The domestic passenger car market as a whole has been improving this year, with data from the Confederation of Passenger Transport showing that cumulative sales in the first five months reached 8.832 million units, an increase of 10.5% year-on-year. The strong recovery of Chinese brands has become a key factor driving the overall sales growth of the market, with Chinese brands' market share already approaching 50% in the first five months and sales increasing at a rate of 12.2% year-on-year, stealing the share of a large part of overseas brands.
However, the recovery of Chinese brands is not a straightforward path, especially in March this year to Citroen C6 (reduced by 90,000 yuan, starting price as low as 120,000 yuan) and other joint venture brand models as a representative of a large number of models to reduce prices, set off a new round of price war, so that the already low profitability of Chinese brand models is difficult to fight, but the price war did not last too long, did not form a strong wait-and-see mood, so that consumer demand can continue to be released.

       This year's price war, on the one hand, is attributed to the national six b switch to clear inventory, on the other hand, also lies in the car companies want to ensure the scale of sales through price cuts, but such an operation will really have a negative impact on the long-term development of the brand, is not conducive to brand influence and brand loyalty, but also not conducive to the long-term construction of the brand.
     　In contrast, some Chinese brands, represented by BYD, are fighting a more advanced price war. Take BYD's Qin PLUS DM-i 2023 Champion Edition launched in February this year, as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) new energy vehicle, priced at only 9.98-145,800 yuan, basically the same price as the fuel version, making the pressure on the same class of fuel car multiplied.
　　The Qin PLUS DM-i 2023 Champion Edition was a hit when it was launched, and in April it helped the Qin family win the top spot in all sedan sales with 42,000 units sold, surpassing popular models such as the Nissan Xuan Yi and Volkswagen Lang Yi.
       The reason why BYD can do "oil and electricity parity", mainly due to the strong technical research and development strength, perfect and mature supply chain system, strong cost control ability, etc., of course, the most important point, or scale advantage, only so as to ensure profits, in order to have enough say.
       At the beginning of March, another representative of Chinese brands, Great Wall Motor, also formally shone a sword, the launch of the front and rear axle dual-motor series parallel electric four-wheel drive innovative configuration of the new intelligent four-wheel drive electric hybrid technology Hi4, to achieve "four-wheel drive experience, two-wheel drive price, four-wheel drive performance, two-wheel drive energy consumption", so that this high-grade price war escalated again.
The new vehicle is positioned as a mid-sized SUV. Although its 2800mm wheelbase is not too advantageous among mid-sized SUVs, it is able to "eat up and down" and form a mismatch competition, especially as a 4WD PHEV model, but the price is only 15.98-17.98 million yuan. The price of the 4WD PHEV is only 15.98-17.98 million RMB, which is even lower than the price of some compact fuel SUVs. With this product strategy and pricing strategy, does the Haval Dragon MAX have any hope of becoming the "Haval H6" of the EV era?
Technology for the benefit of all
        In recent years, Chinese brands have formed a more obvious advantage in the new energy vehicle circuit, not only in the pure electric vehicle (EV) sector of course, but also in the development of PHEVs, especially this year, based on the more friendly driving experience brought by PHEV models, China's PHEV market has been able to grow rapidly.
       According to the data from the China Passenger Vehicle Association, in the first five months of this year, the cumulative sales of PHEVs in China's passenger vehicle market reached 791,000 units, an increase of 96% year-on-year, significantly ahead of the overall growth rate of the passenger vehicle market (10.5% in the first five months), and the market performance in the same period was stronger than that of pure EVs (33.1% in the first five months), and the PHEV market has entered a period of rapid development.
Among the Chinese brand car companies, Great Wall, BYD, Geely and Chery have all launched more mature PHEV technology, yet Great Wall Motor has achieved universal electric four-wheel drive on the basis of PHEV and significantly lowered the model price, allowing the competition in the PHEV market to enter a new stage.
　　The new hybrid architecture Hi4, the latest technological achievement of Great Wall Motor's new energy technology, achieves 3 engines and 9 modes of intelligent dynamic switching by adopting a dual-motor series-parallel electric 4WD configuration for the front and rear axles, combined with intelligent energy management and intelligent torque vectoring control system, which can accurately identify real-time road conditions.
　　Compared with other dual-motor series-parallel configurations, the Great Wall Hi4 adds pure electric 4WD, parallel 4WD and dual-axis energy recovery modes to ensure that users can match the optimal operating mode in any travel scenario, covering all working conditions and ensuring optimal performance. Of course this is not based on sacrificing power performance. Thanks to the new configuration and intelligent torque vectoring control, the Hi4-equipped model has more power for flat starts, hill starts and straight-line driving, smoother and easier high-speed cornering and continuous cornering, as well as better off-road extrication and obstacle-crossing capabilities.

