Now, the financial report telephone conference of the new forces has become a new car preview conference. On May 10, ideal automobile announced its unaudited quarterly financial results as of March 31, 2022: the total revenue in the first quarter of 2022 was 9.56 billion yuan; The net loss was 10.9 million yuan; The R & D cost is 1.37 billion yuan; The cash flow reserve reached 51.19 billion yuan.
However, at the subsequent earnings conference, Li Xiang, founder and CEO of ideal automobile, talked about the next new product strategy of ideal automobile in his few two speeches - "next year, you can see our first 200000-300000 yuan medium-sized car product", "our product scheme and iPhone It's very similar. It can accurately meet different consumer needs at different prices. "
Coincidentally, on the same day, Hefei official announced: "Weilai's new medium and high-end brand production base will be located in Hefei." Although this is not the first time that Weilai has disclosed the news about the new brand, on the same day as ideal car, it talked about developing the medium and high-end market, which suddenly filled the camp of new forces of car making with a smell of gunpowder.
Ideally, three new cars will be sold next year
As usual, the new forces always make money first. However, since the Q4 financial report in 2021, ideal automobile has advanced the release time of the financial report.
After all, every "Wei Xiaoli" earnings call will release the relevant progress of new models and technologies in addition to publishing financial data. It is very important to occupy the minds of capital and consumers first.
This time, ideal car revealed its next new product plan - there will be three new products from this year to next year. Including: "a flagship SUV, a pure tram and a medium-sized car of 200000-300000 yuan" .
Ideal L9
Flagship SUV refers to the ideal L9 with a price range of 450000-500000 yuan. The car will be delivered in the third quarter of this year, but it has not been officially released yet; A pure tram refers to a new product of high-voltage platform, which was also mentioned in the previous two earnings telephone conferences. But the only one is "a medium-sized car with less than 300000 yuan" , which is the first one on the earnings call to say from Li Xiang's mouth.
For the ideal new car, it should be divided into three dimensions: price range, power form and body shape.
The first is pricing. Li Xiang said: "we will put one explosive product in every 10 price range". He further cited that the ideal one is a starting point, located in the range of 300000-400000 yuan. The l9-500000 yuan range is ideal.
"Our product solution is very similar to the iPhone."
As a senior Steve Jobs fan, Li Xiang once again took advantage of Apple。 He used the product logic of iPhone to compare with the ideal car: "with the help of a set of effective technology platform, launch different iPhone 12 Pro max, iPhone 12 pro, iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini to accurately meet different consumer needs at different prices."
Secondly, combine the power form with the body form. At present, the ideal car mainly defines products around incremental technology. The first ideal one and the second ideal L9 are SUVs with added programs. However, starting from the third car, it is ideal to introduce a pure electric platform, but the high probability is no longer an SUV model, and even different from the traditional car form.
"We think the best body shape for extended range is SUV. For this level of products we want to make, neither car nor MPV can achieve the best efficiency," Li said.
Therefore, next, it is ideal to equip SUV models with extended program powertrain instead of MPV, because the latter's larger vehicle weight means greater energy consumption. MPV dreamers like lantu use multimode drive, which theoretically combines extended range and plug-in hybrid, which can not only use pure electricity, but also realize the common output power of motor and engine.
"In terms of pure electricity, we think that it is not efficient to make such a large SUV, so we are a new form in terms of pure electricity. In the next two years, you will find that our pure electricity is different from any form of products in the current market. They are specially designed for the special form of pure electricity."
You will find that the ideal product portfolio will be very rich. Because, ideally, there will be pure electric and extended range products in the same price range, and the product forms are different. We can make a bold guess, and the ideal next product portfolio:
In the price range of 400000-500000 yuan: ideal L9 (extended range) + w01 (pure electric MPV)
In the price range of 300000-400000 yuan: ideal one (extended range) + S01 (pure electric car)
In the price range of 200000-300000 yuan: X02 (medium-sized vehicle, extended range) + S02 (pure electricity)
(Note: X is the extended range platform, X01 was the code of ideal L9, W is the abbreviation of ideal whale pure electric platform, and s refers to shark pure electric platform, focusing on space and performance respectively)
According to the prospectus provided by ideal when it was listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, four cars will be put on the market by 2023. The other two SUV models were not mentioned in the earnings call.
