On May 13, 2024, Zhi Ji held a new car launch event, where the Zhi Ji L6 was officially launched. Zhi Ji stated that the new car is a technological masterpiece of SAIC Group, integrating innovative technologies such as the “Lingxi Digital Chassis” and the “Future Smart Cabin”. After the event, we interviewed the Zhi Ji leadership team, including Co-CEO Liu Tao, Senior Director of Zhi Ji Automotive Product Strategy Center Chen Wei, and Director of Zhi Ji Automotive Project Management Department and Chief Designer of CD Models Mao Zhenyong.
In an interview, the leadership of Zhi Ji stated that their strength lies in technology rather than just competing for traffic. Zhi Ji L6 is a powerful product with top-notch technological innovation. The goal is to provide top technology innovations to everyone at a sincere price. Zhi Ji is committed to long-term technological innovation. Interview Transcript: Reporter: What are the sales expectations for Zhi Ji L6? Liu Tao: Before a product becomes a hit, it will definitely experience some setbacks. Zhi Ji L6 has the potential to be a super hit with its three electric systems, smart driving features, unique smart cabin, and high-quality design both inside and out. It is a handsome and practical sedan. Since 2014, SAIC Group has been researching the Zhi Ji iO Origin architecture, rooted in technology for over a decade before developing the Zhi Ji L6 today. In a way, the chassis has evolved across generations. In the three years of Zhi Ji’s entrepreneurship, extensive research and development have been conducted. When we combine software, smart driving, smart cabin, and intelligent digital chassis capabilities, the explosive power is unmatched by other competitors in the short term. The product strength of Zhi Ji L6 is outstanding, thanks to SAIC Group’s profound technological expertise, strong supply chain capability, and resource integration ability. Although it is difficult to give a specific sales forecast, we believe that in the short term, there will be no smarter car on the market than the L6 in terms of product strength, value for money, and intergenerational technological evolution. The sales of L6 will definitely lead the industry. Reporter: The AEB working speed range of the L6 is 8-130km/h and is equipped across the entire range. Why does ZhiJi place such importance on the AEB function? What considerations have been made in terms of pricing for the L6? Liu Tao: “Life cannot be updated, intelligence must be updated” is the underlying product logic and values that ZhiJi has always adhered to since establishing the brand. If our AEB capability does not exceed the average level, if our intelligent driving capability does not reach three times the safety of human driving, we will not push these functions to users via OTA. We care more about human safety than flashy features. Mao Zhenyong: We will gradually introduce the full capability of AEB along with the entire product cycle update rhythm of the L6. We are currently optimizing many long-tail issues in the traditional intelligent driving process and final confirmation. With the acceleration of feature rollout speed, the level of problems and risks increases exponentially. We are relatively conservative because we must validate the entire solution to be very comprehensive. Liu Tao: In the same scale, with the strong supply chain system supported by SAIC, the profit-making ability of the L6 is definitely the strongest. There are two reasons for this: the level of the supply chain, and the ability to control prices and sales volume. These are all manifestations of comprehensive competitiveness. The automobile industry is capital-intensive, technology-intensive, and resource-intensive. When sales and scale reach a relatively balanced level, costs will significantly decrease. Strong products and explosive performance do not solely rely on cost stacking for a better experience. Instead, cost reduction through technological capabilities is a common topic that the entire automotive industry will face in the future. The stronger the ability, the more cost reduction can be achieved through technology. Reporter: From a marketing perspective, how do you view the main sales version among the 5 versions of the Zhi Ji L6 released at the last conference? Liu Tao: The technical conference on April 8th was very successful, showcasing the new Lizard digital chassis and the differentiated capabilities of the Zhi Ji L6’s explosive performance and intelligent cockpit. However, it must be said that we made some mistakes in data labeling, and it is necessary to correct them. The few words I said at the end of the conference were simply to thank my colleagues, but there were some inappropriate expressions. We have worked hard together. Over the past few years, whether in competition or team technological innovation, we have faced significant challenges and competitive pressures. Our colleagues have worked very hard and have a spirit of innovation and exploration. From this incident, we also realized the importance of traffic. As a new brand, Zhi Ji Automotive still has a lot to learn from internet companies in terms of traffic operation and management. Like any new brand or company, when facing market competition, it is essential to find one’s own path. Competing with competitors for traffic may not be our strength or strongest point. Our real strength lies in technology. We need to focus on integrating user experience with technological innovation. Technology and user scenarios should be the main focus of our future marketing. Simply chasing traffic is not our specialty or expertise.
