Starting from 170,000 yuan? Yu Chengdong reveals the first model of Shangjie again. Is HarmonyOS Smart Mobility finally going to target the mass market?

The most affordable selected car under Hongmeng Smart Mobility is coming soon.

On the morning of July 11th, Shangjie Automobile officially announced on Weibo, "Shangjie, here we go!" Yu Chengdong, the chairman of Huawei Terminal BG, reposted the Weibo and commented, "Shangjie is here! Please look forward to it this autumn! Great intelligent driving with a blue light!" The official Weibo of Hongmeng Smart Mobility also reposted the Weibo, welcoming the arrival of Shangjie. Shangjie, the most cost - effective car brand under Hongmeng Smart Selection, is finally launching its first model.

(Image source: Screenshot from Weibo)

All the brands with the character "Jie" in their names in the Hongmeng Smart Mobility family adopt the Huawei Smart Selection car cooperation model. Before Shangjie, Wenjie focused on the high - end SUV market, Zhijie on the high - end sedan market (there is also the crossover coupe SUV Zhijie R7), Xiangjie entered the executive - class car market, and Zunjie targeted the million - level ultra - luxury market. Together, these four brands cover the price range from 200,000 yuan to millions.

The upcoming Shangjie will become a trump card for Hongmeng Smart Mobility in the low - end market.

SAIC's Body, Huawei's Soul

So far, not much information has been revealed about Shangjie's first model, but it doesn't mean we know nothing about it. Generally, it takes 12 to 15 months to develop a car under Hongmeng Smart Mobility. However, SAIC and Huawei announced the signing of a deep - cooperation agreement on February 21st, and the Shangjie brand was launched on April 16th. All in all, Shangjie only has about half a year.

It's obviously unrealistic to develop a brand - new model in such a short time. Therefore, the most likely scenario is to modify an existing SAIC model, integrating Huawei's key technologies such as the electronic and electrical architecture, intelligent driving system, and Hongmeng cockpit into SAIC's products. In fact, after the spy photos of Shangjie's first model were exposed, many people guessed that the car was based on SAIC Feifan RC7 because the spy photos of Shangjie's first model were very similar to the application drawings of Feifan RC7. The car lights, grille, and body curves were almost identical.

(Image source: Yiche)

(Image source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology)

According to the application information, Feifan RC7 is a mid - to large - sized SUV with a length, width, and height of 4860/1920/1660 and a wheelbase of 2935mm. It is a bit larger than Wenjie M5 but smaller than Wenjie M7. The car has a short front end and is not very sporty, but the advantage is that it reserves more space inside the car, making it suitable for family users.

It should be noted that Feifan RC7 is a pure - electric vehicle, offering three different battery capacities of 62.2kWh, 77kWh, and 90kWh, with a maximum range of up to 710 kilometers. Although Wenjie, the best - selling brand under Hongmeng Smart Mobility, is equipped with an extended - range power system, Huawei has been trying to expand its business in the pure - electric market. The first products of Zhijie and Xiangjie are both pure - electric models, and Shangjie will be the same.

The most anticipated feature of Shangjie's first model is undoubtedly Huawei's intelligent driving technology. However, Yu Chengdong only revealed that its intelligent driving is good and it has a blue light, without providing more information. To date, many car companies in the automotive industry have chosen the pure - vision route and abandoned lidar, but Huawei still believes that lidar is a guarantee of safety. The high - end versions of Wenjie, Zhijie, Xiangjie, and Zunjie are all equipped with lidar.

However, lidar is very expensive, and Shangjie has the task of targeting the low - end market. It is unlikely that all models will be equipped with lidar. During the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area Auto Show last year, Yu Chengdong said that Hongmeng Smart Mobility is working hard to reduce costs, and it is feasible to launch models without lidar and priced under 200,000 yuan in the future.

Huawei's intelligent driving technology has multiple versions. The ADS 4, released before the Shanghai Auto Show, offers four versions: ADS SE Basic Edition, ADS Pro Enhanced Edition, ADS Max Super Edition, and ADS Ultra Flagship Edition.

(Image source: Huawei)

Electric Vehicle News predicts that the price of Shangjie's first model will be between 170,000 yuan and 250,000 yuan. The versions priced under 200,000 yuan will not be equipped with lidar and will be equipped with the ADS SE Basic Edition or ADS Pro Enhanced Edition. The versions priced above 200,000 yuan will be equipped with lidar and the ADS Max Super Edition.

Considering Huawei's remarkable cost - control ability, the current official guide price of the new Wenjie M5 Extended - Range Ultra and the new Zhijie S7 Pro starts from 229,800 yuan, but the actual purchase price is lower, and there are many free benefits. There is still room for price reduction for Shangjie's first product, and the more powerful ADS Max Super Edition may also penetrate deeper into the low - end market.

High Hopes from Huawei and SAIC, Can Shangjie Succeed?

Before 2025, when Yu Chengdong talked about low - cost cars, he mentioned several times that due to limited cost - control ability, Huawei would not consider launching cars under 200,000 yuan for the time being. As the only domestic mobile phone brand that can compete with Apple in the high - end market, after entering the automotive industry, Huawei hopes to capture more market share in the high - end market with large profit margins, rather than competing in the mid - to low - end market through low - profit, high - volume sales.

