SPECIAL CONNECTIVITY IN CHINESE CARS BYD Han The overall best rating in our comparison is achieved by the “Han“ electric sedan However, it became apparent that from the Chinese car giant BYD, which is located in the upper mid-range. all four Chinese car models share ­some basic characteristics and – The acronym BYD stands for “Build again, from a European perspec­- Your Dreams“ and can be found on tive – peculiar features: The smart­ the rear of the vehicle. It designates phone integration systems Apple one of China‘s largest car makers, Carplay, Android Auto or Mirrorlink based in Shenzhen, Province of ­Guandong. Its “Han“ model, positi- cannot not found in any of them. oned in the upper mid-range segment, Since these systems and the apps has been built since 2020 and is also that can be used with them are ­only available as an all-electric version – rudimentarily localized for China, with a choice of front-wheel drive they do not have much significance or all-wheel drive based on two ­electric motors. on the Chinese market. Also, the The very large central display (diago- trade conflicts which have escalated nal 15.6 inches /39.6 cm) is comple- in recent years are likely to cause a mented by a 12.3 inch (31.2 cm) digital The all-wheel drive high-performance version of the BYD significant mistrust against U.S. plat­- instrument cluster as well as an Han was put to the test by the experts at umlaut. forms. Google Earth, for example, is ­additional touchscreen each for air not found in any of the vehicles. condition control for the front and rear passengers. In the front, media In addition to touchscreens, voice controls and seats can also be opera- control dominates everyday opera­ ted on the additional display. A classic tion. All four candidates rely on AI controller, an input pad for text input systems, and the manufacturers NIO as well as steering wheel buttons are and XPeng (with BYD as an option) also available, with voice dialogs also working smoothly. As is not unusual support them with the visualization CAR CONNECT on the Chinese market, the driver can of virtual assistants. choose between different map provi- Since ­drivers have to frequently ders for navigation. Updates and traf- CHINA CALLING enter ­Chinese characters when spe­ fic information are provided via the cifying addresses or other kinds of car‘s Internet connection. Radio re-

CAR CONNECT CAR What do cars developed by Chinese manufacturers for their domestic market offer in input, pads with handwriting recog­ ception is available in analog or direct- ly via the Internet, but not digitally. terms of connectivity and user experience? How do they compare with Western brands? nition are ­also standard. Chinese The electric car also displays charging manufac­turers, on the other hand, points, but the testers missed live in- raditionally, Audi, BMW, up to now did not deploy western ­manufacturers in this country. The don‘t seem too comfortable with formation about their availability. The Mercedes, VW and Co. languages in their cars. Neverthel­ engineers working there, and also ­gesture control. app provided with the vehicle shows have placed great emphasis ess, it is important to take a look at our testers in this project, are all all the essential status information and on China, a huge and im­ this dynamic automotive market. ­Chinese native speakers who are fa­ Practice-related convenience allows remote control of the doors and T air conditioning as well as private car portant sales market for them. How­ We were particularly interested in miliar with the Chinese market and Private car sharing, which is still sharing. However, some functions are only The large 15.6-inch central touchscreen dominates the ever, China has long since seen the how Chi­nese manufacturers compa­ its – seen from a European perspec­ rather rare in Germany – usually by available in the vehicle if they are down- ­interior, along with two smaller control displays. emergence of a flourishing range of re to their European and, in some tive – cultural peculiarities. For passing on a virtual key via an app loaded – for free – from the “BYD Market“. domestic manufacturers. For very ­­cases, U.S. competitors in terms of ­connect, they put four popular – is supported by all four can- This applies, for example, to messaging few Europeans, the cars developed connecti­vity, user experience and di­ and technologically­ leading cars ­didates. and calendar functions, concierge ser- in and for China are currently not gital service offerings. from Chinese manufacturers vice, streaming apps, and writing and receiving text messages and e-mails. likely to be an alternative to local The decisive factor for this idea through our connectivity and user ­vehicles. This is due to the import was that our traditional car test experience tests. BYD HAN EV (4WD ­regulations and logistics but also be­ ­partner umlaut also operates a local HIGH PERFORMANCE) cause the Chinese car manufacturers branch in China to advise car Direct comparison of system features and performance Total performance: 363 kW (494 PS) With the aim of determining the Accel. 0 to 100 kmph: 3,9 s ­status of Chinese versus western Max. Torque: 330+350 Nm The services and functions targeted at consumers in China are not fully Top speed: 185 km/h ­manufacturers, the same test criteria comparable with those offered by car manufacturers based in the western Battery capacity: 76,9 kWh hemisphere. Even with these limitations though, manufacturers such as which we apply for our regular ve­ E-Range (NEDC): 550 km BYD and NIO perform admirably in our comparison. Some of their inno- hicle tests were used to ensure there 36 628 Euros Remote control via app is standard in all Test car price: vations would also be very attractive for cars made outside China too.“ was consistancy and transparancy four cars – in some cases it even serves The explanation, which meaning is hidden behind the acro- Hakan Ekmen, Managing Director at umlaut for the testing. as a digital key replacement. verdict: good (790 Points) nym of the company name, can be found on the car’s rear.

