On December 26, at the AITO Authorized User Center, many consumers came to inquire about the AITO M9.
This group of pictures was taken by reporter Zhang Jinhui/Visual Chongqing
On December 26th, the AITO M9, the flagship SUV of Panorama Smart in cooperation with Huawei, was officially launched. This car is not only the integration of the most cutting-edge technology and the latest manufacturing technology in the automotive industry, but also once again enhances the outside world’s perception of "made in Chongqing" cars.
A few days ago, the National Bureau of Statistics also released the latest data. From January to November this year, Chongqing’s automobile production reached 2.0742 million, an increase of 10% year-on-year, ranking second in the country.
In the past decade or so, Chongqing’s automobile production ranking in the country has fluctuated a lot, and now Chongqing has once again ranked among the top in the country. The industry is more concerned about the specific path to promote the development of the local industry. After all, through the "impulse" of mid- and low-end products, it is no longer sustainable in the current automobile industry pattern.
Chongqing’s automobile industry has performed well this year. Is there really a "new driving force" behind it? From the emergence of the AITO M9 and the performance of major automobile companies in Chongqing this year, we can see that Chongqing’s automobile industry is shifting from "quantitative change" to "qualitative change".
The price of high-end cars has reached 500,000 to 600,000 yuan
Since the second half of this year, the AITO series jointly designed by Cyrus Automobile and Huawei has continued to sell well. Sales of Cyrus new energy vehicles reached 23,834 units in November, an increase of 104.39% year-on-year; of which, sales of Cyrus brand reached 20,318 units, an increase of 145.92% year-on-year, both setting new highs.
Changan Automobile is still awesome. In November, its own brand new energy vehicle sales exceeded 50,000, an increase of 52.73% year-on-year.
The reporter learned from the Municipal Economic and Information Commission that Chongqing’s new energy vehicle production in November increased by more than 100% year-on-year, far exceeding the year-on-year growth rate of the total local automobile production during the same period.
The relevant person in charge of the Municipal Economic and Information Commission said that since 2023, Chongqing’s new energy vehicles have contributed 85% to the growth of the city’s automobile industry.
"Behind the recent outstanding performance of Chongqing Automobile, it is obviously driven by high-end models, especially high-end intelligent networked new energy models." A relevant person from the Chongqing Automobile Business Association said that a large number of high-value and high-product "Chongqing-made" models have emerged this year, with more intensity and frequency than ever before.
The reporter combed the hot-selling new energy models launched in "Chongqing" this year and found that they are basically mid-to-high-end cars. For example, Changan’s dark blue S7 model, the price is between 150,000 and 220,000 yuan, and the price of Avita 11 Hongmeng Edition and Avita 12 is in the range of 300,000 to 400,000 yuan. Cyrus AITO asked the world M5 smart driving version and AITO asked the world new M7 price coverage 250,000 to 400,000 yuan. AITO asked the world M9 pushed the price to more than 500,000 to 600,000 yuan.
New path makes "Chongqing-made" cars popular
In the opinion of industry insiders, the above changes in Chongqing’s automobile industry are influenced by a profound value logic.
On December 16, at the special event of the Chongqing International Talent Exchange Conference, Li Keqiang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief scientist of the Intelligent Connected Vehicle Innovation Center of Chongqing Western Science City, pointed out that the automobile industry is ushering in the 4.0 era, and the new generation of automobiles will reflect the characteristics of low-carbon energy, electric power, intelligent body, and transportation network. The original automobile development model, production model, and ecology will change.
Dong Yang, vice-chairperson of the China Electric Vehicle 100 People’s Association, believes that people’s "quality view" of cars has changed now, from focusing on quality to focusing on experience. "In the past, when a new car was released and 20 new technologies were listed, it was great that the user could use one or two. Each car also came with a thick manual, and no one read it. This is not acceptable. Car companies must directly face the user, understand what the user needs, and let the user make full use of the new technology."
"The first is to’change ‘and strive to develop new technologies in the direction of intelligent networking and new energy; the second is to’get close’ to the needs of users, shorten the distance with users and reduce communication costs," said the relevant person in charge of Changan Automobile.
Looking at the many new products launched by Chongqing automakers such as Changan and Sailis this year, we can see that they all adhere to the above concept.
Take the M9 as an example. By using innovative owl-enhanced steering technology, the turning radius of a 5.2-meter-long "big guy" is smaller than that of a mid-sized sedan. In addition, the model also has dual lights 2.60 million pixel-refined lighting. When the high beam shines on the opposite vehicle, it automatically leaves a dark area, which does not affect the opposite car and maintains the high beam.
Qu Yunchao, a market watcher, believes that some of these technologies and features are targeted to solve users’ pain points, while others are to open up new experiences for users that are interesting or comfortable. The popularity of "made in Chongqing" cars this year is a testament to the success of this path.
