The debut off-road SUV from Hongmeng Intelligent Auto has taken off with greater momentum than anticipated. On August 5th, the Xiangjie G9 officially commenced pre-sales, offering 10 different variants with both pure electric and extended-range powertrains, along with 5-seat and 6-seat layouts. The pre-sale price range spans from RMB 439,800 to RMB 559,800. Official data reveals that the Xiangjie G9 secured over 5,100 orders within just two hours of pre-sales opening and soared to 10,300 orders within 24 hours, with the Ultra and Ultra+ versions accounting for 90% of the total. The vehicle is slated for an official launch in the third quarter of this year.

Off-road SUVs have indeed been on the rise in popularity in recent years, yet they still occupy a niche market, particularly in the high-end off-road segment above RMB 400,000, which remains relatively modest in size. At this price bracket, the pre-sale performance of the Xiangjie G9 is quite noteworthy.

The Xiangjie G9 is branded as a 'tech-luxury off-road SUV.' Yu Chengdong, Chairman of Huawei's Terminal BG, succinctly described the G9 as 'more off-road than luxury, yet more luxurious than off-road.' In terms of dimensions, the G9 boasts a length of nearly 5.4 meters, a width exceeding 2 meters, a height approaching 1.9 meters, and a wheelbase of 3.16 meters. Its boxy yet subtly rounded design, coupled with the distinctive Hongmeng Star Ring headlights and tail lights, enhances its visual appeal and recognition.

With Huawei's backing, the Xiangjie G9's primary selling point is undoubtedly its 'intelligence.' This is manifested in two key areas: the intelligence of off-road capabilities and intelligent driving and cabin features. Let's first delve into the off-road capabilities. In terms of power, the G9 is outfitted with Huawei Digital Energy's proprietary dual-motor four-wheel-drive system, delivering a peak output of 160kW for the front motor and 277kW for the rear motor. The high-power rear motor provides ample low-speed torque, theoretically making it well-suited for off-road scenarios such as extricating oneself from mud or ascending steep inclines.

Regarding the chassis, the G9 is the first to incorporate Huawei's All-Terrain Tuling Platform, featuring an 800V fully active disconnectable stabilizer bar, a front double-wishbone and rear five-link suspension, a dual-air-spring air suspension with centralized gas supply, and a dual-valve continuously variable damping shock absorber. It also supports rear-wheel steering of up to ±12 degrees. Yu Chengdong introduced that the G9 possesses full-terrain perception capabilities, enabling it to actively identify terrain and automatically adjust chassis parameters accordingly.

The G9 also introduces Huawei's Zhiqing adaptive differential lock electric drive. Unlike traditional mechanical differential locks, which typically operate only at speeds below 5 km/h and require manual locking, Huawei's system can perceive and automatically lock in real-time, supporting speeds up to 20 km/h. In a demonstration video shown at the launch event, the G9 effortlessly traversed a series of 50cm-deep cross-mud pits.

'I recently took it for a test drive at Yangcheng Lake, specifically tackling a cross-axle scenario with a significant drop, where only one wheel had traction. We tried numerous luxury SUVs, but none could make it through. The G9 passed quickly, shocking everyone,' Yu Chengdong recounted the G9's off-road prowess.

Now, let's turn our attention to intelligent driving and cabin features. The G9 is the first luxury off-road SUV designed with an L3-level architecture, equipped with 38 sensors, including a standard Huawei 896-line LiDAR and three additional solid-state blind-spot LiDARs, supporting the advanced version of Huawei's ADS intelligent driving system. Yu Chengdong revealed that the vehicle has already secured an L3-level autonomous driving road test license for speeds up to 120 km/h in Beijing and will debut offline navigation and vehicle-to-vehicle communication features.

Inside the cabin, the G9 features a Cosmos Triple Screen setup (12.3-inch instrument panel + 17.2-inch central control screen + 17.2-inch front passenger entertainment screen), AR-HUD, and a rear-seat ceiling entertainment screen. It is equipped with the latest Hongmeng cabin system while retaining a significant number of physical buttons for ease of use. For cabin comfort, the G9 comes standard with dual zero-gravity seats in the front row; the 6-seat version offers optional dual zero-gravity seats in the second row. It also introduces a fascia gun-style massage seat, providing up to 20-point massage for the entire vehicle, primarily aimed at alleviating fatigue during long off-road excursions.