92 9/2021 connect.de 9/2021 93 SPECIAL CONNECTIVITY IN CHINESE CARS Lixiang One NIO EC6 Instead of the case-by-case As a plug-in hybrid, this SUV is the only model in the comparison that still has The SUV coupé from the Chinese automotive startup NIO ranks second in our combustion technology. However, it is not totally up to date in connectivity either. location sharing that is common in assessment. It misses points primarily in the area of productivity. our region of the world, drivers of The manufacturer, also known as all four ­tested Chinese brands can NIO is a Chinese startup based in Li Auto, is fully focused on alternative join with friends and family Shanghai which specializes in building drive technologies. The company‘s ­members to form a user commu­ electric cars. The company already headquarters are in Beijing, and nity. Its participants are then able has a presence in Germany – it opera- vehicle production takes place in to exchange their locations, pictu­ tes a design and brand development Changzhou in the Jiangsu Province. center in Munich. Its EC6 model, pro- The Lixiang One plug-in hybrid SUV is res and voice messages just like in duced in Hefei, Province of Anhui, is the manufacturer‘s first model and is a closed user group of a social an SUV coupé with one electric umlaut’s test engineers Bowen Hong (left available with either six or seven seats. in the picture) and Haihua Rao (right) know network. engine per axle. It is available as a It combines an R3 gasoline engine their way around the country and the market. BYD and XPeng drivers can sport or even more powerful “perfor- with one electric engine per axle. purchase TED talks or foreign lan­ mance“ variant. The car‘s central display measures The cockpit is dominated by a por- an impressive 16.2 inches (41.1 cm). guage lessons from the car‘s online trait-format “tablet display“ measuring There is also a 12.3-inch (31.2 cm) When it comes to navigation maps store and then watch them while 11.3 inches (28.7 cm), plus a 9.8 inch digital instrument cluster. However, and information, drivers often have stuck in traffic. XPeng P7 drivers (24.9 cm) instrument cluster. A pad for the most eye-catching feature is the a choice of several suppliers focused have the option to be connected handwriting inputs is accompanied by third 12.3 inch display, which is moun- on individual regions or can put to­ directly to a doctor in case of me­ three buttons for home, menu and The six- or seven-seater SUV has a rather impressive appearance ted directly in front of the passenger gether their own personal combina­ dical problems. With BYD and ­volume control. There is also the usual The EC6 always has all-wheel drive, but umlaut tested the – not least because it needs room for two drive technologies. seat and primarily presents enter­ control buttons on the steering wheel. even more powerful performance version. tainment content. A fourth display tion in vehicle-specific app stores. XPeng, parking tickets can be paid Voice dialogs are handled by the vir- below the central screen and in front This is understandable in a country directly from the car. tual personal assistant “Nomi“ – and of the drive mode lever supports in- that has more than twice the area of However, the comparison also in the opinion of the Chinese-speaking puts as well as climate and seat cont- the European Union and is about 27 shows that the manufacturers have testers in quite usable quality. Digital rols. This screen also replaces a con- times the size of Germany. Over-the- somewhat different philosophies and web radio are available for radio ventional controller. The only physical reception, but conventional FM is no air map and software updates are in this respect: At the startup NIO, CAR CONNECT controls that remain are the steering longer available. wheels buttons and