In the last month of 2023, the inventory pressure of automobile dealers eased.

As of December 31st, 2023, the latest issue of "Investigation on the Inventory Early Warning Index of Automobile Dealers in China" released by china automobile dealers association shows that the inventory early warning index of automobile dealers in China was 53.7% in December 2023, down by 4.5 percentage points year-on-year and 6.7 percentage points quarter-on-quarter. The inventory early warning index is above that of threshold, and the automobile circulation industry is still in a recession, but the prosperity has rebounded significantly. This is the lowest month since 2023.

It is worth noting that although the inventory pressure has eased, the terminal price war has increased. The price of American B-class cars dropped to 130,000 yuan, equivalent to the original price of A-class cars; Luxury brands have even introduced a price reduction of more than 100,000 yuan.

"The price is adjusted every month, even once every half month, mainly according to the changes in the market and the price strategy of competing products. In December, many manufacturers officially cut prices, and dealers also made profits out of their own pockets. For 4S stores, it is very important to complete the sales tasks of manufacturers and get rebates. Generally speaking, the amount of rebate can cover the loss of selling cars. " The sales manager of a car 4S shop told reporters that the terminal price war in 2023 almost runs through the whole year, and the competition is fierce. It is easy to take away customers who don’t cut prices.

The price war entered the sprint stage.

When the automobile market entered the fourth quarter of 2023, the automobile industry entered the sprint stage. Since November, 2023, automobile manufacturers have successively announced price cuts, and the market has started a new wave of price cuts. However, the price reduction at that time triggered the wait-and-see mood of some consumers. Although the passenger flow increased significantly, the transaction rate of many 4S stores did not meet expectations. In December, it entered the final sprint stage, and the market demand in the peak season began to be released continuously at the end of the year. According to the report of china automobile dealers association, at present, there are nearly 20 car companies that have announced the reduction of car prices, dealers have also increased limited-time preferential schemes, and local subsidies have been intensively introduced to fully promote car consumption. Driven by the tide of returning home, the superposition of the year-end promotion, passenger flow and sales volume exceeded expectations. It is estimated that the retail volume of passenger car terminals in December will be around 2.45 million, which is basically the same as that in December 2022.

The survey shows that the inventory index decreased in December, while the market demand, average daily sales, employees and operating conditions index increased. At the end of the year, consumers’ demand for cars continued to strengthen, and dealers’ operating conditions improved. Market demand and daily average sales index have entered the boom zone, while the other three sub-indexes are still in the slump zone.

From the inventory index of sub-brand types, the import and luxury, joint venture and independent brand indexes all showed a month-on-month decline in December. Among them, the import and luxury inventory early warning index was 53%, the mainstream joint ventures and independent brands were 54.4% and 53.4% respectively, which was significantly lower than last month. The inventory early warning index in November was 56.6%, 61.1% and 63.5% respectively.

According to the development law of the automobile market, the sales task at the end of the year is relatively heavy, especially in this year’s fierce market competition, dealers have to adopt the strategy of rapidly reducing prices. Among them, luxury car brands have relatively low inventory pressure, but the current preferential strength is unprecedented. According to car home’s website information, in Beijing, the maximum discount for mercedes benz c class is 136,000 yuan, the maximum discount for BMW 3 Series and Audi A4L is around 100,000 yuan, and the maximum discount for Mercedes-Benz E class is around 160,000 yuan. Since 2023, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi have all been reported to make large subsidies to dealers.

On the other hand, at the end of 2023, some manufacturers reduced production, which eased the inventory pressure of dealers to some extent. On November 3rd, FAW Toyota released the production reduction to dealers and lowered the sales target from December 2023 to January 2024. In addition to reducing production, FAW Toyota also launched a new round of promotional activities. Consumers who purchase FAW Toyota models including Corolla, RAV4 Rongfang, Asia Dragon, Grevia, Crown Lu Fang, Lingfang, Ruifang, Asia Lion and Yize from December 1 to 18 can enjoy financial schemes such as direct purchase tax subsidy of 5,000 yuan, replacement subsidy of up to 6,000 yuan and low down payment/zero interest rate.

More than 60% of dealers have not completed the manufacturer’s tasks.

Despite the recovery of automobile consumption in December 2023, there is still a long way to go before the OEM’s assessment targets and expectations for dealers. Near the end of the year, dealers get year-end rebates to achieve the annual task objectives, and intensify the inventory clearance, but the profit pressure is still relatively high. Overall, the operating conditions of dealers in 2023 are not optimistic. According to the survey, 37.4% dealers have completed the annual task, 39.4% dealers have a task completion rate of 70%-90%, and 23.2% dealers still have a task completion rate of less than 70%, which is far from the annual task target.

