Ideal Auto founder and chairman Li Xiang Tuyuan Network
The ever-changing new energy automobile industry has recently changed its pattern.
In the camp of new car-making forces , Wei Xiaoli " , the ideal car ranked third in 2021 with 90,491 deliveries (02015. HK), in January-February 2022, with a year-on-year increase of 153% year-on-year and deliveries of 20,682 units, it has become a new "first brother". And public data shows that from November 2021 to January 2022, the ideal will achieve the delivery of more than 10,000 vehicles for three consecutive months, setting a new record for the delivery of Chinese luxury brand models of more than 300,000 yuan.
At the same time, the 2021 financial report released by Ideal on February 25 this year also surprised people: the annual revenue of 2021 was 27.01 billion yuan, an increase of 185.6% year-on-year, and the net profit attributable to the mother was -321 million. Despite the loss, the net profit for the fourth quarter was 296 million. It was also the ideal first time to achieve a single quarterly profit; and gross margin rose from 16.4% at the end of 2020 to 21.3% at the end of 2021. It can be said that sales and operating indicators have achieved a large "leap".
At the ideal earnings call, chairman Li wanted to emphasize that the strategic characteristic of ideal automobile is "focus".
Ideal is indeed quite "focused" – since the company's founding in 2015, only one car has been released so far – ideal ONE. Not only that, the ideal also "focused" so that users have no choice - the ideal ONE does not have a high match, low match, the user can choose only the body color.
Ideal ONE image source network
The ideal to reach the top of the new force sales champion is still relatively unexpected. On the one hand, it has only one car; on the other hand, for a long time, although the ideal has been recognized as the first echelon of new car-making forces, it is a relatively "neglected" member.
With the ideal ONE car, the ideal sales volume can be as good as a variety of models of Nio (09866.HK), Xiaopeng Automobile (09868. HK) to compete, from this point of view, it is the "most successful" car company among the new car-making forces. The ideal results are certainly surprising, but the problems surrounding it, such as user complaints, technical routes, and executive departures, cannot be ignored.
The status of the "first brother" of the new car-making forces is not stable for the time being.
Ideal not "ideal"
At ideal car's earnings call on February 25 this year, chairman Li Xiang said when talking about how to expand the ecosystem in the future, "After ten years, I will look at my own capabilities and hope to be able to make Apple (AAPL. NASDAQ) same level".
Ironically, however, on the day of the earnings report and the day before, Ideal was exposed to two spontaneous combustion accidents in succession. According to public reports, the Ideal ONE has had a number of spontaneous combustion accidents since it began delivery in December 2019.
In addition, from December 2019 to October 31, 2020, in less than a year, Ideal ONE has accumulated 97 front suspension collisions, of which more than 10 cases of the front suspension swing arm ball head falling out of the ball pin, resulting in a serious accident in which the ideal car broke its shaft after the collision, and finally recalled 10,469 ideal ONEs.
Ideal ONE disconnection graph source network
In June 2021, on the auto complaint platform "Auto Quality Network", Ideal entered the top 10 of the domestic auto complaint rankings. This is also the first domestic car-making new force to enter the list. On the car quality network, the main reason for user complaints is "concealment of relevant information, sales promises are not fulfilled".
On May 25, 2021, Ideal suddenly launched the 2021 Ideal ONE without leaking wind. The new model has been modified and upgraded in terms of comfort, automatic driving assistance, fuel tank, endurance and electric drive system, and is priced at 338,000 yuan, which is 10,000 yuan higher than the old model.
The changes of the new model are still not small, for example, the endurance has been increased from 800 km to 1080 km; the two Horizon Journey 3 chips equipped with the new model are far better than the chips of the old models, which has greatly improved the vehicle's automatic driving capabilities.
In this regard, a number of ideal ONE old car owners expressed dissatisfaction, "I confirmed with the sales many times, the sales firmly said that there will be no change (model)", "was fooled by the sales, just picked up the car less than 10 days", "I thought to buy a car, it turned out to be to help the ideal clear the inventory".
Interestingly, this ideal operation is also the main reason for the increase in its gross profit margin in 2021.
Ideal car owners complain about the image source network
In July 2021, the "mercury gate" accident exposed by the ideal once pushed it to the cusp of the storm. Li Xiang, who has always been "amazing", responded on Weibo: "The people and media who spread rumors about us mercury, I wish you mercury in your blood and mercury in your brains!" ”
Li wants to weibo image source network
The ideal owner responded: the test results showed that there was mercury inside the car seat.
The source of the car owner "Uncle Justice" Weibo
In addition, Cai Entropy learned on the Black Cat Complaint Network that some ideal car owners reported that soon after picking up the car, there were problems with the battery, rear drive half axle and other parts of the new car.
Figure source Black Cat Complaint Network
The two years since the launch of the ideal ONE, in terms of the quality of the car, seems to be less "ideal"; but from the sales data, it is really quite capable. Ideally, what is the charm that makes the owner pay? Speaking of which, I have to mention the founder of the company, Li Xiang.
