Reported by Pulsestacks on April 30th, perhaps no one would have expected that a new startup company established less than two years ago would carve out a "comfort zone" in the niche and obscure market of new energy pickup trucks.
According to the latest news released by the China Passenger Car Association, in the first half of April, the retail penetration rate of new energy passenger cars in China reached 50.39%, surpassing traditional fuel passenger cars for the first time. It is inevitable that new energy vehicles will become the mainstream of consumption in the future.
In such a vast environment, seizing the initiative is not just a slogan but also a crucial decision that affects the survival and development of enterprises.
Therefore, for a brand new brand, the choice of track is crucial.
As the first domestic brand to open up the pure electric pickup track, Redar Auto currently holds over 60% of the market share in China's new energy pickup market, and this is achieved with only one model.
What did Redar Auto get right? What are the unique advantages that other companies cannot replicate? Can these advantages help Redar "hold its ground" in the future?
With these questions in mind, we decided to have a chat with Ling Shiquan, CEO of Geely Redar, and several senior executives of Redar Auto.
Will new energy pickups become the next trend in development?
Clearly, there is no answer yet. But we can glean some insights from the development experience of the "pickup truck giant" - the United States.
The history of pickup trucks can be traced back to the early 20th century. After World War II, American farmers and businessmen needed a vehicle to transport agricultural products and goods, which led to the birth of the earliest pickup trucks.
【Ford Roadster Pickup Model】
With the rapid development of American industry, the demand for pickups has been increasing, and the quality of professional pickup models produced by major automakers has been continuously improving along with consumer upgrades.
It is worth mentioning that pickups are not considered low-end models in the United States. They not only meet users' practical needs but also cater to their desire for outdoor leisure activities, embodying a lifestyle of freedom, independence, and adventure.
Today, with the development of energy conservation, environmental protection, and the trend towards new energy sources, American pickups are beginning to move towards new energy. Several new energy pickup products have already been launched or are about to be launched, such as the Ford F-150 EV, Tesla Cybertruck, and General Motors Hummer EV.
Returning to the Chinese market, despite China's automobile production and sales ranking first globally for 15 consecutive years, with total production and sales exceeding 30 million in 2023, the total annual sales of pickup trucks in China were only 513,000. In comparison, the second-ranked United States had a total pickup truck sales of 2.87 million in 2023, highlighting a significant gap.
According to authoritative forecasts, the Chinese pickup truck market is expected to reach 660,000 units by 2025 and surpass one million units by 2030, with the growth of new energy pickup trucks expected to be particularly rapid.
Undeniably, Chinese consumers have long held onto the inherent impression of pickup trucks as "utility vehicles" or "commercial trucks," which has led many automotive companies striving for brand elevation to maintain a cautious and observant stance towards this market, hesitating to take the first step.
Until Tesla introduced the Cybertruck, the world was not aware of the many outdoor recreational features that electric pickup trucks could offer.
However, what many people do not know is that a year before Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck, Geely's Geometry had already delivered the new energy pickup truck "New Species" Radar RD6 to users.
According to registration data, the cumulative sales of new energy pickup trucks in China in 2023 reached 7,499 units, with the Radar RD6 accounting for 4,681 units, firmly holding over sixty percent of the market share.
Despite impressive achievements, Ling Shiquan believes there is still a long way to go to reach the ultimate goal in his mind. To him, the ultimate goal of radar is to "break through technical limits and push prices to the bottom."
This statement may sound abstract, so Radar decided to make it more concrete.
On the eve of the 2024 Beijing Auto Show, Radar unveiled its second all-electric super pickup truck - the Radar Horizon. The launch of this vehicle not only embodies Radar's new definition of "super pickup trucks," but also shows the world more possibilities for future all-electric pickup trucks.
"Traditional pickup trucks, even off-road ones, are all about experiencing the vehicle's performance in outdoor settings. Unlike radar and other traditional pickups, our focus is on providing users with an outdoor experience, allowing them to go wherever they desire using the vehicle as a platform to explore the outdoors. This is the unique approach that sets us apart from radar and other traditional pickup trucks."
Ling Shiquan firmly believes that users are not unwilling to pay for new energy pickups, but are only willing to pay for better products and experiences.
"The original intention of RADA is to create a new species of new energy pickups for outdoor users."
Being a new species, it must possess qualities that traditional pickups do not have.
Ling Shiquan once summarized the characteristics of traditional pickup trucks with four words: "slow pulling, lacking control, superficial upgrades, slow but safe." In his view, traditional pickup trucks only focus on superficial upgrades for comfort, have safety standards similar to trucks, and their design logic goes against the trend of passenger-oriented features.
These product attributes clearly do not align with the brand symbol of a "new species." Therefore, on the newly launched Radar Horizon, we see different labels such as "pure electric four-wheel drive, intelligent IoT platform, data center communication platform."
At this point, Ling Shiquan openly admits that Radar must have absolute advantages to defeat its competitors.
My understanding of new energy vehicles is a bit different from others. Many traditional new energy vehicles simply convert the driving mode of fuel cars to pure electric or plug-in hybrid, which is just a new driving mode and not truly a new "energy source." Since it's called new energy, this vehicle outdoors is essentially an energy platform. For example, when we work outdoors, if there is no electricity, we rely on machinery or manual labor. But if I bring electricity in, we immediately enter the electrified era.
It is worth mentioning that the 21kW full-scene discharge function of the Horizon Radar is almost equivalent to the discharge capacity of two Cybertrucks.
