From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 190 With great power comes great responsibility; with great responsibility comes great profit!
That's right.

The concept behind this high-performance car is still derived from HiPhi.

Looking back at the history of new energy development in China, there are really very few companies with particularly outstanding designs.

If we disregard plagiarism and a large number of homogenized designs, there are even fewer truly memorable examples of independent innovation.

It's a great deal.

The HiPhiZ, in particular, has many design highlights.

Take a chestnut.

The resale value of the now-defunct HiPhiZ is even higher than that of some currently available high-end new energy vehicles.

This is enough to demonstrate the value of its design.

Its first model, the "HiPhi X", was inspired by the "FF91" and was not particularly outstanding.

Despite this, for quite some time after its release, it sold over 500 units per month, reaching a level of 600,000 to 800,000 units.

This is quite impressive in the high-end market.

This can be seen as an early verification of the possibility of high-end domestically produced new energy vehicles.

Ultimately, it collapsed because it lacked core technology.

You can't just design and play with lights forever, can you?
Lacking both performance and core competitive advantages, its high-end configuration quickly lost its appeal in the face of competition.

This caused some groups online to feel quite sorry for it.

If you have even a little core competitiveness, you might actually succeed!
...

But in the long run...

The collapse of HiPhi was inevitable.

The development of high-end cars inevitably relies on the "blood transfusion" of a large number of mid-to-low-end cars to sustain itself.

After the success of high-end cars, the cost reduction and transfer of high-end technologies to lower-end markets, along with brand effects, will further stabilize the low-end car market.

This creates a positive feedback loop, a proven and successful business approach.

Many automakers' high-end cars often bear the dual responsibility of enhancing brand image and boosting sales.

It is a relationship where one prospers and the other prospers, and one suffers and the other suffers.

The more successful a high-end brand is, the bigger its brand becomes.

With a bigger brand comes greater responsibility.

With great responsibility comes great profit!

……

What Xu Yi wants to do is create a "HiPhiZ" super performance version that belongs exclusively to Xingchen!
A domestically produced high-performance mecha vehicle with superior performance and core intelligent driving capabilities!
If it can stand firm.

In the future, Xingchen Automotive's entire mid-to-low-end market will not only have "technology endorsement" but also "brand endorsement" capabilities.

This has strong strategic value for sustainable development.

It can greatly enhance the faith and sense of group honor among car owners.

Even if you're driving a taxi worth 100,000 yuan, the thought of your own brand's high-end supercars conquering the world, dazzling foreign audiences, and shaking the world makes you stand up proudly!

Hmm... something seems off about this description?

do not care!
I forgot the beginning, I forgot the end, in short, I was just too proud!

……

I came out of the R&D center.

A project centered around high-end new energy performance vehicles was quietly launched within Xingchen.

Xu Yi only had an abstract line drawing for the exterior design.

Well known.

Mr. Xu's art grades were not ideal from a young age...

Although there is a system.

But it doesn't have features like a "memory printer" or "memory capsule".

So much so that from the very beginning, his designs relied either on photo editing or on very rough line drawings.

First, there's a concept.

Then the design department had to work hard and revise it repeatedly, many times, before it could be restored to a state that he was relatively satisfied with.

and so.

Whether it's the star-ring headlights, the Star S7, or the design of the extended-range SUV.

It can only be said that it is similar in essence to some models from the previous life, but it is not completely the same.

This time, when Xu Yi took out the line drawing...

The entire design department was completely drenched in sweat!

I felt an overwhelming sense of suffocation and pressure!
-

Song Guoqiang has also undergone "training and further education".

From the Star Mini to the Star S7, and the complete design of the L-series extended-range SUVs, Xu Yi led the department to implement the exterior design of each vehicle to perfection under his almost obsessive and demanding requirements.

Designing a car is not something that can be done simply by designing it.

There are also many issues to consider, such as engineering, mass production challenges, wind resistance design, cabin space, ergonomics, and optical aesthetics... all of which require collaboration with the vehicle engineering department.

The hardships they endured are difficult for outsiders to understand, but they still managed to complete it.

And this is the current requirement.

Song Guoqiang swallowed hard.

I feel like I'm questioning the meaning of life.

"Mr. Xu... do you mean you want us to design a flagship mecha vehicle based on this line drawing, a supercar concept?"

His expression right now is like he's about to crash.

— (Journey to the West—Benboerba: Me?.GIF).

...

Just listen to Mr. Xu's demands and you'll know how unreliable they are.

The entire vehicle should have a surrounding star-shaped light curtain...

It should also have programmable array LED headlights and taillights.

With the addition of frameless double doors, the doors not only have semi-hidden mechanical handles, but can also be fully electric.

The exterior design should have a futuristic, mecha-like feel. The front hood should have a perforated air duct.

It should have a retractable tail fin at the rear.

...

These are only some of the appearance requirements.

For example, the interior should also have a digital technology feel and multi-color ambient lighting.

We need to develop a three-axis linkage, retractable, 8-way adjustable automatic control screen.

Ideally, the screen would respond automatically to a shout of "Stars!" and make a "human-like nod" gesture.