Under the price war, the profitability of automobile dealers is weakened. "In the past, a 4S shop sold 100 cars a month, which was a big store in the main city, and it could also break even. But now under the price war, the price of new cars is seriously upside down, and it is impossible to make money by selling 3,000 cars a year. " A car brand dealer said that a number of dealer groups have begun to shrink the number of outlets and reduce the number of stores.

Judging from the discount rate of vehicle terminals, according to thinkercar discount data, by the end of November 2023, the discount rate of the whole industry was 12.62%, and the discount rate of fuel vehicles was 14%, much higher than that of new energy vehicles (9.3%). No matter the discount rate of fuel vehicles or new energy vehicles, there is no sign of turning heads in the current trend.

"The decline in consumer purchasing power is the main reason for the price war in the auto market, especially the decline in the purchasing power of low-end consumers. In 2022, the number of self-owned brands of vehicles under 100,000 yuan has dropped significantly. However, many dealers are now in a state of loss and have a high debt ratio. Manufacturers usually put inventory pressure on dealers to promote sales. This can be achieved through various commercial policies, such as manufacturers giving dealers a discount of 3,000 ~ 5,000 yuan or even 10,000 yuan for each car sold, or offering acceptance remittance, implementing a cash refund policy, or offering an interest-free policy. These policies will play a role when dealers purchase goods in large quantities. However, in the case of a downturn in the auto market, many dealers misjudged the prospects of the auto market, making it difficult to make a profit. " In an interview with reporters, the management of an independent car company said that in the past few years, the new car dealers could still make profits after the OEM rebate, but under the tide of large-scale price reduction in 2023, the financial pressure on dealers increased, even if they got the rebate, many dealers also lost money. "Some powerful dealers can make money in after-sales business by relying on the amount of ownership. Generally speaking, the after-sales business brought by car ownership can support the profit of dealers for three years, but in the case of continuous deterioration of the market, dealers will also face great survival pressure."

The overall profitability of dealers in 2023 has not been announced. However, from the first half of 2023, the joint venture brand suffered the most losses. In the first half of 2023, the investigation report on the living conditions of national automobile dealers showed that the overall profitability of luxury/imported brands was relatively good, about one third of dealers lost money, and nearly half of dealers realized profits. The loss-making dealers of joint venture brands and independent brands accounted for 51.3% and 48.0% respectively.

The pressure on joint venture brands is mainly due to the impact of independent new energy vehicles in 2023, and the market share of joint venture brands relying on fuel vehicle business is rapidly shrinking. According to the data of the Federation, the Japanese market share dropped from 24.1% in 2020 to 17.6% in the first half of 2023, with a drop of 6.5%, which was the most obvious decline. The market share of German cars dropped from 25.5% in 2020 to 21.4% in the first half of 2023. American models fell from 9.4% to 8.5%; Korean models dropped from 3.8% to 1.7%.

According to the latest report of Easy Car Research Institute, medium-sized cars have contributed major sales and profits to mainstream joint venture car companies such as Volkswagen, Toyota and Honda, which is similar to the "base camp" of joint venture car companies. Facing the challenges of competing products such as BYD, joint venture car companies have no retreat and can only burn their bridges. In the first three quarters of 2023, although the sales ranking of medium-sized cars was still dominated by Camry, Passat, Magotan and other fuel vehicles, the large-scale price reduction promotion made the vast majority of dealers operating fuel medium-sized cars in a state of losing money and earning money. At the beginning of 2024, BYD may set off a new round of price war focusing on medium-sized and above products, leaving little time for competing products such as Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda and Nissan. This time, it will directly hit the "last fortress" of joint venture car companies.

According to the china automobile dealers association report, looking forward to 2024, dealers believe that the automobile demand this year will continue the growth momentum in the second half of last year, but the competition will be more intense, and they will continue to face the problems of falling new car prices, high inventory pressure, tight funds and low bicycle profits.

　　Following the official announcement of the pre-sale price of 188,000 yuan, Geely Galaxy E8 recently exposed the configuration layer of the five major versions. 45-inch 8K unbounded smart screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 flagship chip, Santan Yinyue suspension audio and other up to 139 configuration functions are all standard, showing the strength of China’s new generation of mainstream pure electric flagship, which will bring intelligent travel experience to the most mainstream pure electric users. Rich version selection and sincere configuration functions can accurately meet the diverse needs of different users.

