Coincidence or not? When catching up with the most volatile Chinese auto market, Volkswagen Anhui officially made a move.
On July 17, Volkswagen Anhui's first model and Volkswagen's first intelligent electric coupe SUV - "ID. and the public" was officially launched, with a price of 209,900-249,900 yuan, with a total of 3 versions: Pro long battery life, Ultra long battery life, and Max high performance.
This is the first product show of Volkswagen Anhui in the past 7 years, and it is at the moment when the competition in China's auto market is the most fierce.
But ID. and the crowd are clearly poured a lot of chips: gold label Volkswagen, coupe SUV, new intelligence, mixed sales channels...... Each label symbol conveys its uniqueness to the outside world.
Since it is different, whether it is "different from many cars" or "different from other Volkswagen cars", these characteristics are focused on so that ID. and others "real gold is not afraid of fire" and "it is worth buying".
In this way, ID. and the crowd really have something to see.
"Sharp goods" in ID.
Unlike the ID. series models from Volkswagen in the north and south, the ID. and others from Volkswagen Anhui are obviously rushing to become the "top goods" of the ID. family.
The words of Stefan Mecha, CEO of Volkswagen's passenger car brand in China, can be heard a thing or two. He said: "With its avant-garde design, all-electric driving and first-class user experience, the ID. has further expanded the product matrix of Volkswagen's all-electric ID. family in China, which will help the brand attract more young users who are looking for a new lifestyle." ”
The avant-garde design is indeed evident in the ID. and the crowd. However, the first to give the audience a visual impact is the bright golden public logo. At the Beijing Auto Show at the end of April this year, the golden Volkswagen brand logo of ID. and the public sparked a discussion among the audience: "It looks more high-end".
The avant-garde design is mainly reflected in the coupe shape of the ID. and the front face of the "matryoshka" that no longer continues the usual "nesting dolls" of the public. It has to be said that Volkswagen Anhui has deeply studied the preferences of Chinese users and the trend of pure electric models.
First of all, SUVs are very popular among Chinese users, and coupes are even more popular among young people, so the ID. and others have been built into an A-class pure electric SUV in the form of coupes. No matter which detail, it is aligned with the design level of domestic first-line pure electric brands, and highlights the unique personality and division of the public.
In terms of intelligence, which is of the greatest concern to the outside world, the ID. is also very different from the previous members of the ID. family. ID.MORE's intelligent cockpit is powered by the first-ever UNYX.OS operating system and a new human-machine interface (HMI).
ID. is an AI intelligent partner equipped with Zhongzhong, which supports user personalized image customization and human voice cloning. The new generation of cognitive intelligence large language model (LLM) cooperated with iFLYTEK can give the car and machine the ability to learn itself, which can be said to bring a new human-computer interaction experience different from the previous ID. models.
The ID. is also the first pure electric model in the Volkswagen ID. series to cooperate with DJI Automotive for intelligent driving. DJI Automotive is a rookie in intelligent driving that has been born in recent years, although it debuted late, it has performed well with the intelligent driving ability that has grown rapidly with the accumulation of DJI.
ID. and all models come standard with the IQ.Drive full-journey intelligent driving system, all-scene worry-free parking system, DJI vehicle-specific inertial navigation binocular camera, 12 ultrasonic radars, and 360° panoramic cameras.
Therefore, in terms of intelligent driving assistance performance such as intelligent following, lane keeping, and intelligent lane change, as well as functions such as intelligent parking, remote parking, memory parking, and mobile phone online car search, they are not the same as the previous Volkswagen models, which is impressive.
The ID. is also very strong in terms of active safety, and all models are equipped with active safety functions as standard. It includes 3 lateral active safety, 5 forward active safety and 1 backward active safety.
In terms of vehicle quality, ID. and others emphasized the need to create a "good car" for users that can stand the test of time. ID. and Zzhong have undergone long-term durability tests, torsional stiffness tests, and validation of chassis structures and airbag systems.
It covers 57 types of safety tests, including 179 real-vehicle crash tests, of which 22 categories far exceed the national standard. In particular, in terms of battery safety, ID. and the public have conducted 436 various safety tests and obtained the NESTA vehicle battery safety certification from the China Automotive Research Institute.
Perhaps it is precisely because of the above-mentioned careful design and creation that the gold standard ID. and the public have enhanced the sense of high-end atmosphere "from the surface to the inside", and Yang Fang, CEO of Volkswagen (Anhui) Digital Sales Service Co., Ltd., said these words:
"ID. CROWD is the first new car to feature the unique and striking gold Volkswagen brand logo, representing our commitment to creating extraordinary and memorable golden moments for our users. Through innovations such as dynamic aesthetics, scene intelligence, smart driving control, and gold standard quality, ID. and others have created a new 'gold standard' in China. ”
The "new forces" learn from the new forces
In a sense, Volkswagen Anhui and ID. are tantamount to Volkswagen's "new forces" in China. This "new force" is not only on par with the new force in terms of product creation, but also obviously learning from the new force in terms of sales channels and service experience.
On June 28, in Chaoyang Heshenghui, located in Beijing's East Fourth Ring Road, among a number of independent new energy vehicle brands, Volkswagen Anhui's gold standard Volkswagen ID. and public experience center appeared. On the same day, 38 Gold Label Volkswagen stores opened at the same time.
