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Introduction of guests: Xiaopeng cars founder and President Xia Heng, graduated from the Department of automotive engineering of Tsinghua University. Chief of the GAC's new energy Center control section, Guangzhou new energy vehicles and control system of intelligent automobile development. In 2014, conform to the tide of Internet car, Xia Heng founded United Auto, Internet, technical personnel teams from smaller Peng, currently responsible for the overall operations of the company and product architecture design.
Sorted in net hard to create an open course sharing of Lei Feng Xia Heng, the following is the full text content.
Xiaopeng auto set up was designed "among young people of the Internet car", we want to look to new technologies and services, to change users on the purchase, use and maintenance of automobile models.
Today, the automobile industry chain development of electric vehicle technology is greatly simplified, and lower the threshold. Pure electric vehicles while the energy saving and environmental protection, the use of low cost, but it also brought charges of inconvenience, not a long battery life and other disadvantages. So we think pure electric vehicles, has less chance of future foothold in the market.
We defined of Internet car, is in electric, and intelligent car (through large sensor and the control calculation achieved car of environment recognition, and self decision and intelligent control) of based Shang, joined people-car networking (especially solution owners of photo, and photography, and live, and share, needs) and car-car networking (especially car car Zhijian of share, and social exploration) and car-cloud networking (based on cloud platform of big data, and calculation, and anti-theft, and insurance, and maintenance, and emerging commercial mode extended,).
Differences between traditional companies and Internet companies
Traditional automakers and Internet companies is the biggest difference between genes and culture. Former Internet Auto's biggest challenge, not because they do not have skills and abilities, but genes and culture they are neither the will, there is no mechanism to do it, and the system is difficult to find Internet entrepreneurial elite.
In General, the traditional electric function, smart car valued function, link functions, they put the engine into the motor up with controlled screen, add one or two-link function. But, the whole team or a traditional corporate team development model or traditional development model, even a lot of functions, indicators are benchmarking with conventional cars and light.
Abroad, Tesla, the first thing to do is a pure electric vehicle, but with its business model, technology innovation, in particular in the field of automatic driving continued to escalate, as well as products reach the market more Model3, it has become more and more like a group of Internet companies, and more focus on user experience. We have to learn is the Tesla model.
In China, Internet companies can be summed up in three modes: Internet + Europe, cars + Internet + car, China.
Internet + car, the core is not on the car, the car settled through outsourcing, not core competencies, to succeed, will become a PPT car or a toy car
Model + Europe, refers to the core of the car development and capacity in Europe and China strengthen the finance, business models and Internet technologies, which raised high, has certain advantages. Core was entirely in how different countries and cultural integration of the team;
Cars + Internet, dominated by auto team, transformation of thinking the Autobots with the Internet, using Internet technologies and business models to redefine the automotive.
I think both their products and their market, are likely to be successful. PPT is mostly the Internet + car models mentioned above, this pattern is not core concerns in the car, it is difficult to make, not the same product. Even difficult to get the car out.
We belong to the third category. Xiaopeng car team is an important feature of the young. We feel that is different from traditional products to be made, there must be a different culture.
How to integrate Internet automotive team?
For a new car company, while our challenges from many aspects such as finance, supply chain and production, but at the end of the challenge was from the team: how to build a genetic, cultural and traditional enterprises is not the same as the Internet car team, and the team has the ability to rapid iterative, continuous learning and innovation?
This is what we think, I think this is particularly crucial.
So our team is a blend of Internet talent and innovation of auto talents platform. Recently joined our Technical Director, including Ali, Tencent's product Director, Geely's Director of quality Minister, Magna's body, and so on. They usually have management experience, while there are young at heart, love of learning, and positive integration. I think this team is the most strong vitality.
Now that is a fusion of Internet and car talent platform, our running team approach is constantly completing challenging projects through project results adjust team roles and working methods.
And a lot of teams are different, and we're not rushing to build cars. Xiaopeng automobile was established in mid-2014, to carry out three (motor, battery, electric control) one screen (screen), 20 or so teams can at this stage is full of running. And then our mule car prototype, modeling and engineering development and the prototype trial production of small batch, each iteration of the intensity of work and requirements are very high.
We see through survival of the fittest team clearer the ability of different people, different strengths, resulting in a more comprehensive and more effective team.
Build a product manager thought car
We have early dismantling of Tesla, BMW i3, electric vehicles, from research and development focus, Tesla high frequency of more user-oriented, strong sensation, i3 more emphasis on non-dominant Auto function.
Such as i3 invest huge r carbon fiber body frame, life/drive modular structure design, interiors of natural fiber materials that can be recycled. For automotive engineers, these are very exciting times initiative, but user awareness is not strong.
Tesla is particularly concerned about human perception, experience, and can "show off" functions, such as Control Panel, Eagle wing, retractable door handles can be opened automatically charging by induction charging gun ports, and so on. Vehicles are very smart, science and technology as a whole.
Seen from the experiences, i3 closer to the engineers thought, Tesla thinking closer to product manager.
For example, for braking capability, I3 is a loose throttle power recycle right away, giving the ride feel is very poor. I can understand the good as an engineer, after a consumer if you are used to it, cut back on the brake, you can either recover more energy savings can also brake while it also reduces the risk of braking system developed parallel braking and Tesla can choose are similar to traditional car brake feel, closer to the user.