Many people may not know Li xiang, but should have heard of "Autohome" (02518. HK), this well-known automotive website, was founded by Li Xiang. Autohome was established in 2004, launched in 2005, ranked first in the number one automotive vertical website in 2008, and landed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013.
Although Li Xiang is a new recruit in the car manufacturing industry, he is definitely a veteran of the automobile industry. He still understands cars, especially the needs of users.
Rise and anxiety
The ideal ONE slogan is, "A family's travel is happy, create a mobile home, create a happy home", which still sounds more heartwarming. Li Xiang once jokingly called the ideal car "Daddy Car".
"The ideal ONE is mainly to take the differentiated route, one is the range increase, the second is that it has a lot of space, the new energy vehicle is not as big as it is a luxury car; its seats are very comfortable, the seats and electronic screens are its characteristics, and its cost performance is still very good, compared with Mercedes-Benz, BMW also has many advantages." Auto industry analysts told Cai Entropy, "In addition, the ideal is the new retail direct sales model, which is different from the traditional dealer- 4S store marketing model experience, which is also its advantage." ”
Buying new energy vehicles, the mileage is an important indicator that consumers value. Unlike Weilai, Xiaopeng and others who take the "pure electricity" route, the ideal is to find another way and take the "range extender" technical route.
What is Augmentation Technology?
Compared with conventional pure electric, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell vehicles, the biggest difference in the range extender is that it has a fuel engine, but the engine does not directly participate in driving the vehicle, but burns oil to drive the engine to charge the power battery, and then the power battery drives the motor. Simply put, on the basis of pure electricity, the car is equipped with a range extender and fuel tank, and when the battery is out of power, it can burn oil to generate electricity for the battery, and its biggest advantage is that there is no mileage anxiety.
Ideal ONE Powertrain Image Source Ideal Automotive Prospectus
Ideals capture consumers' pain points. Compared with pure electric vehicles, range extender cars have a relatively high mileage, and they can refuel and continue to drive when there is no power, eliminating the mileage anxiety of car owners. Ideal official said that one's endurance reached 1080 kilometers.
However, some people in the industry believe that the extender is a backward technology. From the perspective of battery development, extended-range electric vehicles are an alternative solution in the case of temporary unsatisfactory battery capacity, and the development prospects of alternative solutions are ultimately inferior to direct solutions. And because it has to go through multiple transformations, the energy loss will also increase. Cai Entropy learned that many ideal ONE car owners reported that the fuel consumption was high when burning oil.
"Range extenders are transitional techniques." Cao He, chairman of Beijing Allianz Auto Investment Management Co., Ltd., told Cai Entropy.
As for the statement that the range extender technology is "backward", Li Xiang seems to be "grumpy".
On August 29, 2020, Li Xiang delivered a speech at the Ideal Car User Day in Chengdu. When talking about the extender technology, Li Xiang, who has always been amazing, is furious again: "TMD! A bunch of stinky technology, every day rushing us BB, what range extended electric is a backward technology, they TMD to come up with what fart technology", "let a group of people without any user thinking, completely do not care about the user's gang, every day to study the technical route, TM what technical route ah? Nonsense".
Li Xiang's implication is that the technical route should not ask about technology, but ask users. At present, the ideal has become the new "boss" of the new car-making force with only one model, and from this point of view, the range-extending technology has indeed helped the ideal to achieve "corner overtaking".
However, on February 10, 2021, the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission and other five departments issued the "Implementation Measures for Encouraging the Purchase and Use of New Energy Vehicles in Shanghai", which pointed out that from January 1, 2023, consumers buy plug-in hybrid (including range extender) vehicles, Shanghai will no longer issue special license quotas, and the social security and individual tax requirements for car buyers will be fine-tuned.
In other words, after January 1, 2023, plug-in hybrid and range-extended electric vehicles will be disqualified from the green card. The ideal ONE belongs to the luxury car, the sales price of 338,000 yuan (raised to 349,800 yuan from April 1), as a first-tier city Shanghai is its important battlefield, if there is no new energy vehicle indicators, the ideal will have a lot of impact.
In addition, range extender vehicles do not enjoy new energy indicators in Beijing and must be restricted like traditional fuel vehicles.
The policies of Beijing and Shanghai are also understandable. Strictly speaking, range extender cars are hybrid vehicles, and when the battery power is low, the range extender (engine) starts, and the fuel-driven generator provides power to the vehicle. Taking the ideal ONE as an example, although it claims to have an endurance of 1080 kilometers, the pure electric mileage is only 188 kilometers, and the power of the 892 kilometers of endurance behind it comes from fuel. That said, in a way, it's more like a fuel car. This is not very much in line with the national "double carbon" strategy.
In July 2020, in response to a question from netizens, Li Xiang said, "(Wait) to (fast charging popularization), extended range electric vehicles can not only achieve fast charging at home, but also supplement energy with refueling outside, and extended range electric vehicles can also take off the engine, you can directly become a battery-powered car." ”
"Take off the engine and turn it into a battery-powered car" - inadvertently revealing Li's "inferiority complex", he seems to be saying: the range increase is just a transitional plan.