Chen Wei: We believe that these 5 versions are the most competitive and comprehensive products in their respective price ranges. The original intention of the Zhi Ji L6 product is to help users find the version that suits their needs. Reporter: What benefits will the Lingxi digital chassis bring to users in daily life? Mao Zhenyong: We hope that the Lingxi digital chassis can achieve comprehensive improvements in flexibility, comfort, and safety. In terms of flexibility, we hope that the Lingxi digital chassis can achieve a small turning radius of 4.99 meters through the intelligent four-wheel steering system. In addition, with comprehensive management of the chassis and power domain, the Lingxi digital chassis can handle pain points such as tight parking spaces, devil parking lots, two-way double lanes, and sharp turns in urban scenarios, providing users with an unprecedented flexible experience. In terms of safety, we have done a lot of work in the entire power domain and chassis domain, including features such as high-speed emergency avoidance and obstacle avoidance. The Lingxi digital chassis has an ambulance efficiency about 30% faster than traditional ESP. In scenarios where the adhesion on both sides of the road surface is different, as well as icy, snowy, and slippery road surfaces, the Zhi Ji L6 can achieve significant improvements in safety through the Lingxi digital chassis. In terms of comfort, we hope that throughout the driving process, including during braking, the Zhi Ji L6 can provide users with an increase in comfort through the Lingxi digital chassis. We have also implemented ICS cloud platform braking function on the motor. For example, in sharp turns on city highways or elevated roads, the cloud platform body control function can effectively suppress body roll and reduce the possibility of rear passengers getting motion sickness. Reporter: How do we squeeze into the user’s shopping list? You mentioned that technical strengths and user scenarios need to be combined. What specific measures will be taken for marketing in the next step? Liu Tao: LS6 was released on August 26 last year and went on sale on October 12. Within two months, we went from zero to delivering 10,000 units per month, proving that there are still many users in the market who recognize the technology. In fact, China’s intelligent technology is now leading the world, and user perception of technological progress is advancing too fast. Consumers may not understand smart electric vehicles as quickly as industry technology is developing. Cutting-edge technology has truly become intelligent, but the usage scenarios still need to be adapted when conveyed to users at the terminal. Sometimes it is not as easy to convey to users as refrigerators, color TVs, and colors. Last month, we built the world’s largest “Lingxi Digital Chassis” experience base in Shanghai’s Best. Operating for a full month, the 20,000 square meters of space created 17 scenes that allow you to experience the intelligent functions brought by the Lingxi digital chassis. Users, media, and teachers can deeply experience the value it brings in these scenes. We have also made some innovations in the Zhi Ji brand experience center, replicating representative Best scenes in the experience center, or in the underground garage of the experience center and the parking lot of the delivery center. We will continue to delve deeper into our efforts, from media promotion to end sales consultants, to convey these classic scenes and experiences to users. We still have a long way to go in seamlessly integrating user cognition and technological barriers. The better we do this, the better the sales conversion will be. Although it takes some time for new technology to be conveyed to end users, it is a difficult but correct thing to do, and we will persevere. Reporter: Is Zhi Ji L6 sacrificing some profit for market share with its impressive price? Are you worried about the risk of “selling more and losing more”? Liu Tao: The impressive price of Zhi Ji L6 is based on three considerations: user demand, group empowerment, and market environment.