　　Geely Galaxy E8 starts high-end. The 550km PRO basic version is equipped with a 62kW · h battery pack and a 200kW high-performance permanent magnet synchronous motor, with a maximum charging power of 150kW, equipped with AGS intelligent air intake grille, 45-inch 8K unbounded smart screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 flagship chip, Flyme Link handcar interconnection, 360 panoramic images, 3D transparent chassis and other intelligent technologies, with 82km/h elk performance, 5.62m minimum turning radius, 5.95s zero hundred acceleration and other driving performance, you can play 3A game masterpiece "Wild Drag Race 9" in the car. It is worth mentioning that the Geely Galaxy E8 does not make version differentiation in terms of safety. A new generation of Aegis battery safety system, car cloud integrated BMS battery management system, ten grid battery anti-collision compartment, dragonfly force transmission structure, and other 32 safety configuration functions can be started.

　　On the basis of the 550km PRO version, the 550km MAX increases the ventilation, heating, and memory of the main and auxiliary seats, the main driver’s electric waist rest, and the comfort configuration functions such as Yanfei Lishi high fidelity 12 speakers and 256-color follow-up ambient lights. At the same time, it adds 50W mobile phone wireless charging, outdoor music light show, L2 intelligent driving assistance, blind spot monitoring and other technology configuration functions to achieve comfort and technology.

　　The 665km Starship Voyage Edition is equipped with a 76kw · h battery pack, a new generation of SiC silicon carbide electric drive, 19-inch aluminum alloy pneumatic wheels and Goodyear 245/45 R19 brand tires, bringing performance experience. On the basis of the 550km MAX version, intelligent configurations such as electric tailgate and 25.6-inch AR-HUD are added, which makes the battery life and intelligent experience leap again to meet the needs of mainstream pure electric users in a variety of travel scenarios.

　　The two high-end versions of Geely Galaxy E8, the 665km Starship Smart Driving Edition and the 620km Starship Performance Edition, are both added to the 665km Starship Voyage Edition, achieving advanced intelligence and advanced performance respectively.

　　The 665km Starship Smart Driving Edition adds 5R10V1L advanced intelligent driving assistance system, including 5 millimeter-wave radars, 10 high-perception cameras, and 1 solid-state lidar, making urban high-end smart driving more practical and safer.

　　The 620km Starship Performance Edition is based on a full-stack 800V ultra-high voltage platform, featuring a 165kW front induction asynchronous motor + a 310kW rear high-performance permanent magnet synchronous motor, with a maximum charging power of 360kW. The wheel hub is also upgraded to a 20-inch sports hub, with only 3.49s of zero acceleration, providing more powerful driving performance.

　　On January 5, 2024, Geely Galaxy E8 will be officially listed. Users who successfully pre-order Geely Galaxy E8 can enjoy a pre-sale deposit expansion gift of 1,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan, and old users of Geely Holding Group’s brands can also enjoy an additional 10,000 yuan redemption subsidy.

　　It is understood that the new car will be arranged in the order of order, early order and early delivery. Friends who are excited about Geely Galaxy E8 can place orders in time through Geely Galaxy’s official website, App, WeChat Mini Program, H5 and other official platforms. (Source: Geely Galaxy)

Sanya Phoenix International Airport: When returning to the airport after receiving short-distance passengers –
Taxi accessFast Queuing Channel

Hainan Daily, Sanya, August 17 (Reporter, Xu Huiling) Hainan Daily reporter learned from the Sanya Municipal Transportation Bureau on August 17 that in order to standardize the operation order of taxis at Sanya Phoenix International Airport, effectively improve the service level of drivers, and solve the problem of short-distance passenger travel difficulties from the source, taking into account the interests of the majority of drivers, the bureau decided to open a fast queuing channel for vehicles after picking up and dropping off short-distance passengers at Sanya Phoenix International Airport from August 17.

According to the plan, the Sanya Municipal Transportation Bureau will set up a lane near the parking building in the three taxi queuing lanes at Sanya Phoenix International Airport as a fast queuing lane. If the driver picks up passengers in the ordinary queuing lane and meets the short-distance conditions (the destination is within 10 kilometers), he can receive a fast queuing ticket from the on-site coordinator. With the coupon, he can enter the fast queuing lane within 1 hour and enjoy the right of priority for passenger distribution.

