Introduction

When giants move, there must be a reason behind it.

Editor-in-Charge: Li Sijia

Editor: He Zengrong

The main theme of China's automotive circle this year has been the continuous "verbal battles" among various players.

As for the reason, it's easy to understand. With the intensifying wave of electric vehicle transformation, the entire industry is reshuffling its rankings. In order to better seize market share and reap more benefits, every brand must try every means to promote itself.

If even the desire to speak up disappears, there won't even be a chance to stay at the table.

And just this week, the topic of "supercharging, battery swapping, or extended range" once again sparked heated discussions on Weibo. Leading the charge this round are two popular "stars" in the automotive circle.

The story begins with Li Xiaolong, CTO of Huawei Device BG, taking the initiative.

"I drive both extended-range and pure electric vehicles. Although the pure electric range of the extended-range vehicle is short, there's a tank of fuel as backup. Whenever there's a chance to charge, I take it. I don't need to waste time specifically for charging, and I won't feel anxious when the car is running low on power. When driving a pure electric vehicle, I start feeling anxious when the range drops below 150km, thinking about where I need to go in the next few days and whether to charge up today. No matter how much cheaper the extended-range vehicle is, I won't remove the range extender."

With over a hundred words, he has already expressed his viewpoint quite directly. Subsequently, a Weibo user took the opportunity to ask Li Xiaolong, "Some say that battery swapping will eventually replace supercharging. What's your take on that?"

In response, he said directly, "If you have the opportunity to see a comparison of the thickness and dimensions of batteries designed for swapping a few years ago and the latest batteries today, you might change your mind. Modern technology develops too fast, and being compatible with old batteries is a heavy burden."

As an observer, the implication here seems to be that battery swapping will eventually hit a dead end, whereas supercharging is the unwavering future.

And as soon as this viewpoint was put forward, it seemingly touched upon NIO's "minefield."

After all, since its inception, NIO has been steadfast in its battery swapping model, investing significant human, material, and financial resources to establish a huge lead in energy replenishment.

Perhaps precisely based on this background, Shen Fei, Senior Vice President of NIO Energy, suddenly said, "Don't easily speak up in areas you're not familiar with, or you'll likely turn from an expert into a bricklayer. This was repeatedly emphasized by a Tsinghua professor when he was invited to speak at an AI conference a few days ago, and I deeply agree."

Although not naming names, this can be seen as a response to Li Xiaolong, CTO of Huawei Device BG.

Shen Fei continued, "Five years ago, NIO had hundreds of mobile charging vehicles, half of which were purely electric and the other half were similar to this shared range extender, using diesel to generate electricity for battery charging, specifically for areas in northwest, southwest, and northern China with few charging stations. But over the years, these vehicles have gradually been retired, and there are no plans to add new ones. Because there are more battery swapping stations and charging piles now, charging and swapping are convenient enough that range extenders are no longer needed."

His statement also reminds one of a viewpoint expressed by NIO CEO Li Bin in a certain interview: "Ask those who buy extended-range vehicles what their next car will be. How many will say they'll still buy an extended-range vehicle? As a father of several children, I find it interesting that after weaning, children need a pacifier for a while, but you can't say that they'll always need it."

Further research reveals that as of now, NIO has built nearly 2,450 battery swapping stations nationwide, completing over 90 million battery swaps. In addition, since last year, NIO's battery swapping system has officially opened to the public, and the number of members in the battery swapping alliance continues to expand.

In stark contrast, according to Hou Jinlong, Huawei's Director and President of Huawei Digital Energy, in February this year, Huawei is expected to deploy over 100,000 fully liquid-cooled supercharging stations across 340+ cities and major highways nationwide by the end of 2024. Currently, Huawei Digital Energy China has over 2,000 partners.

Moreover, based on HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving's delivery of over 190,000 vehicles in the first half of the year, extended-range models maintained a high proportion and were its absolute main force in China's new energy vehicle market.

At this point, most readers will gradually understand why the above "tit-for-tat" occurred. Because there are fundamental differences in technology route choices, NIO and Huawei stand on different camps.

As for which is better among supercharging, battery swapping, or extended range?

It's still the same old viewpoint: "Essentially, there's no clear-cut distinction between good and bad, and there's no need to make one. What matters is what suits consumers and brings them a better driving experience. If you must try to compare, you must start from actual scenarios."

In my relatively clear memory, there has always been harmony between industrial giant Huawei and new force automaker NIO. This week, the former suddenly "fired" at battery swapping, which feels like there's another motive behind it.

Could it be that the latter's recent sales performance has continued to improve, posing a certain threat to HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving in the high-end new energy vehicle market? Or is it that, coincidentally, during the preheating stage of the business administrative flagship sedan Xiangjie S9, NIO ET7 is an inevitable rival, and Huawei took the initiative to start a mental battle?

The atmosphere is slowly becoming increasingly delicate...