Adaptation to outdoor scenarios is also a key focus of the G9. For instance, it offers an electrically powered roof tent with an integrated body design, providing 2260L of space, supporting one-touch opening and closing, and a maximum load capacity of 260 kilograms. The rear also features an integrated tailgate kitchen. However, these configurations are likely to be optional rather than standard. In terms of range, the G9 comes standard with an 800V high-voltage platform and Huawei's Jugang battery, offering both pure electric and extended-range powertrains. The pure electric version boasts a maximum CLTC range of 728km; the extended-range version has a maximum CLTC pure electric range of 405km and a maximum combined range of 1366km.

In the off-road SUV segment, brands like Tank, Haval, Fangchengbao, Beijing Off-Road, Jetour (including Zongheng), and Mengshi have already established strong footholds, while Hongmeng Intelligent Auto has been absent in this arena until now. From a pricing standpoint, the G9's most direct competitors are the Tank 700 Hi4-T and Fangchengbao Ba 8, both of which utilize body-on-frame constructions, making them more suitable for heavy-duty off-road scenarios such as artillery craters, sand, and steep slopes, offering superior torsional rigidity and durability under extreme off-road conditions. Especially Tank, which has long been deeply entrenched in the off-road market, possesses stronger expertise in mechanical off-road hardware and chassis tuning.

The G9, on the other hand, employs a unibody construction, making it more suitable for mild to moderate off-roading, such as on rural gravel roads. This indicates that the G9 was never intended to compete head-on with traditional off-road vehicles in terms of extreme off-road capabilities but instead chose to redefine off-roading through intelligence and user experience.

In terms of usage scenarios, the frequency of extreme off-roading for most off-road SUVs is actually quite low, with urban commuting being the primary scenario. Even outdoors, most usage involves mild unpaved surfaces like camping or rural gravel roads. The G9 is tailored for users who desire the presence of an off-road SUV, moderate off-road capabilities, while not sacrificing urban driving comfort, intelligence, and luxury experience. This product positioning choice may enable the G9 to tap into a broader market.

However, Hongmeng Intelligent Auto's previous absence in the off-road product segment also raises a question: the G9's off-road capabilities have not been market-validated. What is its actual level of extreme off-road capability? How durable is the chassis on cross-axle and long-distance unpaved roads? These core questions about off-road capabilities remain unanswered. The uncertainty surrounding its off-road capabilities will pose a significant challenge for the G9 in penetrating the off-road market.

For the Xiangjie brand, the G9 represents another stride upmarket while expanding its user base from business and executive segments to outdoor off-roading. Xiangjie's inaugural model, the S9, was priced between RMB 400,000 and RMB 450,000 upon its initial launch in 2024. As Hongmeng Intelligent Auto's first flagship executive sedan, the S9 did not initially make a significant impact in the market; later, with the introduction of an extended-range version and a price reduction to the RMB 300,000 level, sales gradually picked up. Subsequently, a derivative wagon version, the S9T, was added, but all were priced below RMB 400,000.

The transition from the executive sedan S9 to the off-road G9 represents a substantial product span. However, with the intermediate step of the S9T wagon, the G9's arrival in Xiangjie's product lineup does not seem abrupt. It is even conceivable that Xiangjie could emerge as the brand in Hongmeng Intelligent Auto's portfolio responsible for the outdoor market. After all, among Hongmeng Intelligent Auto's brands, Shangjie targets mainstream young entry-level users, Zhijie focuses on young, sporty, and tech-oriented users, Aito targets high-end family users, and Zunjie targets ultra-luxury business users, leaving outdoor off-roading as a gap.

While the current pre-sale order situation for the Xiangjie G9 is indeed quite promising, these are still refundable small deposits. Whether the G9 can successfully fire the first shot for Hongmeng Intelligent Auto in the off-road segment will hinge on the final pricing, user reviews and feedback, especially the actual performance of its off-road capabilities, which will determine whether its subsequent sales can sustain a strong level. Of course, there is also another possibility: users may not be seeking actual capabilities but rather emotional value. The Xiangjie G9 will undoubtedly provide answers to these questions.