Jia Haonan from the Deputy Driving Temple.In 2024, the new EV manufacturers have gone through a critical turning point.Smart Car Reference|**ai4auto
On the one hand, the first wave of new forces starting from the wave of electrification and new energy has a firm foothold and clear layers; On the other hand, the second half of intelligence and product experience as the core has kicked off.
In other words, the pattern is preliminary. Almost all sub-categories and price ranges have been covered, and there seems to be not much room for new entrants to imagine.
Polar Stone 01, which appeared at this watershed moment, was discussed, evaluated, and hotly discussed:
Because of its unique product positioning: 3-meter wheelbase large SUV, 6 7-seat layout range extension power, emphasizing deep self-driving, long-distance crossing.
It is also because of the controversy caused by the internal and external design of its products. At first glance, the appearance looks like a healthy atmosphere, and the cockpit function is full of the shadow of the ideal genre - a large sofa for color TV and audio, and a small kitchen for off-road.
The price of 350,000 luxury stalls, the positioning of a family SUV with off-road attributes - so that the unofficial gave a further summary:Self-drive tour car
The news that has attracted widespread attention before also includes a huge investment of $1 billion last year, creating the largest financing for car startups in the past two years.
However, the background of Polar Stone Automobile is confusing, causing a lot of controversy and questioning. Some people say that it is a "old man" car, some people say that it is the incubation of sweeping robots, and some people say that it is the vest of an old car company....
Whether it is hot or questionable, it does not prevent it from becoming popular in the year of smart car reshuffle: Polar Stone 01, which is not at all according to common sense, is said to have hot order feedback after listing, and offline expansion continues to accelerate. Two days ago, the official Polar Stone has just pushed the first OTA, including parking, traction mode, voice control and so on.
At present, the most gimmicky and mysterious phenomenon-level new force in car manufacturing is undoubtedly it.
What is the origin of Polar Stone Automobile?
The answer needs to be found from the company behind it, and it has to be found from the people behind the company.
Polar Stone 01, byLuoke IntelligenceDesign and development, the English name is rox, born from the heart, the name is like its source, and there is a well-known stone technology among the players who love the product of "stone".
Polar Stone Automobile is actually the founder of RoborockChang Jingof re-entrepreneurship projects.
Chang Jing is a newcomer in the automobile circle, but in the field of sweeping robots, he is nicknamed the star "sweeping monk". He was born in science and technology Internet before, but with product thinking, in the field of sweeping robots in the "Red Ocean Market", with redefined sweeping robot products, the company completed the company's from 0 to 1, and the first in the industry in product sales.
But the polar stone and the stone, except for having a common founder, actually no longer have anything to do with each other. The two companies have two completely different independent teams, and there is no equity investment relationship between them.
Therefore, in terms of the original source, Polar Stone Automobile is neither a "sweeping robot giant incubation", nor a "sweeping robot team to build a car", but a new smart car player who will enter the market in 2020.
The launch of Luoke Intelligence can be traced back to 2014 at the earliest.
At that time, after He Xiaopeng decided to build a car, Chang Jing had a long talk with him, "I am very excited, and I also want to build my own."
In 2020, Roborock was listed, and Changjing proved that there are still opportunities for corner overtaking in the "Red Sea" market with the ultimate product manager thinking. The plan to build a car has also gone one step further.
This year, under the introduction of investors, Changjing met Yan Feng, the former CTO of Weimar. The two hit it off and spent two months deducing in detail the possibility, feasibility, product positioning and key to entering the field of smart cars; At the end of 2020, Luoke Intelligence was launched, and the smart car entered the game, and then big-name investors have been blessed and continue to bet on his new projects.
This is the best illustration of Changjing's personal character, product cognition and management ability.
Chang Jingqi has always been very low-key, Hunan post-80s, not many public appearances, but because of the success of continuous entrepreneurship, there have always been legends.
There are even some rumors that are seriously untrue. For example, there was an article that wrote vividly that Changjing was still catching the subway to commute in 2012, because he was caught by the subway door and had an epiphany, he opened the road of entrepreneurial counterattack, and then with the listing of Rock Technology, he had the open-mindedness of "Ma Fang Nanshan", and lived an indifferent life of "reciting the Diamond Sutra, playing football and playing outdoors".
But Chang Jing told Smart Car Reference that he couldn't laugh or cry at such stories. He explained that his "heart of gain and loss" is indeed lighter, and he is more Buddhist, but "reciting the "Diamond Sutra" and the like is completely nonsense", and he also has a hobby of playing football, which is only ...... once a weekAs for taking the subway, it's not surprising that "I often travel by subway now."
Moreover, in 2012, Chang Jing had solved the economic problem through the merger and acquisition of the first startup company (the magic figure elf was acquired), and the "counterattack" described by the explanation was actually a misreading.
