The land of China, the world of automobiles has always been three.
However, due to the impact of the new energy development wave, luxury, joint ventures, and independent forces have eliminated each other.
In the three years of the pandemic, mainstream joint venture brands have been the first to be hit by the market, and their lost market share has been eroded by domestic brands, while luxury brands have managed to maintain above the 13% baseline.
This year's situation is more complicated. The battle from the beginning of the year to the end of the year is still continuing, and the layoffs that spread from weak brands to strong brands cannot be resisted...
The mainstream joint venture brands collectively launched **, but still failed to stop the decline of the endless ups and downs, among which who is happy and who is sad is a huge topic, which will not be discussed today.
When we turn our attention to luxury brands, it's a lot simpler. "The strong will always be strong, and the weak will quit" has become the most significant label.
Data ** in the Federation of Passenger Passengers).
As a representative of luxury brands, Mercedes-Benz has always been at the forefront of the times, even in the face of the rapid changes of the times, it still has the strength to create the trend of the times.
On the evening of December 14, the all-new Mercedes-Benz long-wheelbase E-class was launched in the Chinese market, with a total of 6 models and an official guide price of 4490,000-52980,000 yuan.
As the main force of sales in the Chinese auto market next year, the offensive and defensive of the all-new Mercedes-Benz E seems to be fighting for the product, but in fact, it represents Mercedes-Benz's firm will to take root in the Chinese auto market, as well as Mercedes-Benz's deep understanding of the needs of Chinese users.
Prevention: Let the benchmark continue the benchmark
Duan Jianjun, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Sales & Service*** Beijing, said: "The E-Class has always been an executive-class car that meets various business needs, and it has become a benchmark for executive cars with its grand appearance, spacious space and comfortable experience. ”
Users who know Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz E should know that this is not false at all.
And the benchmark, why is it called "benchmark"?
First of all,To be clear, "benchmarking" is not a fixed label, but a relative concept. It is determined by people's evaluation and acceptance, and it is a work that has stood the test of time and is recognized and respected by a wide range of people. Therefore, the formation of benchmarking is a dynamic process that requires the accumulation of time and the test of society.
Since its birth in 1947, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been recognized by 16 million users around the world, and since the 8th-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class opened the road of domestic production in China in 2005, more than 1.3 million E-Class cars have driven out of Beijing Benz.
Today, the product is in its 11th generation.
At the launch conference of the new Mercedes-Benz E-class, each generation of Mercedes-Benz E-Class from the first generation of products to today's development was displayed. Walking through it, you can feel the heavy history of Mercedes-Benz, you can also witness the change of Mercedes-Benz technology, and at the same time, you can also deeply understand the real reason why Mercedes-Benz E can become a benchmark.
Secondly,The uniqueness of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class in design is an important factor in making it a "benchmark". In terms of exterior design, Mercedes-Benz E has always maintained the elegance and dignity of the Mercedes-Benz brand, whether it is the streamlined body lines or the unique front face design, it shows Mercedes-Benz's deep understanding and unique interpretation of automotive aesthetics. At the same time, the interior design style of Mercedes-Benz E is also its significant feature, always adhere to the driver-centric, pay attention to the application of ergonomics, so that the driver can enjoy a comfortable and convenient experience during driving.
Then,Mercedes-Benz e's outstanding performance in safety is also an important basis for it to become a "benchmark". The Mercedes-Benz E is equipped with a series of active and passive safety equipment, such as ABS anti-lock braking system, ESP electronic stability program, multiple airbags, etc., which provide a full range of safety guarantees for the driver and passengers. At the same time, the Mercedes-Benz E also performed well in the series crash tests, receiving the highest safety rating on several occasions.
There is,The technological innovation of Mercedes-Benz E is also a key factor in its becoming a "benchmark". As the first brand to get the "car birth permit", Mercedes-Benz's innovation and accumulation in technology is unique, and Mercedes-Benz e, as one of the core products of Mercedes-Benz, has adopted the latest technological achievements of Mercedes-Benz in key components such as power system, suspension system and brake system, so that it can reach the leading level of the same class in terms of performance.
So, how to inherit the "benchmark"?