The relevant person in charge of the Sanya Municipal Transportation Bureau introduced that this move will effectively alleviate the problem of short-distance passengers hailing, so that drivers and passengers can achieve a "win-win", passengers do not worry about being picked by drivers, and drivers do not have to worry about queuing for an hour or two to pull short-distance passengers.

Hubei Daily full media reporter, Li Chaoxia

During the epidemic in 2020, community e-commerce emerged suddenly. For a while, "online order, contactless delivery, fixed-point self-pickup" has become a new model for many families to buy food. From fresh food to condiments to daily general merchandise, all kinds of group buying have followed. JD.com, Meituan, Pinduoduo and other Internet Tech Giants have entered the market, which has affected the current pattern and pattern of fresh consumption to a certain extent.

At present, while community group buying is still red, professional fresh food e-commerce represented by Missfresh and simple shopping is rapidly rising, traditional vegetable markets and life supermarkets are constantly being upgraded, and fresh sales formats of different business models meet different levels and different needs of consumers.

How is the development of community group buying? What are the advantages and disadvantages? How is the consumer experience? Recently, Hubei Daily full media reporters conducted a visit and investigation.

Shop owner "has several groups"

"Did the dishes you bought yesterday arrive?"

At 11 o’clock on April 14, Wuchang District Wuzhong Pearl Garden Community Xinminxin non-staple food store, a small space placed in a small variety of snacks, seasonings and other goods, yellow, blue and green on the ground in the storage basket piled up with all kinds of group buying goods.

The head of the group, Du Dongmei, sorted out the group buying goods that had just been delivered, and transferred the milk and other goods that needed to be stored at low temperature to the refrigerator. From time to time, community residents came to pick up the goods.

"At the same time, she is the head of five platforms including Jingxi, Hema and Meituan." Du Dongmei introduced that she and her husband are the head of the group while running the non-staple food store. Before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2019, the husband and wife began to contact community group buying, and have now "held several groups".

Reporters visited and found that as community group buying blossomed everywhere, many shops such as Cainiao Post Station, convenience stores, community supermarkets, dry cleaners, etc. became community group buying self-pickup points while operating their main business. The goods bought by residents’ groups are mainly fresh, and the platform distributes and after-sales goods uniformly. The head of the group is responsible for collecting and distributing the goods.

"The head of the group needs a fixed place to place the goods to deal with the uncertainty of the weather, and the residents have different pickup times, so they need to keep an eye on it for a long time." Du Dongmei introduced that considering the cost, "shop + group buying self-pickup point" is the more common operating model at present.

"Buying more food is cheap, and the quality of the box horse is good." Du Dongmei and his wife have rich experience in community group buying. They believe that the main reasons why residents in this community choose group buying are two: there is no fresh supermarket in the community; group buying price is favorable.

According to reports, similar self-pickup points have a WeChat group of more than 100 people, and the staff or heads of each platform will release preferential information from time to time, and consumers will only consult the order logistics and after-sales situation.

"Don’t look at the dozens of orders on just one platform, but most of the transactions are only a few yuan or more than ten yuan." Du Dongmei said frankly that there are more and more heads of delegation now, and there are two in this community. The order volume is not as large as before, and the commission is getting lower and lower. "It’s really getting harder and harder to do. Once, the commission for an order of 50 yuan was only a few cents."

Radish and cabbage have their own loves

The reporter observed in Xinminxin non-staple food store that most of the people who came to pick up the goods in the morning were fathers and mothers-in-law in the community. Du Dongmei introduced that as the head of the team, she mainly serves young office workers and the elderly.

"It’s mainly cheap," Shi, a resident of the community, told reporters. She orders three to four times a week, and community group buying has become the main way for her and her wife to buy food.

For post-90s office worker Xiao Zhang, community group buying can save the time and labor cost of going to the farmers’ market or supermarket to buy vegetables, and it is cheaper than fresh food e-commerce. "Just move your finger to place an order and pick it up at the pick-up point when you get off work the next day."

When it comes to shopping, consumers’ needs are diverse and scattered. Young people care about convenience and time saving, while the elderly care more about freshness and low prices.

There is a basket of life supermarkets in Yuyuan Community, Chutian City, Wuchang District. Every afternoon, the vegetables are bought by the middle-aged and elderly groups in the community. Tingting, a clerk, said: "The store is also a community group buying self-pickup point for three e-commerce platforms. There are only three or four orders a day for many times. On the contrary, we often use group buying to supplement daily necessities such as seasonings because of discounts."