As the first model to be equipped with Hi4, the Haval Dragon MAX has been quickly produced and delivered to customers at a very competitive price, making Great Wall Motor's claim of "4WD experience, 2WD price, 4WD performance, 2WD energy consumption" not an empty phrase, which is in fact the most direct way to benefit consumers through technological progress. In fact, this is the most direct manifestation of the benefits to consumers through technological progress.
　　Thanks to the Hi4, the advantages of the Haval Dragon MAX as a PHEV model are further amplified. Compared with fuel vehicles, the Haval Dragon MAX has a comprehensive fuel consumption of only 1.78L per 100km under WLTC conditions, and the lowest charge state fuel consumption is only 5.5L, while the power performance is stronger, with a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 6.8s, which is significantly better than traditional fuel vehicles; and compared with pure electric vehicles Compared with pure electric vehicles, the Haval Lone MAX can be powered by oil or electricity, so there is no range anxiety or charging anxiety and it is less affected by temperature, so the travel radius is larger than that of pure electric vehicles.
　　In addition to the cutting-edge new energy power technology of Great Wall Motor, the intelligent cabin and intelligent driving technology of the Haval Dragon MAX are also a plus point, as well as being more in line with what a smart car should look like in the new energy era.
The Haval LORD MAX comes with a triple screen as standard across the range, highlighting the sense of technology while also reinforcing the smart tag. After all, the triple screen design will provide a better experience in terms of interaction and entertainment, where the passenger screen is also equipped with an exclusive entertainment system for the passenger, which does not interfere with the central control screen and makes travelling for the passenger no longer boring.
　　The main driver's experience is also not to be underestimated, as the Haval Kingpin MAX is equipped with a W-HUD head-up digital display for the driver, where information such as speed, revs, navigation and alarms can be displayed on the windscreen, so that the driver no longer has to look down at the LCD instrumentation or the centre console, enhancing driving safety. In addition, the Haval Lone MAX is equipped with 50W wireless fast charging, and more thoughtfully, a separate electric fan is placed under the wireless charging cooling hole for blowing air to dissipate heat, the details are very well designed.
　　In terms of intelligent driving, the top model of Haval Dragon MAX is equipped with 22 intelligent sensors including ultrasonic radar and millimetre wave radar, which can support L2+ level intelligent driving assistance, providing intelligent driving assistance functions such as ACC full speed range adaptive cruise control, intelligent cruise control, stick lane change (HWA), intelligent cornering and intelligent dodging active emergency braking, reducing many driving operations for drivers and allowing them to monitor their surroundings through Sensors monitor the entire surroundings, making driving easier and safer.
　　In addition, Haval LORD MAX is also very friendly to novice drivers, equipped with 540° panoramic surround-view camera (360° surround-view + 180° transparent chassis), full-scene automatic parking system (fusion parking, remote parking, trailing reverse), all-round blind zone monitoring + lateral assist system (parallel assist, reverse lateral warning, rear collision warning, door opening warning) and other functions, in driving and parking scenarios, can significantly improve the novice driver's understanding of the surrounding environment. All can significantly improve novice drivers' perception of their surroundings and avoid safety accidents.

"Haval Dragon MAX'
　　The Haval Kingpin MAX comes with a triple screen as standard across the range, highlighting the sense of technology while also reinforcing the smart tag. After all, the triple screen design will provide a better experience in terms of interaction and entertainment, where the passenger screen is also equipped with an exclusive entertainment system for the passenger, which does not interfere with the central control screen and makes travelling for the passenger less boring.
　　The main driver's experience is also not to be underestimated, as the Haval Kingpin MAX is equipped with a W-HUD head-up digital display for the driver, where information such as speed, revs, navigation and alarms can be displayed on the windscreen, so that the driver no longer has to look down at the LCD instrumentation or the centre console, enhancing driving safety. In addition, the Haval Lone MAX is equipped with 50W wireless fast charging, and more thoughtfully, a separate electric fan is placed under the wireless charging cooling hole for blowing air to dissipate heat, the details are very well designed.
　　In terms of intelligent driving, the top model of Haval Dragon MAX is equipped with 22 intelligent sensors including ultrasonic radar and millimetre wave radar, which can support L2+ level intelligent driving assistance, providing intelligent driving assistance functions such as ACC full speed range adaptive cruise control, intelligent cruise control, stick lane change (HWA), intelligent cornering and intelligent dodging active emergency braking, reducing many driving operations for drivers and allowing them to monitor their surroundings through Sensors monitor the entire surroundings, making driving easier and safer.