In the words of Duan Jianjun, "The new long-wheelbase E-Class not only has a century-old luxury design, but also combines elegance and sportiness with a century-old luxury design, blends elegance and sportiness, and brings meticulous care with industry-leading intelligent upgrades, becoming a senior partner in business activities and a quiet haven for family life." ”
e-Car summarizes it for three reasons:
One is design.
As the third generation of the long-wheelbase E-class car tailored for Chinese customers, its overall design is still atmospheric and elegant, inheriting the classic double-body design, which can meet the individual needs of more Chinese users.
The body size has also been improved across the board. The wheelbase of 3094 mm is 15 mm higher than that of the previous generation, bringing a class-leading 60The 76% shaft-to-length ratio, with the design of short front overhang and long rear overhang, shows a natural and powerful aura.
The details show the confidence and intentions of Mercedes-Benz E.
Zhang Yan, senior executive vice president of Mercedes-Benz Sales and Service in Beijing, also said: "In many places that consumers can't see, we still strive for excellence. Because we believe that this is the consistent luxury of Mercedes-Benz e. ”
For example, the "Bright Star" tail lamp is embedded with 4 "three-pronged star emblems", and the 3D three-dimensional design can present dynamic light effects when lit.
In this regard, Duan Jianjun said: "On the e, Mercedes-Benz designers use their own three-pronged star emblem as a design element for taillights, called star taillights. Just to add a touch of beauty to the vast night of the city in the sea of cars! ”
For example, the "Bright Star Shower" digital headlights pay tribute to the classic design of "four-eye round lights" with four arc-shaped LED lights. At the moment when the vehicle is unlocked, the digital headlights can project a new "Bright Galaxy" or "Bright Star Shower" welcome pattern, accompanied by the "Meteor Glimpse" light carpet to guide the car. When you open the door, a 360-degree ambient lighting lingers in the car, creating a visual feast that shows a sense of luxury and respect.
It's no wonder that Mr. Duan can have the confidence to say: "There are two kinds of atmosphere lights in this world, one is the atmosphere light of Mercedes-Benz, and the others are called lights, because there is a lack of atmosphere!" ”
The second is security.
The safety upgrade of the all-new Mercedes-Benz e is mainly manifested in three aspects.
First of all,The passive safety features of the all-new Mercedes-Benz E have been fully evolved.
The all-new Mercedes-Benz E is equipped with 13 airbags as standard, and it is equipped with a steel-aluminum hybrid body that adopts a unified global development strategy
The body-in-white frame structure, floor plate and side impact zone of the body are made of steel of different strengths, and the proportion of high-strength steel is more than 77%, including 20% ultra-high-strength steel, which can achieve all-round protection for occupants.
Some body coverings such as the collision bearing area, engine cover, door panel and trunk lid of the body-in-white are made of aircraft-grade extruded aluminum and die-cast aluminum to ensure that the impact force can be effectively absorbed and dispersed in the collision to reduce the injury to the occupants in unexpected situations.
Secondly,The active safety features of the all-new Mercedes-Benz E have also been upgraded.
The all-new Mercedes-Benz e is equipped with the Pre-Safe preventive safety protection system: before and after a collision, the driver and passengers can be protected by straightening the seat back, tightening the seat belt, closing the sunroof, or even pushing the passenger away from the door, and emitting pink noise to protect the eardrum.
Mr. Duan's description is actually more vivid: "Before the collision, a move 'Rulai Divine Palm' pushes the driver away from the collision;A trick of 'sound transmission into the secret', using pink noise to reduce the damage of collision noise to the eardrum, not only to protect the present, but also to prevent accidents. ”
Then,It is a data security issue that has been discussed a lot recently.
Mercedes-Benz has also noticed this, and while paying attention to the safety of users, it also carefully guards the privacy and security of each user.
It has to be mentioned here that Mercedes-Benz is the first car brand to apply the federated Xi technology, which is usually used in the financial industry to achieve "data privacy and model sharing", which not only allows customers to enjoy AI-related cloud computing power, but also fully protects customers' data and privacy security.
The specific implementation of this technology on Mercedes-Benz e is to strictly protect the data privacy of customers through strict data desensitization, non-uploading, and non-local storage.
For example, voice commands related to vehicle control functions such as air conditioning and ambient lighting can be completed locally, and if you need voice commands that require network support, such as "check the weather", the data will be strictly desensitized before being queried online.
