After the live testing of the battery and autonomous driving concluded, the comments in the livestream had undergone a complete transformation.
Convinced!
Of course, saying they were convinced didn’t mean they were completely convinced. After all, autonomous driving was a brand-new technology, and how safe it truly was would require a long time and extensive data to verify. To make all drivers and ordinary people accept this new technology, a single livestream certainly wasn’t enough.
But regardless, this live broadcast of the JiFeng K1 had announced this technological breakthrough to everyone with a very confident attitude!
Lin Yu returned to the big screen, also looking full of confidence.
“Before we get to the pricing section, there’s one final small dish: the crash test results!”
“However, I should explain to everyone that these aren’t IIAS crash test results, but rather crash tests we conducted ourselves.”
“As for why they weren’t done by IIAS, it’s because IIAS doesn’t accept vehicles submitted by manufacturers; they only conduct tests on vehicles that are officially on sale, randomly purchased from the market.”
“The IIAS crash results will only be available after the JiFeng K1 officially goes on the market. However, we have full confidence in this!”
“Now, please take a look at the crash test results we’ve conducted ourselves. Although the test environment isn’t exactly the same, we believe there won’t be much difference compared to the future IIAS crash results.”
The big screen began showing the JiFeng K1’s crash videos. There wasn’t much to say about the results—naturally, most were excellent across the board!
The reason for saying “most” was because there was indeed one aspect that wasn’t perfect: the economic feasibility of post-crash repairs. The reason was simple: as an autonomous driving model, the JiFeng K1’s body was equipped with many cameras, sensors, and radars, and this autonomous driving system hardware was relatively expensive. After a collision, these devices would all need to be replaced, naturally reducing the economic feasibility of repairs.
There was no way around this—all autonomous driving models faced this issue. To save money on autonomous driving hardware, one would have to reduce the number of sensors and LiDAR, relying as much as possible on cameras for a pure vision solution to achieve autonomous driving. But the safety of a pure vision autonomous driving solution was difficult to guarantee, as cameras could easily misjudge, and each misjudgment could potentially lead to irreversible consequences.
Choosing the lesser of two evils, they ultimately had to sacrifice the economic feasibility of repairs.
Of course, with mass production of the model and continuous cost reduction, these sensors, LiDAR, and other supporting equipment should also gradually decrease in price.
As for other aspects, there was naturally nothing to discuss—all excellent. This was because Stefer Automotive had always performed well in terms of safety, and with the addition of the new Blade Battery and more advanced active braking technology in the autonomous driving system, this car became the safest model in Stefer Automotive’s lineup, without exception!
Including other new energy brands, it was likely the best in most areas.
Finally came the pricing section. This time, the price was divided into four different tiers:
The JiFeng K1’s basic version was around 270,000 yuan, and the high-end version was around 350,000 yuan; while the basic version with autonomous driving technology was around 390,000 yuan, and the high-end version was around 450,000 yuan!
As for the differences between the basic and high-end versions, they mainly came down to optional features and battery range.
And the pricing of this highest-end version was indeed consistent with the pricing in “Safe and Civilized Driving.”
The audience immediately erupted in cheers.
Was it expensive? Yes!
But this price point completely met everyone’s psychological expectations!
The basic version without autonomous driving technology was around 270,000 yuan, basically the same as Stefer’s previous flagship model, just slightly more expensive. Considering the Blade Battery and various hardware improvements, this price was completely acceptable.
The version with autonomous driving technology cost an additional 100,000 yuan, mainly due to the sensors and LiDAR throughout the vehicle. Whether this 100,000 yuan was worth it depended on the consumer’s personal choice.
Some people might think autonomous driving technology was all flash and no substance, unwilling to spend this extra 100,000 yuan. That was fine—the JiFeng K1’s basic model still had the Blade Battery and regular hardware upgrades, and the vehicle system also included intelligent voice and other features, just without autonomous driving. If someone wanted to experience the strongest autonomous driving currently on the market and didn’t care about the extra 100,000 yuan, then maxing out with the top configuration might be a good choice.
The blunt way to put it was: skillful price manipulation.
The diplomatic way to put it was: the price range could perfectly cover the needs of different consumer groups.
Lin Yu smiled slightly: “I know many people here are probably players of ‘Safe and Civilized Driving,’ right?”
“This time, we’ve also collaborated with the game ‘Safe and Civilized Driving,’ so we’ll be launching an exclusive discount for players.”
“With an account that has purchased the JiFeng K1 in ‘Safe and Civilized Driving,’ you can get a 5,000 yuan discount on the two basic models, and a 10,000 yuan discount on the two high-end models! The first batch of customers to place orders can get an additional 10,000 yuan discount!”
“That means, if you place an order now, the basic 270,000 yuan model without autonomous driving can be discounted to 255,000 yuan; the high-end 450,000 yuan model with autonomous driving can be discounted to 430,000 yuan!”