Firstly, Zhiji L6 is the technological powerhouse of SAIC Group, integrating cutting-edge technologies such as “Lingxi Digital Chassis” and “Future Smart Cabin”. In the initial product planning stage, we aimed to offer top-notch technological innovations at a more sincere price, making it accessible to more users. Secondly, Zhiji Automotive is the “number one project” of the entire SAIC Group. Zhiji L6 is the strategic result of SAIC Group’s commitment to technology, supply chain, production resources, and substantial funding. With unparalleled deep resources, we can optimize the production system, increase production efficiency, and take advantage of supply chain pricing advantages to not only ensure vehicle performance and quality but also optimize overall vehicle costs. Lastly, the automotive market is experiencing intense price competition, with competitors revealing their pricing strategies. The trend for medium and large-sized new energy vehicles is to be “affordable in price, valuable in quality”. To allow users to experience the leapfrog charm of Zhiji L6 as a cross-generational super explosive product, we also hope to implement a very sincere pricing strategy to make our excellent product more accessible and loved by more users. We believe that with the increase in brand awareness, sales volume, and the strong capabilities of our supply chain, we may achieve profitability through cost reduction using technology. As pioneers in introducing new technologies, we are willing to incur some development costs. We adhere to a long-term technological approach, firmly focused on fundamental technological innovation, and are committed to bringing truly cutting-edge technology to consumers. Although we may initially lose some benefits, providing consumers with truly advanced technology will lead to their liking and eventually result in stable growth in sales, scale, and brand recognition, ensuring profitability. Reporter: Is the Lingxi Digital Chassis the ultimate evolution of chassis systems? After mastering the technology of digital chassis, what changes are there in the cooperation mode with suppliers? Liu Tao: The ultimate form of intelligent chassis in the future is a smart organism, with each part of the car having the ability of independent control, and also able to coordinate with the brain of this organism, which I believe is the ultimate form of digital chassis. The difference lies in the advancement of the algorithm of this brain and the improvement of its mobility. Besides the sense of acquisition by users, the most important thing is the sense of experience. The digital chassis centralizes control of four-wheel steering, air suspension, and intelligent electronic shock absorbers in order to achieve coordinated movement like an organism. This is the underlying logic of the digital intelligent chassis. In the short term or even the medium term, I believe the ultimate form of intelligent chassis will be the coordinated control of 6 degrees of freedom. With the continuous improvement of the software capabilities of digital chassis, the overall coordinated motion control capabilities, and the control level, the mobility of this organism will also be better. Mao Zhenyong: We have very good cooperation relationships with some international traditional Tier 1 suppliers. The whole vehicle manufacturer mainly starts from integration and control strategies. We will lead and integrate the most core control and applications, while the basic control codes and control logic at the bottom need to rely on the capabilities of core suppliers. We control all control strategies, control parameters, including some scenario definitions, control logic, while still maintaining very good cooperation relationships with suppliers. Reporter: What are the characteristics of the user group of Zhi Ji L6, and what designs does Zhi Ji L6 have to meet their needs? Chen Wei: We have been closely tracking user needs. When designing Zhi Ji L6, we conducted a lot of research on users. Through the latest research of thousands of pre-order users, we made several core discoveries: the male-to-female ratio of Zhi Ji L6 users is around 2:1. Currently, the penetration of Zhi Ji L6 in high-tier cities is relatively high, with nearly 70% of users living in high-tier cities. In addition, the average age of Zhi Ji L6 users, with over 50% being born in the 1990s, and there are more users without children in their families.
Due to the young urban users being the target group of Zhi Ji L6, the intelligent demands of these users are strong, so Zhi Ji L6 has functions such as City Drive urban roaming experience; After the technical release conference on April 8th, we also decided that all models of Zhi Ji L6 will be equipped with ISC smart light language system. All considerations are to design a car according to the actual needs of young urban people. Reporter: In the next 1-2 years, how will Zhi Ji make decisions on market share in terms of intelligent driving? Will the supply of more international major factories by Momenta ensure the service of Zhi Ji? Liu Tao: Following the facelift of LS6 and LS7 will be successively launched. In terms of pace, the speed of new products of Zhi Ji in the future will pay tribute to the 3C industry. Our goal for future product iterations is one iteration per year, assuming 3-4 main models, basically planned according to 18 months, 12 months. We will have 3-4 waves of new products in a year, building the brand, reputation, and market heat. We will probably launch products at this pace. This year we still have two products to launch, please stay tuned. Chen Wei: We call Momenta our “golden partner”, we have an integrated way of working. Within the year, our high-precision map city NOA will be launched nationwide, thanks to the highly efficient and close cooperation with Momenta. Momenta has hundreds of people working on site, developing shoulder to shoulder and back to back. Reporter: How was the cost considered when upgrading to air suspension for 3999 yuan (550$)? Does equipping air suspension enhance the overall chassis function? Mao Zhenyong: Every new technology comes with a cost, but digital chassis is a cutting-edge technological solution. From a technical perspective, air suspension and intelligent electronic shock absorbers are indispensable elements of the digital chassis, allowing us to make progress in vehicle configuration and definition. I believe cost should not hinder the advancement of our core product and cutting-edge solutions. Cost and performance need to be considered. Chen Wei: We did not increase costs for individual configurations, but rather considered the overall control from a 6-degree-of-freedom perspective. Air suspension can directly increase control over two degrees of freedom, making it a crucial actuator. In addition, we have a good cooperation with the air suspension supplier. Overall, equipping air suspension can greatly enhance the comprehensive strength of the agile digital chassis.