Unlike the elderly who buy food first and then decide on the menu, young people mostly decide on the menu first and then place targeted orders. Xiaojin, a post-95 consumer, said: "Every time I think about what to cook before buying ingredients, it is more suitable to place an order online."

Consumer demand is constantly being subdivided, with different requirements for different formats. Obviously, the development direction of fresh retail is mainly to clarify service segments.

The problem of preservation is unavoidable

Despite the huge differentiation in the way people buy food, personal preferences vary and preferences change from time to time, which also makes the community group buying market usher in a round of reshuffle.

Last year, food enjoyment, orange heart selection, ten Hui group and other brands have completely shut down related business, the rise of community group buying under the special background of epidemic prevention and control, continuous industry shock.

The reporter learned in the interview that while pursuing price concessions, people’s requirements for quality are increasing day by day. As a daily consumer product, fresh food is consumed with high frequency and fast consumption speed, but there are many links in the fresh supply chain, long chain and large loss, so it is difficult to avoid how to keep "fresh".

Many citizens believe that community groups buying orders can only be "accepted as ordered", unable to select and select goods on the spot, and the delivery time of goods cannot be standardized. Many fresh products cannot be maintained after delivery.

In addition, quality, service, and after-sales issues also pose pain points.

Consumer Xiao Wang reported that he had bought unripe cantaloupe and slightly moldy leafy vegetables, and also lost quick-frozen French fries. Because the goods were only "left" on the overhead floor of the negative first floor of the community every time, and he never met the head of the team, the after-sales problem was settled.

According to industry analysts, the consumption model of "reservation + self-pickup" is doomed to the disadvantage of community group buying in terms of shopping timeliness and experience. Its biggest strength is low price, which comes from the reduced loss rate in the distribution process and the subsidy of the platform. In order to enhance the stickiness of old users and grab new users, many platforms often launch ultra-low price panic buying activities. When low price becomes the main competitiveness of the platform, the price fluctuation of other channels will affect the sales volume of the platform, and the order profit is extremely low, and even the transit warehouse and logistics costs cannot be covered.

Relevant experts said that the platform should return to the essence of the retail industry, make every effort to build a fresh supply chain system, provide consumers with guaranteed and quality products; use data, capital, technology and other advantages to fully cooperate with the upstream manufacturers to improve the business chain operating efficiency; fully empower local suppliers and heads, differentiate the operation of regional community group buying business, and ensure the stable development of the regional market.

On June 19, according to LatePost, NIO’s intelligent driving R & D department recently completed the structural adjustment. Previously, NIO’s intelligent driving R & D department was divided into perception, regulation and control, and integration. After the adjustment, the perception and regulation teams were merged into a large model team, and the integration team was reorganized into a delivery team. The merged large model team was overseen by Peng Chao, the former head of NIO’s perception team.

Regarding the authenticity of the above news, the Daily Economic News reporter immediately checked with the NIO, but no reply was received as of press time.

On the evening of June 20, an unnamed person familiar with the matter told reporters that NIO did make structural adjustments to its intelligent driving R & D team. However, the other party did not disclose the specific details of the adjustment.

Zhu Xichan, a professor at the School of Automotive Science at Tongji University and director of the Institute of Automotive Safety Technology, said in an interview with reporters that NIO’s move is more to adapt to the development trend of large models. "Tesla’s FSD V12 version has shown excellent autonomous driving capabilities end-to-end, and the autonomous driving AI technology route has been established." Zhu Xichan believes that after the automotive industry enters the second half of intelligence, the competition will mainly focus on autonomous driving technology.

Architecture adjustment Want to explore end-to-end large models?

According to public data, there are currently about 1,500 people in the NIO smart driving team. "With the launch of the big model, the autonomous driving technology has been transformed from the algorithm-based model of the past to the data-driven model, that is, the end-to-end big model." Ji Xuehong, a professor and director of the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center at North China University of Technology, said that the integration of NIO’s sensing and regulation teams is the need for the organizational structure to serve the development of enterprise technology.

Image source: Photo by Zhang Jian, a reporter (data map)

It is reported that the restructured autonomous driving R & D department is still in charge of Ren Shaoqing, vice president of NIO’s intelligent driving R & D. After the adjustment of the intelligent driving R & D department, Ren Shaoqing once conveyed to the team: to give up the traditional paradigm of "perception-decision-regulation" that the industry has used for many years. This also means that NIO will more clearly explore the use of end-to-end large models to achieve high-level intelligent driving.

