2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 1017 Let Strength Speak

The crossover of chrysanthemums into the market has, in a sense, redefined new energy vehicles, or rather, intelligent vehicles.

Even though Tesla, Xiaomi, and other pure electric vehicle companies have been promoting their intelligent driving systems in recent years, consumers' understanding of new energy vehicles is still limited to simply replacing gasoline with electricity.

Cars are much harder to popularize than mobile phones. Consumers only need to spend a few thousand yuan or even a few hundred yuan to get started with smartphones, while cars require at least tens of thousands of yuan.

If you own a gasoline car, or an early pure electric hybrid new energy vehicle, and you don't plan to change cars for at least a few years, the popularization of the concept of smart cars is not so easy.

With its national-level corporate reputation, coupled with its massive marketing campaign and high-profile endorsements from its executives, the entry of Chrysanthemum quickly popularized the concept of smart cars among consumers. Under Chrysanthemum's series of press conferences, more consumers gained a new understanding of smart cars.

This is the contribution of Chrysanthemum, or rather, Big Mouth, to the automotive industry. Without Chrysanthemum's strong marketing ability and appeal, it would be difficult for any car company to achieve this level of popularity, not even Tesla.

"I am very grateful to Mr. Yu and Juhua. Although they do not manufacture cars, they have done a much better job than us car manufacturers in popularizing autonomous driving technology. They have made more and more consumers realize that new energy vehicles are not just a simple replacement of fuel with electricity. New energy vehicles can be very intelligent."

At product launch events, using sarcastic or veiled comparisons with competitors has become the mainstream approach in the second half of this year. Claims like "stepping on the W3" or "crushing Tesla" and comparisons with the Model 3, Model Y, ET5, and L1 have become commonplace.

With the hot sales of the Exeed S01, it has become a benchmark model for some competitors, and the Exeed S01 can already be seen at some car launch events.

When competitors compare their cars to those of other manufacturers, Weilai, led by Tan Jincheng, doesn't care at all; in fact, they're quite happy. The fact that competitors can use Weilai's models as benchmarks shows that some of Weilai's models have already achieved great success.

"Chrysanthemum's technological reserves are the result of decades of accumulation, while our Weilai is just a young company that has been established for less than 15 years. We must acknowledge the gap between us, but we do not have such a gap in the field of autonomous driving."

In order to attract traffic and attention at the beginning, Tan Jincheng also brought up chrysanthemums. While affirming chrysanthemums, he also made a veiled attack. While chrysanthemums do have a very strong position in the field of technology, Wei Lai does not think they are really stronger than him in the field of autonomous driving or new energy vehicles.

Since its formal establishment in 2008, Weilai has been engaged in businesses such as batteries and fuel vehicles, all in preparation for and transition to new energy vehicles. Meanwhile, its subsidiaries, including Orange Group, Meizu Technology, and Horizon Robotics, have been continuously conducting research on autonomous driving.

Although Weilai claims to focus on L2 technology and bring mature L2 technology to market without promoting its L3 technology, this does not mean that Weilai lacks technical expertise in L3.

With so many companies supporting WILAY's intelligent system, WILAY dares not say that its L4-level intelligent driving system is leading, but at least in the L3-level field, it is not afraid of the challenge from Huawei.

No matter how impressive Chrysanthemum is, they are still just a company that started getting involved in the automotive industry around 2019. In terms of technological accumulation in the automotive industry, they still cannot gain the recognition of real automotive professionals.

They may have started their automotive project earlier internally, but no matter how early, it couldn't be earlier than Baidu's. Weilai's internal intelligent driving project started around the same time as Baidu's.

The reason for not promoting L3, which is not yet commercially mature, is partly due to business considerations. L2 intelligent assisted driving technology is mature and has its own advantages, and promoting these advantages is a key focus of every company's marketing.

On the other hand, it was also due to Tan Jincheng's personal reasons. In his previous life, as a businessman and an ordinary car consumer, he clearly understood how much misunderstanding the chrysanthemum-themed advertising had caused in the market.

Thanks to the hype surrounding the car, many people who have no knowledge of automotive technology completely confuse assisted driving with intelligent driving, as if they could really let go of the steering wheel while driving and sleep through the entire journey while the car safely reaches its destination.

This is a highly irresponsible marketing approach, not only towards the driver but also towards other vehicles and pedestrians on the road. Bigmouth can use this kind of advertising to promote their smart cars and boost sales.

But has he considered road traffic safety? Has he considered the families behind countless drivers? He can disappear after an accident and use the excuse that the car wasn't made by them, but it won't be so easy for the drivers and their families to get away with it.

