Text/Wen Chong
Although the gap between monthly sales and Wei Xiaoli is not small, Weima does not want to be left behind. On April 15, the new WM E.5 was officially launched, a total of two models were launched, the price after comprehensive subsidies were 180,100-190,100 yuan, WM tried to turn this "good sales" product in the B-end market to the C-end to break through the current sales "bottleneck".
At the beginning of the launch of the WM E.5 (September 2021), it was aimed at travel users, that is, it was mainly used for online ride-hailing operations. At that time, WM even launched a dual-brand logo strategy to distinguish between individual users and travel users. Now, after the rebranding, the new WM E.5 has expanded from the B-end travel market to the C-end personal consumption market.
WM Motor's explanation is, "E.5 is originally a model for the B-end market, because of good sales and C-end user demand, it has upgraded the new E.5 and sold it to the user market." ”
From the B-side to the C-end, the transformation of the new E.5 positioning is indeed because of sales, but not only because of the sales of E.5 itself, but also because of the current situation of WM Motors.
WM suspended the release of monthly sales figures last year, a situation that continued until September last year, when it sold more than 5,000 vehicles before returning to a state of actively announcing sales data. According to the latest data released by WM, WM delivered 5516 vehicles in March, an increase of 211.3% year-on-year and 66.6% month-on-month.
Monthly sales from 5,000 to more than 5,500, WM Motors has gone for half a year, and has not broken through the 6,000 mark. Such achievements are not enough in the face of xiaopeng, ideal, Nezha, zero run and other new car-making brands that have broken through the 10,000 mark. At the same time, from the perspective of cumulative sales in the first quarter, WM's ranking has also fallen from the second place to the top five, and the gap is getting bigger and bigger, falling into the crisis of "falling behind".
In addition, in 2021, 80% of WM Motors' sales (44,157 units in the whole year) came from WM EX5 and E.5 models, the former being a special edition for major customer orders, and the latter being tailor-made for the travel market. This means that the sales focus of WM Motors is on the B-end, while its annual sales volume (8011 vehicles) at the C-end are only the volume of Xiaopeng and ideal monthly sales.
Over-reliance on the B-end market, WM Motors is not immune to the overall shift in new energy consumption from the B-end to the C-end. According to the data jointly released by the Intelligent Electric Vehicle Committee of the China Electronic Chamber of Commerce, the To C data of new energy passenger vehicles will account for more than 87.86% in 2021. And this data, 3 years ago, was still 20%.
Therefore, the transfer of the new WM E.5 to the C-end market is a feasible and more convenient way for WM Motors to turn the situation around.
Of course, children make choices, adults want them all. For WM Motors, the "amphibious" B-end travel market and the C-end personal consumption market are king. As can be seen on the official website of WM Motors, the new WM E.5 is still placed under the option of large customer sales along with WM EX5.
Back to the new WM E.5 product itself, from the price point of view, WM Motors is still aiming at the market of 150,000-250,000 yuan. WM Motor publicly stated last year that the 150,000-250,000 yuan range market will soon usher in an outbreak, and it is expected that in the next decade, the mainstream new energy penetration rate of 150,000-250,000 yuan will increase from 3% to 40%. At present, the competition in this market has become fierce after the addition of models such as the Volkswagen ID series.
From the perspective of product design, the new WM E.5 is basically the same as the old model, adopting an enterprising, simple and pure design concept, equipped with 18-inch 5-spoke two-color wheels, the first external interaction LOGO lamp of the same level, and the design of the universe black theme interior. The interior changes are not large, equipped with dual 12.3-inch large screens, Living Mate intelligent cockpit system, can achieve intelligent voice interaction multimedia wake-up, vehicle control and other functions.
In terms of power, the new WM E.5 series is equipped with a permanent magnet synchronous motor with a maximum power of 120 kW and a maximum torque of 240 N·m, and the NEDC mileage of both models is 505 km. In terms of safety configuration, the new WM E.5 is also equipped with L2-level Living Pilot 3.5 Base intelligent driver assistance system, including ACC adaptive cruise, AEB automatic emergency braking, and FCW forward collision warning system.
2022 is destined to be a difficult year, raw material prices, rising and a new round of epidemic under the automotive supply chain has been challenged, and major auto brands have been affected to varying degrees. For WM Motors, it is even more difficult. However, in order to grab C-end users, the new WM E.5 has launched a user customization plan of 100 million yuan, including providing more than 100 customized color choices and 3,000 yuan custom gift package for car purchases.