When the voice function is activated, the vehicle will alert the customer with a clear sign that the vehicle is listening; If the customer does not want any voice data to be uploaded, they can also manually choose not to enable ** voice control to fully meet the customer's personal needs.
Personal accounts can be logged out at any time, and sensitive personal information such as fingerprints and facial data will be stored locally, so as to better protect the user's data privacy.
The third is innovation.
I believe that many people have seen this wonderful performance through the live broadcast. The person in the picture is the French performance artist Juanie Bourgeva, who has fallen again and again, and has hit the bottom again and again....His performances are not long, but they are deep enough.
Just as "there are 10,000 Hamlets in the hearts of 10,000 readers", everyone sees, thinks, understands....It should be different.
For example, some people see the seats and question whether the Mercedes-Benz seats are really as comfortable as they are interpreted; Some people seem to see themselves trying to climb up from the difficulty of climbing the steps; Some people have seen the situation of Mercedes-Benz, countless difficulties and obstacles along the way, have not prevented this brand from becoming the longest surviving one, what problems will be encountered in the future, he will not flinch, face up to the problem, move forward bravely, is his true color.
However, I would like to take advantage of this seat form to talk about the new Mercedes-Benz e-Super 10 exclusive rear luxury additions for Chinese users
The rear extended center console with ambient lighting and wood decoration not only creates a double enjoyment of sight and touch for rear passengers, but also provides convenience for use;
Rear "boss button", adjustable front passenger seat position;
The rear power-adjustable seats have a backrest angle of up to 36 degrees, which is almost the same as the 37-degree adjustment of the flagship luxury S-Class sedan;
The rear seat cushion is exclusively lengthened, and electrically adjustable leg rests are also provided, allowing rear passengers to enjoy a more exclusive experience;
Luxury rear ** armrests, wide and comfortable, within reach;
The luxury rear headrest is soft to the touch and the comfort of leaning on it is straightened up;
The rear seat neck is heated, which is especially warm and considerate on this cold winter day;
The C-pillar privacy triangle window, the same as the Mai**, shows a sense of dignity while enhancing the privacy of rear passengers.
To sum up, the defense of the new Mercedes-Benz long-wheelbase E-Class is very comprehensive. Design, safety, and innovation have all achieved the appearance of a luxury brand, and also achieved the inheritance that a benchmark product should have.
Attack: Charge at the Intelligence
Talking about the "defense" of the completely new Mercedes-Benz E, let's take a look at his "attack".
This time, Mercedes-Benz E's offensive goal is clear - intelligence.
Intelligence is not exclusive to electric vehicles. ”
At the press conference, Duan Jianjun also said: "The E-class car is very smart! ”
I don't know when it began, intelligence and electric have become a deeply bound relationship, so that the addition of intelligent configuration to fuel vehicles will not be considered intelligent products.
Whether this deeply bound relationship is reasonable and whether it is conducive to the healthy development of the automobile industry is indeed a question worthy of in-depth development, and we will leave it aside for the time being.
The main reasons for this are:
First, the intelligent configuration of electric vehicles, such as automatic driving, Internet of Vehicles, etc., are realized through advanced electronic technology, and the application of these technologies makes electric vehicles superior to fuel vehicles in terms of driving experience and energy utilization;
Second, the development of intelligent technology provides strong support for the development of electric vehicles. For example, through big data and artificial intelligence technology, electric vehicles can achieve more accurate energy management and more efficient driving control, and the application of these technologies makes electric vehicles surpass fuel vehicles in terms of performance and efficiency.
Based on this, if fuel vehicles want to break through the blockade of electric vehicles for "intelligence", they need to improve their own intelligence level through technological innovation, and bring users a more efficient and practical intelligent use experience in the actual use of the car.
So, the all-new Mercedes-Benz e is divided into three steps on this path.
The first is to make power distribution more intelligent.
The all-new Mercedes-Benz E is equipped with the M254 2 as standardThe close cooperation between the 0-liter inline four-cylinder engine and the ISG intelligent motor system finally achieves an effective improvement in quiet operation, smooth acceleration and energy saving, which can meet the power needs of different users in different travel scenarios.
