It was a Xiaomi show all the way at the Zhiji L6 launch event, with the spotlight firmly fixed on the tech giant. From the opening bell to the closing remarks, Xiaomi was the name on everyone's lips.
At 8 p.m. sharp, amidst much anticipation, the curtains rose on what was billed as "SAIC's Tech Marvel" – the Zhiji L6.
Appearance? That's not really a launch, is it? Are electric cars now having two launch events as a trend?
Hold your horses, this launch event actually disclosed the prices. It's ranging from 230,000 to 330,000 RMB. Mr. Liu said the final price won't exceed this range, so let's give him the benefit of the doubt.
Moreover, they've revealed three configurations so far. The top configuration, comparable to Xiaomi's four-wheel drive MAX, won't surpass 299,000 RMB. The standard configuration, comparable to Xiaomi's long-range version, won't exceed 230,000 RMB. In short, they're taking aim at Xiaomi.
Hmm, wait a sec, wasn't it supposed to be capped at 330,000?
Oh, this configuration actually includes the base price plus the "solid-state battery" option, with a range of 1000 kilometers.
Gotta admit, 330,000 plus 1000 kilometers of range is just blowing the office chat up.
Colleagues are like: Is this even legal?
Comparing the two, it might not strike you immediately, so let's break it down. Prior to Xpeng's P001, there was actually a long-range version with a range of 1000 kilometers (equipped with Kirin battery), priced at 400,000 CNY. Meanwhile, the Aiways U5 also boasts a 1000-kilometer extended-range version, with a staggering suggested retail price of 469,800 CNY...
Upon closer examination, you've got to admit, the Zhi Ji L6 is indeed a powerhouse. The reason why they went all out becomes evident when you take a look at its sibling, the Zhi Ji LS6. This car has been completely overshadowed recently by the JiKe 001 and the Xiaomi SU7.
Take a look at its sales trend over the past year, and please, everyone, calculate the fitting formula for this parabola...
But to say it's no good? Not necessarily true.
So this time, in order to take down these two arch-rivals, Zhiji went ahead and made an L6 again. How does it perform? Well, it has to use magic to defeat magic, so the car has to be heavily beefed up.
Let's talk about the main feature of the L6, the so-called "smart little brain" of the Gecko digital chassis (if you didn't know, you'd think it's DJI's smart driving), what exactly can it do, as Mr. Liu said, "equivalent to 10 years of driving experience"?
The standout feature of this salamander chassis lies in its ingenious rear-wheel steering system.
We've delved into this technology before.
In essence, at low speeds, the rear wheels turn opposite to the front wheels, reducing the turning radius for easier maneuvering around corners.
At higher speeds, however, the rear wheels steer in the same direction as the front wheels, enabling diagonal gliding for enhanced stability of the vehicle.
The Zhiji L6 possesses both of these capabilities. At low speeds, the L6 can achieve a turning radius of 4.99 meters, which is comparable to the Volkswagen Polo. Other cars of the same size might require over 5.7 meters for the same maneuver.
Interestingly, when we looked into these "other cars," turns out they're really Xiaomi... Alright, no need to beat around the bush, just spill the beans on Lei's ID card number.
But wait, there's more! When necessary, the L6 can also adjust its steering ratio, allowing for quicker turns with less rotation of the steering wheel. This feature could be quite handy for individuals with less upper body strength, particularly helpful for many female drivers.
Furthermore, at high speeds, the rear-wheel steering in the same direction is referred to by them as "crab mode." Not only that, but he can also add another move, which is the front and rear wheels turning in opposite directions, allowing for parallel parking...
The key here is that this thing comes standard. I mean, buddy, you get rear-wheel steering for just 230K...
And on top of that, the Zhi-Ji can pull off 6 degrees of rear-wheel steering, while other cars typically max out at around 5 degrees. For this price, it's seriously impressive.
