Author 丨 Song Doudou
Editor 丨He Fang
Figure Source 丨 Figure worm
At the beginning of 2022, the new car-making forces have opened a new chapter with a scramble to release the delivery data for the whole year of 2021. When the head of the new car-making force has sold more than 10,000 yuan for many consecutive months, and the cumulative delivery volume of "Wei Xiaoli" has exceeded 90,000 throughout the year, just one step away from the annual sales target of 100,000, the waist members who have been silent for a long time have also begun to exert their strength in the new year, such as Aiways Automobile.
On January 3, the 21st Century Business Herald reporter learned that AIWAYS Auto completed a new round of financing of hundreds of millions of dollars, and the current round of financing came from Chen Xuanlin and his Dongbai Group. Aiways insiders revealed that since the end of 2017, Chen Xuanlin has participated in many rounds of financing of AIWAYS Automobile, as an old shareholder, in this round of financing of multiple investment intentions, Chen Xuanlin's further strategic investment has been unanimously selected, recognized and supported by existing shareholders and founder teams.
With the new capital injection, the core senior management team of AIWAYS Automobile has changed. The latest information on the official website of Aiways Automobile shows that founder Fu Qiang no longer serves as the chairman of the board and continues to serve as the president of Aiways Automobile, Chen Xuanlin serves as the chairman of Aiways Automobile, and Zhang Yang serves as CEO. It is understood that Zhang Yang has served as vice president of THEO automotive industry development and other positions, has rich industry experience and resources, and is a senior management expert in the new energy automobile industry.
Completed a new round of financing of hundreds of millions of dollars
Founded in February 2017, AIWAYS Auto's senior management team has a professional background in traditional car companies, founder Fu Qiang previously worked in Audi, Skoda, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and another founder, Gu Feng, was the CFO of SAIC.
Qixinbao shows that since October 2016, AIWAYS Automobile has completed a total of 8 rounds of financing, and the investors include Tencent Industry Win-win Fund, Guangwei Holdings, Shagang Shares, Mingchi Fund, Didi Chuxing, Ningde Times, etc., and its publicly disclosed financing is nearly 10 billion yuan. Aiways' last round of financing occurred in May 2021, and CATL participated in the investment.
It is worth noting that aiways Automobile's new round of hundreds of millions of dollars in financing also made the mysterious Zhejiang businessman Chen Xuanlin come to the front of the stage. In media reports, Chen Xuanlin acted quite low-key, regarded as a rich second-generation entrepreneur from Zhejiang, obtained the "first bucket of gold" through the stock market, and used the huge amount of money already earned to establish Guangwei Holdings. According to public information, Chen Xuanlin is currently the chairman of Shanghai Zhongtong Ruide Investment Group Co., Ltd., the chairman of Shanghai Wanxiang Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the 13th Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the executive vice president of the Shanghai Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce, and the executive vice president of the Shanghai Taizhou Chamber of Commerce. Up to now, Chen Xuanlin is a shareholder of 14 companies, serving as a legal person of 17 companies, an executive of 35 companies, and more than 300 holding companies.
Chen Xuanlin's current Zhongtong Ruide Investment Group (Guangwei Holdings) is a comprehensive group focusing on pan-transportation industry investment and industrial operation, the company's industries involve automobile manufacturing and trade, general aviation industry and technology manufacturing, the main industrial companies are Vientiane Automobile, Zhejiang Zhongtong Holdings, BAA Business Jets, etc.
The figure of Guangwei Holdings has appeared in the financing of AIWAYS Automobile in 2018. On April 15, 2018, AIWAYS Auto announced that it had obtained a new round of financing, led by Shagang Group, and followed by Guangwei Holdings, Fuding Capital, FunaYuanchuang, and Puyin Industry.
Fu Qiang said: "Mr. Chen Xuanlin has rich experience in investment and operation in the automotive industry, and AIWAYS Automobile and its founder team have repeatedly invited Mr. Chen Xuanlin to deeply participate in the company's equity investment and daily operations. Mr. Chen Xuanlin has always been optimistic about the new energy automobile industry, especially the technology and brand of AIWAYS, and the arrival of this round of new financing and team will empower AIWAYS with new development momentum and business prospects, and effectively enhance the company's market channels, capital operations, user experience and digital development capabilities.
For the change of the management team, AIWAYS Auto officially said that the new governance structure will greatly help AIWAYS Auto to improve the company's management and product structure, improve operational efficiency, focus on strategic development direction, and enhance the competitiveness and influence of enterprises.
