BBA also compromised, Audi wants to give its soul to Huawei?

Recently, there has been a flurry of news about Audi, and the fragmented pieces of information are all related to the domestic market. Let's sort this out together.

First, foreign media reported that Audi believes the overall pace of electrification in the market is not as expected, and they will focus on plug-in hybrids, a transitional technology. This can be seen as an adjustment to the previous market strategy. Faced with the trend of electrification, traditional automakers like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and General Motors wanted to go straight to the core, focusing entirely on the pure electric race. However, based on market feedback from recent years, plug-in hybrids/range extenders are more universal and more popular.

As a result, those who react quickly have begun to change course swiftly.

Next came the news of model changes and new launches for the domestic market. Andre Karch, General Manager of FAW-Volkswagen Audi Sales Co., Ltd., stated that they will launch over 20 new models in the next two years, including pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel categories.

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Among these, the most important is the domestic A5 that will be unveiled at this year's Guangzhou Auto Show. The new A5 is actually the successor to the A4 in overseas markets (using Audi's new naming system), and after being domesticated, it will continue to be elongated. FAW-Volkswagen Audi is introducing it as an all-new model.

It is very likely that it will be sold alongside the current A4L in the future.

What is even more surprising is that domestic media have revealed that the new domestic Audi A5 will be equipped with Huawei's intelligent driving system. This has been jokingly referred to by netizens as: even the German luxury car brands (BBA) are giving up their "soul."

This brings us to the previous "soul theory." We all know that Huawei entered the automotive industry with the tagline "Don't make cars, help car companies make better cars," crossing over into the sector.Facing the transformation and upgrading of intelligent technology, some automotive executives have directly denied it: they do not accept that intelligence is the core technology of future car manufacturing. Cooperating with Huawei is akin to handing over the soul to the other party.

However, after so many years, the Qianji, a collaboration between Huawei and Seres, has turned from loss to profit. The four realms under the smart selection car model have also gradually become clear. Recently, there are rumors that the Equation Leopard 8 will also be equipped with Huawei's smart driving, and the Deep Blue S07, which adopts Huawei's smart driving, has just been launched. The Lan Tu Dreamer Huawei Smart Driving Edition is also on the way.

All these indicate the success of Huawei's cross-industry expansion and the extent of car manufacturers' desire for intelligent technology.

If the all-new domestic Audi A5 chooses Huawei's smart driving, it further indicates that Chinese car manufacturers have not only completed the overtaking by changing lanes through new energy, but also achieved the four words that Yu Chengdong often mentioned before in the field of intelligence.

But is it true that car manufacturers have given up their soul by cooperating with Huawei? I think the more terrible thing is to have no soul at all.

On one hand, with the upgrade of the first-tier smart driving performance, intelligent technology has gradually moved from a cool gimmick to a usable and easy-to-use one, with several representative functions.

For example, high-speed NOA allows the vehicle to automatically get on and off ramps, overtake, follow, and enter the destination toll station according to the navigation, with very few instances requiring the driver to take over. The driver plays more of a supervisory role, which greatly reduces the fatigue of long-distance driving, and consumers naturally accept it.

At the same time, functions like automatic parking and active braking have indeed reduced the difficulty of driving for novices and improved driving safety, giving high-level smart driving assistance a more practical significance.

When we actually buy a car, the performance of high-level smart driving assistance is also becoming an important measurement standard, even rising to the same level as appearance, space, and power.

In terms of market competition, the ultimate winners will definitely be those who have what others don't and are stronger than others. Among overseas car manufacturers, except for Tesla, other traditional brands generally perform a bit sluggish in this field. Choosing Huawei as a "supplier" to empower is also reasonable.On the other hand, there is still the issue of research and development costs and time. By observing the recent update speed of the Zeekr 001, which was updated within half a year, we can see that car manufacturing is becoming more and more like mobile phone manufacturing. Coupled with the continuous escalation of market competition, the entire cycle of updates and iterations is being significantly compressed, which is also a sign of progress in the entire industry.

However, the R&D pressure on car manufacturers has also increased. In a field where they are already lagging, can investing heavily to catch up be effective? The answer is obvious, and these large companies all have dedicated preliminary research teams.

From the perspective of reasonable resource allocation, I also agree with the cooperation model.

The investment in high-level intelligent driving development is quite high. If each company specializes in developing its own system, it will inevitably lead to overinvestment. It would be better for the leading few to delve into development, while the rest can directly use it, which can also share the cost of investment and is a more ideal industrial structure.

Looking back, we have to admire Huawei's strategic breadth of "not making cars." In the role of a close partner, it can not only provide blood transfusion to domestic car manufacturers in the field of intelligence, but also attract the attention of overseas car manufacturers with its technological strength, achieving a breakthrough.

In terms of the market, looking at the sales performance in July, joint venture brands in the domestic market are already in a precarious situation. Several mainstays such as GAC Toyota, FAW-Volkswagen, and Dongfeng Nissan have generally seen a decline of about 20% year-on-year. SAIC General Motors and Dongfeng Honda have even plummeted by 54.2% and 58.1% respectively.

Beijing Hyundai's monthly sales are only slightly over 10,000 units, which is not even comparable to high-end new forces like Li Auto and NIO. Moreover, the top luxury brands of BBA have not been spared either, with FAW Audi leading the decline by 20% year-on-year, and BMW下滑了 18.2%.

This also confirms my previous conjecture that the overall pattern of the domestic market and the brand value and appeal among different factions are undergoing a process of breaking and rebuilding.

The disruption brought about by the transition to electrification is not limited to the form of power. In the era of fuel vehicles, the advantages of outstanding performance and stable reliability of the three major components of overseas brands are gradually fading. What follows is the fierce technological innovation of domestic brands.Intelligent driving, cockpits, and even the reinterpretation of lighting, refrigerators, color TVs, and large sofas, despite some criticism for being flashy but impractical, the sales figures speak for themselves. As the current consumer mainstay, young groups such as post-80s, post-90s, and post-00s are buying into it, with the novelty of products and the desire for experience being key.

Returning to intelligent driving itself, whether it's the Radish Run that made headlines by competing with Didi, or Musk's Robotaxi plan, when this category of technology truly matures and achieves autonomous driving.

Old Fox believes: The use form of cars will be completely changed, we may no longer need to privately purchase and own new cars, only responsible for leasing and using, at that time the industry's profit body will also change from car companies to technology companies, but how long it will take to achieve is still unknown.

Finally, in terms of viewpoint, car companies adopting Huawei's intelligent driving can indeed make up for the lack of technology in the short term, enhance product competitiveness, and make resource allocation more rational. However, no one is willing or dare to give up easily, those with strength will still choose to develop on their own, because autonomous driving is the goal, as well as the future.