China wants to bankrupt European car manufacturers? On January 16, 2024, the European Commission sent investigators to China to find out how it is that Chinese cars are better and cheaper!
In this article, we will look specifically at the LiXiang L9, which is a direct competitor to heavy luxury automobiles such as the BMW X7, Mercedes-Benz GLS and Range Rover. But the price of the LiXiang L9 is much lower than that of its competitors, and technologically the LiXiang L9 is a more advanced car.
LiXiang L9 sold in 2023 by the company AutoAsia
In my last article about Zeekr, some people wrote that these are “non-domestic machines”, that they have not stood the test of time, there is no guarantee, there are no spare parts, and so on. I will try to answer some questions in this article, only using the Lixiang L9 as an example.
I’m not asking for recognition or respect from any brand! I describe facts and interesting details that I was able to dig up on the Internet. And your comments (including negative ones) are interesting to read and discuss; the vision of each person who reads the article is interesting.
Over the past few years, Chinese car manufacturers have completely changed the way they operate. Everyone began to notice this; on January 10, 2024, Forbes magazine recognized that China, based on the results of 2023, took first place in the list of the planet’s main exporters. Moreover, China has become the number one country on the planet for the production of cars in principle! And in the top 10 global sales of electric vehicles, China occupies as many as 7 lines out of 10! I think this is worth remembering before throwing mud at these cars.
Lixiang L9 VS Mersedes-Benz GLS!
I’ll start with a quote from the famous automotive video blogger Eric Davidich: “Toyota Land Cruiser 300, BMW X7, Mersedes GLS, seven-seater Cadillac Escalade, in general, everyone got together and just went…, I apologize for the rudeness, but I just don’t believe my actual feelings that I feel it when I drive this car.”
Power:
Li 9 – 1.5 liter engine-generator for battery recharging, 449 hp.
GLS – 3 liter petrol engine, 367 hp.
Li 9 – acceleration 0-100 – 5.3 seconds, power reserve 1300 km.
GLS – 0-100 – 6.2 seconds.
In terms of suspension, these two cars are similar, but there are differences in favor of the Chinese; Li 9 offers more flexible settings, and this significantly affects handling. The Li 9 passed the 70 km/h moose test, while the GLS failed the 65 km/h test.
In the cabin of the GLS 450, the steering wheel is mechanically adjusted for height and reach, there is no massage function in the seats, the ceiling is not lined with anything, and half of the parts in the cabin are made of plastic, which vibrates when driving and creaks when touched. and the dashboard literally crunches even in the Maybach version. The GLS 450 has the same tablet as the GLA version – it, unfortunately, has many shortcomings, including delays when touching the display and a menu that is difficult to master.
There is no such problem in L9 – there are two flagship tablets from Samsung, which, firstly, have a 3K resolution (for comparison, Mercedes still use screens with a 2K resolution), and secondly, they are literally 10 times more powerful, than the analogue from the Germans. And the Chinese menu, by the way, is extremely clear – you don’t even need to touch the touchpad to use it, because there is a voice assistant that recognizes more than 150 commands (Mercedes, by the way, supports only a few phrases).
There are still many interesting points about the Chinese auto industry, such as luring the world’s top automotive specialists from other companies. If earlier people came to China from other countries for cheap labor, now they come to China for technology! Or about the dispute related to the quality of batteries for electric cars from China and other manufacturers (not in favor of China), while having no idea that many automobile manufacturers buy batteries from Chinese battery manufacturers, and China’s share in global production of polysilicon is 94%, graphite 70% , and all this is needed to create a good battery! There is a theory that the Chinese government subsidizes Chinese car brands to specifically lower prices in order to displace today’s top car market leaders at a price (for the same or better quality). More details about all this in one of the following articles.
The sponsor of this article, the company AutoAsia.
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2024-02-11 16:12:46
#Chinese #world #Review #LiXiang #Andrey #Kozlov #vc.ru
