Li Xiang, founder of Autohome: FF91 is great but delivery is a big problem

Recently, Faraday Future, invested by LeEco, officially released its first mass-produced electric car, FF91, at the CES. Li Xiang, founder of Autohome, posted on his personal Weibo that "this is a truly great car."

Li Xiang said that as a smart electric car, FF91 is clearly ahead of the concept cars designed by traditional car brands in terms of design concept and technical presentation, which is absolutely worthy of recognition. At the same time, Li Xiang also said that FF91 faces difficulties in delivery. "Delivery in March 2018 is a very aggressive schedule from the supplier's perspective, and the time point for building our own factories is not up to par, whether it is the factory in the United States or the factory in China."

Li Xiang believes that if the first batch of users want to deliver, they need to do so in small batches or through OEM. The fourth quarter of 2018 will be a rational time for factories to start mass production and delivery.

The following is the full text of Li Xiang’s article:

Many people want me to comment on the FF91 released by LeTV, which is not a problem for me.

The design team led by former BMW designer Richard Kim has realized all the concepts that BMW i series has not realized in FF91. FF91 has a very large size that makes the design team very happy and even a little willful (this size can only be used for automatic parking in China, because the width of FF91 is difficult to open the door in most parking spaces in China. Of course, there is no such problem in the US market), so all ideas can be reflected in the design and layout of the interior and exterior.

To describe it in one sentence: FF91 is more like the BMW i7 launched by FF. Whether it is the body layout, double doors, or interior design, it is like the future flagship version of the BMW i series pure electric, the XXL version of the i3, and its performance is also good enough.

As a smart electric car, FF91 is clearly ahead of concept cars designed by traditional automobile brands in terms of design concept and technological presentation, which is absolutely worthy of recognition.

One more thing to add: I think the first traditional brand to fully enter the electric vehicle market and the one that takes the fastest action will be Volkswagen , because they must use electric vehicles to replace the diesel vehicle product line that almost bankrupted the company, and Volkswagen has no way out.

FF91 has many advanced technologies and products, such as Qualcomm's latest automotive-grade chip and a laser radar that has not yet passed automotive standards and are currently still in the supplier's sample stage (this batch of new car-making companies will face this problem. The core suppliers' new generation of products will almost all be delivered in batches in 2018, especially sensors, chips and actuators related to automatic/assisted driving. If they are launched early, they can only use outdated hardware, and if they are launched late, they may miss the market timing. The core suppliers who can do these can produce them with one hand, and they may not necessarily do them for you even if you pay them). This requires continuous optimization of hardware and software, as well as on-time delivery from suppliers.

March 2018 delivery is a very aggressive timeline from the supplier's perspective. The timing of self-built factories is not enough, whether in the United States or China. If the first batch of users want to deliver, they need to do so in small batches or through OEM. The fourth quarter of 2018 would be a reasonable time for factories to start mass production and delivery.

FF91 is a really good car. The white concept car shown by LeSee is a pure PPT shell. Even the headlights are powered by the projector inside the shell. There are only a bunch of computers and small motors and steering for remote control toy cars inside the shell. The autonomous driving shown on site is nonsense. LeTV's trolls must not confuse these two cars!

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.