Zhu Xichan told reporters that NIO’s original modular autonomous driving algorithm team structure was divided into "perception", "regulation and control" and "evaluation", but after reaching the end-to-end large model, the division of departments is unreasonable. "In order to adapt to the new algorithm structure, the administrative structure of [NIO intelligent driving] can be optimized to break down departmental barriers and achieve more efficient development," Zhu Xichan analyzed.

Chen Guoping, executive director of Haosu Capital, told reporters that from the current point of view, the intelligent driving development program has been fully transformed into end-to-end autonomous driving, which has become an option for car companies. It turns out that perception, regulation, and decision execution are the R & D paths of traditional autonomous driving. The neural networks algorithm is used to form this simulated human driving decision through the accumulation of training data.

"With the comprehensive change of Tesla’s FSD driving decision model, the end-to-end large model output method skips the original traditional perception-decision-execution path, and calls the mainstream decision to drive the driving behavior in full accordance with the empirical algorithm, reducing the load on the perceived computing power technical parameters. The iteration speed will be faster and faster, and the cost of the smart driving solution will be lower and lower." Chen Guoping said that the new car manufacturing forces choose the end-to-end large model to merge and revoke the original organizational structure corresponding to the technology research and development path.

In an interview with reporters, He Xiaopeng, chairperson and CEO of XPeng Motors, said that in the previous smart driving scheme, technically speaking, the car was handled separately in terms of perception, positioning, planning, and control, and each link was not related. Therefore, when the vehicle encounters some scenarios, it will hesitate because of the rules written by humans. After the end-to-end large model gets on the car, the vehicle can directly output the control of the vehicle through the input of the sensor, and the smart driving will be more "human-like".

In He Xiaopeng’s view, the end-to-end smart driving model is adopted, which can be iterated every two days, and the smart driving capacity enhancement is 30 times in the next 18 months. The end-to-end big model means that automatic assisted driving will shift to fully autonomous driving.

Domestic car companies accelerate the deployment of autonomous driving

Speculation about the reasons behind the restructuring of NIO’s intelligent driving R & D department is mixed. Some people believe that NIO’s move is affected by the approaching time of Tesla’s FSD entry into China. However, Yang Weibin, an expert on new energy vehicles and batteries, told reporters that the adjustment of NIO’s intelligent driving R & D team is not directly related to Tesla’s FSD entry into China. "Because NIO and Tesla use two different intelligent driving technology routes, each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and it is not possible to completely judge which solution is better at present," Yang Weibin said.

Zhu Xichan also said that the reorganization of NIO’s intelligent driving R & D department has nothing to do with whether Tesla FSD enters China or not, but is mainly affected by the end-to-end model technology of Tesla FSD V12 version. "As the world’s leading company in autonomous driving technology, the gradual landing of Tesla FSD has pointed out the development direction and technical route of smart cars for the industry." Zhu Xichan said that with the improvement of the technical capabilities of the end-to-end model of Tesla FSD V12 version, even if it does not enter China, the autonomous driving technology of domestic car companies such as NIO will shift to the direction of large models.

In March this year, Tesla began to push the end-to-end FSD V12 to North American users on a large scale. Recently, it was reported that the Shanghai Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone has issued a road test license to Tesla, and the FSD may be testing. In response, the reporter checked with Tesla China on June 21, but no response was received as of press time.

Ji Xuehong also said that Tesla is currently the best company in autonomous driving technology. Whether it enters China or not, it will guide more and more car companies to make more investment in autonomous driving technology. "As a’catfish ‘in the field of autonomous driving, Tesla will accelerate the layout and force of car companies in the field of autonomous driving." Ji Xuehong explained that in addition to NIO, XPeng Motors, Li Auto, Huawei and other car companies, more and more traditional car companies are also increasing the layout of autonomous driving technology direction.

On June 20, Zhang Xinghai, chairperson (founder) of Cyrus Group, announced that Cyrus will firmly pursue the development of smart-electric integration under software-defined vehicles, and strive to explore solutions for intelligent driving and intelligent safety. "At present, the AITO cars produced by Cyrus have driving auxiliary features, of which two-thirds have high-order intelligent driving functions, and the auxiliary driving functions account for one-third." Zhang Xinghai said.

In Yang Weibin’s view, car companies are doing theory in the "first half" and practice in the "second half". "Car companies will take advantage of the opportunity of large-scale demonstration of domestic smart driving technology, expand the number of cities where smart driving is applied, and continue to iterate and optimize and upgrade." Yang Weibin said that there is still a long way to go to fully realize autonomous driving.

