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Interface News Reporter | Yang Shihan

After several rounds of preheating, the first model jointly developed by Huawei and BAIC, the Xiangjie S9, has finally been launched.It is positioned as a pure electric mid-to-large sedan, available in two configurations, priced from 399,800 to 449,800 yuan, and deliveries began the day after its launch.

The car was opened for pre-order a month ago, and the first batch of exhibition cars were put into 12 stores in eight cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.The Xiangjie S9 has the world's lowest wind resistance among mass-produced luxury cars, with a CLTC comprehensive range of up to 816 kilometers and an average power consumption of 13.2kWh per 100 kilometers.

In terms of intelligence, the car is the first to launch the HUAWEI ADS 3.0 advanced intelligent driving system, which has been upgraded in terms of perception scene range, response speed and verification; it is also the first to launch road adaptive AEB, which can identify obstacles on slippery roads and brake in advance. Other models of the Hongmeng Intelligent Driving series will be officially pushed to upgrade to Huawei ADS 3 from September.0Version.

Huawei Executive Director, Chairman of the Device BG, Chairman of the Intelligent Automotive Solutions BUYu Chengdong revealed that as of August 2024, Huawei's total intelligent driving mileage increased to 460 million kilometers, doubling the 220 million kilometers in May.

Zeng Yuqun, chairman and CEO of CATL, showed up at the press conference to introduce the battery. Zhou Hongyi, founder of 360 Company, also promoted the car at this year's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Auto Show, saying that the experience was better than that of Maybach.

As the first model of the Xiangjie brand, the performance of S9 will directly affect the brand's reputation in the high-end market. The Xiangjie M9 has sold 120,000 units in 7 months since its launch, and its impact on the high-end market has been effective. BAIC and Huawei have high expectations for the Xiangjie S9, which is also positioned in the luxury market.

Yu Chengdong said that the positioning of the Xiangjie S9 is comparable to the BMW 7 Series 750Li, Audi A8L and Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan. According to the document released on the official website of BAIC Blue Valley, the sales volume of the Xiangjie S9 is expected to reach 480,000 units in its five-year life cycle. Specifically, the delivery of the Xiangjie S9 is expected to be 60,000 units, 120,000 units, 120,000 units, 96,000 units and 84,000 units from 2024 to 2028 respectively.

This is not an easy goal. According to Huaan Securities' research report, the market share of domestic brands in the sedan category is relatively low in the 350,000 to 500,000 yuan range, and in the 400,000 to 500,000 yuan price range, the market share of domestic brands is only 2.4%. Well-known luxury brands control most of the market where the Xiangjie S9 is located.

Compared with competing models from brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, the Xingjie S9, as a new energy product, has certain differentiated competitive advantages. Jiemian News learned from sales staff that, influenced by the Huawei brand effect, some high-net-worth consumers who want to support domestically produced cars have a preference for the Xingjie, and many potential customers are business people who use the Xingjie S9 as a reception car.

The subsequent performance of Xiangjie S9 will determine the positioning of BAIC BluePark in the new energy market to a certain extent. Zhang Jianyong, chairman of BAIC Group, said at the press conference that BAIC adheres to the first priority strategy and concentrates all resources of the entire industrial chain on Xiangjie S9, which shows the importance of this model to BAIC.

BAIC BluePark and Huawei initially cooperated in the HI model, with Huawei providing technical support, but the market performance of related products did not meet expectations. On August 14 last year, the cooperation between the two parties was officially upgraded to the Smart Car Selection model, with Huawei's greater participation.

For BAIC Blue Valley, which is still continuing to build its competitiveness in new energy, whether the smart car in cooperation with Huawei can enhance its brand image is particularly critical. According to the sales announcement released by BAIC Blue Valley, its subsidiary Beijing New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. sold 39,000 vehicles in the first seven months, which is lower than the monthly sales of the new car-making force Ideal Auto.

BAIC Blue Valley has been in deep losses in recent years. The 2024 semi-annual performance forecast shows that BAIC Blue Valley expects a net loss of 2.4 billion to 2.7 billion yuan in the first half of the year, compared with a net loss of 1.98 billion yuan in the same period last year, a year-on-year increase in losses. Market expectationsEnjoy S9It can drive the company's performance recovery. Previously, with the support of Huawei, the "brother brand" of Xiangjie has successfully helped Seres increase its revenue and achieveTurning losses into profits。

In addition to Askjie, Zhijie and Xiangjie, Huawei has another brand that has not yet been released in cooperation with JAC. A Hongmeng Zhixing poster at the press conference showed that its full brand name is "MAEXTRO Zunjie".