But one thing is true, Chang Jing does like cars and likes to play long-distance crossing, and he is a heavy professional player of off-road vehicles. Toyota LC bought five of them, and at the same time is a Jeep Wrangler owner
And this is also the fire that ignited Luoke Intelligence, Changjing always hopes to turn Dream Car into reality - in the way of a product manager and in the way of an entrepreneur.
In 2020, when the tide of new car-making forces began to reshuffle, he saw the opportunity after daring to be the world from the dimension of talents.
Because the first batch of new car-making forces represented by "Wei Xiaoli" began to bring out a mature first-class chain system and smart car talents, coupled with the attraction of the car rim to the field of science and technology, it also made more scientific and technological Internet technology and product talents ready to move, and only owed a chance to get on the car.
So soon, Changjing pulled up a founding team with a dual background of automotive + technology.
In addition to being the founder of the general direction, Changjing is also the "chief product officer" - the product definition of Polar Stone 01 is Changjing's handwriting - from the beginning of writing documents to the final mass production, it is almost a positive research and development, according to the end point of the design process and starting point.
What the product Polar Stone 01 wants to do starts from what problems it solves and what value it provides.
After 5 LCs and Wranglers, Chang Jing himself thinks that these hard-core off-road vehicles have good ability to climb mountains and mountains, and are suitable as toys, but they are incompatible with the "life" of ordinary Chinese users - fuzzy handling, high fuel consumption, and poor rear riding experience.
He believes that being able to set off to the mountains and seas while taking care of his family is the car that most Chinese users aspire to own.
So Polar Stone 01 now has such a product experience and product presentation.
The first is a car with a clear family experience.
The wheelbase is 3m, the length of the car is more than 5m, the interior is 6 seats and 7 seats, the color TV sofa is standard, the luxurious and comfortable seat ventilation and heating massage, leather wrapping, car machine audio and video entertainment, L2+ high-end intelligent driving assistance, what you want is to take care of the old and the young in the car.
In addition, the Polar Stone 01 gives the ground clearance and approach angle departure angle far beyond the urban SUV, which greatly improves the passability of the vehicle.
It can run bad roads, and it can also carry out long-distance self-driving crossings in no man's land.
Different from the now popular country camping light outdoor models,Polar Stone 01 is more hardcore in off-road attributes。For example, in the snow mode, Polar Stone 01 is subdivided into snow crossing, snow drifting, and snow escape mode, and the system intelligently distributes the wheel torque and motor speed to achieve the traffic requirements of different road conditions.
Polar Stone 01 not only allows users to travel around the city, but also meets most of the self-driving crossing needs except for extreme climbing.
The positioning is basically the same as that of the new Land Rover Defender, except that the Polar Stone adopts an extended-range electric four-wheel drive structure.
This is also where it surpasses traditional off-road vehicles, with a large 56-degree battery, as well as a total of 4 inside and out4kw discharge function, realize the freedom of electricity in the field - barbecue grills, induction cookers, rice cookers, camp lights, projectors, etc.
After eating, the one-button seat in the car is folded down and a 2*1 is laid3m queen bed, blowing air conditioning, looking at the starry sky over the panoramic skylight....
Some people say that Polar Stone 01 is an ideal L8 replacement that is cheaper than 20,000 yuan, but in terms of product experience, the ideal is to stand in the circle of urban cars and slightly expand the light outdoor scene.
The Polar Stone 01 is standing in the off-road circle of mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, easily covering the needs of urban family cars.
The users you want to attract are those who have family responsibilities to take on, but are not willing to be trapped in the daily trivialities.
Just like Chang Jing's summary of the original design intention of this vehicle - "love of responsibility", this is the result of super product manager Chang Jing's product philosophy for many years.
Chang Jing has two hobbies, one is cars, and the other is making products.
Some of the "explosive" potentials that Polar Stone 01 has shown before delivery can fundamentally be answered from Changjing's product manager philosophy.
Chang Jing was in charge of everything in the early days, but after summarizing the efficiency of energy-output for a long time and the "epiphany" of a first-class trip, he deliberately let go of the fragmented management, and the core work focused on two points:
Refers to the direction and selection of talents.
Among them, the selection of talents refers to the business philosophy, or the most important responsibility of the CEO.
Chang King's point of view is unique:People can only choose each other, and it is difficult to be changed。In other words, Chang Jing knows very well what kind of things should be handed over to what kind of people to do.
For example, as a CEOYan FengHe initiated the establishment of Zebra Technology, an intelligent cockpit on-board OS company under SAIC, and also served as the CTO of WM Motor. Vehicle design and development, by the former president of Chery Research InstituteShen HaojieResponsible....
The core founding team of Polar Stone Automobile basically has solid experience in traditional OEMs, and is a leader with outstanding achievements in the direction of new energy and intelligent vehicles.
Pointing to the direction, here is the product manager Changjing, how to use the product to lead the company to stand out from the encirclement.
