Jiyue, which narrowly avoided a public dispute with Xiaomi not long ago, officially launched its second model, Jiyue 07, on September 10.

Limited-time launch price:

Standard 660 km version: 199,900 yuan;

Long-range 880 km version: 219,900 yuan;

Performance 770 km version: 289,900 yuan.

The pricing range is almost identical to that of the LYNK & CO Z10, which was released around the same time. Together with the recently upgraded Geely ZEEKR 007, Geely's three major brands are now clustered in the 200,000-300,000 yuan range.

Based on Geely's SEA Oceanic architecture, Jiyue 07 features Baidu's Apollo Smart Driving (ASD) system, uses CATL's Qilin battery, and supports 5C fast charging, allowing for a 600 km charge in just 10 minutes.

In terms of specifications, the main differences between the three versions of Jiyue 07, apart from their driving ranges, are:

The battery suppliers for the standard, long-range, and performance versions are SF Motors, Time EV, and CATL, respectively. Apart from the standard version, which uses lithium iron phosphate batteries, the other two versions use lithium-ion batteries.

Jiyue 07 is available in both single-motor and dual-motor configurations. The former uses a 400V architecture, while the latter uses an 800V architecture, with total motor power ratings of 200kW and 530kW, respectively.

To generate buzz for the launch event, not only were Baidu's Robin Li, CATL's Robin Zeng, and NIO's William Li invited to speak on stage, but Li Shufu also sent his congratulations via video. In short, Jiyue has united all available forces and laid all its cards on the table to prove itself.

As Jiyue's second model, Jiyue 07 must not only take over the task of rapidly increasing sales from the struggling Jiyue 01 but also determine whether Jiyue can remain in the game. 1

Reflections on Jiyue 01

There are two versions regarding the reasons for Jiyue 01's rocky start: an official one and an unofficial one.

In the official version, Xia Yiping attributes the problem to marketing: "From April to September 2023, we did not conduct any external promotions for nearly half a year. Consumers have only known about Jiyue for seven months, and Jiyue 01 has only been on the market for four months."

This led to a major overhaul of the marketing and sales teams in January of this year, with Xia Yiping personally leading the charge. Historical experience tells us that whenever a CEO personally leads a department, it is usually indicative of serious problems.

Since March, personnel adjustments have been made in both the UD (User Development) and UO (User Operations) departments of Jiyue Automobile. Xia Yiping personally took charge of the UD department, while Andy Gao, from Tesla, took over the UO department.

In addition to personnel adjustments, Xia Yiping also made changes to the sales approach, criticizing dealerships for previously relying on "simple and brute-force discounts" to attract customers and instead adopting a sales strategy of "selling experiences rather than hardware."

After a series of changes, Jiyue's sales approach shifted from offering "simple and brute-force discounts" to requiring that "customers may not buy a car, but they must leave with a brand awareness." Xia Yiping has also frequently appeared in live streams, hoping to promote Jiyue's intelligent selling points through live broadcasts.

The unofficial version, on the other hand, attributes Jiyue 01's failure to insufficient product competitiveness.

Firstly, as a pure electric vehicle priced at around 250,000 yuan, the lack of an 800V fast-charging platform alone has deterred some potential buyers.

Secondly, while Jiyue 01's exterior design is original, it goes against Chinese consumers' preference for larger vehicles and lacks a sense of design and luxury in its interior. Operationally, it also adopts Tesla's "anti-human" design of screen shifting and button turn signals.

Meanwhile, as a major selling point, Jiyue 01's autonomous driving capability has not been fully utilized. On the one hand, the optional fee is as high as 49,900 yuan, and on the other hand, it was not until May of this year that Jiyue expanded its PPA autonomous driving city coverage from five to 100 cities.

More importantly, these 100 cities do not include first-tier cities with more complex road conditions but rather second- and third-tier cities. Major new first-tier cities such as Chongqing and Chengdu, which have complex road conditions, are not covered, while companies like Huawei and XPeng have already achieved the stage of "driving anywhere."