According to calculations, the electricity demand for outdoor activities of an average household is generally between 3 to 5 kW, and it usually does not exceed 10 kW. This means that one Horizon Radar can provide two families with a comfortable electricity experience during outdoor camping.
Of course, having these is far from enough. Radar is now considering how to bring smart homes outdoors through the Internet of Things.
Today's young consumer groups are seamlessly connected to the internet era from birth, heavily influenced by instant communication devices, smart digital products, etc. Therefore, Radar Horizon aims to become the central hub of user information, with a network coverage area of up to 300 square meters.
"Our IoT platform also serves as a data center communication platform. In addition to IoT and energy, the information transmission of drones and satellite communication brings people outdoors closer to society. I believe that in the future, outdoor operations will be transformed, and drones will bring about a significant change. And what is the platform for drones outdoors? It is the new energy pickup truck."
This sentence can be simply understood as, no matter how good the fighters in a fleet are, they must have an aircraft carrier as a super platform. Ling Shiquan's expectation for radar products is to be the "aircraft carrier" for users' outdoor activities.
One point to note is that, in order to stay in the game, a competition on intelligent equipment is underway in the automotive industry. So, although this is currently the biggest advantage of radar, it will also become its biggest challenge in the future, after all, "software defines the future."
"This time, we must pull radar back into the pickup truck circle from a marketing perspective."
At first glance, this sentence may seem a bit puzzling. Radar has already achieved the top position in new energy pickup trucks, so why isn't it in the pickup truck circle?
To this, Radar's CMO Guo Tiefu has provided an answer.
According to the data from our market insights, we have found that a significant proportion of people interested in radar brands or radar products are not part of the traditional pickup truck demographic. Third-party data indicates that many pickup truck buyers have not paid attention to radar technology. This is why, from a marketing perspective, we must bring radar back into the pickup truck circle.
For Guotie Fu, the target market for radar remains the pickup truck market. The annual production and sales volume of the Chinese pickup truck market is approximately 350,000 units (excluding exports). If radar technology, as a pickup truck product, is not even capturing the attention of pickup truck buyers, it essentially loses its foundation.
So, why haven't pickup truck users been paying attention to radar technology?
Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the China Passenger Car Association, stated, "Currently, fuel-powered pickups still dominate the market, while the electric pickup market is still in its early stages of development."
Given that the current usage scenarios for pickups mainly focus on commercial purposes, specifically for cargo transportation, users believe that high payloads require strong power support. Fuel-powered pickups can adjust torque through engine speed, but electric pickups have limited torque amplification, making them not the optimal choice.
Responding keenly to this user concern, the company has started defining and positioning features based on outdoor pickup scenarios and applications, and in February of this year, they launched the RD6 four-wheel-drive model.
Based on the overall technical expertise of the Geely Group, we have developed an exclusive four-wheel drive system. Our four-wheel drive technology focuses on both the mechanical performance of pure electric four-wheel drive and the characteristics of electric vehicles. In terms of chassis control and torque control, based on different scenarios, adhesion rates, and load conditions, we can precisely control and adjust the torque and the four wheels to ensure smooth driving. Additionally, in terms of four-wheel drive and certain condition recognition, we can identify loads, climbing angles, and various road conditions. This information can all be inputted into the control system for more intelligent control.
Building upon this foundation, radar technology has been utilized to differentiate user types for existing products based on emotional value analysis: the new economy group and the trendy lifestyle group.
The positioning of RD6 is as the "money-making magic car," where the key emotional value lies in telling people that driving this car can help them earn more money and be more comfortable while doing so.
On the other hand, Horizon's outdoor attributes are more prominent, catering to the trendy crowd by providing a sense of security in various outdoor activities.
Therefore, during the Beijing Auto Show, Radar also unveiled an intelligent off-road vehicle based on a new car. The company amusingly referred to it as the Radar Horizon, raising the benchmark for outdoor fun without any "makeup rehearsals."
Ling Shiquan also revealed that in the future, Radar will continue to expand in terms of power, introducing plug-in hybrids and extended-range models. In terms of products, they will soon launch medium to full-size vehicles, thanks to the full support of Geely Holding Group for Radar.
"We produce new energy pickup trucks, backed by the Geely Holding Group's technology. For example, when it comes to extended range, Geely's technology is very advanced. Our plug-in hybrid technology at Thunder Power is also very sophisticated, and for pure electric vehicles, we have a globally renowned architecture technology that is also very advanced. I will develop the pickup truck based on these technologies, as I believe many so-called new forces want to have these three powertrains, but they lack this foundation.
Therefore, the idea at Thunder Power is to use the standards for creating high-end passenger cars to shape our pickup truck products.
To embark on a completely new track, three qualities are needed: choosing the right track, deepening one's own expertise, and sustaining efforts. From the current perspective, Thunder Power has achieved this.
Of course, in the current stage where new energy pickup trucks in China are just gaining momentum, Thunder Power needs to do more than just fill the gaps in product categories. They need to consider how to promote the transformation of new energy pickup trucks from "niche" to "mainstream," truly making this market shift from being niche to mainstream.
With the entry of various players like Changan and BYD, the trend of intensifying competition is about to enter the new energy pickup truck arena. Whether Thunder Power can maintain its market share, continue to lead, is another challenge for Ling Shiqiang and his team.
After all, to truly stay ahead in the field of new energy pickup trucks, one must achieve 'leveraging Geely for momentum, establishing market presence through one's own efforts.'"
