Without any surprises, Hongmeng Zhixing's most expensive car did not release order numbers soon after pre-orders opened.

After all, whether the number is exaggerated or underestimated, it's a problem. Exaggeration would make many people feel that poverty limits their imagination, while underestimation would suggest that Hongmeng Zhixing is nothing special, that 1 million yuan is too much for it.

One point to note is that Huawei Hongmeng Zhixing's fans and users have demonstrated strong purchasing power, and many online influencers and automotive bloggers have posted their orders online.

However, unlike any other car previously released by Hongmeng Zhixing, the Zenith S800 is definitely a model that ordinary people cannot drive. Looking at similar cars from Rolls-Royce, even hiring a driver requires several rounds of training. With a length of 5.5 meters and a wheelbase exceeding 3.3 meters, the frequency of the buyer driving it themselves is extremely low.

'If you don't work hard, you'll only be able to drive BBA,' this popular internet meme is becoming a reality for domestic cars. Following the 1.098 million yuan NIO U8 and the 814,900 yuan Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, on November 26, the 1 million+ yuan pre-sale price of the Zenith S800 was unveiled.

Although the interior, details, and other aspects of the new car have not yet been announced, Yu Chengdong, Chairman of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, described it at the launch event as 'far surpassing the level of Maybach and Rolls-Royce Phantom.'

As Chinese consumers have become accustomed to advertisements like 'the best SUV under 5 million yuan' and 'the best coupe under 1 million yuan,' Zenith is realistically targeting million-yuan luxury cars, even showing a touch of humility.

While the outside world was still trying to analyze whether the Jianghuai-made Zenith was worth a million yuan and who it was intended for, Yu Chengdong stated on social media, 'Right after the launch event, someone transferred me 60,000 yuan to order 3 Zenith S800s.'

Therefore, the answer is already clear: The logic of luxury cars is not about cost or value, but about status and social circles. Yu Chengdong clearly understands this.

Aim high and settle for the middle, with a 30% discount on the actual selling price?

During Huawei's three-hour new product launch event, the Zenith S800, which made its grand entrance, did not take up much time. Besides its 5.48-meter length and two-tone color scheme, the main attraction was being 'China's first mass-produced L3 vehicle.' Yu Chengdong emphasized that the Zenith S800 is built on Huawei's L3 architecture.

Prior to this, Yu Chengdong had already announced a clear timeline for L3, revealing that Huawei ADS 4.0 would launch commercial high-speed L3 autonomous driving and pilot urban L3 autonomous driving in 2025.

In other words, even with a starry sky ceiling, two-tone color scheme, and a champagne fridge in the back seat, all 'homage' to the luxury of old money represented by Rolls-Royce and Maybach, Zenith can only be a follower of luxury D-segment cars. Just like the fashion trend of dressing like 'old money,' every imitator understands that dressing like them doesn't make you one of them.

Yu Chengdong, a 'first-generation entrepreneur,' naturally understands this. Without a luxurious lineage or family heritage, he relies on resources:

With the 'first mass-produced L3' buff, Zenith gains the personality label of new money.

As a long-hyped million-yuan luxury car, the pre-sale price of the Zenith S800 directly determines the tone of this new car. Therefore, the pre-sale price range of 1 million to 1.5 million yuan brings few surprises. But in my opinion, aiming high and settling for the middle, this pre-sale price is not very indicative.

Taking the Xiangjie S9 as an example, this car targets traditional luxury executive models like the Audi A8L, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and BMW 7 Series, with a pre-sale price range of 450,000 to 550,000 yuan and an actual selling price of 399,800 to 449,800 yuan. Combining Yu Chengdong's statement that the Xiangjie S9 targets the 78S (BMW 7 Series, Audi A8L, Mercedes-Benz S-Class) but prices it against the 56E, it can be estimated that the actual selling price of the Zenith S800 will be around 700,000 to 900,000 yuan. In other words, the Zenith S800, which claims to target Rolls-Royce and Maybach, aims to 'dimensionally reduce' the traditional luxury trio of BBA's 78S.

Not aiming for sales, then what?

A hard-to-ignore fact is that as BBA prices continue to drop, sales of the 78S in China have been declining, and price discounts have been widening. Taking the Audi A8L as an example, a model with an official guide price of 789,800 yuan has a terminal transaction price of only 548,400 yuan after financing. In other words, even strong brands like BBA don't have much confidence in selling cars in the 700,000 to 1 million yuan price range.

From the perspective of the overall domestic luxury car market share, the price range above 500,000 yuan accounts for about 5% of the passenger car market, and the price range above 1 million yuan accounts for about 1% of the market, with around 200,000 units based on previous insurance data. According to Yu Chengdong's plan, the annual sales target for Zenith's first model is 50,000 units, equivalent to around 4,000 units per month. What does this mean for a million-yuan luxury car?

Taking the September insurance data as an example, Porsche Panamera sold 1,710 units, Mercedes-Benz S-Class sold 1,170 units, and BMW 7 Series and Audi A8L both sold around 500 units. It's worth noting that the above models are already 'non-niche' luxury cars. Therefore, the sales target of 4,000 units per month for the Zenith S800 is actually not very indicative.

Referring to the market share of BBA in this price range, if Zenith S800 can achieve annual sales of over 10,000 units, it will be considered a great success; exceeding 20,000 units would be a historic achievement. It is not difficult to see from the A8L, which has been pulled down to the 500,000 yuan level, that the Xiangjie S800 is entering a niche market for BBA as well. Therefore, sales volume will not be the sole priority for Zenith S800.

Could it be that Yu Chengdong did not conduct sufficient market research before launching the Zenith S800? Apparently not.

Leaving aside the conventional practice that the first car often determines a brand's tone, the logic of luxury cars, especially ultra-luxury cars, cannot be measured by value, just as the value of luxury goods cannot be thought of in terms of cost. In the game of finding identity within social circles, new money also needs new social routines and lifestyles.

Whether middle-aged or young, there is always a group of users who are attracted by advertisements like 'independently developed' and 'the light of Chinese products.' Or local entrepreneurs with a sense of patriotism for whom 'domestic high-end' is an extremely attractive symbol and even a fashion trend. Otherwise, Zhou Hongyi wouldn't have auctioned off his Maybach so flamboyantly and made plans to buy 12 domestic cars.

For Huawei, a 'car closest to L3 mass production' is just as significant as 'Hongmeng Zhixing's most expensive car.' When other automakers are still in the L3 testing phase, if Huawei takes the lead in bringing L3 technology to mass-produced cars, its leading position in intelligent driving will be even more solidified. A bolder assumption is that half of the million-yuan price tag of the Zenith S800 is supported by Huawei's L3 technology.

In the past, intelligent driving systems were exclusive to luxury cars, with high-priced sensors and computing platforms keeping the technology out of reach for a long time. With improved costs, high-level intelligent driving is now accessible within the 100,000 yuan price range.

Although considering the difficulty and corresponding costs of software and hardware development, Huawei's L3 technology should not be extended to cars below the million-yuan level in the short term. But in the martial arts world, speed is key, and whoever leads the pack is more likely to reach the finals early in the second half of intelligentization.