AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)08/17 Report--

Nissan will use the S pure electric platform in Dongfeng's newly released quantum intelligent electric architecture to develop and produce Nissan's pure electric models, but the exact form of cooperation between the two sides is not clear, the Daily Business Daily reported.

You Zheng, deputy general manager of Dongfeng Automobile Group Co., Ltd., said in an interview that Audi recently bought SAIC's platform, Volkswagen bought Xiaopeng's platform, Volkswagen bought zero running platform for Jetta, and Nissan will also use Dongfeng's platform. It further said that if Volkswagen develops products on its own platform, the window period for the MEB platform will be between 2022 and 2026. In the past four years, he has chosen to use SAIC, Xiaopeng, zero running platform, autopilot and intelligent network connection technology to fill this gap, which can also shorten the development cycle of the enterprise.

On April 10, Dongfeng Motor released new technology brands such as Quantum Architecture, Mach E Power and Dongfeng hydrogen Boat. According to officials, the quantum architecture is Dongfeng's 100% self-controlled native intelligent electric platform, which can carry small to medium-sized and large-sized cars, SUV, MPV and cross-border models, as well as front-drive, rear-drive, four-wheel drive, pure electric, extended range and plug-in hybrid multi-power systems. In addition, the architecture will be equipped with 800V high-voltage fast charging technology with a capacity of 60% charge in 15 minutes.

Like many Japanese brands, Nissan electrification layout is not active and has little effect. Strictly speaking, at present, Nissan has only Ariya ARIYA a pure electric SUV on sale in the Chinese market, but it is difficult to raise interest in both comprehensive product strength and smart electric technology. Data show that Ariel ARIYA sold a total of 1469 vehicles from January to July in 2023, of which only 115 were sold in July.

Although Nissan mastered a lot of new energy vehicle technology in the early stage, it misjudged the strategy of the development of new energy vehicle market, which led to early morning and late collection. On May 22nd, the super hybrid electric drive Qijun went on the market, the price of the deluxe version of the 140super hybrid twin motor four-wheel drive is 189900 yuan, and the price of the 146super hybrid double motor four-wheel drive premium version is 199900 yuan. For comparison, the price range of the current Qijun is 17.99-262900 yuan, it is not difficult to see that the price of the super hybrid drive Qijun is only comparable to that of the two-wheel drive model in the VC-Turbo version, while due to the standard dual-motor four-wheel drive in the whole system, the online order of the new car is very popular after the market, resulting in system downtime. Official figures show that 4095 vehicles were sold in July, but it is unclear whether the growth will be sustained.

Nissan executives also acknowledge that the Chinese market is full of challenges. Shohei Yamazaki, senior vice president of Nissan and president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd., said publicly: in the face of changes in the business environment in the Chinese market, we need to speed up the introduction of products that are more suitable for market demand and at the right price. Through Nissan's pure electric technology, e-POWER technology and Qichen DD-i super hybrid technology, we will introduce more electric drive models to meet the diversified needs of Chinese consumers.

In June this year, Dongfeng Nissan released the "re-Entrepreneurship Plan" to fight for new energy. Among them, the Nissan brand will launch seven electric drive models by 2026, and by 2030, 80% of the product line will be electric drive. Qichen brand launches at least two new energy models every year, and gradually challenges the goal of annual sales of 500000 units, eventually becoming Dongfeng Nissan's second growth curve.

If Nissan wants to stay in the Chinese market, it must do something in the electric car market, but it turns out that its time is running out, and a number of Chinese automakers, including BYD, have begun to encroach on the joint venture market. this will bring great pressure and challenges to the electrification of Dongfeng Nissan.

With the rapid development of electric and intelligent cars in China, Nissan is not the only foreign company that wants to cooperate with Chinese enterprises in the field of electric smart vehicles.

In recent years, Volkswagen Investment has also invested in Yijia Intelligence, Qizhong Intelligence, Guoxuan Hi-Tech and so on. Its China Xuan Hi-Tech is its largest industrial investment. In 2022, Volkswagen announced an investment of 2.4 billion euros to form a joint venture with Horizon to speed up the development of advanced driving assistance systems and autopilot systems for the Chinese market. Just at the end of last month, Volkswagen announced that it would take a stake in Xiaopeng and will jointly develop two electric models of the Volkswagen brand, which will complement the product portfolio based on the MEB platform and plan to hit the market in 2026.

In addition, Audi, a luxury brand owned by Volkswagen, announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with SAIC to speed up the development of SAIC Audi's new electric models to meet the needs of Chinese users for high-end electric smart cars. In addition, the Jetta brand of FAW-Volkswagen is also rumored to be in talks with Zero Automobile. If the cooperation is reached, Jetta will focus on the economical electric car market and will move the marketing company to Hangzhou like FAW Audi.

The transformation of the Chinese market has brought about a change in the relationship between Chinese car companies and foreign-funded car companies. Back in 2020, Toyota formed a joint venture with BYD, each holding 50%. Since then, the two sides launched the bZ3 pure electric vehicle, whose batteries and motors in the three core components of the powertrain come from BYD. In addition to the cooperation between car companies, intelligent driving track enterprises such as Black Sesame, Horizon and Suiteng Juchuang, as well as power battery enterprises such as Ningde era and Guoxuan Hi-Tech, are also becoming hot targets for cooperation among foreign car companies in recent years.

Of course, it remains to be verified whether the cooperation between car companies can bring about the effect of "1: 1 > 2". Previously, BYD and Daimler set up a high-end electric car brand-Tengli, but it was not until BYD acquired a stake that the development of the Teng Teng brand ushered in a highlight moment. Generally speaking, while the partners are strong, the development opportunity is more important, and it remains to be seen whether Nissan can make a difference in electric vehicles with the support of Dongfeng Motor.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat