On Monday (65,438+02.30), the American electric vehicle manufacturer delivered the first batch of domestic models to 65,438+05 employee owners in its Shanghai super factory. 3 medium-sized car. The latter is expected to be launched on a large scale for local users from the end of 2020 1.
As the most topical electric vehicle manufacturer in the world, Tesla's capacity deployment in China, the world's largest new energy vehicle market, has long been concerned by the industry. One of the most frequently observed questions is whether the arrival of Tesla will have a "black boat coming" effect among emerging local electric vehicle manufacturers.
According to public data, China has surpassed the United States to become the world's largest new energy vehicle market since 20 15, driven by government subsidies, priority road rights and environmental regulations. However, in the context of the current subsidy recession, this position does not seem to be shaken.
According to the data of China Automobile Association, in the first three quarters of 20 19, new energy vehicles sold 872,000 new cars, up 20.8% year-on-year.
JPMorgan Chase predicted that in the next few years, China will easily maintain its leading position as the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer. By 2020, the compound annual growth rate of China's new energy vehicle market will reach 46%, and the output will reach 2.5 million; By 2025, the output of new energy vehicles will further increase to 4.6 million. By 2020 and 2025, the output of new energy vehicles in China will increase from 2.3% in 20 17 to 7.2% and 12% respectively, and its electric vehicle sales will account for 59% and 55% of the global sales respectively.
In recent years, the huge market capacity and potential business prospects are attracting more and more new players to enter the electric vehicle market in China. Locally, the latter is known as the "new force to build cars" to distinguish it from traditional car manufacturers.
Among the head enterprises of China's new car-making forces, Weimar and Weilai have their headquarters in Shanghai to compete with Tesla. Before this year 1 1 month, Weilai Automobile and Weimar Automobile ranked first and second in the list of emerging electric vehicle manufacturers in China with the cumulative delivery of 17395 and 15355 respectively. Among them, Weimar EX5 is the single model with the highest delivery volume among the new forces of building cars. ?
LMC？ According to the data of automobile consulting company, as of the third quarter of this year, the sales volume of Tesla electric vehicles in China market was 65,438+00,542 vehicles-although the growth rate was more than 2 times year-on-year, it was still inferior to its China competitors in terms of absolute sales volume.
But considering that Tesla's sales in China are all in the main models? It has not yet been made in China, but people in the industry are still worried about the possible impact on local competitors after its Shanghai super factory is put into production.
Bloomberg 18 quoted insiders as saying that Tesla is considering lowering its domestic models from the second quarter of next year. The prices of three models are expected to be lowered by 20%. Can this be used as a model? The entry price of the local market is less than 300,000 yuan (roughly estimated at the exchange rate of about 285,000 yuan). In contrast, the starting price of the cheapest model ES6 in Weilai is 358,000 yuan, while the pre-sale price announced by another new automobile head manufacturer in China last month is 270,000 yuan.
Based on a similar judgment, Nikkei News quoted Morgan Stanley as saying that Tesla's sales in China are expected to be close to 200,000 vehicles in 2020, and it is optimistic that this figure will rise to the peak of 254,000 vehicles around 2024.
However, as a competitor in the same city who is about to meet Tesla, Weimar Automobile may not be as worried as expected.
"Tesla is undoubtedly a network celebrity in the field of electric vehicles. Tesla's domestic production is a good thing, which can attract more people's attention to electric vehicles. It is also an opportunity for new power brands to compete with Tesla in the China market and promote our faster and better development. " Freeman Shen, founder, chairman and CEO of Weimar Automobile, said in an interview at the company's Shanghai headquarters a few days ago.
He believes that under the non-zero-sum game pattern, the industry does not need to be too anxious about Tesla's domestic production.
"Some people will buy Tesla electric cars, while others will buy China brand electric cars, thus boosting the consumption of electric cars in China as a whole. It can also promote the development of China's new energy automobile industry, especially the development of intelligent new energy vehicles. " Freeman Shen added.
