Jul. 19 at 2:25 PM
$WRD Dethroned... but the broader story remains intact.
The 2nd D1EV Intelligent Driving Competition in Kunming delivered one of the biggest surprises of the year. WeRide's Exeed ET, winner of 6 consecutive D1EV championships, lost its crown after a driving violation in the finals. The penalty dropped the vehicle to 4th place with 94.04 points.
The title instead went to Chery Fengyun A9L, followed by Hongqi Tiangong 05 and NIO ES6.
Before drawing broad conclusions, a few takeaways are worth noting:
• WeRide had two OEM partners represented during the competition. The Exeed Exlantix ET reached the finals, while GAC Aion N60 impressed in the preliminary round, finishing 3rd overall. The N60 did not compete in the finals.
• GAC Aion N60 is particularly notable because it is one of the few intelligent driving vehicles in the competition priced around RMB100,000. Its strong preliminary performance suggests WeRide's technology can compete in both premium and affordable vehicle segments.
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