At Beijing's "Wukesong", a place that witnessed the launch of LeTV's supercar, the listing of NIO's first model ES8, and the large-scale launch of Cadillac XTS with 7,000 people, Honda, which has lagged behind in electrification for many years, hopes to open a new picture of China like many of its "predecessors".

On April 16, Honda held a new electric brand launch conference and officially launched the new electric brand "Ye" specially launched for the Chinese market.

Honda's official interpretation of the word "Hua" with the word "Hua" next to it is that it aims to "enable drivers to fully enjoy the fun of driving, release their deepest desires, and let everyone's personality shine and inspire their true nature."

In our opinion, "Ye" demonstrates Honda's determination to not give up on the Chinese electric vehicle market, and also carries Honda's hope to shine on the electric stage in the future.

The Ye brand uses a new "H" logo. Different from the "H" logo on Honda's fuel vehicles, it adopts a design that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, like "open arms", demonstrating its attitude of actively embracing change and embracing Chinese consumers.

Based on its beautiful vision for the "Ye" brand, Honda has set the goal of 100% pure electrification by 2035.

This time, the "Ye" brand launched three new models - Ye S7, Ye P7, and Ye GT CONCEPT. Among them, the first two models will be launched at the end of 2024, and it is speculated that they will be put into production by Dongfeng Honda and GAC Honda respectively.

It is understood that new cars under the Ye brand will be based on Honda's pure electric W architecture (Architecture W) specially designed for electric vehicles, and it is planned to launch 6 new cars by 2027.

The W-architecture is equipped with a three-in-one high-power drive motor and a large-capacity, high-density battery in an integrated die-cast all-aluminum housing, and a specially designed split-isolated battery cooling system. It provides two drive modes: single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor four-wheel drive. Among them, the single-motor rear-wheel drive can achieve a 50:50 weight distribution between the front and rear; the dual-motor four-wheel drive relies on two sets of front and rear motors, with electronic suspension, and accurately distributes power to the front and rear wheels according to different road conditions and driving needs.

The chassis adopts a double wishbone front suspension and a 5-link rear suspension with high setting freedom, which is designed to better filter road bumps, reduce roll when turning, and greatly improve the vehicle's pitch suppression ability. This design is in line with Honda's consistent pursuit of handling performance.

The W architecture provides highly scalable services, allowing you to choose from a variety of different driving modes or set exclusive functions based on your personal preferences, bringing you an interesting and personalized driving experience.

In terms of appearance, the Ye S7 is flatter, with the front lines converging, giving it a dynamic feel. The front of the Ye P7 is more inclined to expand towards both ends, with a fresher and simpler style.

Ye S7

In terms of interior, the new design of the two cars brings a sense of technology and atmosphere. There are large-area ambient lights on the center console and interior panels. In addition, Honda SENSING 360+ and Honda CONNECT 4.0 systems are also integrated. The popular AI technology will also be integrated into the human-computer interaction process.

Ye P7

Compared with acceleration performance and intelligence, the two "traditional skills" of electric vehicle companies, Honda, as a traditional car company, hopes to put the importance of safety first.

Ye S7 and Ye P7 use a high-rigidity, high-toughness pure electric vehicle-specific frame, with a large amount of high-strength steel, of which hot-formed steel accounts for more than 24%, and the torsional rigidity reaches 40,000 Nm/degree. The battery uses a 12,000-ton one-piece large die-cast all-aluminum shell, with an excellent battery pre-collision structure design, integrating cooling, battery protection, improving body rigidity, and integrating power interface functions.

Ye GT CONCEPT is the flagship model of the Ye brand, and the mass-produced car built based on it will be launched in 2025.

The sharp body lines and sharp visual effects express the pursuit of power and speed. The Ye GT CONCEPT is oriented towards high performance, so its main driver adopts a unique "racing cockpit" design to enhance the sports atmosphere and stimulate driving passion.

It is worth mentioning that Huawei's light field screen will be installed in the co-pilot seat of the car for the first time, linking sound, light and aroma devices to create a more interesting and high-quality private space.

Honda currently produces two pure electric vehicles in China, the e:NS 1 and e:NP 1. The former is produced by Dongfeng Honda and the latter is produced by GAC Honda. They are positioned as small pure electric SUVs, but the two models have not had a strong presence since they were launched. In 2023, the sales of e:NS 1 were 10,562 units and the sales of e:NP 1 were 4,502 units.

In the main battlefield of fuel vehicles (including HEV), although the main models such as CR-V, Civic, Accord are still among the top among a number of fuel vehicle competitors, Honda's pressure is increasing day by day as domestic brands achieve the level of "same price for oil and electricity" or even "lower price for electricity than oil" through cost control.

According to data released by Honda, Honda's sales in China in the first quarter of this year were 206,900 vehicles, down 6.11% year-on-year, of which GAC Honda's sales fell 8.11% year-on-year and Dongfeng Honda's sales fell 3.80% year-on-year. In March, Honda's new car sales in China fell 26.3%.

Honda may have to hold on for a while before the Ye brand opens up a new growth pole.