The invisible ＂500 million＂, is the new world M7 late or harvested？

At the recent Chengdu Auto Show, Huawei’s Yu Chengdong stunned the audience by announcing the pre-sale price of the new AITO Qinjie M7. On September 12, this new car jointly designed with Cyrus Automobile was officially launched by Huawei and began to be delivered to customers. The two companies joined forces to bring consumers this new Qinjie M7, offering a choice of six and five-seat versions, with a price range of 249,800 to 329,800 yuan.

Compared with its predecessor, the new Q Jie M7 is more deeply integrated with Huawei’s technology, including advanced intelligent driving system ADS 2.0 and Hongmeng cockpit. Before this, Huawei’s Yu Chengdong had repeatedly promoted the car on social media Weibo, and revealed that he had invested up to 500 million yuan in the research and development of the new Q Jie M7. Yu Chengdong also made no secret of his love for the new car at the launch of the new car, believing that it performed well in many aspects.

Where did 500 million hit?

The 500 million yuan investment is mainly used to enhance the intelligent experience of the vehicle and remake the body. Although most of the updates are not obvious in appearance, they include new rims and optional electric pedals. The body size has not changed, and it remains at 5020x1945x1775mm, with a wheelbase of 2820mm. The new car offers two seat configurations, one of which is a "big five seat". In terms of size, the height of the new M7 is slightly reduced to 1760mm. Fewer seats mean that the interior space of the car is further expanded. Yu Chengdong said that the interior space of the new M7 has reached 3338mm, and the trunk capacity is as high as 686L, which is a leader in its class.

The most noticeable change inside the car is the use of higher quality materials. A silky, slim, slightly velvet material is used on the center console and door panels, similar to the high-quality Alcantara. In addition, the body structure of the new M7 has been adjusted to use more high-strength steel to improve the rigidity of the whole vehicle. This not only enhances the safety of the vehicle, but also provides a better driving experience. Cyrus also redesigned the welding production line to ensure that the production process of the new car is met.

The new M7 is also equipped with Huawei’s latest ADS 2.0 system, which is Huawei’s advanced intelligent driving system. Huawei said the ADS 2.0 uses industry-leading GOD network technology, which can identify special-shaped obstacles through a variety of sensors such as lidar, millimeter-wave radar and cameras, and can brake in time to ensure driving safety. But before the launch of the new M7, several models have adopted this system, such as the Avita 11 Hongmeng Edition and the M5 Intelligent Driving Edition.

Is it late or harvesting?

With the launch of the new M7, this car broke into the market with an attractive price of 24.98-32 9,800 yuan and excellent performance. Obviously, Huawei has invested a lot of effort in this car and has high hopes for it.

However, the sales performance of the Q Series has not been satisfactory recently.

Looking back on 2022, despite only 9 months of delivery, the sales of the Q & J series reached an astonishing 75,000, successfully breaking the sales record of 10,000 units for four consecutive months, becoming the dark horse of the 2022 market. However, by 2023, the situation became less optimistic. From the beginning of the year to August, the sales of the Q & J series were only 35,167 units, and the average monthly sales volume fell sharply compared with last year. In particular, the sales of the Q & J M7 showed a cliff-like decline.

In fact, the M7, the core model of the brand, was able to sell 5,000 units per month when it debuted on the market, which is a pretty good number. Take October last year as an example, the sales volume for that month reached 5,226 units.

But starting from 2023, except for the January-February sales that are slightly eye-catching, the sales in other months are still some distance from the 1,000-vehicle mark. This may mean that consumer enthusiasm for this model has waned, and even with Huawei’s brand effect, AITO Qinjie seems to have lost some of its luster. Perhaps the reason for this is that even the high-end version of the old M7, which costs 379,800 yuan, is not equipped with Huawei’s intelligent driving system ADS2.0. Now, the new Qinjie M7 offers a version equipped with the intelligent driving system at a price as low as 309,800 yuan. Does this mean that Huawei is not being fair to the owners of the old M7 in terms of price strategy, as if treating them as leeks that can be easily cut?

What about the end point market?

At present, the old Q Jie M7 has also entered the stage of discontinued production but still on sale. Usually, under such circumstances, many car brands will offer some preferential promotions for the old model in the end point market to promote inventory clearance. During my recent on-site store visit, I observed that the old Q Jie M7 does show signs of price reduction. However, the new Q Jie M7 has not yet arrived at the store on the day I visited the store. In addition, during my visit to Q Jie stores, I also noticed that few consumers came to the store to learn more about or inquire about the vehicle.

The store is located in an AITO Guangzhou Experience Center in Panyu, Guangzhou. After in-depth communication with the sales, I learned that the new Q Jie M7 is expected to arrive in the store a few days after the launch, and there will be new cars on display in the store. For consumers, they can now pay a 2,000 yuan reservation deposit, and when the vehicle arrives at the store, this 2,000 yuan deposit will be doubled to a value of 8,000 yuan, which means that consumers will actually receive a 6,000 yuan direct discount. In addition, early bookers will also receive special gifts for test drives and other first-batch car owner privileges. But the specific content of these benefits is still waiting for further announcements. It is worth noting that different stores may adjust these benefits according to the actual situation, so the reservation quota is relatively limited.

For the old M7 model, the AITO Guangzhou Experience Center also provides buyers with a series of rich and diverse discounts and benefits. First,For the limited edition of the M7:

1. A subsidy of up to 25,000 yuan;
2. Customers who buy existing cars also enjoy a 50% discount on interior and exterior decoration;
3. Choose the Comfort or Deluxe version of your current car and get a special bonus: a zero-gravity seat.
4. Users who have already purchased a car in Shanghai or Beijing and completed the registration of the local license plate (Beijing, Shanghai) can also enjoy an additional discount of 10,000 yuan. The specific details of this offer need to be consulted with the local sales consultant.
5. "Experience Officer Program": that is, if the old users of all models introduce new customers to buy cars, they will get 10,000 points as a reward.

Owner rights and interests:

1. Vehicle quality assurance for 4 years or 100,000 kilometers;
2. Three electric systems such as batteries, motors and electronic controls, as well as range extenders, with a warranty period of 8 years or 160,000 kilometers;
3. If a vehicle malfunctions due to quality issues within four years, Huawei will provide an unlimited number of roadside assistance services until the vehicle is delivered to the nearest user center.
4. In the first two years or 50,000 kilometers after purchasing the car, the owner can also enjoy the "three guarantees" service of return and repair;
5. Networking function, basic traffic is free for life, and 15GB of entertainment traffic is also provided every month for a period of 4 years.
6. If it takes a long time to repair due to quality problems, more than 24 hours, the owner will be provided with a free scooter or corresponding transportation compensation;
7. The first maintenance of a new car is free of charge.

Electric EV:With the release of the Xinwenjie M7, the old M7 also provides rich discounts and car owners’ rights, but for the old M7 without the smart driving ADS 2.0, we need to look at the meaning behind this with a more objective perspective. Some people use the metaphor of "cutting leeks" to describe the market behavior of Huawei’s Xinwenjie M7 this time, and many old car owners feel "backstabbed".

But it has to be said that this may also be a market behavior in which Xinwenjie M7 attempts to gain a larger market share by reducing prices and increasing distribution, in order to achieve its commercial goals.

However, for the actual performance of the M7 in the new world. For example, whether its driving experience, battery life and after-sales services can really meet the advertised standards in actual combat, it remains to be seen whether consumers can actually experience and feedback.

After all, it cost "500 million".