Daily economic news

A few days ago, the car announced its sales results for July. It sold 18,225 units in July, an increase of 18.88% year-on-year. At this time when the epidemic is plagued and there is a "lack of core", its results are very prominent. 01 and 03 are its two best-selling cars, followed by the coupe SUV05, and then the 09 and 05 + two new cars will be listed this year.

Unconsciously, it seems to have become the only applauded and called the independent luxury brand, its brand cumulative sales have broken through 556,000, according to this trend, it seems that next year can clock in millions of sales.

The road to upward breakthrough for independent brands has always been full of hardships. On the one hand, it is necessary to be technically strong, and on the other hand, it also faces the extrusion of joint ventures and imported brands. How did it rise step by step? Let Kung Fu Auto take you a look.

(1) Powerful self, dimensionality reduction blow

In the past, the failure of self-owned brands to rise was often due to two reasons. Either "sail under false colors", such as hiring a foreign designer, adding a NAPPA leather seat, and adding a variety of fancy configurations, it is said that its high-end, its own mechanical quality is still the same. Users look good, but they will be exposed after buying it home for a while.

Or it is not grounded, the most typical is that they have tinkered with a system, which is indeed different from the existing products. But the sales volume cannot be sustained, the cost has gone up again, and the things built behind closed doors are not much better. In the end, the road can only be narrower and narrower.

The height of the product starts from the most essential part, but it is still "grounded" and closely related to the actual needs of users.

Taking 01 as an example, it is based on the CMA architecture jointly developed with it. It has defined three global standards of safety, reliability and quality from the infrastructure. At the same time, the powertrain, chassis and electronic and electrical are built as "new three parts". It has both high safety and high quality, but also has excellent performance.

The full range of Drive-E 2.0TD turbocharged engines are available in T4 and T5 power options, allowing users to choose what they need according to their performance and economic needs. The 8AT automatic transmission has smooth gearshifts and little frustration, allowing for strong power output in low gears and extreme fuel economy in high grades. It can also learn by itself according to driving habits and automatically adjust the timing of gear changes to adapt to various complex environments.

Coupled with professional chassis tuning and BorgWarner’s fifth-generation intelligent four-wheel drive system, it can combine handling and comfort, and can easily adapt to various road conditions.

In terms of mechanical quality, it is undoubtedly outstanding compared to other domestic high-end brands. And it is not "high and low". Taking the CMA architecture as an example, it realizes resource sharing and scale effect among the group’s brands. This not only reduces the cost of research and development, but also has more inventory, and manufacturers can better control product quality.

This is the advantage. To put it bluntly, it is a brand that relies on the group and uses money to make a living. But it is not in vain. Its success also feeds back to other brands in the group, so as to achieve a win-win situation, which is difficult for other car companies to imitate.

(3) Adhere to individuality and outstanding temperament

In addition to providing excellent mechanical quality and balanced product strength, it is actually a very personalized brand. It has both 01 and 03 relatively "orthodox" models, and will also launch some personalized models according to user requests. This approach is traditionally thankless, but it has a good role in promoting brand perception.

The most typical is the 02, which is officially defined as a coupe SUV. In fact, it is a very typical crossover, even more like a wide-bodied hatchback. Everyone knows that hatchback sales have not been very good in recent years, and even the sales of the "magic car" Golf have been declining.

But it was in this market situation that he still chose to launch 02, its goal is to meet the needs of different consumer groups. Although it is destined not to have a big market, it is definitely difficult for users who like to control excellent cars to refuse.

He even went to great lengths to create a special 02 Hatchback version for it, which is equivalent to the official sports modified version of the 02. It uses a more powerful power system, further reduces the height of the body, and adjusts the chassis more sporty, resulting in better handling performance.

Just this year, several users have asked Kung Fu Auto, 02 Hatchback and Golf GTI who is more worthy of choice. This is a kind of progress. Before, such a field was definitely blank for domestic cars.

In addition, the "real" coupe SUV05 (the 02 is actually a crossover) and the entry-level SUV06 were also launched. The market for these two cars is actually not large, but compared to their peers, their competitiveness is still very good.

This is what it insists on. It can be said that it is not a completely "market-oriented" brand. Its product layout is quite personalized, and sometimes it even makes people feel that it is "too hard" in some easily overlooked parts. But it is not a "market-oriented" approach. Instead, it has made it favored by the market and has become the most popular independent luxury brand. It can only be said that the painstaking efforts pay off. When you pay for the user, the user also cares about your good.