a pad for hand- standard on all four cars. which also operates a development Navigation works well overall, map writing inputs. In addition, there is an center in Munich, services such updates are distributed over the air. AI-supported voice control, which Innovations typical of the country as in-car shopping do not play much The E-range (NEDC) is also displayed, was not really convincing in the test, However, we did not want to not of a role, at least in the EC6 and charging station locations are CAR CONNECT CAR though. Digital and web radio are on limit ourselves to the common model tested. On the other hand, suggested – but the system does board, but conventional FM is not not know whether they are actually ­criteria comparable with Western this e-car manufacturer offers a available. currently available. Navigation and POI search worked vehicles. That is why the umlaut ­remarkable service option in the The app offered by NIO supports well overall – although the app leaves testers also took a look at country- form of “valet charging“: On most of the expected remote control some room for improvement. Also, specific ­innovations. In the case of ­request, an NIO employee­ will and status functions – but no sharing we find it questionable that roadside NIO and XPeng, these start with the come and take the vehicle, drive it of the vehicle‘s location. In addition assistance is not available in the car, to the key, the car can also be opened To European eyes, the interior design is an interesting mix – for the European taste unsually to a charging sta­tion and later Most operations are performed via the tablet-like central of futuristic and more conventional elements. but only in the app. It‘s also worth via NFC card, but not with the smart­ display, with additional feedback in the digital cockpit. men­tioning that the car can be un­ comic-like – visualization­ of the return it to the customer fully phone. locked just via Bluetooth. virtual assistants. The online sys­ charged. The testers identified some defi­ Finally, the Lixiang One leaves a lot tems from BYD and XPeng offer Western car manufacturers ciencies in the area of productivity – of points in the assessment category online shopping, such as for ­example should surely adapt one or two of messaging, including SMS text and of productivity and online services – pre-ordering goods in ­supermarkets, these innovative ideas. e-mail are missing, as well as many with the exception of music streaming, with XPeng even letting you order types of information services or a not too much is offered in this area. ­calendar integration. movies or event tickets from your car. And with the exception of the LIXIANG ONE RANGE NIO EC6 EXTENDED 6-SITZER NIO EC6, all vehicles offer an PERFORMANCE in-car karaoke function – particu­ Total performance: 245 kW (333 PS) larly typical of the country. Total performance: 400 kW (544 PS) Combustion engine: 96 kW (131 PS) BYD and LiXiang support voice Accel. 0 to 100 kmph: 4,5 s Electric engine: 100+145 kW chats via the WeChat service, which Max. Torque: 725 Nm Battery capacity: 40,5 kWh Top speed: 200 km/h is popular in China. This also exp­ Top speed: 172 km/h Battery capacity: 100 kWh E-Range (NEDC): 188 km lains why text-based messaging E-Range (NEDC): 615 km 43 058 Euros channels such as SMS and e-mails 61 454 Euros Test car price: For this comparison, the engineers filled Test car price: In the Lixiang One, the front passenger is also treated with which are popular in Europe, only out the same questionnaires as their Euro- Via the “face“ above the central display, assistant Nomi her or his own infotainment touchscreen. verdict: saticfactory (706 Points) play a minor role in Chinese cars. pean colleagues usually do for connect. verdict: gut (755 Points) supports her announcements with digital facial expressions.

