New vehicles in March by MIIT: High-level intelligent driving has become standard for mid-high-end NEVs

Today, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially released a new batch of the list of new energy vehicle models.

There aren't a particularly large number of popular new energy vehicles this month. To some extent, this is a cooling-off period after the concentrated launch of models in the previous two months. However, even though the number of models is relatively small, there are still some important and influential products on the list.

For example, all models of Li Auto have been officially upgraded to the "Intelligent Driving Refreshed Version"; the BYD Seal 06 station wagon version aims to become "the first new energy station wagon for young people"; Chery's new model, the Fengyun A9, which is claimed to be "the only executive four-seater sedan within 400,000 yuan", has also officially made its debut.

In addition, pure electric vehicle models such as the Zeekr 007GT, Xiaomi YU7, and Zeekr 009 have also announced a series of new optional configurations.

All these new models will become the focus of the Shanghai Auto Show to be held in a month. Another key point is that with the launch of three batches of new models in the first quarter of this year, high-level intelligent driving has become a standard feature of mid-to-high-end new energy vehicles.

Let's take a detailed look.

Li Auto's Full Range of Intelligent Driving Refreshed Version

On February 28th, Liu Jie, the vice president of Li Auto, already previewed on Weibo that the 2025 Li Auto L series models and the MEGA model will not have upgrades in the power battery, electric drive system, and electronic control system. Instead, their intelligent driving capabilities will be comprehensively enhanced.

With the information update from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, all the models of Li Auto's 2025 family were officially revealed.

It can be said that except for the newly added configurations such as the wheels, window trims, and rear body logos of the Li Auto L9, all the models of Li Auto have achieved a unified and recognizable appearance ("family characteristics") through the popularization of lidar sensors.

One of the major upgrade points of the 2025 Li Auto models is that models equipped with the AD Pro intelligent driving system can be optionally equipped with a lidar sensor.

On the other hand, the pictures in the list released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show that the models of the intelligent driving refreshed version use a new type of small-sized lidar sensor, but there are also pictures of the previous larger-sized lidar sensors.

The official response from Li Auto is:

"This public announcement is an extended announcement based on the 2024 models. Some of the information is from the announcements of the 2024 models, and some is from the announcements of the intelligent driving refreshed version. Therefore, the information in the public announcement still includes the previous lidar sensor solution. When the Li Auto MEGA model and the intelligent driving refreshed version of the Li Auto L series models are delivered, a new lidar sensor solution with a smaller size will be fully adopted."

In addition to these visible upgrades, models equipped with the AD Pro intelligent driving system will also be upgraded to use the Horizon Robotics Journey J6M chip, which has a sparse computing power of 128TOPS. Together with the newly added lidar sensor, it will enhance the active safety functions of the vehicles. However, the urban intelligent driving function is still exclusive to models equipped with the AD Max intelligent driving system.

As for models equipped with the AD Max intelligent driving system, they will be upgraded to use the single-chip solution of NVIDIA's next-generation intelligent driving chip, Thor-U. This chip has a sparse computing power of 750TOPS, and the computing power of a single chip is already 1.5 times that of two Orin chips. In addition, the new chip architecture has new optimizations for artificial intelligence algorithms.

Li Auto's previously announced MindVLA generative intelligent driving system will be able to play more functions on the Thor-U chip solution.

On the other hand, for the Li Auto L series models and the MEGA model that do not update their "three-electric" configurations, how to deal with the new challenges in the new energy vehicle market with a price range of 300,000 to 500,000 yuan in 2025 is also an issue that Li Auto needs to solve.

Xiaomi YU7 Super Optional Package

The appearance and driving range of the Xiaomi YU7 were announced last month. This month, Xiaomi has updated a series of various appearance optional parts for the YU7.

The most eye-catching ones are the styles and colors of the wheels. Currently, a total of 20 different combinations are provided. There are not only the traditional low-wind-resistance and petal-shaped wheels of the Xiaomi vehicle family but also new wheel styles with multiple color options.

Which wheel style do you like the most? You can freely share your thoughts in the comment section.

In addition, some netizens have guessed that the colors of the wheels may correspond to the body colors of the vehicle. Considering that in the mobile phone market, Xiaomi has already launched a complex color option system for the Xiaomi 15 series this year, this guess has received some recognition in public opinion.