"What is so-called intelligent driving? In my opinion, it is not those technical terms that most people cannot understand, nor is it those mysterious and esoteric terms."

"What is intelligent driving? It's about saving time and effort. When driving on highways or ring roads, it can follow the car in front of it and stay in its lane without having to constantly press the accelerator or brake. It can also take a break when it gets tired."

"It's clever; when a car cuts in front of it and you suddenly slow down, it can react quickly and automatically slow down or make slight adjustments to avoid it."

"It knows the way well, can understand traffic lights at complex intersections in the city, and yields to pedestrians, just like a seasoned driver who knows the way well. It can communicate well, and with a simple 'navigate to the company,' it can automatically plan the route and follow it without you having to fumble with the screen."

"It's stable and reliable. Braking and turning are smooth, without any sudden movements that make you feel uncomfortable. It's reassuring and safe to sit in."

"To put it simply, intelligent driving is like having your own driver. In the future, all consumers will have their own personal driver. That's what intelligent driving is."

"And these are what Wei Lai is pursuing in the field of intelligent driving. Although I don't have a technical background, I have been in the automotive industry for more than ten years. If I were to use those technical terms, I could just say them off the cuff."

Tan Jincheng's opening remarks were very straightforward. Aside from a few sarcastic remarks about Da Zui, he used the simplest and most straightforward language to popularize intelligent driving technology and explain its core selling points.

He even made a self-deprecating joke, which made the atmosphere at the scene and in the live broadcast room very relaxed. The live broadcast room is currently very popular and the screen is very active. Tan Jincheng's straightforward explanation has invisibly lowered the technical difficulty, allowing even consumers without a driver's license to understand the essence of intelligent driving.

The launch of Weilai's autonomous driving technology has changed consumers' perceptions; oh, so-called autonomous driving is like hiring a driver for yourself.

"Alright, now it's my turn to show off. I'll be using some technical jargon, because just talking about these things won't really demonstrate the advantages of Weilai. Now, let's officially begin the Weilai NOP+ Intelligent Driving System launch event."

"I should also mention that, in addition to undergoing extensive data training and real-world testing, the intelligent driving system of Weilai has also been tested by me personally. My driver, Mr. Lai Yiu-fai, is very qualified to speak on this point."

"Until it is fully mature, we will never use an exaggerated approach to promote our intelligent driving system. Our culture in Weilai respects the right of every life, and we also fully respect advertising laws."

Last year, Horizon Robotics launched the NOP intelligent driving system, the core of which is high-speed intelligent navigation. Unlike the first-generation NIO system, last year's intelligent driving system underwent a major upgrade. With Horizon Robotics' most advanced Journey series chip and a front-facing camera, the user experience is completely different from the first generation.

Of course, it also has limitations. It cannot handle complex road conditions. When facing complex road conditions and changing lanes, manual intervention is required for confirmation. This was a limitation of last year's version.

However, these limitations have been significantly improved this year. Through repeated updates and iterations, the NOP system of Weilai has been significantly optimized, reducing the number of times manual intervention is required. Weilai users have shared their experiences on various forums.

Regarding the limitations of the NOP intelligent driving system, and the user experiences shared by users on the Internet, Weilai did not try to control the comments like some companies. Instead, it fully collected user feedback and experiences to optimize and improve the system.

Weilai's user base has a very high level of loyalty, which is inseparable from Weilai's humble service attitude. In many cases, our users are actually very good, much better than foreigners. They can tolerate product shortcomings and are willing to give the company room for improvement.

The fact that they can tolerate even Lifan's asymmetrical steering wheel and that it still sells well is enough to show their support for national enterprises. Many companies would not be in such dire straits if they just put a little effort into making their products.

This year, in addition to software optimization and iteration, WILER has also upgraded the hardware of its new model, featuring an NVIDIA 30TOPS computing power chip, 5 millimeter-wave radars and 12 ultrasonic radars, plus groundbreaking features from Gaode high-precision maps.

In terms of high-speed intelligent navigation assistance systems, it can realize functions such as automatic lane changing, parking with memory function for entering and exiting ramps and parking lots, and is the first domestic car brand to achieve mass production of high-speed navigation assistance driving.

This is the status of Weilai in the industry, which is not something that Juhua can challenge in a short time. Dazui's constant attempts to provoke Weilai are actually a recognition of Weilai's industry position in the field of intelligent driving. By constantly provokeing Weilai, Dazui can enhance users' perception of Juhua's intelligent driving system's reputation.