Data released by the Passenger Car Association shows that the average price of domestic cars in 2024 was 177,000 yuan, indicating that the mid - to low - end market under 200,000 yuan is the main sales force in the industry. Although the high - end market has large profit margins, its market scale is relatively small. Penetrating the low - end market is something Hongmeng Smart Mobility has to do sooner or later.

On platforms such as Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Zhihu, Electric Vehicle News has seen many netizens with limited car - buying budgets who want to experience Huawei's intelligent driving technology and Hongmeng intelligent cockpit, calling on Huawei to launch products under 200,000 yuan. It shows that consumers are eagerly looking forward to Shangjie's first model.

(Image source: Screenshot from Zhihu)

According to statistics by Electric Vehicle News based on official data, Hongmeng Smart Mobility's sales target for 2025 is one million vehicles. The cumulative sales in the first six months of this year were 204,172 vehicles, only 20.4% of the target. Although the sales of Wenjie cars soared after the launch of the M8 and exceeded Li Auto for the first time in June, Xiangjie's sales are steadily increasing, and Zunjie has started the delivery of its pioneer plan. The industry is also about to enter the peak sales seasons of "Golden September and Silver October" and before the Spring Festival. However, it is still extremely difficult to achieve the target with only these brands. For Huawei, Shangjie's mission is to target the low - end market and increase sales.

(Image source: Shangjie)

SAIC, which is cooperating with Huawei, also has high hopes for the Shangjie brand. It has invested 6 billion yuan in the first phase, established a team of over 5,000 people, and prepared a dedicated super factory for Shangjie.

SAIC is the sales champion among domestic automotive groups, with cumulative sales of 4.013 million vehicles in 2024 alone. However, its sales decreased by 20.07% year - on - year, and it was overtaken by BYD. In the past, SAIC relied heavily on joint - venture vehicles. In recent years, the market share of joint - venture cars in the domestic market has been declining continuously. As reported by CNR, the market share of joint - venture brands in the domestic automotive market was less than 40% in 2024.

The sharp decline in the sales of joint - venture cars has had an adverse impact on SAIC's business. SAIC's own new - energy vehicle brands, such as Feifan and IM, are developing steadily, but their monthly sales do not exceed 10,000 units, which cannot help SAIC stabilize its sales in the face of the deteriorating situation of joint - venture brands.

(Image source: Feifan Automobile)

Therefore, SAIC attaches great importance to Shangjie. It hopes to quickly capture the mid - end market with SAIC's high - quality products, combined with Huawei's intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit technologies, and affordable prices.

Shangjie is crucial to the business progress of Huawei and SAIC, so the two giants naturally pay special attention to it. The yet - to - be - exposed configuration of the first model will probably exceed our expectations. Electric Vehicle News predicts that the price of the car will be between 170,000 yuan and 250,000 yuan, based on the brand positioning of Huawei and Feifan and the prices of their existing models. Referring to the size, power, and current dealer quotes of Feifan F7, the price of Shangjie's first product may start as low as 150,000 yuan.

Shangjie's first model focuses on space design and has an affordable price, making it suitable for family use. It is expected to be recognized by consumers who value intelligent driving experience and space but have a budget that is not enough to buy a Wenjie car. However, it doesn't mean that Shangjie's first product will definitely become a hit, as the competition at this price range is extremely fierce.

Shangjie's First Car Will Compete Head - on with BYD and Others

The price range of 150,000 yuan to 250,000 yuan is exactly the hot - selling range for mid - to large - sized SUVs. With BYD advocating technological equality, XPeng and NIO targeting the low - end market, and Leapmotor positioning as a substitute for Li Auto, the competition is extremely cruel.

At this price range, XPeng Motors recently launched the new car G7, which is similar in size to Shangjie's first model, with a starting price of 195,800 yuan. All versions support high - level intelligent driving, and the computing power reaches the L3 level. Although Leapmotor C16 may be slightly inferior to Shangjie in terms of the intelligent driving software system, the 630 Lidar Edition, priced at 171,800 yuan, is equipped with lidar and supports functions such as high - speed navigation assistance, commuting navigation assistance, and navigation - assisted cruise.

BYD also has many models in the Song and Tang families with prices between 150,000 yuan and 250,000 yuan, and functions such as lane navigation and high - speed cruise are almost standard. Other brands such as Deepal, Wei, and Voyah also have SUV models priced between 150,000 yuan and 250,000 yuan.

Huawei is not a magic bullet. Although the sales of Xiangjie are steadily increasing, it has never reached the level of Wenjie, and the performance of Zhijie has also fallen short of expectations. Whether Shangjie can replicate Wenjie's success depends on the product's hard power. After being equipped with Huawei's intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit technologies, models with strong self - strength, such as Avita 06/07 and Voyah Dreamer, quickly became hits.

(Image source: Avita)

Shangjie is not inferior to its competitors such as XPeng G7 and BYD Song L Intelligent Driving Edition in terms of size, intelligent driving, and pure - electric range. However, there is still uncertainty about many of its configurations, such as the audio quality, seat functions, rear - seat entertainment screen, and interior design.

Considering the importance that Huawei and SAIC attach to Shangjie, the configuration and details of this car will probably not disappoint us. It has the opportunity to compete with hit models such as BYD's Song and Tang families and XPeng G7 in terms of sales. However, it is likely