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Test Results XPeng P7 Brand BYD NIO XPeng Lixiang Model Han EV EC6 P7 One The electric sedan from XPeng received the overall grade of satisfactory. Again, deficits in the productivity category prevent a better verdict. Mutual inspiration Infotainment system DiLink V1.2 NIO OS Xmart OS n/n Despite the conceptual differences Price of Test Vehicle at time of testing (RMB/corresponding to Euros) 279 000/36 628 468 000/61 454 409 000/53 707 328 000/43 058 Features Xiaopeng Motors, or for short XPeng, which lead to missed evaluation Infotainment: Display and Hardware has its headquarters in Guangzhou, points in a number of our assess­- Size: Main display/Cockpit display/Additional Display (Inches) 15,6/12,3/AC front + back 11,3/9,8/Í 14,96/10,25/Í 16,2/12,3/passenger+AC Province of Guangdong, as well as a ment categories, the models from Resolution Main display/Head-up display/Eco trainer hi-res/Í/Å hi-res/Å/Í 2400 x 1200/Í/Í 2608 x 720/Í/Í branch in Mountian View, California. BYD and NIO in particular, achieve Infotainment: Interfaces The company exclusively manufac­ good results that can definitely Voice Recognition: classical/AI-based/natural language Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å Í/Å/Å tures electric cars; its P7 model, Gesture control/Pad (Handwriting)/Controller Í/Å/Å Í/Å/Å Í/Å/Í Í/Å/Í released in 2020, is the supplier‘s compete with the top rankings in our Wheel buttons: Media/Cockpit/Voice control/Telephony Å/Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å/Å first sedan. There are different variants previous car connectivity tests. User profiles/customizable menus Å/Å Å/Å Å/Í Å/Å Í Å Í Å Í Å Í Å with rear-wheel or all-wheel drive Western manufacturers should Display: haptic Feedback/Touch control / / / / (i.e. one or two electric motors) as Infotainment: Entertainment therefore not sit back and relax for Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í well as different battery sizes and Android Auto/Apple Carplay/Mirror Link / / / / / / / / too long. Third party apps (App Store)/Virtual Personal Assistent Å/Xiao Di (Third Party) Í/NOMI Å/Xiao Pi Í/Å ranges. However, an expansion to the FM/DAB/Web radio/Sound controls/Equalizer/Surround sound Å/Í/Å/Å/Å/Å Í/Å/Å/Å/Í/Å Í/Í/Å/Å/Í/Å Í/Å/Å/Å/Í/Å In the cockpit, the main screen is Í Å Å Í Å Í Í Å Í Í Å Í European market and other regions Optical drive/USB music playback/Video playback / / / / / / / / a 14.96 inch (38 cm) touchscreen, Navigation: Features alongside a 10.25 inch digital instru- of the world would mean an im­ Map updates/POI search: integrated/online OTA+Third Party/Å/Å OTA/Å/Å OTA/Å/Å OTA/Å/Å ment display. A pad for manual input mense localization effort for the Navigation: integrated/cloud-based Å/Å Å/Å Å/Å Å/Å is also present alongside steering Chinese manufacturers, which they Considering range/Alternative routings/Eco routing Í/Å/Å Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å Í/Å/Å The P7 model tested by umlaut is driven on the rear axle and wheel buttons, but no designated will probably think twice about. Navigation: Visualization has the larger “Long Range“ battery. controller. Instead, the virtual per- Augmented Reality navigation/traffic light recognition Í/Å Í/Å Í/Å Í/Å sonal assistant Xiao P handles voice Still, the fact that NIO is already Traffic sign recognition/Speed limit display Å/Å Å/Å Å/Å Å/Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å Å dialogs, which works very well accor- ­present in Munich and XPeng has a Display of street names during route guidance: current/following / / / / Maneuver information: Arrow/Lanes/Position on lane Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å ding to umlaut‘s native speakers. branch in Silicon Valley shows that 3D maps/3D buildings/Google Earth Å/Å/Í Å/Í/Í Å/Å/Í Å/Å/Í In the XPeng, Web radio has these manufacturers are definitely Navigation: Live Services replaced the more traditional radio considering such options – and Parking opportunity: Street/Parking garage/Gas stations/pricing Å/Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å/Í Å/Å/Å/Í Å/Å/Å/Å ­reception completely. Our testers at least take inspiration from Live traffic information: TMC pro/RTTI/online Í/Å/Å Í/Å/Å Í/Å/Å Í/Å/Å CAR CONNECT had no