Regardless of the reason, Jiyue 01's total sales in its first year on the market were lower than Xiaomi's monthly sales. So, have these issues been addressed in Jiyue 07?

The answer is yes, but not entirely. The much-criticized screen shifting and button turn signals are still present, but the car's dimensions have been improved. As a sedan, Jiyue 07 boasts dimensions of 4953x1989x1475 mm and a wheelbase of 3013 mm, compared to the mid-to-large SUV Jiyue 01's dimensions of 4853x1990x1611 mm and a wheelbase of 3000 mm.

Jiyue 07 also features an 800V platform, but only in the performance version. The standard and long-range versions still use a 400V platform.

In terms of autonomous driving, Jiyue 07 is equipped with Apollo Smart Driving's ASD system. According to the official website, ASD's Pilot Assist covers 100% of highways and viaducts nationwide. For urban roads, Xia Yiping stated that by the end of this year, Jiyue ASD will be available anywhere that Baidu Maps can be used nationwide. 2

"The Tesla Model 5 That Never Was"

In the era of new energy vehicles, automakers have developed a bad habit of resorting to exaggerated marketing tactics to grab attention. While it may not have been Tesla that started this trend, following the "best family SUV under 5 million yuan" slogan, "best XX SUV under XX yuan" has become a common refrain at new car launches.

This phenomenon has led some to question whether advertising laws even apply to the automotive industry. While things seemed to have calmed down somewhat in 2024, Jiyue revived this trend with its marketing for Jiyue 07: "The Tesla Model 5 That Never Was." How much effort Jiyue put into its marketing can be seen in this "Model 5" analogy.

By comparing Jiyue 07 to a non-existent model, consumers trying to learn about Jiyue 07 must first educate themselves on whether Tesla ever made a Model 5. Of course, it's also possible that Jiyue assumes all potential customers are well-versed in Tesla's offerings.

For Jiyue, refraining from resorting to low-brow tactics like mudslinging is already a step in the right direction. However, for automakers looking to generate buzz through marketing, a catchy slogan alone is far from sufficient.

Xia Yiping, who opened his personal Douyin account on March 15, had posted a total of 140 videos by September 10, just before the new car launch. In comparison, Wei Jianjun, who joined Douyin in April, had posted only 37 videos, while He Xiaopeng, who joined in April 2020, had posted just 76 videos in over four years.

Perhaps motivated by a desire to make up for his lack of innate talent or inspired by Lei Jun's work ethic, Xia Yiping has set himself a rigorous KPI. According to a report by Huxiu, Xia Yiping personally maintains an update frequency of "one live stream per week and one short video per day," while Jiyue's official account has also embarked on a massive content production spree, posting nearly 8,000 short videos in July and over 10,000 in August.

Despite Xia Yiping's diligence, Jiyue's rare instances of trending on social media this year have all been related to Xiaomi.

The first incident occurred shortly after the launch of Xiaomi's SU7, when a former Jiyue employee claimed on social media that they were fired from their job after purchasing a Xiaomi SU7 Founders Edition, allegedly for violating a non-compete agreement and without receiving compensation.

After the news spread, Jiyue's legal department issued a statement clarifying the matter, accusing the employee of seriously violating professional ethics and non-compete obligations by registering multiple social media accounts in their personal capacity to promote Xiaomi products and of multiple unauthorized absences, leading to the company's decision to unilaterally terminate their employment contract.

The second incident occurred after Xiaomi released its Q2 financial results, when Jiyue's PR head made public comments about Xiaomi's loss-making car sales, putting Jiyue in the spotlight.

Fortunately, Jiyue handled the situation promptly, avoiding a larger PR crisis. On the evening of August 22, Jiyue CEO Xia Yiping issued an internal email reprimanding Jiyue PR head Xu Jiye.

If we also consider the Beijing Auto Show at the end of April, where Jiyue deliberately placed its booth directly across from Xiaomi's, it's clear that Xia Yiping's catchphrase of "going toe-to-toe with Tesla" may have been more about Xiaomi SU7 than it seemed.

