The iteration speed of new cars has accelerated, and some models have begun to appear "grinding two swords a year".
I remember that the last time I reported on M7 was in May, when Yu Chengdong officially announced its listing. The main upgrade points were adjustable shock absorption and brand-new front face design. Less than half a year after the cash went on the market, M7, who was suspected of changing the money in the medium term, was exposed again.
Some netizens have published the design patent of the new model M7. The direction of appearance change is the same as that of the current M7. The main thing is to change the front face design to better match the current "family-style Facebook" of HarmonyOS Zhixing Alliance. Is there any significant upgrade in other aspects? When is the specific release date? At present, there is no more news.
(Image from Weibo netizen)
As the "popular fried chicken" in the field of inquiry, the M7 in the field of inquiry has taken the lead in brand volume. Now, according to the sales data, the sales volume of M7 is almost the same as that of the more expensive M9 in the field of inquiry, which shows that the competition in the new energy vehicle market is fierce and the challenges encountered by M7 in the field of inquiry have become greater. Now that the speed of the change is accelerating, will M7 also be "two swords a year"?
Put on a family-style front face, but the "foundation" has not changed.
One thing that can be confirmed is that the purpose of M7′ s appearance in the mid-term reform is mainly to move closer to the family-style design of HarmonyOS Zhixing Alliance. If there is no unified design, it is probably only the M5.
As can be seen from the patent drawing of the design, the new generation of Wenjie M7 has given up the front face modeling of the small mouth, and used the same front face scheme of HarmonyOS Zhixing, such as Wenjie M9 and Zhijie S7, which emphasizes the characteristics of HarmonyOS Zhixing vehicles, but it seems that it is not equipped with the same pixel lamp group of M9.
Combined with the renderings published by @SugarDesign, we can see that the next generation M7 has become more mature as M9.
(Image from @SugarDesign)
The long front and rear overhang, the waistline design from bottom to top, and the unique tailgate shape are all the characteristics of the M7, from which the identity of the modified M7 can be confirmed. Therefore, it can be judged that the original body-in-white and structure are still adopted in the modified M7, and the double wishbone suspension with high voice may be absent.
Different suspension structures occupy different space in the car. Double wishbone suspension has one more control arm than McPherson suspension, which takes up more lateral space and is not conducive to the layout of transverse engine. At present, the M7 adopts the transverse engine+traditional McPherson suspension scheme. If it is to be replaced with a double wishbone, the whole body structure and range extender scheme need to be designed and replaced, which is no less than redeveloping a new car.
On the bright side, the next generation of M7 will not directly affect the old car owners in backstab.
Double wishbone suspension can provide better lateral support and has structural advantages for SUV with high center of gravity. Many mainstream high-end new energy vehicles are basically equipped with front double wishbone scheme. McPherson will only be considered if the vehicle is positioned more compactly.
Judging from the bad appearance design, there will be some upgrade points for the next generation M7. Intelligentization has always been HarmonyOS Zhixing’s specialty, especially in high-level intelligent driving. The cash has been upgraded to the ADS 3.0 version. From the point of view of smart driving, the M7 is indeed the benchmark of 200,000-300,000 yuan. With this advantage, it can still exert enough influence. After all, consumers are more optimistic about "Huawei Smart".
In terms of hardware, Tramwork speculated that M7 would follow the trend of increasing the battery capacity of extended-range vehicles, switch to a battery pack with larger capacity, and strengthen the efficiency of the range extender to squeeze the utilization space of the current architecture as much as possible. Or build a new generation of M7 based on the platform capability decentralization of M9, and the hard power will definitely be improved qualitatively.
However, the technical iteration of new energy vehicles in China is very fast, and the extended-range vehicles also have better and better technologies such as batteries and range extenders. In order to maintain the benchmark position of the M7 in SUV category, it is time for a thorough change and a new round of competition in the car circle.
Friends and businessmen followed wildly, asking how M7 could break through.
Since its initial listing, the M7 has been the representative of the medium and large-scale extended-range SUV market. At its peak, the monthly sales volume of bicycles was 29,997, which made the sales volume of HarmonyOS Zhixing among the best, once surpassing the ideal brand. In June, the sales volume was also good, and the monthly sales volume remained above 11,000. In October this year, a total of 15,132 vehicles were sold.
