The First Coupe SUV

Author: Wang Lei | Editor: Qin Zhangyong

The second car from Zhijie is here.

Today, Yu Chengdong announced on social media that HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving is about to welcome its first coupe SUV model, accompanied by an official image:

This is the model that has been frequently leaked in spy shots and is known as Zhijie S9 by netizens, but it still belongs to the "7" series, named Zhijie R7.

Unlike the Wenjie M5, Zhijie R7 has made some differentiated positioning in terms of styling and space, likely to offer better spatial performance than the M5.

So it's not hard to see that this car is likely to compete with Tesla's Model Y. According to the plan, Zhijie R7 will be released in the third quarter, with an expected price range of 300,000 to 400,000 yuan. The first version will be pure electric, and an extended-range version may be available by the end of the year.

01 Coupe Version of Zhijie S7

When spy shots of Zhijie R7 were first released, they quickly went viral on social media, with many netizens speculating about the final name of the new car, with guesses including Zhijie S9, Zhijie Y7, Zhijie Z7...

At that time, insiders revealed that "the new car is likely to be a brand-new series." It will no longer continue the S series of Zhijie's first model, the S7.

Now that the name has been officially announced, Yu Chengdong said that the R series stands for Revolution, representing breakthroughs and disruptions. Indeed, Zhijie R7 is HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving's first coupe SUV.

Yu Chengdong also said that this model will have an interior space that "breaks everyone's imagination."

However, there is not much room left for car companies to name their models, as Zhijie R7 shares a name with SAIC Flyingvan's R7.

Along with the announcement of the official name, Yu Chengdong also released two high-resolution official images.

In terms of appearance, Zhijie R7 maintains a high degree of consistency with Zhijie S7's design language, with only some changes in the overall proportions. If judged solely by appearance, it can even be called an SUV version of Zhijie S7.

The front end still uses the same tear-shaped air intake design as Zhijie S7, with a fully enclosed grille design that only retains the lower air deflector. The bottom adopts a trapezoidal radiator grille design with a slightly protruding front lip, creating differences in details from Zhijie S7.

The tear-shaped headlights consist of three lenses, with the lower part extending the air intake. From the official images, the vehicle's roof is also equipped with a lidar, and the roof has a large-sized glass skylight.

The side is designed with a fastback style, still with a short front and rear overhang, equipped with a hatchback tailgate, and its trunk is taller than that of a coupe. Meanwhile, there is a "ducktail" spoiler above the trunk, and the taillights adopt a through-type design.

Judging from the body outline, Zhijie R7 is larger than Zhijie S7, with a significantly higher ground clearance. The C-pillar does not adopt a large inclination angle but is more rearward, further enhancing the fastback effect.

Although the interior is not shown in the official images, based on previously leaked spy shots, we can get a general idea.

Its interior is likely to continue the yacht-style cockpit design, including a floating dashboard with a staggered front and rear layout and a large floating center console screen, maintaining a high degree of consistency with Zhijie S7.

The three-spoke elliptical multifunction steering wheel comes with a gear selector mechanism, and the center console does not have physical buttons. The center console is equipped with dual wireless charging slots and a double-layer central armrest, maximizing space utilization.

The front passenger also has a flat multifunctional instrument panel that can be used as a "desktop" or transformed into an independent storage compartment.

As for the power parameters, no detailed information has been released yet. Currently, Zhijie R7 is likely to be on par with S7.

Referencing Zhijie S7's chassis configuration, such as the front virtual ball joint double wishbone and rear five-link independent suspension, Huawei's DriveONE three-in-one electric drive system, intelligent air suspension + CDC damping adjustment, and other configurations should be included.

Huawei's "Giant Whale" 800V high-voltage battery platform, 100kWh super battery, and Huawei thermal management system should also be present.

In addition, during the 2024 Beijing Auto Show, Huawei launched a new brand of intelligent car solutions centered on intelligent driving - Huawei Qiankun, including newly upgraded solutions such as "Qiankun ADS," "Qiankun Vehicle Control," and "Qiankun Vehicle Cloud."