The chassis system, besides rear-wheel steering, includes air springs, CDC, and a comprehensive central algorithm. What's the point? According to CEO Liu, leveraging these hardware and software foundations, they've developed an ICS cloud-based brake system. Not only does it ensure more stable braking, but the ESP response time also improves by 30%, facilitating obstacle avoidance. They've got the data to back it up.
In the unmanned moose test of the Zhiji L6, it achieved a speed of 71 km/h. Generally, anything between 70-80 is quite impressive. But what's its actual moose test score?
Mr. Liu didn't explicitly state it, but he hinted at the performance figures for the 001 and SU7, which clocked in at 73km/h and 79km/h respectively. There's an implicit message here: the L6 is likely to surpass these speeds. Let's wait and see at the final release event.
And speaking of performance, let's address what everyone's most interested in: the acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour. Let's take a look at this graph, and it'll become clear.
As for cabin intelligence, well, it's almost there, but not quite hitting the mark.
Let's just say the scent of gunpowder is pretty strong.
As for the Zhiji L6, its intelligence lies not only in the existing full-frame and low-light modes like LS6, but also in some new "for her" tools. For instance, there's a VLOG feature for shooting in the car, AI automatically capturing street scenes, one-click sharing, and a particularly "Shanghai local" function called City Drive. It provides prompts on the central control screen for nearby delicacies, exhibitions, and interesting facts, delivering content at any time.
As for other aspects, we haven't really seen how intelligent they are.
In addition, they've also promoted a wave of IMAD's imageless city NOA, but for now, it's only available in Shanghai. They claim it's a city-wide NOA, but it's more accurate to say it's only available in Shanghai's urban area.
As for being "available nationwide", we'll have to wait until the end of the year for that. By then, we'll evaluate it again.
After the Smart Driving presentation, Mr. Liu couldn't resist throwing a jab: "We talked about Smart Driving for 6 minutes, while Xiaomi only talked for 1 minute." Savage, right?
But here comes the main event: the "Lightyear" solid-state battery with a range of 1000 kilometers. We've covered this before. It's more accurate to call it "semi-solid-state" rather than fully solid-state. Even though it's achieved 90% solid-state electrolyte, it's still not dense enough, hence the addition of lubricants. So, calling it purely solid-state is definitely a stretch.
But from Smart's perspective, this "Lightyear" is the first step towards true solid-state technology. In future iterations, lubricants will disappear completely, making it a pure solid-state battery. So, as the ancestor of solid-state, calling it solid-state isn't entirely wrong, right?
You're thrifty, I'll give you that.
In short, the advantages of semi-solid are quite evident: reduced flammability and higher battery strength. According to the presentation, its energy density is 160% of that of lithium iron phosphate batteries, with a peak charging power of 400 kW. It can increase the range by 400 kilometers in 12 minutes, providing a total range of up to 1000 kilometers.
As for the electrical architecture, it's not just standard 800V, but it's divided into two: 400V and almost 900V. Now, onto the exterior and interior design. The design of the Zhiji L6 is indeed quite unique, reportedly in collaboration with the Saint Martin Academy. This institution carries significant weight in the design community, although specifics about the collaboration remain undisclosed.
But, who are you mocking with the phrase "can't create by imitation alone"? Lastly, a mention of the interior, to be honest, I really can't see much difference compared to the LS6, at most just some adjustments in the details.
At the end of the press conference, Mr. Liu dropped the pretense and went straight for a showdown, drawing a comparison with Xiaomi's specs. "I've got higher battery density, greater voltage, higher power, and superior motors. Why wouldn't you buy mine?"
After the comparison, a slightly awkward situation arose...
In the past, everyone always compared Tesla, but this time there's a change. Xiaomi's SU7 has become the new benchmark. I wonder what Elon thinks about this? Of course, after discussing the product, Mr. Liu also wants to tug at our heartstrings, talking about the hard work of their intelligent employees. However, in the end, he dropped the bomb with "Technology may not necessarily be controlled by traffic." When I heard that, I couldn't hold it in anymore. Seriously, the L6 looks pretty good, but please, let's not live in the shadow of the Xiaomi SU7 forever...