If you plan to buy a Xiaomi YU7, which color are you most looking forward to?

Chery Fengyun A9

In 2025, Chery has also entered the high-cost-performance intelligent vehicle market. Just last night, it launched the Ant small car with intelligent driving functions at a price of about 60,000 yuan, and today it launched the Fengyun A9 model, which is claimed to be "the only executive four-seater sedan within 400,000 yuan".

The Fengyun A9 is positioned as a mid-to-large-sized sedan. Its length, width, and height are 5018 mm, 1965 mm, and 1500 mm respectively, and its wheelbase is 3000 mm, which is basically the same as that of the BYD Han L.

Currently, the Fengyun A9 has only one plug-in hybrid power option, which is equipped with a combination of a 1.5T gasoline engine and an electric motor. The information from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that the curb weights of the two plug-in hybrid versions of this model are 2085 kg and 2230 kg respectively.

And the pure electric driving ranges of the two versions currently shown by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology are 151 km and 193 km. It is speculated that these are two different versions, one with a single electric motor and the other with a dual electric motor.

Although it is described as being within the price range of 400,000 yuan, according to the current fierce market competition situation, the final selling price of the Fengyun A9 is likely to start at around 250,000 yuan, which is in the same market segment as the BYD Han L. And the main selling points of the Fengyun A9 also conform to the trends of the sedan market with a price range of 250,000 to 300,000 yuan.

For example, it is equipped with an intelligent driving system called "Falcon 700", which is driven by 11 cameras and a lidar sensor and supports high-level urban intelligent driving functions. In addition, it also has configurations such as 23 speakers, an executive four-seater layout, and a car refrigerator.

The BYD Han L has just gained a lot of attention with its "megawatt-level flash charging" function. Can the Chery Fengyun A9 gain a share in the C-class sedan market in this new era?

BYD Seal 06 Station Wagon Version

The BYD Seal 06 family has added a new member, namely the Seal 06 station wagon version that aims to become "the first new energy station wagon for young people".

Referring to the current price range of all Seal 06 models, which is from 91,800 yuan to 186,800 yuan, the Seal 06 station wagon version is likely to be positioned between the regular Seal 06 model and the Seal 06GT model, mainly targeting the new energy station wagon market with a price range of 100,000 to 150,000 yuan.

In terms of parameters, the length, width, and height of the Seal 06 station wagon version are 4850 mm, 1890 mm, and 1505 mm respectively, and its wheelbase is 2790 mm. Its size is basically the same as that of the NIO ET5T, which is the standard size of a B-class vehicle. However, the width of 1890 mm is narrower than that of the ET5T, making it relatively easier to control.

In terms of the power system, the Seal 06 station wagon version continues to use the fifth-generation DM technology. The maximum power of the 1.5 engine is 74 kW. The pure electric driving range of the DM-i version is currently unknown, while the pure electric driving ranges of the regular Seal 06 DM-i version are 80 km and 120 km respectively.

In addition to the Zeekr 007GT, the BYD Seal 06 station wagon version will also add more competitiveness to the new energy station wagon market in 2025. Can this type of vehicle, which was previously not very popular among domestic mass consumers due to its unique appearance, prove its value among the new generation of consumers?

Awaiting the Wonderful Shanghai Auto Show

Industry and Information Technology has also added a batch of supplementary information for existing models. For example, the Zeekr 009 now has an optional golden rear logo;

The Zeekr 007GT has optional suspension systems, roof racks, and rear logos;

In addition, in the public announcement of the content to be released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, we have also found some information about the power battery, electric drive system, and electronic control system ("three-electric" system) of some popular models.

For example, the extended-range version of the EXEED S9 has applied for two sub-models with pure electric driving ranges of 204 km and 290 km respectively. The version with a pure electric driving range of 290 km is equipped with a large 51.9 kWh battery and is likely to be equipped with high-rate fast charging technology.

More importantly, all the models mentioned above have already been equipped with intelligent driving configurations. Even the BYD Seal 06 station wagon version will support the high-speed navigation on autopilot (NOA) function. Models such as all the Li Auto models equipped with the AD MAX intelligent driving system and the EXEED S9 will become the "pillars" representing the intelligent driving capabilities of their respective brands.

After the first quarter of 2025, the era where intelligence is at the core of electric vehicles has completely become a reality.

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