Pure electric layout with new challenges
On March 3 this year, Ideal's official Weibo said that it will release a global smart flagship SUV built for families during the Beijing Auto Show, named "Ideal L9", with a price range of 450,000-500,000 yuan. After thousands of calls, the ideal finally came out with a new car, but unfortunately, this car is still an extended range car.
The ideal realization of "curve overtaking", range extender technology "indispensable", but it may not be as comfortable as before: on the one hand, Beijing, Shanghai's policy on range extended vehicles may only be the beginning, not excluding that other cities will also introduce policies to restrict range extender car licenses; on the other hand, the breakthrough of pure electric technology will impact range extender cars.
However, Ideal does not intend to stick to the extended range car. When it landed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in August 2021, the ideal prospectus showed that 20% of the funds raised in this IPO will be used for the development of high-voltage pure electric vehicle technology, 15% for the development of autonomous driving technology, and 10% for the iteration of range-extending technology.
From the ideal planning for the future, it can be seen that pure electricity is the key direction of the future. And the prospectus also mentioned that the ideal will be after 2023, at least 2 new high-voltage pure electric vehicle models will be launched every year.
Image source Ideal Automotive Prospectus
"In terms of pure electric vehicles, what we do is a high-voltage pure electric vehicle, including three core elements, one is a 4C battery, which has a higher charging rate; the other is a self-developed 850-volt voltage platform system; the third is a self-developed 400-kilowatt charging pile and its own operating charging station, opening up the process from the battery pack to the high-voltage platform to the charging pile, and bringing the convenient use experience of the 4C battery and the 850-volt voltage platform to 10 minutes to reach 400 kilometers of cruising range to the user." Lee wanted to say.
However, in terms of high-voltage pure electric vehicles, the ideal has been half a beat slower.
In September 2021, BYD (002594. SZ) released the exclusive pure electricity platform "e platform 3.0" in Shenzhen, which has 800V high-voltage flash charging technology and can achieve up to 5 minutes of charging and 150km. Moreover, the e-platform 3.0 is open and shared with the industry.
In October 2021, Xiaopeng Automobile announced a number of technologies such as 800V silicon carbide platform, 480kW high-voltage supercharge pile, energy storage and charging technology, intelligent robot, flying car, etc.; in November, Xiaopeng released the "G9" at the Guangzhou Auto Show, using an 800V high-voltage SIC platform and a 480-kilowatt high-power charging pile, which can achieve 200 km endurance in 5 minutes.
In terms of pure electric vehicles, the ideal is still a "novice", and in the face of a strong opponent, it may still feel some "realistic bone feeling".
Not only that, in terms of automotive intelligence, ideals will also face new challenges.
On the occasion of the release of the annual report results on February 25, another important announcement was also issued - chief technology officer Wang Kai resigned for personal reasons, and chief engineer Ma Donghui will be responsible for the research and development of ideal intelligent car related technologies. Wang Kai's departure has put a question mark on the ideal intelligent research and development.
Wang Kai is a top bull in the field of intelligent vehicles, with 19 years of experience in core technology research and development and management in the automotive and mobile phone industries, and is a world-renowned expert in the field of automotive electrical and electronic architecture, domain controllers, automotive intelligent networking and automatic driving.
Before joining Ideal, Wang Kai worked for 8 years in a global technology company Visteon, from engineer to global chief architect and autonomous driving director, responsible for the planning and landing of the company's software and hardware product routes. He is the core founding designer of SmartCore, the world's first mass-produced vehicle-grade cockpit center domain controller, and the core founder of DriveCore, an open, scalable autonomous driving platform.
Kai Wang joined Ideal in September 2020. When talking about why he joined the ideal, he said: "I wanted to talk to Li, and I think he is still very attractive personally. I definitely hope that there should be a very clear overlap in both values and philosophies, so that the decision is made. Today, Wang Kai has left after less than a year and a half in the ideal, which is intriguing.
Wang Kai's successor, Ma Donghui, has 20 years of experience in automobile research and development, and has worked in Simplified Design, Alter, Sany Heavy Industry (600031. SH) to serve. Although he is also an experienced veteran, there is still a big gap between him and Wang Kai.
In February 2021, Li Xiang sent an internal letter from the company. The letter said that Rational's goal in 2025 is to (China's intelligent electric vehicles) 20% market share and become China's first intelligent electric vehicle company; the vision of 2030 is: to create a mobile home and become the world's first intelligent electric vehicle enterprise.
In 2021, China's new energy vehicle sales will be 3.521 million units, with an ideal market share of 2.56%. In the above-mentioned internal letter, Li Xiang expects China to sell more than 8 million smart electric vehicles in 2025. This means that the ideal sales target for 2025 is 1.6 million units.
Whether it is the delivery of more than 90,000 vehicles in 2021, or the market share of 2.56%, compared with the ambitious goal of 2025, it is far from the same. Ideal, what to support its dream?