Liu Tao: Friends in the industry have done a great job, making domestic suspensions competitive. Opportunities may emerge in areas such as rear-wheel steering, line control dynamics, and dry brakes. Industry innovation will lead to better performance and lower prices. Technological advancements make us fortunate entrepreneurs. Additionally, Zhi Ji has a big advantage with less than 1,700 employees. Supported by SAIC Group, we can maintain flexibility in fierce competition. Recently completed Series B financing. With polished products, effective cash management, and improved development efficiency, we can better adapt to market changes. Reporter: Has Zhi Ji Automotive met the expectations of SAIC Group and investors? Have they formulated plans for overseas expansion? Liu Tao: Zhi Ji Automotive has launched 4 new models in just over three years. Rapid product development and technological innovation challenge us to stay ahead in software, hardware, platforms, and intelligent driving. We are confident in our progress towards true success. Regarding exports, we started small-scale export trials last year and achieved some export results. SAIC has been the top domestic automotive group in exports for several years, far ahead of the second and third place. We have established channels and partners for global exports at SAIC International, which is the strongest support for Zhiji Auto. This year, we will focus on exports and expect to see results in the second half of the year. Reporter: By combining the Zhijia and Zhicang domains, what other scenario-based needs can L6 solve for users? Liu Tao: We believe that the future development direction of Zhicang must involve the integration of Zhijia, Zhicang, and chassis domains to continuously create a more disruptive travel experience for users. Zhiji Auto’s industry-leading “Future Zhicang” integrates and connects Zhijia, Zhicang, and chassis domains, sharing cameras, chip computing power; leading AI algorithms, large model technology applications, to mass-produce intelligent leisure experiences for users, defining a leading generation of full-scene intelligent travel sensations. We have a special team developing “one-click” functions, and more one-click functions will be pushed to all users via OTA in the future. Based on the integration of Zhijia and Zhicang, we will optimize the language mode in the future and continue to strengthen AI functions after upgrading the language mode. Reporter: Tesla’s FSD is entering the domestic market, how do you think it will impact our smart driving research and development? Liu Tao: This is a sharp and objective question. In the past few years, FSD has not been the fundamental driving force for Tesla’s hot sales in China. This time, it will indeed bring pressure and challenges to the industry. However, we have many opportunities, mainly in the following aspects:
First, we have a better understanding of the driving habits of Chinese people and the road conditions in China. With years of accumulation and billions of kilometers of data in our database, there are no shortcuts. If FSD really wants to make a breakthrough in China, localized data training is essential. So, we have both opportunities and challenges in this regard. Second, the market in China has shifted to high-precision mapping cities for NOA, with powerful visual capabilities, underlying AI algorithms, new models to enrich and enhance our AI algorithm models, and the addition of long-range high-precision lidar assistance. I think we also have the opportunity to take a unique approach. Third, Ziji L6 integrates intelligent driving, digital chassis, and intelligent cockpit to solve pain points such as turning in alleys, busy urban areas, and parking that users encounter every day. This truly solves the pain points of daily travel, which is a unique advantage for Ziji and other car companies. By speeding up iteration and data training, we can maintain differentiation and take a unique path of technological development. Mao Zhenyong: Ziji’s products are not just cold machines, which is why from Ziji LS6 to Ziji L6, there is more integration of intelligent cabins and intelligent driving to truly solve users’ special usage scenarios and make it more user-friendly and easy to use. We are more inclined to meet the actual needs of customers and make the experience better. We have great respect for Tesla’s technical solutions, but we are not afraid of it. Reporter: Are there any expectations for the sales of Ziji L6 Max Lightyear Edition? What are Ziji’s plans to extend the sales cycle and maintain sales growth? Liu Tao: The Ziji L6 Max Lightyear Edition accounts for at least 10% or more, and indeed those customers who need long-range assurance will choose the “Ziji L6 Max Lightyear Edition” with a thousand kilometers of range. To extend the sales cycle and maintain sales growth, we not only need to focus on technology, but also do more work in product experience, brand promotion, and increasing visibility. Achieving product success is only a matter of time. We have done it before, with the LS6 being the best-selling large pure electric SUV for 19 consecutive weeks. With the launch of Ziji L6, technology “leaping generations”, pricing “breaking the roof”, and experience “completely subverting cognition”, leading the way with “black technology bombs”, we are confident in sales.