""

"AITO has already caused a slight shock to new forces led by Lixiang, and now Huawei is back with a bang, launching Xiangjie S9 directly into the heartland of BMW, Benz, and Audi (BBA). They will not stop until they disrupt the traditional luxury car market..."

"01, 399,800 yuan! Scaring BBA?"

"On August 6th, Richard Yu, with great excitement, unveiled the Xiangjie S9, a smart flagship sedan empowered by Huawei and strategically backed by Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC). Carrying the high hopes of both parties, it has attracted countless eyeballs since its preheating phase. When the price of 399,800 yuan was announced, it was nothing short of a 'seismic event' in the luxury car circle."

""

"To underscore the 'heavyweight' status of the Xiangjie S9, Huawei and BAIC even spent heavily to invite Huang Xiaoming and Gao Ye, the star of 'The Knockout,' to lend on-site support. The simultaneous appearance of these two stars was unimaginable at Huawei's previous HarmonyOS Smart Device Launch Events, highlighting the extravagance of their marketing efforts."

"Of course, product quality is king. For Xiangjie S9 to shake up BBA's dominance, relying solely on marketing won't cut it. You need to bring out your best technological and design aces to attract BBA's main consumer base!"

"In terms of appearance, the Xiangjie S9, which bears a resemblance to the AITO M9, measures 5160mm in length, 1987mm in width, 1486mm in height, and has a wheelbase of 3050mm. It's longer than the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6L but shorter than the latest BMW 5 Series. Its matrix headlights offer high visibility."

"In terms of interior and cockpit, the entire line comes standard with Nappa leather seats, dual-temperature cool boxes, HUAWEI SOUND audio systems, and smart electronic exterior rearview mirrors. Notably, the Xiangjie S9 also features zero-gravity seats in the rear, supporting 12-way electric adjustment with a maximum lumbar angle of 108° and a maximum knee angle of 128°."

"Considering the executive luxury sedan's strengths, the Xiangjie S9 also introduces a rear-seat exclusive secretary screen for the first time, which can be folded from 0 to 45 degrees and activated with a one-click button on the armrest screen to enter cinema mode, paired with a 32-inch automotive-grade projector for immersive viewing. It also employs 360-degree acoustic foam, double-glazed soundproof glass, and other materials and technologies to separate front and rear audio and protect privacy."

"Of course, the above features do not yet constitute a differentiated competitive advantage over BBA. Each has its merits, depending on the owner's personal aesthetic tastes or preferences. It's when we get to Huawei's proprietary core technologies that we enter their comfort zone:"

"The Xiangjie S9 comes standard with Huawei's self-developed 800V high-voltage 'Whale' battery platform, utilizing a 100 kWh battery pack from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), and powered by the HUAWEI DriveONE 800V high-voltage silicon carbide efficient power platform. Employing flat wire windings and high-voltage SiC modules, the system achieves an overall efficiency of up to 98%, representing a 4.4% improvement over traditional IGBT assemblies and a 25% increase in MCU power density. These proprietary technologies were first introduced on the AITO M7 and are now being reused on the Xiangjie S9, with Huawei now more adept at wielding them."

"The official claims that charging the Xiangjie S9 for 5 minutes can add an additional 200 kilometers of range, with the S9 Max achieving a maximum CLTC driving range of 816 kilometers."

"The Xiangjie S9 has been comprehensively upgraded to the HUAWEI ADS 3.0 end-to-end intelligent driving system, marking the global debut of Huawei's ADS 3.0 system. It excels in multi-dimensional perception, end-to-end bionic brain thinking, and human-like intelligent driving, even outperforming new forces like NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto to some extent, and delivering a 'dimensionality reduction attack' on traditional luxury brands like BBA."

"This generation of intelligent driving system, in addition to recognizing whitelists and irregular obstacles, also demonstrates a more comprehensive understanding of road structures and scene semantics. Huawei has essentially developed or sourced its own 192-line LiDAR, vision solutions, 4D mmWave radars, etc., to improve detection accuracy and reduce system latency."

"The official claims to enable roundabout navigation, valet parking, and seamless transitions from private to public roads, public roads to parks, and ground to underground levels, achieving full-scene connectivity."

"Richard Yu has repeatedly emphasized that safety is the ultimate luxury. In addition to the CAS 3.0 collision avoidance system, the Xiangjie S9 introduces new features such as road-adaptive AEB, the first-ever enhanced Automatic Emergency Steering (eAES), and anti-misstep acceleration pedal technology."

"Upon analysis, it becomes evident that this product boasts significant strengths in range, intelligence, and safety. Turning to the car's dynamic performance, the Xiangjie S9 MAX still has room for optimization, such as upgrading from a single motor to dual motors in future iterations."

"Of course, this is hardly a flaw in the product, especially considering the existence of the S9 Ultra dual-motor version. Moreover, the zero-to-100 km/h acceleration time improves from 5.98s on the Max to just 3.9s, for an additional cost of merely 50,000 yuan. Is an extra 50,000 yuan really a concern for successful individuals in society?"

"A product's clear customer segmentation and functional positioning are inherent manifestations of its business capabilities. Furthermore, it's not unreasonable to assume that the target customers of this vehicle (business owners, high-ranking officials, etc.) may not prioritize motor performance metrics but rather focus on safety, luxury, and intelligent driving experiences."

""

"Worth mentioning is that during the launch event, Richard Yu unveiled a ranking of 'Users' Favorite Premium Brands' based on the Net Promoter Score (NPS) of automotive brands in the first half of 2024. AITO topped the list with a high score of 83.7, followed by NIO at 80.9, and Tesla at 74.1. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi occupied the lower ranks."

"Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association, stated, 'Currently, the 300,000 to 400,000 yuan pure electric vehicle market exhibits comprehensive competition between domestic new forces and luxury brands. In the high-end luxury pure electric vehicle market above 400,000 yuan, the electrification of international luxury brands still needs to accelerate.'"

"Richard Yu, Chairman of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, said, 'The Xiangjie S9 is positioned to compete with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series 750Li, and Audi A8L. The average price of Huawei HarmonyOS Smart Device is approximately 400,000 yuan, primarily aiming to capture the traditional luxury car market from BBA.'"

"So, with the combined brand power, intelligence, and product prowess (exquisite craftsmanship) of Huawei and BAIC in the Xiangjie S9, this heavyweight newcomer entering the 400,000+ market segment is bound to rattle BBA."

"02, Did Huawei hold something back?"

"All the boasting in the world means nothing without solid sales figures. According to the China Passenger Car Association, in the first half of 2024, AITO's parent company Seres Automobile ranked sixth among new energy vehicle manufacturers with sales of 189,000 units, with the AITO M7 and AITO M9 leading the charge. BBA, however, missed out on the top 10 list."

""

"Among BBA in the first half of the year, only Audi achieved year-on-year sales growth. To stabilize sales, luxury brands, including Porsche, were forced to offer discounts. According to a Securities Daily reporter's visits to multiple auto markets, some BBA models offered discounts of up to 50%. According to auto enthusiasts on Weibo, BMW further reduced its annual wholesale targets by 15% in July, following a 15% reduction in June."

""

"In contrast, our domestic high-end pure electric brands have performed impressively. The AITO M9, priced between 469,800 and 569,800 yuan, sold over 70,000 units in the first seven months of this year. NIO, which focuses on the high-end market, sold 87,426 vehicles in the first half of the year, a 60.2% year-on-year increase, surpassing the combined pure electric sales of Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi."

"China has never lacked wealthy individuals; what it lacks are products that captivate them."

"Zhao Ji, Secretary of the Board of Directors at BAIC BluePark, said, 'While BAIC may not have as much experience in automobile manufacturing as Seres, its performance has significantly improved under Huawei's deep support.' He added, 'Both internally and externally, the Smart Selection model is promising, and our collaboration with Huawei is undoubtedly a win-win situation from a profit perspective.'"

"For Huawei, if the Xiangjie S9 can make a splash in the high-end executive sedan segment, it will undoubtedly bolster their reputation and open doors for future collaborations with more brands in this space. Successfully capturing the hearts and minds of these high-end car owners will undoubtedly elevate Huawei's brand influence to new heights, paving the way for future million-yuan luxury vehicles."

"For BAIC BJEV, their all-in bet on the Xiangjie S9 is driven by their confidence in Huawei's successful track record with HarmonyOS Smart Device. As of this writing, the official sales figures for the Xiangjie S9 have yet to be released, raising questions about whether it can replicate the success of the AITO M9 in the SUV segment in the sedan market."

"Let's wait and see!"

"Reference Materials:"

"Pointing at BBA's Traditional Luxury Fuel Vehicle Stronghold, Huawei HarmonyOS Smart Device Creates a Breakthrough in Smart Cars - Securities Daily"

"AITO M7: Comprehensively Solving Range and Recharging Issues, Setting a New Benchmark for Pure Electric Family Cars - Auto Market Panorama"

"Aiming to Steal Customers from BBA, Xiangjie S9 Launches at 399,800 Yuan - Guangzhou Daily New Huacheng"

"Huawei Strikes Again at BBA's Stronghold - Huxiu APP"

"Huawei Unveils the New 'Whale' 800V High-Voltage Battery Platform: Over 800km Range! - ZOL"

"BBA's First Half Sales Summary: Has BMW Overtaken Mercedes-Benz and Audi? - EV Planet News"

"Sun Shaojun's Weibo, Richard Yu's Weibo, Cover Image from @AIMIKKKK's Weibo"