(3) The future can be expected to continue to break through

In the coming months, two more blockbuster models will be launched, namely the sporty SUV05 + and the mid-to-large luxury SUV09.

Let’s talk about the 05 + first, it will use a new version of the 2.0T high-power engine, with a maximum power of 195kW, which is further improved compared to the 187kW output power of the 03 +. The new car will be equipped with a complete set of sports kits on the basis of the existing 05, including wheel hubs, front and rear lips, side skirts, spoilers, and calipers. These are all redesigned, and the chassis will be further strengthened.

The new car will also have the original rear wing, which can better play the speed. At the same time, it will also be equipped with racing-grade ventilated brake discs, which have higher resistance to heat aging, and can stop in time while enjoying the speed.

Needless to say, this will be another product that earns word-of-mouth in advance. There is only one domestic brand that does these things.

The upcoming 09 will be the brand’s first 7-seater car and will also become the current flagship model. The new car will be based on the SPA architecture, which is considered to be the key to the rapid growth of the last decade. The whole series is equipped with a 2.0T + 48v light hybrid system as standard, providing strong performance and excellent NVH feel.

In addition, its luxury construction is also unparalleled. A large number of leather materials and fur materials are used in the car, and the luxury atmosphere is very prominent. High-end configurations such as bose audio and hud head-up display will also be added together. The rigid body is built, the intelligent safety configuration, and the workmanship materials in the car are all filled together.

It is generally believed that 09 will become a key to break through the 300,000 level.

(4) Kung Fu shooting

Compared with other independent luxury brands, the series of models has embarked on a new path. It has not only the kind materials and rich configuration that far exceed the joint venture brand, but also performs very well in terms of mechanical quality, which makes it always in a favorable position in the competition.

At the same time, the brand is also launching a variety of personalized models to meet the needs of different user groups, which further accelerates its reputation accumulation.

But it has to be said that its success is difficult to replicate. Even if it is now completely "branded", can other independent high-end brands learn from it?

Feature: Picture Channel

Jackie Chan is interviewed

　　Jackie Chan, more often than not, is like a familiar Chinese symbol, starting from the small martial arts, until it has become an indispensable and important force in the Chinese entertainment industry and even the Chinese charity vision. Too many people truly worship him, and too many people self-righteously interpret him.

　　A few days ago, Mr. Zhang Chaoyang, the chairperson and CEO of Sohu, as the chief reporter of Sohu Olympic official website, interviewed Jackie Chan face-to-face. Jackie Chan, who came to Sohu with the "descendant of the dragon" and the third runner-up of the championship, is still the iconic Tang dress, and he looks at ease and relaxed in the special setting full of Chinese antique interview environment.

　　As a result, an interview dialogue that would have been stereotyped changed, in-depth and exploratory, about life, about love, about life, about themselves, in the face-to-face conversation between Jackie Chan and Zhang Chaoyang, the flow is no longer the standard version of the entertainment industry dialogue when doing programs, more is the light of real words and thoughts and profound dialogue…

　　Position yourself in life

　　My whole person is like a dream, and I have too many secrets that I don’t know.

　　In a conversation with Zhang Chaoyang, Jackie Chan positioned his life as a dream: "My whole person is like a dream. When I was a child, I grew up in a noble residential area where foreigners gathered, and I accumulated a lot of imbalances in my heart. I always feel that Chinese people are inferior to foreigners. But now, China is getting stronger and stronger. After the earthquake, everyone is united, and the Olympic Games are held. I feel really proud to be a Chinese. I also let my son surnamed Fang recognize my ancestors and return to the sect. I still have a Hong Kong passport. I am very happy that we Chinese are so strong now."

　　Jackie Chan said that the most valuable thing about him all the way to now may be the truth, "I haven’t read any books, I made a lot of mistakes when I was young, and I did a lot of crazy things, but people still look at me like this, I think it’s because I’ve always been real, I’m real."

　　Jackie Chan, who is still in his prime, said that his life is like a dream, so he wants to do more practical things in the future, including some positioning and summary of himself, "I will open a school, cultivate successors, and open a personal museum. I don’t want me to be gone. Others will commemorate me before making a museum. I need to start preparing now, I think that is real enough, and I have thought about it for a long time. I want to make a small room, put a machine, and tell all my secrets that have not been known for so many years. I have too many secrets, and these are all things I want to do."

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