Such detail is particularly high. We require that all engineers must experience again all the cars on the market, we purchased and leased a number of vehicles to test drive. Many engineers now eyes smaller, resulting in car are reduced on the possibilities of design. Our engineers play a variety of intelligent hardware, driving a variety of cars, so that every engineer, product manager, hopes to Polish the product of a young technology.
Building products, design differentiation, by this kind of corporate culture. Long term, we hope to make the company a platform for creativity, designed to collect, to establish an open platform similar to Apple's App Store, more creative in some way involved in the small ROC car design. In this regard, we have to start thinking about. We hope on the basis of electric cars, smart car cars on the Internet.
This is the biggest difference between us and traditional enterprises.
Xiaopeng car business model
As a new car brand, Xiaopeng car in prenatal how to achieve lower cost and ultimately achieve profitability is a problem we have to consider.
I personally have been questioned the company started on the need for a new plant. I think even the Honda company to enter the Chinese are careful to do first cars starting from old factory refurbishment. Besides the current start-up company, factory infrastructure, part of the common equipment purchases will consume team effort and money.
Our approach is strategic cooperation with OEMs, key suppliers. With vehicle plant to produce the first batch of small quantities, through strict quality specifications, production line equipment to produce quality level of vehicles. In the area of industrial ecological chain, we have now built and even some core suppliers and our equity relationships.
We often mention "Internet mentality", users, services, including building a new future of automobile industry chain lightly push up her, our idea is that:
Business models, sold and rented, and long term rent model vehicles;
Experience, and use new technology to bring the ultimate user experience.
In terms of product features, it is "smart" and we will be powered by a lot of smart cool features; the second is that it is a upgrade car.
In terms of business model, we believe that between the rental and purchase, China will remain a long-term lease market, some young people like early adopters would choose a long term rent.
Take a taxi car park layout software or timeshare rental, rental areas are shared. Rent is our favorite for a bit too long, but also in long term rent market is not fully open up good, for two reasons: first, the traditional lack of Internet thinking, hard work are not in place; the second is car design did not take into account long term rent demand cannot be upgraded without viscosity.
China's new energy automobile supply chain system is mature, it lacks is a good product. Earlier we will focus on the core needs of urban youth development. With the company's development, and we look forward to combining traditional and Internet technology, on-demand production, intelligent and flexible production, meet the demand for more.
Wonderful quiz
Q: all the networking devices can theoretically exist may be hacked, actually cracked by hacker precedent (such as BYD and Tesla are cracked by 360), how to look at car handling security of Internet and information security issues?
Xia Heng: we often discussed issue is an on-line car after being hacked. There are a lot of intelligent active safety and security functions, such as smart driving, driver assistance, development in auto safety to the next level, I believe that is the car's network security will be promoted to a very high degree.
When we do this work, first of all, to guarantee is the Powertrain related to in-car entertainment must be completely removed. We do screen tests at the time, tried to hit the big screen in the car while bad or malicious landing, trying different possibilities will not affect vehicles under normal driving.
Test results showed that our car is actually more secure, of course, in the process, we will continue to update the network security technology, adapt to the new era, we need the security, without hacker vulnerability exists because it is possible to give up the development link cars.
Now we are continuously recruiting top talent in the Internet industry, the strength of their network security is certainly far better than traditional car companies, in terms of salary, working conditions, very difficult to recruit the traditional automotive industry professionals.
Q: for the intelligent car in your opinion, in what areas? What kind of intelligence experience to meet the needs of users for an intelligent?
Xia Heng: I think the intelligent car must have a concentration of experience. So-called agglomeration of the experience is to make users feel like the car is a brain rather than a few brains.
For automatic drive of the Tesla, BMW X5 wheel, automatic driving of the Mercedes-Benz e (the latter is not automatic, called intelligent driving or driver assistance), we do a lot of driving, and the standard of work.
We found that the Tesla drive although it did not reach the level of true automatic driving, but its own cruise, automatic parking, auto follow, auto cut and other functions, is seamless, and these features as the whole HMI (human-computer interaction) systems perfectly matched together, users feel that the car will have the wisdom and life.
However, BMW, Mercedes-Benz driver assistance features, feel and add a matching seat heater or a window is the same. For example, AEB (auto braking system), the LDW (lane departure warning system) feature is fragmented, there are many controllers, was a "fragmented" System.
So we'd like to make a self-driving car gathering experience. Of course, self-driving cars are not all at once, with functional testing, data collection, we will gradually open and enhance the degree of automatic driving. Expanding from a single environment drive to multiple environment of automatic transmission, gradually becoming more and more smart and intelligent.
Q: traditional depot from product development to market needs several years to Xiaopeng rapid iterations of the car seems to be great and now practices conflict, how do you achieve this?
Xia Heng: from product development to market traditional Depot, actually have ranged from 18 months to a few years, not to say completely is a fixed numerical value.
In automotive development and production, we have not made out of things, the entire development work until the end of next year has been going on a 3.5-year period, in accordance with existing beats out car is not a problem, as well as with traditional manufacturing processes and rhythms.
Q: about StreetScooter development model? Known as the development of a time vehicle can significantly reduce, do not know is it possible to adopt the model in the country?
Xia Heng: small electric vehicles I looked before, including Renault launched small electric cars in Europe, I think that technically no problem.
Building cars most critical supply chain, I also research aspects of the supply chain, can at very low cost or at an appropriate price/performance products is a challenge, in the short term, Chinese consumers, small cars are relatively inexpensive, I personally think that brand in China doing wonderful small car with some difficulty.
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