On January 24, the signing ceremony of the B round of financing of Chongqing Changan New Energy Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Changan New Energy") was held at the Liangjiang Tiyuan Hotel in Chongqing, and finally raised 4.9773 billion yuan.
I have seen a lot of media reports on this news, but the importance of this news is rarely interpreted by the media.
Talking about new energy vehicles, many people will think of new car-making forces for the first time, in fact, as of now, traditional automobile manufacturers are the real players of new energy vehicles.
From January to December 2021, 6 of the top 10 car companies in China's new energy vehicle sales were traditional automobile manufacturers. Globally, among the top 10 car companies in new energy vehicle sales from January to November 2021, the remaining 9 are traditional car manufacturers except Tesla.
It can be said that whether in China or in the world, although the performance of the new car-making forces represented by Tesla is outstanding, on the whole, traditional car manufacturers still firmly occupy the dominant position in the new energy vehicle market.
Changan New Energy's B round of financing work was officially launched in April 2021, originally planned to raise 3 billion yuan, after nearly 200 negotiations, three rounds of screening, identified nine high-quality investors, and then after several rounds of communication, and finally successfully completed the delisting of investment institutions on December 23, 2021. According to the "Announcement on Related Party Transactions of Associated Enterprises Increasing Capital and Expanding Shares by Public Listing" issued by Changan Automobile, the B-round value-added of Changan New Energy has been invested by 10 units, including Changan Automobile, raising a total of about 4.9773 billion yuan.
In the process of capital increase and share expansion, Changan New Energy finally obtained the result of raising nearly 2 billion yuan of super-raised funds, indicating that Changan New Energy, represented by traditional automobile manufacturers, has been fully recognized by investors and is full of confidence in future development.
Some people may ask, since the traditional car manufacturers have achieved good results, why there is a strange contrast in the field of public opinion - that is, in the field of new energy vehicles, Tesla and Weilai have won.
There are many reasons, one of the important factors is that public opinion pays more attention to high-end products, although the sales of Wuling Hongguang MINI EV exceeded that of Tesla Model 3, and the sales volume of SAIC Passenger Car CleveVE WAS also higher than that of Weilai ES8, but on the sales of more than 300,000 new energy vehicles, as of now, it is indeed the new forces that have performed better, and the traditional auto giants whether it is ABB or Volkswagen have been crushed by Tesla is very ugly.
But this is not because Tesla and other new forces have the product and technical advantages that traditional car manufacturers cannot compete with, but simply because traditional car manufacturers used to develop and plan their own new energy vehicles in accordance with the needs of the mainstream market, and launched either the electric vehicles of the Yize EV and e-2008, or the small electric vehicles such as Hongguang MINI EV, from a practical point of view, they are good, but they basically do not have the "label" function.
The models launched by the new forces, although there are many slots and are also very strange, they are really different. For example, the acceleration of electric vehicles of new forces has accelerated from 0-100km/h to less than 4 seconds. It is really not necessary from the perspective of use, but this is a kind of "label", reflecting "the car I bought and your car is completely different".
As of now, new energy vehicles are still a niche market segment, with a market share of 13.4% in the Chinese market in 2021. In the newly revised 2.0 version of the "Energy Saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap", this target has been adjusted to "EV and PHEV account for 15% to 25% of total sales".
Now, the whole industry is beginning to wake up. Everyone realizes that the development of new energy vehicles from niche to relatively mainstream market stage still needs a long period of time. Prior to this, the strong labeling value brought by the ultimate product will be the most important demand of users for new energy vehicles.
In August 2021, the Changan Automobile Science and Technology Ecological Conference was held. Based on the 14th Five-Year Plan, Changan Automobile has comprehensively accelerated its transformation into an intelligent and low-carbon travel technology company and released the "New Car, New Ecology" development strategy.
From the perspective of power routes, Changan Automobile will adhere to the strategy of pure electric and hybrid routes in the short and medium term.
At present, Changan Automobile has released an iDD hybrid system based on Blue Whale, and will launch 11 new products in the next three years, of which Avita E11 and follow-up products mainly focus on high-end customers to achieve brand upwards; C385 and follow-up EPA1 platform products will focus on mainstream users in the market to achieve scale breakthroughs; Benben products will focus on the micro-electric market to achieve industry occupancy breakthroughs.
Flowing water does not compete, but it is endless.
It is reported that since the A round of financing to the present, Changan New Energy has mastered more than 200 breakthrough innovative technologies. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, it is planned to break through 500 more innovative technologies and add 3,000 patents. Independently developed and built EPA0, EPA1 and EPA2 three industry-leading new dedicated electric vehicle platforms; independently master the development capabilities of the "three electricity" system, launched 0 fire battery, Changan new generation of super-collector electric drive, intelligent vehicle domain controller "Chang'an Smart Core", etc., of which the domestic leading super-collector electric drive system can achieve a weight reduction of 10%, power density increase of 37%, efficiency increase of 5%; independently master the vehicle integration capabilities, fully grasp the platform integration development, modular design, reliability verification, etc., of which the domestic leading super-collector electric drive system can achieve a 10% reduction in weight, a 37% increase in power density, and a 5% increase in efficiency; independently master the integration capabilities of the whole vehicle, fully grasp the platform integration development, modular design, reliability verification, Key technologies such as body, chassis, interior and exterior trim, and electrical appliance development.
At present, Changan New Energy is building a third-generation power system with excellent performance, excellent quality and lean cost. The new platform battery adopts 590 modules, which can cover 400-700km endurance requirements by adjusting the number of modules, the system energy density ≥ 180wh/kg, the assembly is 0 fire; the deeply integrated seven-in-one electric drive system (motor + reducer + motor controller + DC converter + charger + DC / AC converter + high voltage distribution box) can meet the needs of front-drive, rear-drive, four-wheel drive applications, and the deep-sea level silent effect (1 meter sound pressure level NVH≤78dB) is planned to achieve mass production in 2022 Based on the domain control architecture, the seven-in-one SVDC "Changan Smart Core" has improved performance by 70% and is suitable for all new energy models.
It can be seen that Changan New Energy has changed the thinking of traditional automobile manufacturers to develop new energy vehicles in the past, invested heavily in the development of exclusive platforms, and high-end products have begun to take the extreme product route - design and performance are more extreme than the new forces.
According to the analysis, the next 3-5 years is likely to become a watershed in the new energy automobile industry, and market competition will enter the cruel "Spring and Autumn Warring States Era". In the face of the big waves and sand, sufficient financial security and strong technical strength will become the key factors for winning the victory. The success of the B round of financing of Changan New Energy undoubtedly further optimizes the capital structure of Chang'an New Energy, and reserves more capital "ammunition" for subsequent development, helping Changan New Energy to seize the market heights faster under the current fierce competition pattern.
For the next performance, Changan New Energy will have great expectations.