"Now we will move on to the launch of our NOP+ intelligent assisted driving system. Before we begin, please watch a test video. I will then introduce our latest intelligent assisted driving system to you step by step, following the video."

"Before I begin, I must emphasize again: please remember the word 'assistance.' Currently, the most mature technology on the market is still assisted driving; there is no such thing as true autonomous driving. Weilai can't do it, Tesla can't do it, Baidu can't do it, and neither can Huawei." Weilai actually plans to launch the NOP+ intelligent assisted driving system next year. Although the NOP system is considered internally as a transition from the first to the second generation system, it should be able to be used for two years without any problems.

If it weren't for Da Zui's relentless pursuit, Wei Lai would have continued to release its technology to the market gradually according to the original schedule, maintaining its leading position while maximizing its commercial benefits.

However, ever since the confrontation with Dazui last month, Dazui has gone crazy. Although the backlash from the bottom line has suppressed the excessive marketing of the past, Dazui continues to release news about road testing in major cities, as well as various press conferences and car forums. Dazui is still sparing no effort to promote its own products.

This also put a lot of pressure on Wei.

"In terms of hardware, the Weilai NOP+ system has been further upgraded with dual Orin-X chips, 508 TOPS computing power, and is equipped with two LiDARs and an 800-megapixel camera."

"The intelligent assisted driving system that we launched in Ningbo can recognize traffic lights, make unprotected left turns, and control the vehicle with voice commands throughout the entire process. Please watch this video; it is a test of a small accident scene."

In the video, the testers easily passed by with just a simple "Little Orange, avoid the accident car ahead." The intelligent voice system of Weilai is jointly developed by iFlytek and Orange Group.

Baidu's Xiao Ai and Xiaomi's Xiao Ai are examples of AI voice assistants. After extensive testing, Orange Group ultimately decided to use the name "Xiao Chengzi" for its intelligent voice assistant. Xiao Chengzi sounds more approachable than Xiao Cheng.

Wei Lai also used this name. Although it sounds a bit out of place with Wei Lai, everyone knows the relationship between Orange Group and Wei Lai Group, so they don't care too much. Nowadays, orange is also a major color in the Internet circle.

"In the face of extreme weather conditions, lidar can increase anti-interference capabilities compared to pure vision solutions. In terms of learning ability, we combine cloud training and personal route learning. In addition, the Weilai L1 model also has learning capabilities such as family habit memory."

“We have one of the largest data centers in the country, and we have Orange Group as our backing; in terms of computing power, we have the Journey 5 full-scenario vehicle intelligent central computing chip, and we have the support of Horizon Robotics, which focuses on the field of automotive intelligent chips and provides computing power support for intelligent driving of automobiles.”

"In addition, in the field of intelligent cockpit chips, we also use the Qualcomm 8295 automotive-grade intelligent chip. Furthermore, we have received support from excellent domestic and foreign companies such as AutoNavi, NavInfo, and National Technology for the supply of components. We would also like to thank our component suppliers here."

"Wei Lai has the idea of ​​full-stack self-development, but no matter how we develop it ourselves, we can't do without suppliers of all sizes. The automotive industry needs the progress and support of the entire industry chain. We can't become an industry leader by relying on ourselves alone."

October 24th is 1024 Tech Day. The tech competition in October is fierce. Tesla released its 4680 battery, which is now engaged in a heated competition with the Blade Battery and nano-ion batteries in terms of energy density and cost.

In the arms race of intelligent driving, domestic new energy vehicle companies, led by Weilai, are fiercely competing on the divergence between LiDAR and Tesla's pure vision solutions.

Within the broader framework of the LiDAR roadmap, there is also competition from companies like Weilai, Xiaopeng, Wenjie, and Chrysanthemum, as well as technological breakthroughs from companies like Baidu in autonomous driving.

October this year can be described as a month of explosive growth in automotive technology, with numerous press conferences held by companies large and small, laying the foundation for the market competition landscape for the next two years. However, the focus was still on the debate between Weilai and Juhua.

Or rather, the rivalry between Da Zui and Tan Jincheng, following closely on the heels of the Chrysanthemum press conference, led to the launch of Wei Lai's intelligent driving solution. As time went on, the level of attention gradually increased, and the number of online viewers in the live broadcast room also grew.

"In the future, in the field of intelligent driving, WIL will focus on three major strategies: no map, all scenarios, and self-evolution. NOP+ is a major update for the current market, but NOP+ is not our end point."

The future of intelligent driving will revolve around mapless operation, planning algorithms, and accessory configurations. In terms of scenarios, it will range from the currently popular parking to cross-city and all-scenario parking, seamless connection from highways to urban areas and parking lots, as well as solutions for extreme weather.

In addition, there is the issue of commercial development. Intelligent driving is not always free; most companies offer users intelligent driving functions through outright purchases or monthly subscriptions.

This can be achieved through hardware pre-installation and OTA unlocking on the vehicle itself. For older models, there are also modification and upgrade solutions available.

The business model of Weilai is basically the same. Currently, Weilai's pricing strategy for software is a buyout fee of 3.6 yuan, as well as monthly subscriptions for 699 yuan per month, and annual subscriptions for 6799 yuan per year.

Wei Lai also holds occasional discount and promotional events, which not only increase the number of paying users, but also help promote the intelligent assisted driving system. As cars enter the era of intelligent vehicles, selling cars is no longer the main source of income.

In the Exeed S01 model, Weilai has also made great efforts to promote intelligent assisted driving. In addition to distributing the technology, customers who place orders or take delivery during the peak sales season of September and October will enjoy software discount policies.

For example, during the major promotional periods in September and October, there was a limited-time discount on the software purchase price. The original price was 3.6 yuan, but the current price was only 2.5 yuan. This policy was also extended to existing users.

For some older models, the cost of hardware modifications has been reduced from the original price of 1.8 yuan to 1.25 yuan, also a limited-time offer, which can maximize the promotion of users' desire to purchase and upgrade.

"Compared to other companies in the same industry, in addition to the support of suppliers, our biggest advantage in autonomous driving is the sales base of more than one million new energy vehicles worldwide."

"Sales data of over one million vehicles have provided us with a wealth of data profiles of users. Whether on highways, in urban areas, or on rural roads, we have a large data foundation, which is something that some emerging intelligent driving systems do not have."

"This time, Weilai has made hardware upgrades and functional breakthroughs in the intelligent driving system, all of which are inseparable from this data. While thanking the suppliers for their support, we also want to thank the countless users for their support."

"Of course, please rest assured that we have always strictly adhered to national standards and industry bottom lines when it comes to user privacy. Things like pushing advertisements to users while they are driving will never happen to us."

"In addition, to thank our users for their support, based on our peak sales season of September and October, Weilai has decided to extend this limited-time policy to December 31, 2021. All Weilai users who purchase this product before January 1, 2022 will enjoy this policy."

Throughout the press conference, apart from the opening remarks explaining what intelligent driving is, Tan Jincheng did use a lot of technical jargon, which surprised viewers of the live stream. Tan Jincheng didn't seem to mind people making fun of his academic background.

Even he himself has joked on some occasions that he did not deliberately package himself as a cultured person like some entrepreneurs do after they become famous. Most of the press conferences he gave were in simple and easy-to-understand terms.

Besides making users better understand the product's features, it also gives people the impression of a lack of cultural sophistication. Other companies like to play the high-end card at their product launches, and I also get this feeling from other executives' product launches.

However, this feeling is rare with Tan Jincheng. Obscure and difficult words rarely appear in his presentations, but today a large number of technical terms appeared at the launch event of the Weilai Intelligent Driving System, and he was the one who gave the presentation.

"When it comes to playing high-class games, our boss is just as good as anyone else, it's just that he doesn't play much, haha."

Actually, this was unavoidable. He became famous in the internet age, where everything is transparent, unlike entrepreneurs in the last century who couldn't pretend even if they wanted to. The internet has a long memory.

A low level of education is a low level of education, but a low level of education does not mean a lack of culture. After more than ten years of contact, occasionally attending a press conference with a lot of professional terminology is not a big challenge for me.

In addition to hardware upgrades and functional breakthroughs, the highlights of this press conference, similar to the previous Chrysanthemum press conference, also included the announcement that its in-vehicle infotainment system has achieved seamless integration with mobile phones and home devices.

Besides achieving seamless integration with mobile phones and home devices for the first time, the core technology of Chrysanthemum's press conference mainly focused on their technological breakthrough in ADS advanced autonomous driving.

It supports navigation assistance for drivers in urban areas, and is equipped with three LiDAR sensors and an MDC 610 chip with a computing power of 200 TOPS, which had a huge impact at the time.

The two companies' technology launch events were only two days apart. The hype surrounding Chrysanthemum hadn't completely dissipated when Weilai came to grab attention. However, judging from the series of data released at Weilai's launch event, Weilai seems to be no simple company either.

In terms of computing power alone, Wei Lai is stronger, and the atmosphere seems to have become somewhat delicate.

It seems that in the field of intelligent driving, perhaps everyone has underestimated Weilai, or overestimated Juhua?
(End of this chapter)