The departure is imminent. Under the new energy opportunities, how can Foton Kavvin Auto ride the waves?
Policy support and enterprises taking the lead have made the huge potential of "Intelligent and Electric Upgrade" of commercial vehicles begin to emerge.
Looking back at this year, new energy commercial vehicles have quietly climbed to a new high. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that in October this year, the domestic sales of new energy vehicles were 1.302 million, with a year-on-year growth of 56.5%, accounting for 51.8% of the domestic vehicle sales. Among them, the sales of new energy commercial vehicles increased by 26.6% year-on-year, accounting for 24.4% of the total domestic commercial vehicle sales, expanding by 0.6 percentage points compared with the previous month. In contrast, the traditional fuel vehicle market has shown a downward trend for several consecutive months.
According to the "S-shaped Curve" theory of the growth of emerging industries, when the market penetration rate exceeds 20%, it means that the emerging industry has ushered in a "turning point" in its development and is about to enter a period of explosive market growth. Currently, new energy commercial vehicles are on the eve of this explosion at the "turning point".
New Energy Commercial Vehicles Enter a New Era
Under the continuous impact of the "New Four Modernizations" wave, the transformation of China's automotive industry has achieved remarkable results. With technological progress and product upgrades, new energy passenger vehicles have gradually replaced fuel vehicles as the first choice for more users when purchasing vehicles.
Compared with passenger vehicles, the speed of the transformation of commercial vehicles to new energy is relatively slower. On the one hand, there are more types of commercial vehicles and a wider range of usage scenarios, covering many fields such as long-distance logistics, urban transportation, agricultural equipment, green cleaning, etc. They can not only carry people and goods, but also include special vehicles such as military and rescue vehicles. On the other hand, as means of production, commercial vehicles have a high frequency of use, and the requirements for cruising range and charging facilities are more stringent. With the progress of new energy technology and the continuous improvement of infrastructure, the adaptability of new energy commercial vehicles is continuously improving, especially in the fields of urban distribution and logistics, where the demand is increasing day by day, and the market potential is huge.
In fact, since July 2024, the penetration rate of domestic new energy commercial vehicles has exceeded 20% for four consecutive months. In order to reduce operating costs, more and more users are choosing new energy vehicles, and commercial vehicles are beginning to enter a new era dominated by new energy and are on the eve of rapid growth.
However, in terms of the products on the market, most of the current commercial vehicles are still mainly based on the platform of converting fuel vehicles to electric ones, which leads to a large number of redundant designs in the products, and brings disadvantages such as high dead weight, high energy consumption, short cruising range, and low intelligence level. In order to achieve better performance, some commercial vehicle enterprises are currently developing new products that are positively adapted to the technical characteristics of new energy, which can achieve longer cruising range, lower dead weight, lower energy consumption, and more intelligent vehicle management. At the same time, the intelligence level is continuously improved to further expand the application scenarios of new energy commercial vehicles.
In this context, Foton Kavvin Automobile came into being. On January 27, 2024, the Foton Kavvin Automobile brand was launched, with the mission of "Making Every Kilometer Better" and the vision of "Becoming an International Enterprise Leading in New Energy Technology", committed to creating value for global users, providing new energy vehicle solutions, and building a zero-carbon and sustainable beautiful path.
Technology Makes Every Kilometer Better
"Technological innovation is the soul of Foton Kavvin Automobile. We always adhere to independent research and development and continuous innovation, striving to make breakthroughs in key software and hardware technologies, own core patents, and provide users with products that exceed expectations." said Qin Zhidong, Deputy General Manager of Foton Automobile and General Manager of Kavvin Automobile.
Different from the industry's practice of converting fuel vehicles to electric ones, Foton Kavvin Automobile takes "Efficient Logistics" as the core, and layouts urban → urban agglomeration → trunk line scenarios around logistics nodes → lines → channels. It positively develops three intelligent new energy exclusive vehicle platforms for mini, light, and heavy vehicles, to create products that meet the needs of efficient logistics and medium and long-distance trunk line logistics scenarios, which are more intelligent, greener, and more efficient.
