Source of this article: Times Finance Author: Lin Qian
According to media reports, in the past May Day holiday, Evergrande Automobile's first pure electric SUV Hengchi 5 opened within 10 hours of blind booking, and the order reached 50,000 units. In this regard, Times Finance asked Evergrande Automobile for verification on May 10, but as of press time, there was no response.
On the same day, Times Finance did not find Hengchi 5 blind booking information and entrance through multiple channels such as Hengchi Automobile's official website, APP, and mini program. It is understood that the so-called blind booking is similar to the open blind box of the car circle, that is, the car dealer only publishes relatively simple information, and even the final price of the product and the listing delivery time are not disclosed, and the user will pay the deposit. Generally speaking, the amount of blind booking is not high, often around 100 yuan, blind booking users can usually enjoy the preferential welfare policies given by the merchant in the later stage, and the pick-up time is relatively high.
Source | Photo by Times Finance
Therefore, after the news that Hengchi 5 blindly ordered more than 50,000 units in 10 hours, it triggered a hot discussion in the industry. Some big V in the automotive circle said, "BYD Han DM-i only broke 50,000 in three days, Weilai ET5 pre-sale exceeded 60,000 in 5 days, and Tesla Model Y domestic version broke 100,000 orders in 10 hours, which is still based on the existing mature customer base and better price expectations."
Netizens have also posted jokes, "I wish Hengchi surpasses Tesla to become a leader in new energy vehicles", "I hope that the people who order it will drive Hengchi as soon as possible, and then share the experience of The God Car with us" "Selling buildings seems to have a similar trick, selling building flowers" "Is there really anyone booking? ”
At the time when its products are about to be mass-produced and delivered, Hengchi Automobile is also actively laying sales channels. It is understood that on April 30, Hengchi Automobile issued the first round of agent recruitment orders, mainly for 18 cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Changsha, Tianjin and Nanjing. According to the plan, the Hengchi brand will prepare for the construction of 36 Hengchi exhibition and experience centers, 1600 Hengchi sales centers, and 3000 self-built and authorized maintenance warranty after-sales service centers.
Source | Hengchi Automobile official blog
For the qualification of authorized agents, Hengchi Automobile puts forward the following requirements: agree with the business philosophy and sales model of Hengchi Automobile; registered by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, with independent legal personality and legal business certificate, and the registered capital is not less than 5 million yuan; it has a venue for meeting the business needs of Hengchi Automobile; it can form a qualified management team for Hengchi Automobile; the enterprise is in good condition and has sufficient financial strength.
Hengchi said that it will adopt the asset-light operation strategy of "order-based sales" like some new power brands, which will reduce the pressure on the agent's operating funds; in order to avoid the frequent contradictions in the past channels, Hengchi Automobile has introduced an "independent account of the third-party notary office supervised by the government".
According to the media quoting informed sources, the recruitment of Hengchi Automobile is favored by the majority of investors, and the registration is more enthusiastic. Evergrande Automobile insiders told Times Finance that the current recruitment has been closed on the 8th, "if you are interested, follow-up news pay attention to official channels."
According to public information, on January 25, 2019, Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. was officially established with a registered capital of US$3.5 billion. In August 2019, Evergrande officially released the new energy vehicle brand Hengchi, opening the road to car manufacturing.
Source | Hengchi Automobile official blog
On November 12, 2019, Xu Jiayin, chairman of the board of directors of Evergrande Group, announced at the Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Global Strategic Partner Summit that it will invest 45 billion yuan in the next three years to manufacture new energy vehicles, and there are 15 new models developed simultaneously, and the full range of products will be fully mass-produced from 2021. Xu Jiayin also elaborated on his car-making strategy at the above summit, that is, "buying, buying and buying", "combining and cooperating", "circle circle", "big and big" and "good and good", which once caused heated discussion on the Internet.
According to Evergrande Automobile's 2021 semi-annual report, the company achieved revenue of 6.92 billion yuan in the first half of the year, an increase of 53.5% year-on-year; net loss of 4.786 billion yuan. According to Evergrande Automobile's 2020 performance report released in March last year, its cumulative total investment in the new energy automobile industry reached 47.4 billion yuan, of which 24.9 billion yuan was used to acquire core technologies and research and development expenses, and 22.5 billion yuan was used for depot construction, equipment procurement, auto parts procurement, etc.
On April 19, 2021, Evergrande Automobile unveiled its Hengchi series of 9 models at the Shanghai Auto Show, and Liu Yongzhuo, president of Hengchi Automobile, said at the press conference that in the fourth quarter of 2021, Hengchi Automobile will fully start trial production and large-scale delivery in 2022.
"The automobile group should work hard day and night, work hard for three months, and on June 22, it must achieve the mass production of Hengchi 5, laying a solid foundation for the healthy and sustainable development of Hengchi Automobile." At the mobilization meeting in late March this year, Xu Jiayin made a request to the Hengchi automobile team. On May 10, Evergrande Automobile also told Times Finance that "our first mass production car is Hengchi 5, and the main energy is currently concentrated on this car."
There is no doubt that both Xu Jiayin and Evergrande Automobile have high expectations for Hengchi 5, but whether the model can meet expectations still needs to be verified by the market.
According to public information, the Hengchi 5 positioning compact pure electric SUV will be equipped with L2.5+ level auxiliary driving function, CLTC cruising range of 602km, positioned as a compact pure electric SUV. In terms of interior, Hengchi 5 has a 10.25-inch instrument screen, a 14.26-inch central control screen and a 10.25-inch co-driver screen, and has 8 speakers. In terms of size, the length, width and height of the car are 4718/1925/1661mm, and the wheelbase is 2780mm.
It is worth mentioning that at the end of March this year, Times Finance found that the new Hengchi 5 placed in the exhibition hall was not electrified when visiting the Hengchi Automobile Experience Center in Zhujiang New Town, Guangzhou, and its internal employees explained, "The car machine system is being upgraded, and the current Hengchi 5 is only a trial car, and the real mass production needs to wait until June 22, during which Hengchi Automobile will optimize the Hengchi 5 according to the suggestions of consumers and industry insiders."