced highly overlapping with the YangWang U8, such as Mercedes-Benz’s EQS, Tesla’s Model X, BMW’s XM, Porsche’s Cayenne New Energy and Lotus’ ELETRE , the intensity of competition is not inferior to that of the million-class oil truck market.
However, YangWang U8 can stand out in this arena filled with experts.
This makes people feel that in the ordinary new energy family car market, the competitiveness and sales volume of Chinese brands are far ahead of foreign brands. It seems that in the near future, we may see the million-dollar luxury car market gradually being dominated by Chinese brands.
Secondly, in this list, YangWang U8 is still a top-ranked hardcore off-road vehicle.
There are two areas that represent the touchstones of the automotive industry, one is hardcore off-roading and the other is supercars. In order to overcome various road conditions, the former has strict requirements on the drive system, which must be able to grasp even a trace of friction with the road surface; while the latter, in order to pursue speed, must not only increase the explosive power of the drive system, but also make every ounce of friction possible. Explosive power can effectively become driving force.
It’s hard to do this, but what’s even harder is to get the top players in the million-dollar luxury car market to recognize you. After all, people who have consumed to this level will have higher requirements and need perfect and top-notch products. There are not many models that can impress them in this market. There are only a few models that have come and gone. Unexpectedly, there is now the YangWang U8.
It can be said that this sales volume of YangWang U8 not only represents its current leading strength, but also allows people to see its great potential in the new energy era, proving that the upward boundaries of Chinese brands are actually beyond the imagination of many people. .
No.2 The pinnacle competition in the automotive industry arena!
Why are sales in the million-dollar luxury car market so significant? There is no other reason, because for many brands and many car companies, million-level luxury cars are their flagship products. They require the strength of the entire group to build them carefully, so they often reflect the top technologies they can mass-produce. , that is, the overall strength of their brand.
Just like the Cayenne is a flagship SUV for Porsche, we can see Porsche’s top technology in it: for example, the Macan has not yet used the hybrid system, but the Cayenne has already taken the lead in using it; the Macan’s most powerful power is 2.9T V6 engine, but the Cayenne also has a 2.9T, but there is a 4.0T upwards; the Cayenne also has Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control technology and rear-wheel steering system, but the Macan has neither.
In other words, this has never been a contest between products, but a contest between brands and car companies.
The six super technologies of YangWang U8.
It can be said that at the level of million-dollar luxury cars, it is no longer possible to divide the grades by the size of the car, the number of configurations, and the materials used. It is more about comparing whose technology is higher, newer, and more cutting-edge. Therefore, rather than saying that million-dollar luxury cars are a market, it is better to say that it is a stage, a stage that can showcase the top technologies of various car companies and groups.
However, this stage is extremely unfriendly to late comers.
Because on this stage, it’s not just me who is better than you that can impress the audience. For example, they both have a 4.0T power system and also use dynamic chassis control technology and rear-wheel steering technology, even if you are better than the Porsche Cayenne in all aspects , and it is difficult to shake its status in the world.
Just like the previous Volkswagen Phaeton and Touareg, even if they are of the same origin as Porsche and Audi, so what if they are more cost-effective, they will eventually be discontinued. Another example is that many Chinese brands have already mastered a lot of advantages in the field of new energy. Although they have gained a foothold in the 4 to 5 million market, they still cannot open up enough gaps with foreign brands to cross the million level. The mountain of luxury markets.
Epoch-making innovative technology is the key to unlocking this market. If you can look back at the development history of the automobile industry in the past, you will definitely find that the birth of high-end automobile brands must be accompanied by the maturity of top core technologies. Only super technology can create high-end brands.
However, in this extremely involved market, which has been robbed by foreign brands for decades, it is not easy for Chinese brands to win this key. In fact, it is not just Chinese brands, even Japanese and American brands with a longer history in the automobile industry, it is difficult to get a share of the million-dollar luxury car market.
This is the valuable thing about YangWang U8! Why are we still discussing YangWang’s U-turn and its emergency refloating until now? Because it allows us to see another form of cars and another way to play, just like bringing science fiction movies on TV to reality.
The super technologies that support this new form and new gameplay are Yi Sifang and Yunnan-P of YangWang U8.
The so-called Yi Sifang does not simply mean that four wheels are driven by four motors, but it combines powerful perception and execution capabilities, which can completely subvert the previous capability system of general power systems, continuously broaden the safety boundary of the vehicle, and make it possible to lose control of the vehicle. Two words that were completely erased from the automotive industry.