Towards global first-class still requires "one step at a time"
In the new year, how can Chongqing’s auto industry anchor the new development coordinates? "The global auto industry landscape is undergoing subversive changes." Zhu Huarong, chairperson of Changan Automobile, said that from the six-point world of Europe, America, Japan, Germany and South Korea, to today’s Chinese brands sitting on half of the country, Chinese brands lead the world in terms of styling, new energy and intelligence, the scale advantage is further highlighted, and the competitive advantage of changing lanes is more obvious.
But it also raises a new set of problems.
For example, the future development of China’s automobile industry will no longer be promoted by learning from the outside world. For example, the boundary reconstruction of the division of labor for vehicles and parts, and the rapid conversion of new energy vehicle batteries from shortage to overcapacity.
To solve these problems, in order to become a global first-class, the road can only be walked out "one step at a time". Zhu Huarong believes that by accelerating the layout of products and production capacity, strengthening the layout of branding, strengthening the layout of marketing services, accelerating the improvement of the layout of the market, and strengthening the layout of organizational talents "five steps", to meet the various challenges of the critical period of the industry track transition.
Zhang Xinghai, chairperson (founder) of Sailis Automobile, said that the local area is currently in the best opportunity to develop new energy intelligent networked vehicles. Only a strong supply chain can support strong vehicle enterprises, and the industry should further expand open cooperation and let professional people do professional things in order to create high-quality products that meet user requests.
The relevant person of the Municipal Economic and Information Commission said that Chongqing strives to basically form a new ecosystem of intelligent networked new energy vehicle industry by 2025, and to build a world-class intelligent networked new energy vehicle industry cluster by 2030, with the industrial scale reaching the world’s first-class level.
Therefore, Chongqing will continue to expand its industrial scale, accelerate the completion and commissioning of new projects, the launch of new products, and the development and growth of new brands, and work together to build a trillion-level intelligent networked new energy vehicle industry cluster; adhere to the coordination of the whole zero, implement major projects to attract investment, cultivate and upgrade key enterprises, transform and upgrade traditional enterprises, and promote the integration of intelligent networked new energy vehicles to strengthen the chain and extend the chain; strengthen the integrated layout of charging, storage and cloud infrastructure, and promote the integration of energy networks, transportation networks, and information networks. Strive to form a moderately advanced, rational, intelligent and efficient charging and swapping service system; accelerate the networking transformation of existing roads, and create the most unique and rich vehicle-road collaborative experience scene in the country.
The first "made in Chongqing" panoramic smart flagship SUV
AITO asked the world about the M9 listing
On December 26, at the Wenjie M9 and Huawei’s winter full-scene conference, the first "Chongqing-made" panoramic smart flagship SUV AITO Wenjie M9 was officially launched, and a total of 4 models were launched in two power versions of extended range and pure electric, priced at 469,800-569,800 yuan.
AITO Q Jie M9 is jointly launched by Chongqing car company Sailis and Huawei, using a new family design "Kunpeng wing", the new car applies a number of cutting-edge innovative technologies, such as "super Xuanwu body", using the world’s largest one-piece die-casting molding, lightweight coefficient is significantly higher than the same level of models, the whole car 12 also uses 2 quadrillion nuclear submarine-class hot car steel.
The Huawei Tuling intelligent chassis equipped with the AITO M9 is equipped with intelligent closed air spring and CDC variable damping shock absorber as standard, which supports height adjustment of 5-speed cars. It also has a full-scene intelligent road preview system and adaptive active suspension, which can smoothly cope with different road conditions.
In terms of power, the AITO Qinjie M9 extended range version is equipped with a drive system composed of a 1.5T engine and front and rear motors, with a zero-hundred acceleration of 4.9 seconds and a pure electric version with a zero-hundred acceleration of 4.3 seconds. The extended range version has a fuel consumption of as low as 6.9 liters per 100 kilometers, a comprehensive battery life of up to 1402 kilometers, and a pure electric battery life of up to 275 kilometers. The pure electric version is equipped with Huawei’s "Giant Whale" 800-volt high-voltage battery platform, which can achieve a 5-minute charge and a battery life of 150 kilometers, and the overall battery life reaches 630 kilometers.
In terms of autonomous driving, M9 adopts Huawei ADS2.0 high-end intelligent driving, equipped with industry-leading 192-line lidar, with high definition cameras, millimeter wave radar, etc., to support national high-speed, urban expressways and urban intelligent driving.
AITO Qinjie M9 is expected to be delivered in batches on February 26 next year. The relevant person in charge of Cyrus said that the company has built a world-leading super smart factory in Chongqing, with intelligent manufacturing equipment that integrates advanced technologies such as AR vision and big data. Key processes are 100% automated, and a new car can be rolled off the assembly line every 30 seconds, with the highest production efficiency in the world.