On October 9, the relevant website disclosed the case of WM Motor filing for bankruptcy restructuring, which also means that WM Motor, one of the earliest new energy vehicles in China, has taken the step of bankruptcy.
In the past two days, there has been feedback from WM car owners that the Bluetooth key and remote control function of its car supporting software "WM.ai" and "Xiaowei Companion" cannot be used, the network continues to display abnormalities, no information can be loaded, and there is no customer service response in the background.
In fact, earlier in August, there was user feedback that the WM APP began to appear abnormal, the mobile phone can only receive data but can not control the vehicle, and even the vehicle system can not be used, and continue to display "network reasons, please try again later". Due to the problem of the vehicle system, the owners have said that they dare not drive now, for fear of problems as soon as they hit the road.
On October 10, WM Motor issued a notification letter to users, employees, partners and shareholders, informing the company that the company is now in business difficulties, but the company is trying to save itself and hopes to solve the debt crisis through various means.
Bankruptcy reorganization applications, failure of the vehicle system, and notices to all parties all point to the fact that WM Motor really can't do it.
WM Motor, once one of the "four little dragons" of car manufacturing with Wei Xiaoli, declined so quickly, and the speed is doubtful.
WM Motor was founded in January 2015 by Shen Hui, former Vice President of Geely Holding Group, Senior Vice President of Volvo Worldwide and Chairman of Volvo China. WM Motor obtained Series A financing in the second year of its establishment, and set up R&D teams in Germany, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Wenzhou, with more than 600 employees. This kind of "company establishment - financing - global research and development - personnel expansion" is no different from the play of new forces such as Wei Xiaoli, everyone plays like this. Use Internet thinking to quickly make the brand bigger and famous, and then get a large amount of financing in the market, and then build factories in various enclosures, continue to finance, continue to build factories to expand production capacity, and finally go directly listed or backdoor listing, and the founder cashes out or continues to cultivate.
According to public data, WM has carried out 12 rounds of financing in the 8 years from its establishment to its application for bankruptcy restructuring, with a total financing amount of more than 35 billion yuan. Among them, the D round of financing in 2020 reached 10 billion yuan, which is the largest single round of financing among new automakers. In the fourth quarter of 2021, it also completed a Series D+ financing of more than US$300 million (approximately RMB2.2 billion). The three Wei Xiaoli only received about 15 billion, 18.8 billion and 12 billion in financing in the same period, which shows that WM is actually more optimistic by the market.
It's just that WM is the most stretched in terms of actual performance. Data show that WM Motor delivered 16,900 units, 22,500 units, 44,000 units, and 29,400 units from 2019 to 2022, respectively, and has fallen into the second echelon of new forces. Only 153 and 30 units were delivered in November and December 2022, respectively. In 2023, the delivery volume will not be found, and it has been kicked out of the rankings of various lists, and it is rumored that WM Motor has actually stopped production for 1 year.
From 2019 to 2021, its revenue was 1.762 billion yuan, 2.672 billion yuan and 4.7425 billion yuan, respectively; the losses were RMB4,145 million, RMB5,084 million and RMB8,206 million respectively; In three years, the company's cumulative net loss has reached 17.435 billion yuan.
WM Motor has also experienced three impact listing processes. In 2020, he applied for listing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, applied for an IPO with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2022, and backdoor listing in 2023. Without exception, they all suffered failures. Its founder, Shen Hui, used "live like an animal" on the self-media platform to indicate his mood at that time.
WM Motor became the first manufacturer to fall among the new forces of car manufacturing, burning 35 billion yuan in financing in just a few years, and more than 100,000 car owners are now afraid to drive a car.
Therefore, Laozhuang suggested that new energy vehicles must choose head companies, such as BYD, Huawei, and Aion, which are more guaranteed.