This system also has many ways to subvert the car-making logic of the past 100 years. For example, at last year’s Guangzhou Auto Show, we saw the YangWang concept car that no longer relies on traditional drive, steering and braking systems. Software-defined cars have been developed and dual-system redundancy has been achieved, but due to current regulations, they cannot be launched one by one on the market.
Yunnan-P is not just as simple as actively adjusting the height, softness and hardness of the suspension. Similarly, it can also be combined with powerful perception and decision-making capabilities to enable the vehicle to achieve decoupled control of the upper and lower body, with multi-dimensional perception, The advantages of precise decision-making, intelligent control, and stable execution allow the suspension height, softness, and hardness of the four wheels to be individually adjusted to achieve all-round intelligent control of the vehicle body.
With the support of Yi Sifang and Yunnan-P, YangWang U8 can achieve 6 degrees of freedom of coordinated movement in three directions: horizontal, vertical and vertical. You know, most vehicles on the market now only have two degrees of freedom, front and rear, and high-end ones can adjust up and down in the vertical direction through variable suspension. Currently, no one except YangWang U8 can realize 3-way and 6-degree-of-freedom body control.
It is worth noting that both Yunnan-P and Yi Sifang have very strong perception and execution capabilities, so they can actively identify changes in the road surface and vehicle conditions, and then actively adjust the posture of the body and the drive of the four wheels. Power distribution, bringing users a safer travel experience in a disruptive way.
As BYD President Wang Chuanfu said at the YangWang launch conference: “Our values are consistent, and safety is the greatest luxury for electric vehicles. Therefore, based on ‘Yi Sifang’ technology, YangWang will bring unprecedented ultimate safety to users for the first time, allowing basic It has become the instinct of new energy vehicles not to skid, drift, or roll over.”
In the million-dollar luxury car market, you can find extremely quiet cars where the loudest noise while driving is the clock, or you can find speed-chasing cars that achieve great results on various racetracks. Of course, you can also find extreme cars. It is a luxurious executive car, but it can be said to be the leader in the ultimate safety that can protect users from various extreme environments.
No.3 Who is buying YangWang U8?
“When I arrived at the Tanggula Pass on my first trip to Tibet, it started to rain heavily and there was heavy snowfall. I couldn’t see the road at all. In fact, there were cliffs on both sides of me at that time. My body was indeed at its limit and I was very tired. . On the road, just keep shouting to yourself, don’t sleep, and keep a clear head.”
The first owner of the YangWang U8, Yang Tongcan, an entrepreneur in Qingdao and a veteran off-road veteran, talked about his decision to buy the YangWang U8 and talked about the challenges he faced when he first entered Tibet. Dilemma: “It was drizzling and the road was very narrow. When we needed to turn around, we had to move back and forth twenty or thirty times to get the car out.”
“It would have been nice if we had turned around at that time.” Yang Tongcan finally said.
With the development of the automobile industry today, there are very few truly disruptive technologies. Compared with many million-dollar luxury brands and ordinary mass brands, the technological gap is getting smaller and smaller. This is why most people have the idea that “buying a million-dollar luxury car is just to buy face.”
Obviously, for Yang Tongcan, the first owners of YangWang U8, YangWang U8 has given them the confidence to transcend this simple brand value – no longer simply pursuing the LOGO on the car, but looking at technology and performance. If you recognize YangWang U8’s millionaire worth, you can follow your inner thoughts.
This also verifies from the side what Wang Chuanfu said at the YangWang press conference, “We believe that Chinese high-end brands are not just about buying materials and stacking materials, but should be based on super technology to provide users with disruptive products and experiences. ”
To put it simply, technology is brand.
YangWang U8 uses disruptive technology to promote the development of new energy vehicles, providing users with a car experience that traditional luxury brands have never provided, and using full-stack self-developed, cross-generation technology to redefine the high-end of the new era of smart electrification.
This is the fundamental logic behind YangWang U8’s ability to leverage the million-dollar luxury car market.
Of course, this kind of disruptive technology is very difficult to achieve, and may even require the fate of the entire group to bet. However, BYD has never given up in the past 20 years, and finally has this kind of Chinese car. The highlight of industry.
Perhaps our world was changed bit by bit by this kind of pious idealist.