From the financial data, the ideal car is indeed preparing for new car research and development behind the scenes. The total revenue in the first quarter of 2022 was 9.56 billion yuan, which decreased by 10.0% month on month, but increased by 167.5% year-on-year. Even if the revenue fluctuates, its R & D investment increases instead of decreasing. In the first quarter of 2022, the R & D cost of ideal vehicles was 1.37 billion yuan, an increase of 167.0% year-on-year and 11.7% month on month.
In the first quarter of 2022, the ideal R & D investment accounted for 14.3% of revenue, which was at a higher level compared with the previous quarter and the whole year of last year. According to previous financial reports, from the first quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021, the total R & D expenses of ideal automobile were 4.386 billion yuan, and the total revenue in the same period was 36.466 billion yuan. During this period, the R & D expenses accounted for 12.03%.
For next year's bloody battle, the ideal has to fight again.
Medium and high-end, "Li" OK
At the earnings call, Li Xiang talked about the medium and high-end market of 200000-300000 yuan for the first time. "We will clearly focus on the price range of 200000-500000 yuan." In Li Xiang's view, next year will be an important node for the ideal to take the next step, that is, to launch a 200000-300000 medium-sized car.
Coincidentally, on the same day when the ideal financial report was released, Hefei Economic Development Zone and Weilai signed a cooperation agreement on the whole vehicle phase II and key core parts supporting projects of neopark Xinqiao intelligent electric vehicle industrial park. According to the agreement, the new medium and high-end brand intelligent electric vehicle products of Weilai group will be introduced, which is planned to be completed and put into operation in 2024.
According to Wei Lai's habit, the new models of the next year will probably be released on NiO day of the previous year. In other words, from 2023, the ideal medium and high-end models and Weilai's new medium and high-end brands will fight in the range of 200000-300000 yuan.
For the price downward exploration, Li Xiang is as confident as ever: "we will basically put a heavyweight product in each price range to meet the needs of users in a specific price range."
The logic behind this is that the ideal car has carried out a series of "reusable" technology research and development for the overall product portfolio - "it will be very different from the previous single product. The technology research and development of the five platforms, including the new generation extended range, 800V voltage platform, intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit and electronic and electrical architecture, are designed for the overall product portfolio."
Li Xiang further talked about the common points of the two future products: first, all products are four-wheel drive; Second, strong enough intelligence, including intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit.
First, about four-wheel drive. The so-called 4WD of electric vehicles is either dual motor 4WD or four motor 4WD with independent layout. The opposite of them is the single motor model launched for long endurance. Li Bin once said to the public: "Wei Lai will never produce a single motor car, forever. If an electric car also produces a single motor, it is playing a rogue."
The dual motor solves not only the power performance and handling, but also the safety of automatic driving. It is very simple that when one motor fails, another motor is used as redundant backup. In extreme cases, although the power output will be limited, it can at least ensure the safety of drivers and passengers.
However, compared with a single motor, the use of dual motors is bound to increase the cost, including the cost of the motor itself and its matching battery pack. Taking Tesla Model y as an example, the price of the long-range version of dual motor all wheel drive is 375900 yuan, while the version of single motor rear wheel drive is 316900 yuan. Of course, this also includes the difference of power battery capacity. The lithium iron phosphate battery of single motor is 60kwh and the ternary lithium battery of double motor is 78.4kwh.
The high cost of motors and batteries means a test of the cost control ability of car enterprises. So you will find that at this stage, BYD, Xiaopeng, Zero run and Nezha, which used to focus on medium and low-end models, are moving towards medium and high-end models.