　　In addition, Haval LORD MAX is also very friendly to novice drivers, equipped with 540° panoramic surround-view camera (360° surround-view + 180° transparent chassis), full-scene automatic parking system (fusion parking, remote parking, trailing reverse), all-round blind zone monitoring + lateral assist system (parallel assist, reverse lateral warning, rear collision warning, door opening warning) and other functions, in driving and parking scenarios, can significantly improve the novice driver's understanding of the surrounding environment. All can significantly improve novice drivers' perception of their surroundings and avoid safety accidents.
With the support of Hi4, Smart Cockpit, Smart Driving and other technologies, Haval Lone MAX has the capital to compete in the current new energy vehicle market, which of course is not a pile of technology, but a practice of user-centric and maximizing user experience through cutting-edge technology. What the market needs is not to show off technology, only technology advancement that is truly user-oriented and can be enjoyed by users at an affordable price will be bought.
Misaligned competition
　　For example, the Lexus ES is positioned as a mid-size car, but its overall size and price are not as high as the Volvo S90, which is also a second-tier luxury car with the same positioning. For those with a higher budget than the Volvo S60 but not enough for the S90, they can consider the Lexus ES, but of course Lexus loyalists are a different story.
In fact, Haval Kingpin MAX also adopted a similar tactic, and even do more exaggerated, size, selling price is less than the same medium-sized SUV BYD Tang New Energy, size than compact SUV SongPLUS New Energy, but the price is surprisingly lower than its 4WD version, which is equivalent to can directly steal the share of BYD Tang New Energy and SongPLUS New Energy.
　　In terms of price, the price range of the three versions of the Haval Kingpin MAX is 15.98-17.98 million yuan, while the 4WD version of the SongPLUS New Energy PHEV model is priced at 207,800 yuan and 218,800 yuan respectively, which is equivalent to the price of the Haval Kingpin MAX being about 40,000 yuan lower; in terms of body size, the Haval Kingpin MAX has a wheelbase length of 2800mm. In terms of body dimensions, the Haval Kingpin MAX has a wheelbase length of 2800mm, 35mm more than the SongPLUS New Energy, which makes the interior driving space more generous; in terms of power, the SongPLUS New Energy has an advantage over the Kingpin MAX due to its turbocharged engine, while the Haval Kingpin MAX uses dual motors to balance its performance.

"SongPLUS New Energy'
　　In fact, the biggest difference between the two is at the configuration level. Haval Lone MAX is equipped with many features that Song PLUS New Energy does not carry, such as fatigue driving alert, roadside assistance call, moving object warning system, single pedal mode, lane centering, trail reverse, exterior mirror memory, exterior mirror reverse auto down, passenger entertainment screen, voice recognition control windows, mobile phone APP remote Control windows/lights/heated seats, HUD head-up digital display, Type-C multimedia/charging port, luggage compartment 12V power port, main seat lumbar support, driver's electric seat memory, negative ion generator, etc. This premise or Haval Lords MAX is priced at 40,000 yuan lower, instead of being more competitive in terms of configuration, the value for money has needless to say.
　　It is understood that the Haval Kingpin series will also launch an EV version at the end of this year, realizing a double line of PHEV + EV, completing a wider coverage of the new energy market and better meeting the different needs of consumers today, while also allowing the Haval brand to go further in its strategic transformation to new energy and improving the embarrassment of the Haval brand not having a pure electric vehicle.
"Haval Dragon'
　　In the next market competition, Haval Kingpin MAX will form a combined force with Haval Kingpin, which is positioned as a compact SUV, covering the two largest SUV segments of compact and mid-size sales base, just like the naming inspiration from the Chinese fighter jet, soaring upwards and taking the initiative, leading the Haval brand to transform into new energy. The Haval Kingpin is a two-wheel drive PHEV model, which takes an approachable route and focuses on the mainstream consumer market, while the Haval Kingpin MAX is aimed at the higher end of the market, and it is believed that users with higher demand for four-wheel drive, space and configuration will prefer the Haval Kingpin MAX.
　　Behind the Haval Dragon MAX is the hardcore support of Great Wall Motor's 32 years of car-making heritage, and with the support of cutting-edge technologies such as Café Smart, Café Smart Drive and the new hybrid architecture Hi4, the Haval Dragon MAX already has two powerful weapons in hand, including new energy and intelligence. It has the hard power to seize the sales share from BYD.