For a long time, the brand of the world of inquiry relied on the volume of a model of M7, until the appearance of the M9 of the world of inquiry, the sales composition of the brand changed. According to official information, the number of M9 in the market has exceeded 160,000 in 10 months, and its sales volume has been stable at TOP1, a luxury car with more than 500,000 in China market for six consecutive months, which has robbed M7 of its limelight to some extent.
Compared with the sales volume in the same month, the scale of M7 and M9 is similar, and the sales volume of the latter is slightly higher than that of the former, and the sales trend is stable, with almost no ups and downs. Recently, the new 5-seat version has strengthened M9′ s position at the price of 500,000 yuan.
From the price point of view, the M7 is aimed at the mid-to-high-end new energy SUV market, embracing a wider range of consumer groups. According to the truth, the sales volume should be higher.
(Image from the car)
This is actually not difficult to understand. First of all, the M9 is a brand-new platform model, with higher price, more advanced platform and intelligent technology, and better experience, which may have separated a group of users with more abundant budgets.
In addition, with the continuous influx of new choices in the price range of 200,000-300,000 yuan, SUVs such as Ideal L6, Extreme Krypton 7X, Aouita 07 and Zero Run C16 quickly entered the market, and the Zhijie brand under HarmonyOS Zhixing also launched the Zhijie R7, which delivered over 10,000 yuan within 30 days, and the extended range version will be added later.
It is worth mentioning that the lineup of the SUV is still expanding, and there will be an M8 model between M7 and M9. It is said that this model is also a product based on the new platform, which is positioned higher than M7 and will be a very potential product.
In Tramway’s view, it is not that the M7 is not good enough. The intelligent cockpit and high-order intelligent driving are still the experience of the first echelon, but the market environment is changing too fast, and there are more choices at the same price and level. In order to maintain the benchmarking effect, in addition to brand influence and software moat, it is also necessary to achieve "people are superior to me" in hardware, which is the current situation of the market.
Facing the increasingly competitive automobile market, it is only a matter of time before the world "reshapes" M7. At present, the most conspicuous part of the new M7 is the exploration of design, which complements the shortcomings of the previous generation. There may even be many upgrade points that we have not known, such as the more advanced Huawei advanced intelligent driving software and hardware solution, or the invisible improvement in hardware. I think it is still worth looking forward to.
The benchmarking effect fades, and sincerity is the greatest killer.
There are endless disputes about M7. Recently, it is mainly collision test and intelligent driving. It is impossible for a series of disputes to have no impact on new car sales. The M7 is the main product, and many controversies mean a large number of products, which can also make the government pay attention to the improvement of products.
Although users don’t need a "crash-proof" car, they are still very sensitive to active and passive safety. The current M7 has been upgraded to ADS SE visual intelligent driving, and the car body safety protection has been strengthened in the previous version, which shows that the industry is indeed paying attention to the pain points of consumers’ cars.
Tramway believes that the more controversial the product, the more attention will be paid by the manufacturers, and the user group will be huge. Now the domestic automobile competition is so fierce that ignoring the user’s feelings is tantamount to sending customers to friends. The big five-seat SUV is still the most popular category in China. Whether it is pure electric or extended range, there are many more choices on this track than two years ago. The M7 has formed a encirclement trend, and it is impossible to keep it in the "comfort zone" with only one "Huawei Smart".
"Grinding two swords a year" is not entirely a good thing. Generally speaking, it will aggravate consumers’ wait-and-see mood and reduce their trust in the brand. Rapid iteration also means that there will be some uncertainty in product positioning.
However, we should not prematurely criticize M7. What is certain is that as long as HarmonyOS Zhixing does not produce M7 products, there is basically no possibility of its downfall. After all, M7 has accumulated a lot of market reputation in the past two years, and users are more recognized for Huawei’s advanced intelligent driving and HarmonyOS intelligent cockpit, which will still be the first choice of many consumers.
However, if you don’t advance against the current, you will retreat. Then, car manufacturers will pay more attention to the layout of extended-range vehicles, and more advanced and efficient extended-range systems will appear. Pure electric brands will gather together to release Zengcheng vehicles, and everyone will pay more attention to intelligent technical reserves. The benchmarking effect of M7 will be weakened to some extent.
On the other hand, the offensive of traditional car companies has become more and more obvious. Traditional brands that have accelerated their transformation through domestic brands have also played more powerful cards in recent times, which may not have much impact on the new forces of making cars in the short term, but no one can say for sure about the future. At least, the demand in the China market is changing rapidly, and even the international community should try their best to follow up, because backwardness will also lead to beatings.
So, what do you expect from the next generation of M7?
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