As soon as she finished speaking, the audience erupted in cheers again.
“Players get a 10,000 yuan discount on cars? Awesome, what a deal!”
“Buy a car in the game, and get a discount in real life? Incredible!”
“Mr. Pei: Yes, yes, yes, you all make money again, while I’m losing so much I have to eat Slackin’ delivery!”
“This is good, the price is very sincere. Don’t always compare with those gasoline cars—new energy vehicles aren’t even in the same category! At this price, with this technology, doesn’t it completely outperform other new energy vehicles?”
“When can we test drive it? I want to see this autonomous driving technology with my own eyes!”
…
The press conference concluded successfully.
Zhang Yan watched the entire press conference and then did a quick search online. Sure enough, discussions about the JiFeng K1 had topped the trending searches, and clips from the press conference were all over various video websites!
Although there were still debates, these debates were no longer about “whether the JiFeng K1’s technology was exaggerated” or “whether the autonomous driving technology could really reach the level claimed in the game,” but had shifted to “whether spending an extra 100,000 yuan on an autonomous driving system was worth it.”
Indeed, there were still many people who thought the highest configuration was priced too high.
“450,000 yuan is still too expensive. With this price, you could buy a high-end version of a popular model from a branded gasoline car company! Wouldn’t that be more prestigious than a Stefer? Besides, electric car technology isn’t mature yet, it’s not as convenient as gasoline cars. How could anyone choose this?”
Seeing this kind of argument, Zhang Yan was also speechless.
“Why are people still comparing new energy vehicles with gasoline cars? They’re not even in the same category.”
“Gasoline cars are indeed more mature, but not every city is free from license plate restrictions. In the Imperial Capital and Magic City, many people can’t get a license plate for a gasoline car at all. What can they do besides buying an electric car?”
“Moreover, electric cars have their own advantages. If you have a charging station at home, there’s no range anxiety for daily urban commuting, and the actual cost is far lower than gasoline cars.”
“The JiFeng K1’s pricing is clearly very meticulous. Many domestic new energy car companies have already established themselves at the 250,000 yuan price point. Stefer is pricing completely based on its previous generation flagship model, making the basic 270,000 yuan model a relatively practical choice.”
“As for adding 100,000 yuan for autonomous driving, the game has already demonstrated this: even without using autonomous driving, the LiDAR can help drivers better see blind spots while driving, and AEEIS’s reminders can also provide some guidance to drivers, making driving safer.”
“Moreover, many car owners don’t mind this extra 100,000 yuan. They just want to buy the most technologically advanced and best new energy car. They might already have a million-yuan gasoline car at home and are buying this purely as a toy.”
“The high-end autonomous driving model of the JiFeng K1’s direct competitors aren’t gasoline cars in the same price range, but high-end new energy vehicles from foreign brands at the same price point. Compared to those foreign high-end brands with average safety and less impressive autonomous driving technology, the JiFeng K1 is clearly very competitive!”
“There should be car review content creators testing and evaluating it soon. I think everyone can wait and see, especially those who can’t get a license plate—it’s worth considering and quite cost-effective. When I have money, I’ll consider getting one to play with, and just give my original gasoline car to my dad.”
“The key is that after buying the JiFeng K1 in ‘Safe and Civilized Driving,’ you can save 10,000 yuan when buying a car in real life. That’s ridiculous!”
“Alright, this controversy is over. I’m going back to racing on my track!”
Zhang Yan had been a bit worried about “Safe and Civilized Driving,” but now it seemed her concerns were unnecessary.
Clearly, Tenda knew exactly what they were doing!
This marketing plan for the JiFeng K1 could be said to have had excellent results. First, they released the K1 model in the game, allowing evening discussions and heat to accumulate to a certain level, and then held a press conference in reality, settling the matter definitively!
If there hadn’t been the groundwork in the game, and they had just started with the press conference, although it would still have had a good effect, it definitely wouldn’t have been as sensational as it was now.
This was because most people found it hard to imagine that autonomous driving could already reach this level. If they had just directly released it, people might have been shocked at the time, but their perceptions would have quickly adjusted, and naturally, the impression wouldn’t have been as deep.
In the current situation, since there had already been over a week of intense debate, and most people thought this kind of autonomous driving technology was completely impossible, Stefer Automotive and the Shenhua Group proving it through livestreaming at the press conference made it completely different!
Many people’s previously reinforced perceptions were forcibly reversed, naturally leaving a deeper impression.
Moreover, this press conference could also be seen as a powerful promotion for “Safe and Civilized Driving.”
Not to mention those who truly wanted to buy a car and went for the discount, even those who weren’t planning to buy a car now would reevaluate “Safe and Civilized Driving” because of this press conference and delve deeper into it. And once they understood how enjoyable this game was, they might buy it!
The powerful alliance of the three parties had achieved an absolute win-win-win effect!