QuickDrive

About QuickDrive

To get you a glimpse into China’s car market.

Publisher

Juliet Ye

Category

society & culture

Language

zh

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Aug 2023

Latest episode

19 Jan 2024

Latest episodes

7 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   19 Jan 2024

   QuickDrive 6：CES 2024

   Hello, welcome to QuickDrive, the podcast that gets you a glimpse into China’s car market. Amongst them, in today’s episode, 00:09 CES2024, The world's premier tech show, kicked off last week in Las Vegas. In many ways, CES has replaced traditional auto shows as the preferred venue to showcase futuristic vehicle concepts and technologies. Let's take a look at the hottest in-car technologies that is about to make a difference to our mobility life. 00:28 This year's overarching theme was how AI is being integrated into just about everything we use — including our cars, where the experience is increasingly being defined by software. 00:41 Volkswagan integrated ChatGPT to its innovative IDA(读埃达) voice control system. One can adjust the cabin temperature by simply saying I'm cold, or navigate to a nearby restaurant without typing. The IDA system will be loaded onto VW’s all electric ID. models, and some of its ICE cars. 00:59 Mercedes' latest virtual assistant will respond to "I'm hungry" with restaurant recommendations, even cheerily summarizing menus and reviews to help the driver choose. 01:10 China display giant BOE presented the 45-inch 8K borderless smart screen equipped in Geely's all-electric model Galaxy E8. It is equipped with AI large models, enabling AI voice chat, AI rhythm, and an AI time engine. It also allows both the driver and the passenger operate on different screen areas at the same-time. 01:31 Zeekr 007 appeared on Valeo's booth, showcased its ZEEKR STARGATE smart lighting system, a 90-inch light curtain with more than 1,700 lamp beads. The lights have an industry-leading 10,000 nits of brightness and support personalized projection so the driver can interact with cars and pedestrians in the surrounding world. 01:53 And of course, CES wasn’t only about in-car software, car makers also came to show off their shiny new concept vehicles pointing to their future plans. 02:02 Hyundai's first electric flying taxi, dubbed the S-A2, made its debut at the show. The V-tail electric car can fly at speeds up to 120 mph (miles per hour) at 1,500 feet height. And the urban air taxis could be shuttling passengers on 25- to 40-mile trips starting in 2028. 02:23 Kia unveiled a lineup of futuristic electric vans, trucks, and ride-hailing and last-mile delivery vehicles. They're unique because they share a modular platform, with a fixed driver cab and inter-changeable bodies, or "life modules." Kia is partnering with Uber to design a ride-hailing version of the first model, the Kia PV5, with features like personalized rider settings and rear seat entertainment. 02:50 Sony follows suit of its Chinese counterparts Huawei and Xiaomi to make cars. Can you imagine playing racing games with you PS5 DualSense, and the next minute, you are driving a real car with it? Sony Honda Mobility, the joint venture between the two Japanese companies, made it come true with their first car Afeela. The company will open order books for the Afeela in 2025 when production is scheduled to kick off. North American deliveries are earmarked for early 2026. 03:18 If you are a big fan of The Transformers, you should not miss Chinese automaker Xpeng's AeroHT eVTOL Flying Car. With the propeller arms folded in, someone can drive it around in the normal manner as driving a Lamborghini-style supercar EV gets. And when the driver hits traffic, they can open up the flying apparatus and take to the skies. The company says mass production of the flying car is set to begin in the last quarter of 2025. When will you be able to see it flying in streets, however, will largely depends on local aviation regulations’ permission. That concludes this edition of the QuickDrive, the podcast that gets you a glimpse into China’s car market. I am Juliet Ye, thank you so much for listening, see you next time.

2. 

   10 Jan 2024

   Girls Talk1:年底焦虑大爆发！

   这期播客我们想说说焦虑。人是社会动物，每个个体都时刻和周遭发生着关联，焦虑也就产生了，学业焦虑、容貌焦虑、年龄焦虑、鸡娃焦虑……好像我们在走入不同的人生阶段、全新的赛道，但终点线却只有一个。谁没跑到，谁就成为众矢之的。 其实人生怎会是一条终点线呢？人生应该是旷野，我们来自四面八方，又向不同的方向四散而去。现在我们也看到越来越多的人更愿意直面自己内心最真实的想法，勇敢成为想成为的那个人。那这时，TA就不再是一条单一赛道上的跑者，而是人生旷野的体验者，外界不再能轻易定义TA，TA成为了自己的标尺。 新年伊始，春节临近，走亲串友，我知道又到了焦虑容易集中爆发的时期了。所以这次我们约了三五好友一起坐下聊了聊，希望我们能一起放下焦虑，相信一切都是最好的安排。祝大家新年快乐！ 01:19 焦虑来源 03:15 20-30代的焦虑（Jasmine） 06:18 生娃焦虑 06:50 为什么会焦虑 08:31 产生焦虑的一瞬间 09:49 别被三十而立吓到 13:47 传统教育vs西方教育碰撞 14:23 30-40代的焦虑（芸妈） 19:00 2种解决焦虑的办法（from 菡姐、芸妈） 21:50 保持适度焦虑 24:38 佛系姐姐的焦虑（YJ姐姐） 28:30 学校鸡娃的焦虑 30:31 PUA带来焦虑

3. 