The developed mini platform is an innovatively created open-source technology platform, which brings excellent scalability with its open and shared characteristics. "The open-source platform can not only achieve the rapid replacement of modules, but also the rapid switching and application of different products such as VAN vehicles, micro-trucks, and pickups; at the same time, the platform is also equipped with an advanced E/E architecture, through the technical ecology of vehicle and cloud collaboration, software upgrade and evolution, and strong scene interaction, to better improve the user experience and create customer value." Qin Zhidong said.
As the first product empowered by the open-source technology platform, Foton Kavvin Automobile's first VAN vehicle - Le Fu, while achieving the ultimate space utilization, has multiple vehicle models to cover the operational needs of multiple scenarios. In the transportation scenario, it fully meets the needs from the last kilometer - urban interval express - 200-kilometer warehouse-to-warehouse delivery - intercity logistics. In terms of vehicle building, it can be left-hand drive or right-hand drive to meet the needs at home and abroad, creating a truly global vehicle model.
The first product of Foton Kavvin Automobile empowered by the open-source technology platform - Le Fu, has completed the announcement of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. On December 21, the Foton Kavvin Automobile Technology Strategy and New Product Launch Conference is about to kick off, and the open-source technology platform, Le Fu Global VAN, and heavy truck concept vehicle will all be unveiled, fully demonstrating the technological innovation achievements of Foton Kavvin Automobile. Stay tuned.
Grasp User Demands and Build User Ecology
Unlike new energy commercial vehicle brands in the industry, in addition to focusing on creating products and technological innovation, Foton Kavvin Automobile is also developing a new ecological business model of high-level intelligence. "The original intention of the establishment of Foton Kavvin Automobile is to combine green and low-carbon with sustainable development to create an intelligent new energy exclusive vehicle platform architecture and a new business ecology." Qin Zhidong emphasized, "Build a green and low-carbon supply system throughout the entire value chain from the design end, supply chain, and energy end to create value for global users."
Based on this, Foton Kavvin Automobile closely focuses on user needs, and builds a closed-loop customer service solution through vehicle sales, leasing, services, transportation capacity, used cars, and remanufacturing, to create a precise and efficient service experience for customers.
In the vehicle sales and leasing links, Foton Kavvin Automobile builds a digital platform and delivery service system that integrates online and offline rental and sales collaboration, bringing customers a new experience of one-click online rental and sales orders, and one-stop offline delivery and services, simplifying the process of organizing customers to rent and purchase vehicles, and achieving more convenient delivery.
In the energy replenishment field, build the Foton Kavvin Automobile Energy Body, including photovoltaic power generation, energy storage, charging, micro-grid and other facilities, to provide stable, safe, and economical energy supply for Foton Kavvin Automobile vehicles and users, reducing user energy costs.
In addition, in terms of transportation capacity, used car business, and other aspects, Foton Kavvin Automobile combines multiple resources to comprehensively layout and build a complete ecology covering the entire life cycle and the entire value chain, providing users with better services and experiences, and continuously improving user operation value.
At the same time, Foton Kavvin Automobile layouts channel contacts such as Kavvin Center and Kavvin SPACE at the user scenario end. Kavvin Center has the full-factor operation capabilities of sales, services, ecology, financial insurance, used cars, and remanufacturing, and can meet the needs of users for purchasing, using, managing, repairing, and replacing in one stop, providing users with a full value chain service covering the entire life cycle, allowing users to focus on operations and enjoy higher operational value.
Currently, Kavvin Center, Kavvin SPACE and other channels are already under vigorous construction in many places across the country. It is believed that in the near future, they will bring convenient and high-quality services to the majority of users and escort the efficient operation of users.
Low-carbon development has become a global consensus, and the low-carbonization of automobiles is an important way to achieve a green transformation of the transportation industry and even the energy structure. The new technological wave will give birth to countless new players, but only enterprises that can grasp the essence of the problem can stand until the end. Foton Kavvin Automobile, which is about to set sail, is bound to lead the green and sustainable high-quality development of the new energy commercial vehicle industry under the new energy opportunity.