Taking the E 300 L model as an example, its engine has a maximum power of 190 kW and a peak torque of 400 Nm, plus an additional 17 kW and 200 Nm of power support provided by the ISG intelligent motor, making the E 300 L model's 000 acceleration time 0 percent faster than the previous generation3 seconds, shortened to 66 seconds; Fuel consumption is 0 percent lower than that of the previous model9 liters.
The E 260 L model has a maximum power of 150 kW and a peak torque of 320 Nm, and the fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is also 1 per 1 km lower than the previous generation3 liters.
The second is to make long-distance driving more labor-saving.
The all-new Mercedes-Benz E is equipped with the first L2+ navigation assistance system.
This is the first driver assistance system developed by Mercedes-Benz's local R&D team in China, which can cover high-speed and urban expressways nationwide, and realize high-speed point-to-point navigation and assisted driving capabilities. When driving at high speeds, the vehicle can automatically change lanes, automatically move away from large vehicles, and automatically overtake slow vehicles.
As for the reliability of this system, it has been tested on the road in dozens of cities across the country, and covers more than 23,000 customer use scenarios, which can ensure the adaptability and safe use under complex road conditions.
And the most worth talking about this system is that it deeply studies the driving Xi of Chinese users, can do not grab the steering wheel, do not accelerate and decelerate or change lanes sharply, and has visual and auditory multi-directional reminders, which can effectively reduce the fatigue of long-distance driving.
According to many colleagues who have test-driven and experienced this driving assistance system, "Mercedes-Benz E with L2+ blessing really behaves like an 'old driver', and in high-frequency use scenarios such as lane change and overtaking, it is very decisive to make decisions, and it is indeed the appearance of driving experience, unlike AI algorithms that always waver at critical moments." ”
The third is to make human-computer interaction more efficient.
The new Mercedes-Benz e's in-car system is powered by 144-inch central control screen with 12The 3-inch passenger screen is composed of a built-in 3rd-generation MBUX intelligent human-computer interaction system, which can be used for voice control of common functions through the "mind-reading voice assistant" without hands.
As the first luxury brand model equipped with the 8295 chip, the all-new Mercedes-Benz E has a smoother in-car experience and more stable data transmission, and the "mind-reading voice assistant" can achieve millisecond-level response, and air conditioning, windows, entertainment systems and other operations can be performed within 1 second. You must know that the computing power of the 8295 chip is twice that of the 8155 chip.
After turning on the wake-up free function, you don't need to say "Hello, Mercedes-Benz" to give instructions to the car machine, which is quite convenient to operate. Even if the conversation is interrupted, Mercedes-Benz E can execute every command of the user in an orderly manner.
At the same time, the car machine also provides a variety of preset scenes, as well as custom scenes that can be set independently, and AI artificial intelligence can learn Xi users Xi habit of generating exclusive "scenes". For example, when the temperature of the car is lower than 0 degrees, the seat heating is automatically turned on before getting into the car, reducing the waiting time of the user.
Taking into account the entertainment needs of co-pilot passengers, the new Mercedes-Benz e's car machine can also provide iQiyi, Tencent**, Volcano Car Entertainment, QQ**, and Himalaya's entertainment content ecology, as well as 3 years of unlimited traffic (available from January 1, 2024).
In particular, the passenger display has a privacy function for the front passenger screen with anti-interference driving. When the driver looks at the passenger display, the screen will be 0A 50% reduction in brightness in 8 seconds can effectively avoid driver distraction and do not affect the entertainment experience of other passengers.
In addition, the all-new Mercedes-Benz E is equipped with a digital key and UWB technology, which can be shared with up to 16 family and friends.
e point of view
For luxury brands, how to maintain their uniqueness and advantages in the fierce market competition is a major challenge for them. The design and functional configuration of the new product is a silent declaration of the brand's answer to this question.
Under the invasion of the new energy wave, Mercedes-Benz has launched a new long-wheelbase E-class with a more confident design, safer and more reliable, more luxurious configuration, and more intelligent experience with its own deep insight into user needs, while continuing its benchmark product attributes, writing Mercedes-Benz's understanding of "intelligence is not exclusive to electric vehicles", and firing the first shot of the 2024 Mercedes-Benz defensive counterattack.
Should I say it or not, this shot has hit me right in the heart. However, if we can break through the encirclement of the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6L, and more potential opponents and shoot more Chinese users in the chest, we will let the bullets fly for a while and wait for time to give us an answer.