   6 Dec 2023

   QuickDrive 5：BYD Talk

   Let’s talk about BYD today, the most attention-grabbing Chinese new energy vehicle brand, which can be well seen from the huge crowds at the BYD booth during the Munich Auto Show. The most important thing that builds BYD's success is its most integrated supply chain among carmakers in the world, even when compared to Toyota and Tesla. The highly vertically integrated supply chain is just like putting on a financial leverage, helping it earn money for all parts and components when car sales are good, while turning to a huge burden when sales is not satisfactory. This also explains BYD's net profit margin fluctuations in the past. From 2009 to 2020, BYD's annual sales hovered between 400,000 to 500,000 units, barely making ends meet. In 2021, BYD sold 710,000 vehicles, with a net profit margin of only 1.4%. In 2022, its sales volume increased to 2.6 times of the previous-year level, and its net profit margin also increased to 3.9%, net profit to RMB16.6 billion. As its sales continued to rise, in the first half of 2023, BYD expects its net profit to increase by more than 192% to RMB10.5 billion. In other words, "those who choose this path often have a strong heart." This is not groundless – according to someone who helped Wang Chuanfu start his business, Wang has always thought it this way, "you can do it all by yourself, as long as you dare to do it." This can be seen from all the industries BYD taps into, including mobile phones, automobiles, batteries, masks, PV, semiconductors, and rail transit. For BYD, everything can be manufactured. In order to achieve this, BYD has embarked on a unique path with Chinese characteristics, i.e. the "301" concept - using 300% engineers to gain technology leadership by 1%. BYD reduces initiation cost through building production lines composed of abundant labor and a small number of necessary machines. In 1995, when BYD's predecessor - a battery manufacturer for mobile phones was founded, Wang Chuanfu was able to fully break down the production line into manual processes. Estimated by the production efficiency at that time, a BYD production line with a daily output of 100,000 lithium batteries required 2,000 workers and an equipment investment of RMB50 million, while the same production lines of manufacturers like Sony and Sanyo only required 200 workers but plus an equipment investment as high as USD100 million. This also made BYD the automaker with the largest number of employees in the world today. When it comes to carmaking, BYD also attaches greatest importance to supply chain construction. The company began to work on the production and manufacturing of automotive electronics in 2003. Between 2005 and 2008, BYD successively added production functions such as injection molded interior parts, car lights and paint, etc. By 2010, BYD had more than 100 parts factories. In addition to glass and tires, BYD's manufacturing extends to almost all automotive components. The strong supply chain system maintained stable operation during the COVID-19 lockdown period, while to the contrast, the production and sales were respectively fully stopped and dropped by half in the same period when it comes to automaking leaders such as SAIC and GAC. When a company develops businesses in various industries, it becomes a question whether it can stay ahead of those who are dedicated to just one or two. In the early days of entering the PV industry, Wang was forced to cut investment in automobile and use automobile business resources to support PV. Today, BYD's subsidiary Fudi Battery has become the second-largest power battery company in the world, while still having much to improve when compared to CATL, the largest. Looking back at auto leaders in the past, the key to their success lies in their contribution to changing the industry technology itself. Ford invented the assembly line and Toyota brought lean production. However, what brought BYD to the first place was obviously not any of this, but rather, China’s hard-working and cheap labor, as well as the determination to pursuing the same strategic focus of its founder Wang Chuanfu.

4. 