The new generation of HarmonyOS cabins also boasts technologies like the Qianren Engine and Qiankun Audio, and Zhijie R7 is likely to be one of the first to incorporate these latest Huawei technologies.

It's worth mentioning that Zhijie R7 may not only offer a pure electric version but also an extended-range version.

Based on a previously leaked chassis spy shot, the bottom can also see a clear exhaust layout, and at the opening on the right side of its rear, it can be seen that the interior is a fuel filler.

Moreover, previous insiders have revealed that "in addition to Ledo L60, Zhijie's brand-new SUV, which is larger than Ledo, will also compete with Model Y this year, offering both pure electric and extended-range versions."

02 Can It Compete with Model Y?

Zhijie R7's positioning is clear, just like Ledo L60, both targeting Model Y, aiming to capture the Tesla market.

Zhijie's current two models have already formed a direct competitive relationship with Tesla, such as Zhijie S7 targeting Model 3 and Zhijie R7 targeting Model Y.

Taking Zhijie S7 as an example, it is commendable in terms of design, intelligence, and autonomous driving capabilities, coupled with the support of Huawei's HarmonyOS system, its product strength and popularity are naturally impeccable.

However, affected by dual factors of production capacity and delivery issues, Zhijie S7's market performance from November last year to February this year did not match its market popularity, clearly earning praise but not sales.

As Zhijie S7 was about to be drowned out in the wave of new energy vehicles, Zhijie chose to make a comeback, with Zhijie S7 completing a second upgrade in April this year, effectively reducing prices and increasing configurations.

Most importantly, the previous production capacity issues seem to have been resolved.

Its terminal performance has also improved accordingly. Sales in November and December last year were only 115 and 784 units, respectively. In the first two months of this year, Zhijie S7's cumulative sales were just over 1,300 units, but after March, Zhijie S7's sales showed significant improvement, with 4,546 units delivered in April.

On May 31, Yu Chengdong announced at the Wenjie New M7 Refresh Launch Event that Zhijie S7 became one of the top three in the high-end (over 300,000 yuan) pure electric sedan market in terms of sales. However, upon closer inspection of the sales figures, the May data showed a decline, with 3,455 units delivered.

Although it was affected by the influx of traffic from rival Xiaomi SU7, its terminal market performance showed a significant contrast with the overwhelming praise it received when it was first launched.

Moreover, Ledo's first model, the L60, is also a potential rival to Zhijie R7, as it also targets the Tesla Model Y. The L60's pre-sale price starts at just 219,900 yuan. If the BAAS plan is adopted, it can even break through the 200,000 yuan threshold, which is significantly lower than the expected price of Zhijie R7.

From the perspective of coupe SUV positioning, AVATR 11 seems to be a direct rival to Zhijie R7, and the former also bears Huawei's genes.

Similarly, the 300,000 yuan price range is the most fiercely competitive market for new energy SUVs. Products such as IM LS6/LS7, Lixiang L7, and Xpeng G9 are mainly aimed at home use and boast impressive specifications on paper. Coupe SUV products like Zhijie R7 are not numerous, and even with Huawei's endorsement, one cannot say that it is worry-free.

More interestingly, Chery also has ideas to shake off Huawei.

According to media reports, insiders revealed that Chery will establish an EH sales department responsible for Zhijie's sales.

This means that in addition to sales through Huawei channels, Chery will also self-build channels to sell Zhijie, which can reduce its dependence on Huawei and gain greater discourse power in the cooperation.

Moreover, as the model matrix of HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving continues to expand, Huawei's supermarket and department store outlets cannot accommodate all models, so there will inevitably be trade-offs.

Setting aside corporate-level considerations, this can indeed speed up vehicle delivery for end consumers, after all, it doesn't matter where you buy it from.

However, a key question is, will Zhijie sell better when it is not completely sold through Huawei's sales system?