complaints about the route Charging stations: Information/Availability Å/Í Å/Å Å/Í Å/Å guidance. Map updates are also ­Western ­developments. Above all, Connectivity: Smartphone App available over the air, and finding Western car manufacturers should App name/open and close doors/share location Bi Ya Di Qi Che/Å/Å Wei Lai/Å/Í Xiao Peng Qi Che/Å/Í Li Xiang Qi Che/Å/Å available parking spaces at the also pursue­ this in the opposite Send adress/POI to vehicle/First/Last Mile Navigation Å/Å/Í/Í Å/Å/Í/Í Å/Å/Í/Í Í/Í/Í/Í ­des­tination is also well solved. Also, ­direction. (De-)activate Air condition/AC timer/private carsharing Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å Å/Í/Å Maintenance reminder/Push info/Geofencing Í/Å/Í Í/Å/Í Å/Å/Í Å/Å/Í CAR CONNECT CAR the electric range is taken­ into account Vehicle information/status/Driver’s log/Charge monitoring Å/Å/Í/Å Å/Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Í/Å Å/Å/Å/Å during navigation. Connectivity: Interfaces To unlock the vehicle, XPeng relies eSIM/SIM Slot/Use of phone’s data quota Å/Í/Å Å/Í/Å Å/Í/Å Å/Í/Å on NFC in smartphones or smartwat- LTE/5G/Car2X/Bluetooth/USB-A/USB-C/SD Card Slot Å/Í/Í/Å/Å/Í/Å Å/Í/Í/Å/Å/Í/Í Å/Í/Í/Å/Å/Í/Í Å/Í/Í/Å/Å/Å/Í ches in addition to a traditional key, Conclusion induktive Charging (Smartphone)/initial duration of data packets Å/unlimited for IVI services Å/unlimited for IVI services Å/unlimited for IVI services Å/unlimited for IVI services and private car sharing is also pos­ Hannes Ruegheimer, Connectivity: Productivity and Online services sible. The manufacturer‘s app essen­ connect author Digital key/WiFi Hotspot/Offline mode Å/Å/Í NFC-Card/Å/Í NFC (Phone, Watch)/Í/Í App+Bluetooth/Í/Å tially supports the same range of Remote Diagnostics/eCall (Emergency)/bCall (Roadside assistance) Í/Å/Å Å/Å/Å Å/Å/Å Í/Í/in App The digital cockpit, main display and controls are of conven- Weather information/adress book/news/Stocks/Sport/Calendar Å/Å/opt./opt./opt./opt. Å/Å/Í/Í/Í/Í opt./Å/opt./Í/opt./opt. Å/Å/Í/Í/Í/Í tional design - XPeng does without a controller. ­functions compared to other candi­ dates in this comparison. News and A look at the car market in the SMS: enter/dictate/show/read aloud opt./opt./opt./Í Í/Í/Í/Í Í/Í/Í/Í Í/Í/Í/Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í Í sports ­information can be obtained Middle Kingdom provides exci- E-Mail: enter/dictate/show/read aloud opt./opt./opt./ / / / / / / / / / Browser/Concierge Service/integrated Streaming: Spotify/others opt./opt./Í/Wangyiyun. Tencent HD Í/Å/Í/QQ Music, Ximalaya opt./opt./Í/Å Í/Í/Í/Bilibili, iQiyi, Ximalaya u.a. from third-party providers, but there is ting insights. However, European no support for receiving or sending buyers should not be too im- Test results text messages or e-mails. pressed by the comparatively Feature Score max. 500 good (383) saticfactory (362) sufficient (318) saticfactory (327) low prices when converted Infotainment 200 151 144 115 125 directly into Euros – there would Navigation 100 77 78 80 79 be a lot of additional surcharges Connectivity 200 155 140 123 123 XPENG P7 RWD before a Chinese car could UX Score (User Experience) max. 500 good (407) good (393) saticfactory (417) very good (379) SUPER LONG RANGE ­actually drive on German roads. Smartphone app/Remote functions 30 25 24 27 26 Our comparison highlights not Navigation 50 42 45 46 45 Convenience 50 44 42 45 37 Total performance: 196 kW (266 PS) only ­cultural and market-related ­differences, but also a number of Productivity 20 16 18 18 18 Accel. 0 to 100 kmph: 6,7 s User friendliness 20 18 18 18 18 exciting concepts that Western Max. Torque: 390 Nm Communication 50 45 40 42 39 manufacturers should definitely Top speed: 170 km/h Voice Control 40 35 32 38 33 take a closer look at – not least Battery capacity: 80,9 kWh Entertainment 50 49 47 50 47 in the innovation chapter additio- Digital Cockpit 40 33 33 35 35 706 km E-Range (NEDC): nally considered by umlaut. System Perception during use 150 100 94 98 81 Test car price: 53 707 Euros VERDICT good good saticfactory saticfactory The virtual assistant Xiao P also appears as an animated max. 1000 790 755 735 706 avatar on the main screen if desired. verdict: saticfactory (735 Points)

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