Every time the volume is loud but the sales volume is small. Will the new Chery Xingtu Xingji ET be different this time?

Chery is a very "mysterious" brand. If we take it alone, the influence of the main brand is well-known both at home and abroad, but when it comes to its sub-brands, it's hard to describe in a few words.

Over the years, traditional car companies such as Geely and Great Wall have achieved "more children, more blessings", and their high-end brand product lines have achieved some success. However, Chery's high-end brand Xingtu has been lukewarm.

Despite this situation, Xingtu has been trying to find ways to "break the impasse".

At the 2024 Guangzhou International Auto Show, Xingtu brought the new Xingjiyuan ET extended-range four-wheel drive model, which attracted many people to "watch". Of course, this is nothing new for Xingtu. Every time Xingtu releases a new car, it always has a big buzz but low sales.

Star Era When ES was first launched, it was also very popular. However, except for the highest sales of 740 new cars in the first month of its launch, it has not been able to sell well since then. From the monthly sales data from January to June this year, the monthly sales in the first six months were only 504, 482, 490, 559, 255 and 109 respectively, which can basically be classified as a "slow-selling car".

Therefore, it is still uncertain whether the new Xingjiyuan ET extended-range four-wheel drive version can become a special case that changes the "fate" of Xingtu. However, whether people are here to join in the fun or are really interested in the new car, high popularity is not a bad thing. At least, this shows that this car still has some highlights that attract consumers.

At the auto show, Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue personally went on the live broadcast to introduce the highlights and technical features of this model in detail, and personally participated in the on-site test of the end-to-end intelligent driving system. It can be seen that Chery has also worked hard for this new car.

From the relevant introduction, the main highlights of this car are performance and intelligent driving. The new Star Era ET extended-range four-wheel drive model is equipped with Chery's self-developed Falcon Intelligent Driving System. It is said that this system has precise positioning capabilities and super computing power, can quickly identify the environment and objects, and achieve industry-leading end-to-end intelligent driving functions. Yin Tongyue strongly "Amway" this intelligent driving system in the live broadcast, saying that it can bring drivers a smarter, more accurate, and more secure intelligent driving experience. In order to increase credibility, he also demonstrated Chery's latest achievements in the field of autonomous driving technology.

Judging from the test results, Chery's previous "shortcomings" in intelligence have indeed been improved in this car. Based on 30 high-performance sensors, dual DRIVE ORIN chips, and 508TOPS computing power hardware configuration, this car can achieve high-speed navigation, city navigation, and smart parking functions.

Although the official statement that "the city pilot function can normally pass on extremely complex urban roads" has yet to be verified, judging from its performance on roundabouts and intersections, this car still has something in terms of flexible response to pedestrians and vehicles, automatic lane change, and identification of vehicles behind the side. Yin Tongyue is also quite confident about the intelligent driving of this car. He said that the new Star Era ET extended-range four-wheel drive has been fully upgraded to an end-to-end non-map intelligent driving solution, and plans to start end-to-end intelligent driving public beta around the New Year, which will cover 300 cities across the country in 2025.

In addition to intelligent driving, the performance of this car is also quite impressive.

In terms of performance, the new Star Era The ET extended-range four-wheel drive has strong engine thermal efficiency, oil-to-electricity conversion efficiency, and fuel consumption. Its engine has a maximum thermal efficiency of 44.5%, which can generate 3.67 degrees of electricity from 1L of oil, and its WLTC fuel consumption is only 5.9L/100km, with a comprehensive range of 1,500km.

In addition, this car is also equipped with a 41.2-degree ultra-large battery pack, and the CLTC pure electric range reaches 240km. The energy replenishment speed of 17.5 minutes from 20% to 80% can also meet everyone's expectations for fast energy replenishment.

In terms of power, the four-wheel drive system of this car has a total power of 345kW and a total torque of 634N·m. Apart from other things, the performance of this car is actually comparable to the mainstream 4.0T V8 power in the market, and the acceleration time from 0 to 100km/h is only 4.8 seconds, which also makes this medium-to-large SUV feel like a performance car.

Although the performance of this car is quite good in terms of comprehensive product strength, the pricing of this car is still a bit worrying. According to pre-sale information, this car is available in three configuration versions, namely extended-range four-wheel drive Max, extended-range four-wheel drive Ultra, and extended-range four-wheel drive Premium, with pre-sale prices of 249,800 yuan, 279,800 yuan, and 299,800 yuan respectively.

From the price point of view, Xingtu's pricing is still not "polite" at all, and even a little "suspenseful". You know, the competition in this pricing range is very fierce. BYD Han EV, Zeekr 007, NIO ET5, Xiaomi SU7, Tesla Model 3 and other powerful competitors all have models in this price range.

This means that if the new Star Era ET extended-range four-wheel drive version cannot come up with convincing enough product strength, it will easily "fall into obscurity". As we just said, in terms of the product itself, the performance of this car is good. But looking at the competitors in this price range, BYD and Tesla are "veterans" who have been in the market for many years. Weilai is a leading brand among the new forces, with a large market influence and a large user base, and its reputation has long been established. Even the Xiaomi SU7, which has just entered the market, has long become a "hot commodity" in the eyes of many users under the influence of Xiaomi and Lei Jun's "high traffic".

Although the new Xingjiyuan ET extended-range 4WD version is a new car under Chery's high-end brand Xingtu, Xingtu has not made much progress since its establishment, and its brand influence is very low. Even with Chery's "platform" this time, Xingtu's own influence is not enough, and people often only "see" Chery, and it is difficult to really pay attention to Xingtu's products.

In today's automobile market, no "good car" will be buried. However, the definition of a "good car" is not just the product itself, it also involves brand influence, pricing strategy and other aspects. As far as the product is concerned, the new Xingtu ET extended-range four-wheel drive version is a good new car, but in the fierce market competition, if Xingtu wants to "catch up" with other brands in sales, perhaps it should consider its "shortcomings" in influence, think more about marketing, and then put the price aside.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.