The 200,000-300,000 yuan pure electric sedan market where Xiaomi operates is also one of the most fiercely competitive segments. Over the past six months, automakers that have managed to secure a place in this market either have strong brand penetration and influence or offer exceptional value for money. Xiaomi SU7, which began deliveries in April, has emerged as a dark horse, ranking third in its segment and surpassing Tesla Model 3 in July sales.

For Jiyue 07, encountering Xiaomi SU7 on its path to challenging Tesla is almost inevitable. Therefore, in terms of configuration and pricing, Jiyue 07 may have intentionally positioned Xiaomi SU7 between its mid- and low-end versions, using the 199,900 yuan standard version to attract customers and the 219,900 yuan long-range version to compete for users.

However, compared to Xiaomi SU7, Jiyue 07's long-range version does not offer significant advantages. The only notable advantage, its autonomous driving capability, is not a feature that consumers can easily perceive or prioritize. Given the small price difference of just 4,000 yuan between the two models, consumers may be more inclined to choose Xiaomi for emotional value. 3

Jiyue Is Trying, But...

However, the reality facing Jiyue is that before it can challenge Xiaomi and Tesla, it must first overcome its "sibling models," including the LYNK & CO Z10, Geely ZEEKR 007, and Geely Galaxy E8, all of which were launched around the same time as Jiyue 07. In particular, the LYNK & CO Z10, priced at 202,800-299,800 yuan (with a limited-time price of 196,800-288,800 yuan), almost perfectly overlaps with Jiyue 07's price range.

In the era of electric vehicles, Geely continues to adhere to its "more children, better fights" strategy from the era of gasoline-powered cars. In the 150,000-300,000 yuan pure electric sedan market, Geely has positioned its Galaxy E8 at 165,800-228,800 yuan, followed by the ZEEKR 001+007 combination priced at 209,900-329,000 yuan, and now the LYNK & CO Z10 (with a limited-time price of 196,800-288,800 yuan) at the same price point.

One cannot ignore the fact that in the shadow of ZEEKR, both LYNK & CO and Jiyue find it difficult to carve out their own unique markets.

Originally, LYNK & CO differentiated its products through size and pricing, but with the launch of the new ZEEKR 007, which offers more features without a price increase, including 800V charging and advanced autonomous driving capabilities for just 209,900 yuan, the 400V platform and 200kW motor of the LYNK & CO Z10 now pale in comparison.

Jiyue 07 faces a similar challenge. While it has an advantage in autonomous driving over the LYNK & CO Z10, it still lags behind the ZEEKR 007 in terms of power, range, and fast charging. Moreover, in its entry-level version, Jiyue 07 must compete with the larger LYNK & CO Z10, but regardless of the outcome, it will remain an internal battle within the Geely family.

Therefore, entering the 200,000-300,000 yuan price range, Jiyue 07 has limited room for maneuver in terms of product definition and pricing. It is difficult to tell a compelling and unique story, either in terms of product potential or brand potential.

Furthermore, if He Xiaopeng's latest prediction of another round of price wars in the spring of next year comes true, ZEEKR, with its higher sales volume, may be able to leverage its scale to further reduce prices, leaving even less room for Jiyue.

Jiyue is not without opportunities, and autonomous driving could be a significant driver. However, the situation surrounding autonomous driving is somewhat complex. On the one hand, consumers have a vague understanding of autonomous driving capabilities and technologies, and the market is still in its early stages of development. On the other hand, consumers cannot effectively differentiate between the autonomous driving technologies of various companies.

One advantage for Jiyue is its association with Tesla's pure vision-based autonomous driving approach. At the same time, its partnership with Baidu's Luobo Express has also enhanced its brand recognition. However, as Huawei's pure vision-based autonomous driving solutions enter the 200,000 yuan price range, and XPeng and NIO also plan to launch low-cost models with autonomous driving capabilities, Jiyue, which is positioning autonomous driving as its selling point, must seize this critical window of opportunity if it wants to win.

Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information or information provided by interviewees. However, Decode and the author do not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of this information. Under no circumstances should the information or opinions expressed in this article be construed as investment advice to any person.