BAIC's 300km range of electric vehicles exposes the rudiments of the Chinese auto industry

Recently, BAIC Chairman Xu Heyi said in an interview that "the range of electric vehicles is about 300 kilometers, which is a very economical and reasonable value. It is meaningless to have a longer range."

This statement can be said to have caused a thousand waves, and netizens have launched real-name diss. Here, let's not discuss whether 300 kilometers of range is really enough for electric vehicles. I just want to say that we can't think about the future with a static perspective. When the computer was first invented, IBM Chairman Thomas Watson said, "The world only needs 5 computers." Bill Gates also said, "640K of memory is enough for anyone."

The facts are now clear: even the top figures in the industry can sometimes think in an extreme way and come to conclusions that cannot stand the test of history.

Of course, netizens thought Xu Heyi said this without thinking. In fact, it seems that this statement was well thought out, because BAIC has won the first place in the industry sales by relying on low-priced short-range electric vehicles. In 2018, BAIC surpassed BYD and became the top brand in China's electric vehicle sales. In other words, the 300-kilometer range is actually BAIC's magic weapon and its core competitiveness.

However, as a public figure and the chairman of a large state-owned enterprise, he disregarded the facts in order to protect his shortcomings and made remarks that amused his peers and users. With such outrageous actions, what is the point of protecting his own brand? The effect will only be counterproductive, exposing his own shortcomings even more.

Tesla's factory in China has already started construction, and the new car is expected to be launched soon. Currently, the price of Tesla's Model 3 abroad is only US$35,000 (about RMB 234,000).

In a nutshell, China's electric vehicle market is about to be reshuffled, and there is really not much time left for brands that deceive users with subsidies.

Previously, regarding the false claims of mileage, Li Xiang, former chairman of Autohome and current CEO of CHJ Auto, criticized some car brands for exaggerating and self-indulging themselves on Weibo. Li Xiang said, "I have seen many well-known car brands in China still use 60-speed and other speeds to promote their mileage when promoting electric vehicles... Tesla has already hit our doorstep... Let's stop using these embarrassing promotional methods to please ourselves."

Li Xiang is really bold and a real man. But is the actual situation as he said? Unfortunately, yes! Now many domestic brands, including some joint venture brands, have official ranges that are seriously inconsistent with the actual ranges experienced by users. For example, the official range of NIO ES8 is 355km, and the actual range is 229.3km, with a ratio of 0.65. The official range of Roewe MAEVEL X is 403km, and the actual range is 325.6km. The ratio is 0.81.

On the one hand, the mileage is falsely advertised, while on the other hand, they are still advocating that 300 kilometers of mileage is enough. Have you ever thought about what will happen to some domestic cars after the national subsidies disappear? They are already in their thirties, but they still "whimper" all day long and treat themselves as babies. They are seriously in the cradle of thought. It is really ridiculous to call for the protection of the domestic automobile industry at every turn. As Dong Mingzhu said, the home appliance industry and the automobile industry started at about the same time, but the former has bankrupted foreign brands, but automobiles still rely on subsidies to survive. In contrast, should our automobile industry reflect more on itself instead of relying on subsidies, illusions, and self-talk to survive?

Tesla does not have many models, including concept models, there are only 5 models in total, but the actual range of these models is about 500 kilometers. However, Tesla has never said that the range is a bit too much! We should wake up! People in their thirties are still wrapped in swaddling clothes, how can they grow up?

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.