Now the ideal and Wei Lai should be hit from high to low, which is obviously prepared
In terms of cost, the ideal has some confidence. "We think that the battery cost, especially the cost of raw materials, has obviously deviated from the reasonable price range. When the supply rises, we think the unit price should gradually decline." Shen Yanan, co-founder and President of ideal automobile, said. He believes that due to the strong competitiveness of the ideal products, even if the price is slightly higher, the ideal is still confident to obtain a higher order volume.
From the financial data, the ideal has always been good in terms of cost control ability. In the first quarter of 2022, the ideal gross profit margin is 22.6%, compared with 17.3% in the first quarter of 2021 and 22.4% in the fourth quarter of 2021. In such a tense period of the supply chain, it is not easy for the ideal to "squeeze out" the gross profit increased month on month. In this regard, Shen Yanan explained: "the financial performance in the first quarter of this year has included the rise in the price of some parts. Because we have a certain inventory, the overall cost has little impact."
Correspondingly, Weilai's cost control ability is weak, but its established charging and replacing system can be reused. By the end of April, Weilai had built 915 replacement power stations across the country, covering 31 provinces and 194 cities across the country. The coverage rate of electricity District rooms (the residence of Weilai users is within 3km from the power exchange station) is as high as 59%. On the basis of energy supplement convenience, more cost-effective products are bound to impress more consumers.
Secondly, intelligent "reuse". The ideal logic is to develop a set of intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit, and reuse multiple models. In fact, Tesla has been using this logic. For example, Tesla's FSD is fully autonomous. It does not need to be developed separately for each model. Based on the same hardware platform, it can realize almost exactly the same software functions.
But then again, the strategy of holding high and playing low is not certain. There is a precedent in the mobile phone industry. Apple released the iPhone 12 Mini in 2020. It was only three months after it entered the market that it came out of production. It was called "the shortest life product in Apple's history." In addition, even the "king of explosion" in the automotive industry is affected by external uncertainties. For example, Tesla China has only sold 1512 new cars in the past April.
More importantly, the explosion itself can be met without demand. So far, the ideal car has only made a "popular model". Whether the company's popular products are reproducible remains to be verified by the market. Xiaopeng car, which is also a new force, took several years to boil out a Xiaopeng P7 that can be called "online red car". So far, Wei has not seen a record of monthly sales of 10000 models.
Besides, the existing players in the medium and high-end market are not standing still. In the price range of 200000-300000 yuan, BYD Han EV cannot be bypassed (the price range is 2148-329800). In April, the sales volume of Han EV series reached 10225, and the cumulative sales volume of the whole BYD Han family model exceeded 200000 - basically a new power.
In the market of more than 300000 yuan, BYD may not be the ideal competitor of weilaihe for the time being. But when the price is pulled down to the 200000 yuan market, BYD's advantage of the whole industrial chain is obvious. What's more, "Wei Xiaoli" is good at intellectualization. BYD is also gradually making up for its shortcomings through cooperation, joint venture and so on.
Of course, Weilai's positioning of medium and high-end brands shows a little sense of big pattern. The official statement is: "Weilai's brand-new brand will compete with Tesla and Volkswagen in the market." In other words, the new forces should unite and unite with the outside world.
Write at the end
Look at 2022.
The adverse effects of external factors such as the epidemic will soon be reflected in the financial data of ideal vehicles. According to the financial report, the ideal guidance for vehicle delivery in the second quarter of 2022 is 21000 to 24000 vehicles. Minus the 4167 vehicles announced in April, it can be basically calculated that in the next two months, the ideal monthly delivery of one will hover between 8400 and 10000 vehicles.
For this year's uncertainty, Shen Yanan put forward two guesses: "first, the recovery and stability of the supply chain; second, if affected by the continuous epidemic, consumers' purchase intention may be weakened to some extent." In other words, it is very likely that cars cannot be built or sold.
Of course, this is not the dilemma of the ideal car family. All Chinese automobile enterprises are facing the same problem. According to the latest data of the passenger car Federation, the retail sales of passenger car market reached 1042000 in April this year, a year-on-year decrease of 35.5% and a month on month decrease of 34.0%.
But anyway, life goes on. The worst persistence is better than giving up easily.