Is it possible for the Ranger electric car built by 40 people in 15 months to succeed?

With industry pioneers like the BYD Qin with strange looks, domestic new energy vehicles always seem to be unassociated with good looks, but time will eventually change all this.

On the last weekend of July, the Ranger electric car was launched in Beijing. The word "cool" became many people's first impression of the product. With a maximum range of 460km, fast charging and an acceleration of 0-100km/h in 5.6 seconds, this "Ranger" which is not very famous in the automotive and technology circles seemed to be making a big move as soon as it appeared on the scene.

Tesla inside and out?

The appearance of the Ranger is good, which can be seen from the logo. One of the main reasons is that it pays tribute to its American predecessor Tesla, and integrates some design elements of well-known car brands such as Lexus and Jaguar. It would be unscientific if it didn't look good. It is much more high-end than BYD's previous simple combination of Toyota Corolla and Honda Fit.

Of course, the Tesla inside the Youxia is more than just on the outside. At the brand's first launch conference, Huang Xiuyuan, the founder of Youxia Automobile, revealed that he had disassembled a Tesla and publicly thanked Tesla for its open source patents, giving him a feeling of "standing on the shoulders of giants."

In terms of specifications, 18650 battery cells, 367 horsepower, and a 0-100 kph time of 5.6 seconds, these numbers will certainly be familiar to car fans or those who are interested in electric cars. If you open the category list of Tesla's models on sale in 2015, you will find a model called MODEL S 85.

Dreams become reality?

In fact, the controversy about Tesla is not important. After all, the Youxia brings an electric car that has no obvious shortcomings on paper and even has quite a few highlights. So, does this mean that the dream is close to reality?

Actually, probably not.

Like Tesla, Youxia also has a huge "iPad" in the car. It is a deeply customized system based on Android 5.1. You can basically understand it as the relationship between Xiaomi MIUI and native Android. At a time when Tesla systems developed based on the underlying Linux have been repeatedly cracked and have security vulnerabilities, Android is actually used directly on electric vehicles. "Sorry, your car has stopped running" may be a situation that often occurs during use.

Secondly, in addition to the Android system "iPad", some of the design of the Youxia electric car is inevitably a bit flashy. The simulated engine sound of a super sports car is indeed interesting, but for example, the LED display screen in front of the car that can change images, besides being eye-catching, what is the purpose? Where to hang the license plate? What if it is damaged? Not many people can think clearly.

Tesla paved the way, giving Youxia a ready-made power system to learn from, but when it comes to software and other aspects, the technical shortcomings of domestic manufacturers are still highlighted. Some bold ideas have no practical significance, which more or less reflects the basic attributes and immaturity of the positioning of new products as a means of transportation.

Is Ranger really feasible?

As a major consumer item for ordinary people, the brand of a car is quite important. After the high-profile display of data, people have more questions focused on Youxia, a brand that suddenly emerged overnight.

From the very limited information available, we can learn that Youxia Auto is affiliated to Shanghai Xiuyuan Network Technology Co., Ltd. It has a research and development team of more than 40 people, dedicated to the independent research and development and manufacturing of pure electric vehicles. The company was established in early 2014, and the Youxia Auto project was officially launched on April 1, 2014, which is only 15 months after the product was released. The main partners include Panasonic, Delphi, Tyco, Pirelli, Mobileye and other parts suppliers.

It can basically be summarized as follows: an Internet company, with very little manpower, has built an electric car that can be called a "domestic Tesla" in a very short time, but this seems to make people feel even more insecure.

In comparison, when Tesla was manufacturing its first model, Tesla Roadster, its scale had grown from the initial 20 people to 150 people. Even though the basic part of the Tesla Roadster was assisted by its partner LOTUS, the research and development process was not smooth. This time, Youxia made a "Tesla" with beautiful parameters with 40 people. If 39 of them are not geniuses, it means that they have a relatively thorough understanding of the existing Tesla, which is a kind of "independent research and development" with Chinese characteristics.

As for Internet companies making cars, Youxia is not the first one to propose it. It has long been known that LeTV, which is "breathtaking", is going to make "super cars". However, unlike LeTV, which has recruited key figures from well-known car companies such as Ford, GM, Lexus and even Aston Martin, Youxia only mentioned the supply of spare parts such as Panasonic and Pirelli in terms of resource allocation. If Youxia is not overly modest in its publicity, then it is because this elite team of more than 40 people does not have many automotive elements.

There is no "hard" strength in technology, and no "soft" strength in resources. This can be roughly guessed as the current situation of the Youxia electric vehicle team. The open source of Tesla's technology does provide a quick way for the birth of electric vehicles, allowing domestic electric vehicles to "copy and paste" hardware like domestic mobile phones. However, what makes electric vehicles more complicated than traditional cars is the construction of a supporting system, such as the post-maintenance of the product, the setting up of charging devices and even policy factors.

It can be said that after more than a year in China, Tesla, with its large number of employees, has still not solved problems other than products. For Youxia, this will be a bigger question mark. Even by 2017, this time may not be enough.

Therefore, in a world where looks are everything, we should not be fooled by just a face. It is hard to say whether the handsome Ranger electric car will really make YOU (you) XIA (blind).

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.