   1 Dec 2023

   QuickDrive4：The Auto Guangzhou 2023

   Hello, welcome to QuickDrive, the podcast that gets you a glimpse into China’s car market. Amongst them, in today’s episode, 00:08 Chinese EV maker NIO and Chang’an Automobile, China’s fourth-biggest car maker, jointly announced a cooperative agreement on battery swapping. The collaboration is expected to help US-listed NIO improve profitability. Battery swapping allows drivers to replace depleted packs quickly with fully charged ones, and NIO is one of a few EV makers betting on battery swapping as a major power option for EVs. So far, the company has over 2,100 battery swapping stations across China and nearly 1 million charging poles. 00:43 Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp. is making electric cars, for real. According to a filing released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology this week, Xiaomi’s long-anticipated EV will be branded Xiaomi SU7, and is a five-seat sedan with a panoramic glass roof. The EV is powered by batteries from CATL and BYD, depending on the battery types. The price, however as the most anticipated part, is not yet released 01:12 The Auto Guangzhou 2023, one of China’s biggest annual car events, kicked off on Nov 17 in the south-eastern coastal city of Guangzhou. Below are some of the highlights of the vehicles on display: BYD Sea Lion 07 01:25 The first midsize full-electric SUV from China’s top car brand, the BYD Sea Lion 07 features BYD’s in-house “DiSus” body control system, which makes the car capable in almost any driving condition and scenario. The new car is estimated to be priced between 200,000 yuan to 260,000 yuan, putting it below the base Model Y which currently sells for 266,400 yuan in China. Li Auto MEGA MPV 01:52 US-listed EV maker Li Auto finally unveiled its first pure-electric model. The seven-seat MEGA MPV secured 10,000 pre-orders within two hours of its release at the show. The design of the MPV was a major talking point with Chinese netizens nicknamed it as “highway bullet train” (“公路高铁”in Chinese). Powered by CATL’s 1,000 kilometer capable Qilin battery, the MEGA MPV can charge to 500 kilometers of range in just 12 minutes. The anticipated price for the new car is above 500,000 yuan, and deliveries could start as soon as February. Zeekr 007 sedan 02:32 Geely Auto’s premium vehicle brand Zeekr unveiled its first electric sedan, Zeekr 007, at this year’s Guangzhou show. With price starting at 229,900 yuan, Zeekr picked up 20,000 pre-orders in the first 48 hours. Designed by a team lead by long-time Audi veteran Stefan Sielaff, the futuristic-looking car has clean lines and a tech-laden design, with the front bumper featuring a 90-inch intelligent lighting display. The 475kW all-wheel drive can go from zero to 100km/h in just 2.84 seconds. The Zeekr 007 comes in two ranges, 688 kilometers and 870 kilometers. Its fast-charging technology delivers up to 610 kilometers of range in 15 minutes. Xpeng X9 MPV 03:24 The seven-seater is the first pure electric MPV from Xpeng, which recently signed a partnership to develop two VW-branded EVs for the German auto giant. The new flagship will start at 388,000 yuan and offer 610 kilometers of range on a single charge. The interior features a 21.4-inch entertainment screen, an in-built fridge and a maximum storage capacity of a spacious 2,554 liters. Xpeng’s autonomous driving features will also be deployed on this model. That concludes this edition of the QuickDrive, the podcast that gets you a glimpse into China’s car market. I am Juliet Ye, thank you so much for listening, see you next time.

5. 

   28 Sept 2023

   QuickDrive3：Anti-subsidy investigation into China-made EVs

6. 

   12 Sept 2023

   QuickDrive2：IAA Mobility 2023

   进军海外，难度很大！ 1. 慕尼黑车展是欧洲最大的车展，本次去开幕式镇场的，不仅有拜仁州州长和慕尼黑市市长，连德国总理奥拉夫·肖尔茨都决定亲临现场。 2. 长久以来，慕尼黑车展一直是BBA和大众集团等德国车企的主场，但今年的慕尼黑车展，整体车展参展商大幅减少，丰田、马自达、日产、铃木、现代、起亚等日韩车企踪影全无。 3. 中国企业的参展数量几乎将近2021年时的两倍。数据显示，今年慕尼黑车展上有近50家中国企业参展，约占总参展企业的7.4%。 4. 与国内刚刚结束的成都车展相比，慕尼黑车展更偏向B端，没有酷炫的场馆、车模，纯技术的含量更高，更偏向行业的交流。 5. 没有闹事的车展不足以说明他的关注度，在德国也是一样，这里将会看到一群激进的环保人士反对，他们渴望过回自给自足的农耕时代。 为了减少他们的进入，慕尼黑展览中心的展览，一张门票就要179欧元，相当于1400元人民币。据说还包含了交通费和环保支持建设费。 6. 宝马是慕尼黑名副其实的东道主，它绝对是这次车展里离得最近的品牌，没有之一。 它的总部离这次慕尼黑车展的举办地只有约15公里，开车也就20分钟就到了，可能比各位上班还要近。 7. 这次宝马带来了一款全新i7 Protection（防弹版）。最大卖点就是采用了大量装甲钢及装甲玻璃材质，属于VR9级防护，甚至可以防御无人机攻击和手榴弹碎片。 不过由于重量达到了4.9吨，所以续航里程大大缩水，只有380公里。啊这……这么一想也挺鸡肋的，犯罪分子完全可以追到没电…… 8. 这次中国车企亮肌肉的车型也不少，比亚迪带来了全新版的海报和宋PLUS EV，蔚来带来了全新的EL6，阿维塔带来了全新的阿维塔12，零跑带来了全新的C10，高合建立了首个海外体验中心，并开启了高合X的预售。 9. 在定价上，从海豹在欧洲的售价，单电机后驱版44900欧元，约合人民币35.2万元。双电机四驱版50990欧元，约合人民币40万元，这价格几乎就是国内的两倍。 所以，朋友们，这次轮到国产品牌赚老外的钱了。 10. 老外也跟我们一样，会对新能源的售后、电池的寿命有担忧。而且大部分都是BBA的保守派，中国品牌扎根尚需时间。不过，新能源、新技术确实是大势所趋，再不卷，吃饭就真得做小孩那桌了！

7. 

   12 Aug 2023

   QuickDrive EP1

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