This is the first time that Volkswagen Anhui's sales channels have met with consumers, and the stores have opened into the downtown business district, which is indeed different from the past for users who are familiar with the Volkswagen brand, but this will be one of the sales channels of Volkswagen Anhui.
Two years ago, Volkswagen China established Volkswagen (Anhui) Digital Sales Service Co., Ltd. in Hefei as the sales company of Volkswagen Anhui. The official interpretation of this sales company is:
Based on the successful experience of the Volkswagen brand in the past and drawing inspiration from the innovation of the Chinese market, Volkswagen (Anhui) Digital Sales Service Co., Ltd. has established a new retail system of direct brand sales (DTC) and built a hybrid sales model of "direct sales + agency system".
Volkswagen Anhui intends to establish a diversified new automotive retail network consisting of ID. and Zhongzhong experience centers, spaces, user centers, delivery centers, and experience stations across the country.
This is a method that has been verified by the new forces to quickly push the brand to users, and can maximize the use of channels according to needs, and Volkswagen Anhui, as a "new force" of Volkswagen in China, has no reason not to learn.
It is understood that in addition to the directly operated ID. and Zhong Experience Center, the first batch of gold standard Volkswagen ID. and Zhong dealer stores opened are basically upgraded from the dealers of imported Volkswagen. After that, whether it will be open to the society to join, the official did not disclose, but Volkswagen Anhui has the strength and potential in technology, capital, models and other aspects, which is obviously very attractive.
According to Volkswagen Anhui's plan, by 2024, ID. and Zhong's retail network will be opened to more than 20 cities, mainly in first- and second-tier cities. By 2025, it will cover more than 70 cities, expanding from first-tier to third-tier cities.
In terms of energy supplementation, Volkswagen Anhui provides an energy supplement solution for ID. and other users to provide public charging + private pile support. In terms of public charging, ID. has integrated 700,000 charging terminals across the country. In terms of home charging, ID. offers products and installations with the public.
In addition to sales channels and energy replenishment services, Volkswagen Anhui said it will launch the ID. and Zhong Club. "Club members will enjoy exclusive brand rights, and will launch ID. and other boutique malls, offering a series of good ...... that are closely connected to modern lifestyles", these plans have a strong sense of familiarity no matter how you look at them.
Volkswagen Anhui's "Campaign"
If you ask the international car brands, who can not afford to lose China the most, Volkswagen will definitely be the best. Not only can it not lose the Chinese market, the world's second largest car company, which has been working in China for 40 years, has long been deeply rooted in this land.
In 2017, when Volkswagen Anhui was established under the name of the former JAC Volkswagen, it announced Volkswagen's increase in "in China, for China". Volkswagen's opening of this third joint venture in China made its idea clear at that time: to follow the pace of China's electrification transformation and focus on the research and development of new energy vehicles.
At that time, when the global new energy vehicle technology and share were not high, the only foreign brand that made such a move was Volkswagen. In addition to the new forces of China's own brands, no one has done it with traditional brands.
But God seems to be intent on testing Volkswagen Anhui, after experiencing the cold of the JAC Volkswagen period, Volkswagen increased its shareholding ratio to 75% in 2020, changed the company's name to Volkswagen Anhui, Volkswagen completely controlled the right to speak, and the new joint venture finally pressed the accelerator button.
It can be said that the development of Volkswagen Anhui was almost started in the form of a "campaign". In the same year that Volkswagen obtained the management rights of the joint venture, Volkswagen's MEB pure electric platform landed in China, and the transformation of electrification and intelligence in the Chinese market was accelerated.
However, Volkswagen's aggressiveness in the transformation of electric intelligence has not won the first batch of electric models based on the MEB platform to sell well in China, especially the level of intelligence, which is the most criticized place. Obviously, the user mentality of the Chinese market is improving with the improvement of China's new energy intelligent technology, and with the acceleration of the formation of China's new energy industry chain.
At this time, Volkswagen Anhui is facing a new "battle" - how to really take root in China, keep up with the wave of replacement of old and new Chinese cars, and not become a "miscellaneous electric vehicle" in the mouth of Chinese users.
Volkswagen's strategy is to start from the foundation, start from the ecology, check and fill in the gaps, and enhance the strength. Volkswagen has established the Volkswagen Intelligent Electric Vehicle Center in Hefei, which is based on Volkswagen (Anhui) Co., Ltd., Volkswagen (Anhui) Digital Sales and Service Co., Ltd., and Volkswagen (China) Technology Co., Ltd. to build a complete value chain covering automotive R&D, production, sales and service, develop a new generation of intelligent connected vehicles, maximize speed, optimize costs, and provide customized products and services for the Chinese market.
Volkswagen Anhui is also based in Hefei, forming a Hefei ecosystem that includes internal partners such as CARIAD China, Volkswagen (Anhui) Parts Co., Ltd., and Guoxuan Hi-Tech, as well as external partners such as Horizon and Thunderda.
At present, ID. and the public are the first bullets fired by Volkswagen Anhui after the start of this ecological and technological "battle". This bullet has a significant improvement in strength compared with Volkswagen's previous pure electric models, and the subsequent bullets are more likely to have stronger product performance.