From making sweeping robots back then, to making cars now, the two ventures are from 0-1 to cut into the new track, and the way of Changjing is what it isFind a product entry point that quickly builds product power, user reputation, and brand
The core idea is that whenever a new product appears on the market, its value is nothing more than two models. One is **low, the same thing can be bought at a lower cost, which itself brings new value.
The other is to provide differentiated, incremental value, or in other words"Escape value".
For example, a mature product launched by a well-known brand has gained sales and reputation in the market, and has a "herd effect", even people who do not fully understand the brand or product will buy it out of conformity.
However, if you can provide more and further incremental value on the basis of the mature products of well-known brands, when this incremental value exceeds the herd effect, you can open up opportunities.
In fact, Roborock is a successful product of this approach.
At that time, the leaders of the sweeping robot industry were neato, irobot, and Ecovacs. But the price is extremely high, and the key is that it is not easy to use. It is reflected in the poor ability of independent mapping, planning and obstacle avoidance of products, and it is often stuck in the corners and corners.
What Changjing does, on the one hand, is to use the advantages of the domestic ** chain to reduce costs, and on the other hand, it is the first to apply lidar to sweeping robots, creating the world's first modelPlanning robot vacuumproducts, and with lidar and SLAM algorithms, the practicability of sweeping robots has been greatly improved.
There is not only the value of new products brought by relatively low prices, but also the incremental value brought by the improvement of practicality.
When it comes to Luoke Intelligent and Polar Stone Automobile products, the pursuit of the unique "value" of the product has also been consistent.
The result of Changjing's thinking is that Polar Stone 01 actually occupies and creates an ecological niche that has never been in the automobile market beforeIn-depth road trip
There are two types of incremental value provided.
First of all, it is relatively ideal, and the opponent who asks the world gives users the feasibility of "setting off to the mountains and seas" in addition to firewood, rice, oil and salt.
And in the face of pure hardcore off-road vehicle opponents such as tanks and formula leopards, they provide comfortable home attributes that they do not have.
Whether it is a sweeping robot or a smart car, the essence of them all belong to the mass hardware consumer goods, and they are all closely related to daily life.
For example, when the car enters the stage of intelligent remodeling, it has long been separated from the functional needs of "transportation tools" and has begun to become a kind of technological consumer goods, representing a way of life.
So even if the sweeping robot and the smart car are definitely much worse, for potential target users, the factors to be considered when buying a smart car are essentially no different from buying a mobile phone and a sweeping robot-
It's all about "what surprises, conveniences, and cool experiences can it bring me".
The most discussed thing about Polar Stone is not that it is "20,000 yuan cheaper than the ideal", but that users have a fresh configuration for its off-road crossing ability, outdoor free electricity, tailgate kitchen system, etc., which far exceeds that of urban SUVs.
And this change from functional and practical to product experience is also the most popular trend and trend in the most innovative world.
Smart Car Racing: From Functional Technology to Product User Experience.
Now, whether you admit it or not, smart cars are entering the era of "product managers".
The initial change was technology-centric, engineer-driven, and the core indicator of innovation competition was the degree of technological advancement.
For example, the size of the battery pack, the length of the battery life, the safety indicators, as well as the intelligent interaction and intelligent driving all have obvious hierarchical echelon ordering: how many lidars or sensors, how many cities can achieve the ultimate intelligent driving ...... of difficulty
However, these important parameters are gradually aligned and become more and more homogeneous.
You are Snapdragon 8155 and I am also Snapdragon 8155, you are Nvidia Orin and I am also Nvidia Orin, cockpit or intelligent driving, and the configuration of all "refrigerator color TV sofas", the bottom line has long been decided.
The difference is no longer 60 and 90 points, but 90 and 92 points ......
There is only one left undecided
Who can bring unique user value and exceed expectations of product experience?
This is also why many Internet technology entrepreneurs have entered the game to build cars, and on the "last train" from 2020 to the present, Chang Jing and his Polar Stone Automobile are the most worthy of attention and expectation.
Chang Jing's background is often compared with Li Bin, Li Xiang, and He Xiaopeng, who are all Internet technology practitioners and serial entrepreneurs.
It is also engaged in the drastic changes in the automotive industry caused by artificial intelligence, providing new ideas and products.
However, it is easy to ignore that in the process of the era of new car-making forces, the first batch of entrepreneurs like Wei Xiaoli not only completed the race and escape, but also objectively formed a general first-class chain ecology of infrastructure.
The entrepreneurs who subsequently entered the automobile market already have a completely different environment and basic model:
In the second stage, players need to be particularly interested in the value of the product, and will naturally enter the era when the product manager is king.
Just like Apple Jobs, the product manager in the personal computer era, Xiaomi's Lei Jun in the mobile Internet era, or Li Xiang, the ideal in the process of the smart car era.
Chang Jing is actually such a super product manager who understands both technology and user needs.
Launched in 2020, Polar Stone Automobile is at the forefront of such a trend of smart cars.