Auto-First|Sun Jinfeng
Following Dongfeng Lantu, Changan Huawei, and SAIC Zhiyi, Great Wall Motors' high-end new energy project code-named "SL" has been exposed. If the news is true, it means that Great Wall will form a three-brand layout of Euler, Beam and "SL" in the field of new energy.
Recently, an insider revealed that Great Wall Motors plans to launch a new independent brand of smart electric vehicles, which will be internally named "SL Project". The new brand products include pure electric or extended-range electric vehicles, which will be priced higher than existing products and compete with new car-making forces such as Tesla and NIO. In response to this, Great Wall Motors responded: "The tide is coming, and we should join in the game." It seems that it indirectly acknowledged the reliability of this news.
The news that Great Wall Motors, a leading Chinese automobile brand, will launch a high-end new energy brand has aroused strong concern in the industry. Some media found clues about the project through the official website of Qichacha: Shanghai Haval Automotive Technology Co., Ltd., which was established and registered by Great Wall Motors in 2014, was renamed Shanghai Salon Zhixing Industrial Co., Ltd. on December 10, 2020. The shareholder is represented by Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. changed its wholly-owned subsidiary Shanghai Yuefan Information Technology Co., Ltd. After "Shanghai Haval" was changed to "Salon Intelligence", its business scope has also been expanded. Before the change, Shanghai Haval was mainly engaged in technology development, technical consulting and technical services in the fields of automobiles, parts, automobile high-tech and electromechanical products. After the change, Salon Intelligence has added software, Internet of Things technology, etc. It covers technology research and development and sales related to smart new energy vehicles, including sales of complete new energy vehicles, charging piles, electrical equipment, power swap facilities, and smart vehicle equipment. Some media have judged that the above changes are the cornerstone of building a new independent brand of smart electric vehicles.
At the same time, the China Intellectual Property and Trademark Office showed that Great Wall Motors had previously registered trademarks such as "Soul", "Great Wall Soul" and "Mobile Soul". Some media believe that the English word for soul is "SOUL" is more consistent with the "SL project", so the new brand under the Salon Zhixing project may be named "Soul".
At the same time, well-informed sources revealed that the headquarters of the SL project will be located in Shanghai, and the Great Wall factory will be used in the future. The first model will be an SUV, and the cruising range of the first model may reach 800-1,000 kilometers. , it will target brands such as Weilai in the future. The brand will be officially released in 2021.
The above-mentioned news coming from all directions has not been further confirmed by Great Wall Motors. However, according to Auto-First's judgment, the above news is somewhat credible. In recent years, in addition to the complete vehicle field, Great Wall Motors has been accelerating its layout in intelligent connectivity and new energy technologies. Hive Energy, which is committed to the research and development of new energy technologies, has reached a certain scale. On December 2 this year, Honeycomb Energy Battery Day, Honeycomb Energy announced its latest progress in the industrialization of cobalt-free batteries. It also released a number of innovative technological achievements that address the current power battery safety pain points. And mentioned that "from now on, cobalt-free batteries are accepting global reservations." You must know that currently, including Tesla, all major automotive battery manufacturers in the world are developing cobalt-free batteries, but they are still in the conceptual stage. The mass-produced cobalt-free batteries produced by Great Wall Honeycomb have already taken the lead among global car companies and have become the basis for Great Wall to develop new energy sources in the future. It is reported that the SL project "is likely to use the advanced technology of Honeycomb Energy.
Currently in the field of new energy, Great Wall Motors already has the Euler brand, and the brand has begun to take shape. According to the latest Sales data show that the cumulative sales of Great Wall Euler in the first 11 months increased by 20.17% year-on-year, with cumulative sales reaching 43,000 units. Currently, the Euler brand has four models, IQ, Black Cat, White Cat, and Haomao. The prices range from 67 to 70. Prices range from RMB 1,300,000 to RMB 1,340,000, focusing on the mid-to-low-end new energy vehicle market.
Great Wall Motors’ only vehicle joint venture project, the joint venture with BMW, Guangwang Automobile, has started its factory this year. It is expected to be put into production in 2022 and will mainly produce electric versions of MINI. Thanks to localized production, the starting price of Beam Auto’s products is expected to be less than 200,000 yuan.
Obviously, although Beangguang Auto is improving Great Wall. It helps in terms of car brand image, but it is not enough for Great Wall's ambitious goal of building a global Chinese car brand.
Therefore, it is reasonable to establish its own high-end new energy brand. Judging from its benchmarks Tesla and NIO, Great Wall Motors wants to build the SL project into a new energy brand that is comparable to or even higher than Beam. The completed Lemon Platform, Coffee Intelligence, and Honeycomb Energy and Xiandou Intelligence under the parent company have technical reserves in three aspects of electricity and intelligence, which can help Great Wall Motors develop high-end products.
However, for Great Wall Motors, Auto-First believes that building a brand is far more difficult than building products. Take Great Wall Motors' high-end brand WEY as an example. Its products are equipped with Great Wall Motors' most advanced technologies, but sales are unsatisfactory and have been declining for several consecutive months this year. In November, WEY sales were 9,122 vehicles, down 12.7% year-on-year, becoming the only "laggard" brand among the four major brands. Therefore, on the road to growth, it remains to be tested whether "SL" can become the "soul" of Great Wall Motors in the future. (The picture comes from the Internet)
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.