Can it be reborn after many twists and turns?
The aura of traditional auto people was blessed, and once made Aichi have high hopes.
In 2019, after nearly three years of entrepreneurial hibernation, Aichi ushered in a "highlight" moment. On the one hand, Aiways Automobile's 1.747 billion capital increase in Jiangling Holdings solved the problem of production qualifications, and at the same time obtained strong support from the Jiangxi Provincial Government, providing a new model for the new forces of car manufacturing; on the other hand, Aiways Automobile's first mass production car, Aiways U5, opened pre-sale at the Chengdu Auto Show, released a total of U5 ING+, U5 PRO, U5 PRO+ three models, and listed in Hainan in December 2019, priced at 197,900-292,100 yuan after subsidies.
At that time, Aichi's goal was to establish a market position and have the right to speak through a certain sales volume in the next two or three years, and the long-term goal was to make Aichi an intelligent travel service company with deep user participation.
But the reality of the bone sense did not give the opportunity to realize the rhetoric, the sudden epidemic made Aichi's beautiful vision immediately disillusioned, and the loss caused to Aichi can be said to be geometric: the early customer accumulation and channel layout were completely destroyed; at least half of the offline stores opened for listing were closed; the ambitious Geneva Motor Show was cancelled and the investment was in vain...
At the same time, AICHI's sales performance and hematopoietic ability are not satisfactory. In September 2020, the 2021 AIWAYS U5 was listed, with a price of 166,900-249,900 yuan after subsidies, and the price was 30,000 yuan lower than that of the previous year; in October 2020, AIWAYS Auto required the company to "bring goods by executives" and "full staff marketing" caused heated discussions, and the sales of AIWAYS U5 without a distinctive label were only 2,800 in 2020.
Entering 2021, AIWAYS will sell an average of less than 300 vehicles per month. In addition, AIWAYS' second new car, the AIWAYS U6, was originally scheduled to be delivered around October 2021, but due to financial problems, it was not released as scheduled. According to the data of the Association, from January to November 2021, the cumulative sales of AIWAYS automobiles were 2992 vehicles.
"When the tide fades, we can see who's swimming naked, and we know who's swimming naked." Last year, fu Qiang in an interview with the 21st Century Business Herald reporter, looking back at the car-making process in 2020 is very emotional, very sober about the situation facing Aichi, "First of all, in terms of capital reserves, COMPARED WITH THE HEAD ENTERPRISE THAT CLAIMS TO HAVE TENS OF BILLIONS OF YUAN CASH RESERVES, COMPARED WITH THE HEAD ENTERPRISES THAT CLAIM TO HAVE TENS OF BILLIONS OF CASH RESERVES, IT IS NOT ON AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE, AND THE FINANCING CHANNEL OF THE AIWAYS PUBLIC MARKET HAS NOT YET BEEN OPENED; Secondly, in terms of sales, AICHI has not really exerted its strength in the domestic market, and it still takes time." This is our short board. ”
For Fu Qiang, the traditional Autobot origin is both armor and weakness. Weak brand exposure and lack of Internet thinking have made Aichi stumble in the process of transforming into a user-oriented enterprise. "None of our traditional automotive industry people will sell cars, and everyone always says that I have been fighting in the front line of marketing for a long time, but in fact, I am fighting in the command behind the marketing, not the first line, so what consumers look like and how to communicate is actually unclear." On the contrary, Weilai, Xiaopeng, and Ideal are aware, and there is a group of determined iron fans who can help, and indeed have a first-mover advantage. ”
Fu Qiang frankly said that compared with Weilai, Ideal, and Xiaopeng, the gap between AIWAYS is manifested in two aspects: one is brand communication and sales, and the other is money. "The two founders of Weilai and Ideal have done automotive vertical websites, they know how to use the Internet as a medium to communicate with C-end consumers, and their origins and industry experience are advantageous." This is something we lack and need to learn, and there is no doubt that we are targeting consumers and communicating with them efficiently. Now, direct operation is the king, to face customers and take risks. ”
The management team changes blood and gets a new round of financing Aiways automobile needs to accelerate running, after all, the competition in the automotive industry is intensifying, the traditional car companies are accelerating their transformation, the new car companies are moving towards the 100,000 mark, many cross-border people are eager to try, and there is not much time left for AICHI.
Editor of this issue Liu Xueying Intern Zhang Ke