SAIC got it right this time, promising to replace the car with a new one if it catches fire. The words are very heartwarming, now it depends on the execution.

What are you most worried about when buying a new energy vehicle? Many people's answers should be like this: one is the worry about the value retention rate, and the other is the worry about spontaneous combustion.

These can be said to be two long-standing problems, and there is no good solution for the time being. If we want to help consumers solve these problems, we can only rely on the self-awareness of new energy manufacturers.

Recently, SAIC bravely became the first car company in the industry to take the lead in the above-mentioned issues, and came up with the "Super Safety Chip Commitment", which allows users to enjoy the "Three Electric Lifetime Warranty" with no mileage limit or first-time owner limit; if the spontaneous combustion is indeed caused by the three electric problems, the manufacturer will replace the car with a new one within 20 working days. It is worth noting that this commitment also covers some old models, not new models.

These policies can be simply summarized as "zero fuel guarantee", which is the first time such a commitment has been made in the industry. This is indeed what consumers want to see, but it is still quite difficult for manufacturers to implement it.

Theoretically, spontaneous combustion is determined by the chemical properties of current power batteries and cannot be completely avoided. In terms of national standards, it is also required to leave passengers enough time to escape after spontaneous combustion occurs, rather than "no spontaneous combustion". Unless there is a major breakthrough in the underlying technology of power batteries, "zero spontaneous combustion" will not be possible.

The Magic Cube battery developed by SAIC has created a record of zero spontaneous combustion in 300,000 units in more than 90 countries and regions around the world, but it still cannot guarantee that it will not spontaneously combust.

The promise of "replacing a car with a new one if it catches fire" is a big burden for manufacturers.

SAIC's approach is to improve the safety of batteries as much as possible to reduce the probability of spontaneous combustion; the manufacturer will bear the losses caused to users by spontaneous combustion accidents that cannot be avoided by existing technological means. From the user's perspective, this policy is still very attractive if it is really implemented.

Many manufacturers offer a lifetime warranty for the three-electric system, but it is usually limited to the first owner and there are also restrictions on mileage. For example, most manufacturers limit the warranty to eight years and 150,000 kilometers; some manufacturers that promise a lifetime warranty even make it a joke that the annual mileage cannot exceed 30,000 kilometers.

This has led to some rather embarrassing situations: within three years, the new energy vehicles purchased by car owners generally will not have major quality problems. After three years, the probability of quality problems will greatly increase and the warranty will expire.

SAIC provides a lifetime warranty on the three electric systems without any additional conditions. As long as it is one of SAIC's own models, it can enjoy this warranty. This is a global first.

The most direct effect of this policy is to improve the value retention rate of SAIC's models.

The low value retention rate is the biggest "black spot" of new energy vehicles at present. The value retention rates of most new energy vehicles are "tear-jerking", and they are even so bad that even their mothers can't recognize them.

Currently, the new energy vehicle with the highest value retention rate is the Porsche Taycan, but its three-year value retention rate is only about 60%. After driving a new car for three years, the value of the car has dropped by more than 300,000 yuan. Even rich people who are not short of money will feel "painful" when seeing this situation.

The low value retention rate of new energy vehicles is an inevitable phenomenon. The reason is simple. The current new energy vehicles are updated too quickly. The main components such as laser radar, power batteries and even large screens are constantly falling in price. Although this is a manifestation of the industry's continuous maturity, it does hurt the wallet for car owners.

SAIC's three-electric lifetime warranty policy has greatly improved the value retention rate. Some people estimate that because of this policy, the value retention rate of SAIC's Roewe, MG and other related models can be increased by 5%. A second-hand car worth about 100,000 yuan can be sold for an extra 5,000 yuan.

This is primarily because the three-electric lifetime warranty policy "follows the car". The car can be transferred, but the rights and interests remain unchanged. This is equivalent to adding a layer of protection to the used car, which naturally increases its attractiveness.

Secondly, the lifetime warranty on the three electric systems means that the maintenance costs for car owners will drop significantly after purchasing a used car, which also makes it easier for users to accept it.

SAIC's policy will certainly attract many users, because it targets two long-standing problems: "easy to spontaneously combust" and "low value retention rate". However, it should also be noted that the short-term impact of this policy on SAIC itself and the entire industry may not be as great as imagined.

SAIC's own poor sales are mainly due to insufficient product performance, slow channel construction, and incomplete product lineup. The three-electric lifetime warranty and the replacement of spontaneous combustion vehicles only solve the problems in the after-sales link, which is unlikely to directly lead to a surge in sales.

In June this year, the highly anticipated Roewe D7 sold 1,726 units, and the Roewe D5X DMH sold 747 units; MG's best-selling model, the MG4 EV, sold only 202 units per month.

These models are all in the marginal zone, which is obviously not something that can be solved by policies such as lifetime warranty for three electric vehicles and replacement of spontaneous combustion vehicles. SAIC used to rely mainly on fuel vehicles, and the transformation has been slow in the past two years. If this policy is introduced on the basis of creating one or two popular models, the effect will be exponentially improved.

The new policy on new energy industry launched by SAIC has really "rolled" it to a new height. It is completely from the perspective of car owners, but unfortunately, it may not have many followers.

SAIC was a leading manufacturer in the era of fuel vehicles, but it has shrunk too much in the era of new energy vehicles. With its current size, it is difficult to lead the industry trend. Moreover, other manufacturers will most likely turn a blind eye and turn a deaf ear to the new policy for their own interests. In the absence of more manufacturers' participation, it is hard to say whether the new policy can flourish everywhere.

In addition, the most important thing is that promises are like honey, sometimes they are just sweet words, and when they are actually implemented, it takes time to observe. Isn’t there a saying that when something needs to be defended with promises, you know that it may not work.

We can give applause to SAIC's new warranty policy, and we will wait and see how it is implemented in the future.

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.