Song Guoqiang felt that this had exceeded the limits of his ability.

For example, the retractable tail wing and front air duct design, and the double doors.

Very few design teams in China have had similar experience.

They are mostly designed by well-known designers from abroad with experience in supercar design.

But it's not over yet.

"By the way, we also need to design a brand new car logo."

Xu Yi seemed to ignore their stressed expressions and continued, "My idea is to take the character '极' from oracle bone script as the new brand logo for our high-end series, in order to distinguish between high-end and low-end product definitions."

Furthermore, this series of models will have its own brand-owned stores and brand service.

He decided to differentiate the Starry Sky high-end series.

It is considered a semi-independent high-end series, but it is not completely separated from the brand.

"The new high-end car logo could be made with a black background and pure gold, using gold directly to increase its sense of weight and prestige."

This is also one of the mature solutions developed in later generations.

Do the logos of domestic high-end car brands look cheap and lack substance?
The use of pure gold car emblems has indeed garnered considerable approval.

The noble meaning associated with gold can be directly verified both physically and psychologically.

"The word 'Extreme' represents the limit, the ultimate, the extreme realm... Each of our Extreme Realm series models represents multiple industrial technologies or a breakthrough in a world record."

Song Guoqiang and several other interior and exterior designers were deeply impressed after hearing this.

"This car logo design is brilliant!"

"The Extreme series has a good meaning."

"If the technology can truly enable every car to break world records, then it would perfectly match the definition and naming of this series."

...

The group was greatly shocked.

The design concept of this car logo is both simple and impactful.

"Another alternative is to take the Chinese character for 'electricity' from oracle bone script, which symbolizes minimalist aesthetics and resembles a lightning bolt, conveying speed, energy, and a sense of the future. I think this also fits the avant-garde and performance positioning of high-end electric vehicles."

This also echoes the definition of a new energy vehicle pioneer and a pure electric vehicle leader.

Xu Yi said simultaneously, "You can work on both of these options, and then we can discuss internally which version of the car logo to implement."

In terms of design, HiPhi's logo is not particularly outstanding.

The design of the car logo, which looks up, is much more successful.

It is supported by traditional culture, and the ancient characters are twisted and deformed to create a style that has an extremely ancient and high-end feel.

Some foreigners really like ancient Chinese characters; for example, some NBA stars have traditional Chinese characters tattooed on their bodies.

This all demonstrates that ancient Chinese literature is not only not outdated internationally, but also possesses a unique sense of Eastern mystery.

of course.

The core issue remains technological leadership.

Automobiles are mass-produced industrial products.

No matter how good the design and appearance are, they are doomed if left out alone.

But if you add sufficiently advanced technology as the core driving force, that will be the ultimate weapon!

"The logo design should be fine, but as for the overall vehicle design... forgive my bluntness, Mr. Xu, we have no prior experience with high-end cars featuring suicide doors and a rear spoiler," Song Guoqiang said with a wry smile.

The next second, a heavy hand patted his shoulder, and what he could see was President Xu's warm smile.

"Hey—if you don't have experience, just take it apart. There are many cars with spoilers and suicide doors. High-end design details often boil down to just a few basic techniques once you understand them. You didn't have experience before, but after taking it apart and designing it yourself, you'll have it! Go ahead and do it boldly!!"

Xu Yi said frankly.

The vehicle design department is divided into two parts: an exterior design team and an interior space design team. Further subdivided into CMF design, color design, and engineering design, the department has also recruited many young Chinese designers, including outstanding recent graduates.

After selection and training, most employees at Xingchen have grown rapidly, and their capabilities have improved linearly.

Logically speaking, hiring an internationally renowned designer would be the easiest option.

However, Xu Yi still wanted to let the internal staff try it out.

The technological puzzle for high-end new energy vehicles with a capacity of millions of units is not yet complete.

If we can't achieve the desired effect, we can always hire a foreign designer later.

"I understand, Mr. Xu, we will definitely do our best!"

Even though I was very unsure.

But when I met Mr. Xu's trusting gaze!
Song Guoqiang was immediately moved!
Damn!

What a trust this is!
Even though the car is priced close to one million, Mr. Xu still let them have free rein in the design!

Before this, Song Guoqiang was merely a third-rate designer in the industry.

The kind that's unknown and unnoticed.

With the successful design experience accumulated from the Star Mini and Star S7, as well as the extended-range SUV that is still being refined, especially in the new energy vehicle sector, even if he were to leave, there would be plenty of car companies willing to offer him high salaries.

After all, the popularity of these two cars is inseparable from their excellent design, in addition to their technological and cost-effective positioning.

Of course, he was absolutely loyal to the stars!
He believed that all of this was thanks to Mr. Xu, who was simply a design genius.

Although the art style is abstract, the descriptions of functions and design details are sometimes also abstract.

Incomprehensible.

However, Mr. Xu's design ideas are so advanced that they are unimaginable. His casual inspirations often enlighten them.

Without these elements, they wouldn't have been able to refine the design to this stage.

……

(End of this chapter)