More people-friendly product prices, or misplaced competition with Tesla, constitute the most obvious source of confidence for this "smart electric vehicle popularizer in China".
Weimar official website information shows that the manufacturer's medium-sized SUV——EX6? Plus starts at 289,900 (239,900 after subsidy), while another compact SUV? The starting price of EX5 is as low as 6,543,800 yuan (6,543,800 yuan after subsidy), of which the latest EX5? The starting price of version 520 is 2 1.98 million yuan (after subsidy 1.698 million yuan). According to NEDC standard, EX6? Plus and EX5? The 520 version has a maximum comprehensive cruising range of more than 500 kilometers, and Tesla official website is interested in domestic entry-level models? The description given by cruising range is "445 kilometers (national standard working condition method)".
In this derby, it is easy to be overlooked by consumers that Weimar Automobile, as one of Tesla's most important competitors in China, also has a similar manufacturing concept. The insistence on self-built factories may be an example.
As early as the second year of Weimar Automobile's establishment, this emerging electric vehicle manufacturer invested 6.7 billion yuan to build an intelligent factory with industrial standard 4.0 in Oujiangkou, Wenzhou, with a total land area of 648,422.83 square meters. Based on the concept of intelligent manufacturing, the factory can realize C2M customized production mode to meet diversified user needs, and at the same time, with the help of Weimayun service system, it can realize the fastest delivery of customized models in 6 weeks and 3 weeks.
"Cars are intelligent hardware with the most complicated manufacturing standards and requirements in the world, and we all have the same understanding." Freeman Shen explained, "This is also the reason why Weimar insisted on building his own factory. The basic battery pack should be made by yourself, not OEM, and the product quality and core technology should be firmly in your own hands. "
Tesla's intention to establish its first overseas vehicle manufacturing plant in Shanghai is similar. The latter will ensure its global consistent product quality through internal management and reduce production costs through localized supply chain.
Compared with Weimar, Tesla's other two competitors in China are slightly inferior. In March this year, Weilai Automobile stopped its self-built factory project in Jiading, Shanghai. It was not until two months later that it signed an agreement with Yizhuang SDIC, which stated that it would "assist Weilai China to build or introduce a third party to build Weilai China's advanced manufacturing base". At present, the products of this enterprise are still produced by JAC.
Although Xpeng Motors announced as early as 20 17 that it would build its own factory in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, according to its original plan, the first phase of the factory project will not be completed until the end of 20 19 at the earliest. In addition, the manufacturer has not solved the problem of automobile production qualification. For this enterprise, both production preparation and qualification acquisition take time. Therefore, OEM of Haima Automobile is still the only way for Xpeng Automobile to participate in the market competition.
Although there is a high degree of similarity in manufacturing concepts, Weimar Automobile saw its own advantages in close contact with Tesla.
"Tesla's Shanghai factory has a relatively short construction period and is still in the cycle of capacity climbing. At present, the supply chain is basically abroad. The construction period of Weimar factory is relatively long, which further solves the problem of supply chain localization. " Freeman Shen concluded.
He believes that the technologies developed by some global suppliers in other countries are not always adapted to the habits of users in China. "For example, the integration of Borgwarner's motors and reducers can be imported from abroad, but we insist that these suppliers be localized and become the first users after domestic production."
In addition, the geographical advantages of Weimar Automobile will also be fully exerted in the contest with Tesla at this stage. Based on a deeper understanding of the China market, the company has the upper hand over Tesla in cost control, response cycle and software experience.
Taking the software experience as an example, Weimar Automobile has been connected to various smart applications of China technology companies such as Baidu, Tencent and Xiaomi, and is building its own mobile smart space ecosystem in an all-round way. ? "Because of different application scenarios, some foreign software may not be suitable for the China market. For example, as we all know, the road conditions in China are the most complicated in the world. Tesla's autopilot is very advanced, but Weimar's mass-produced L2 autopilot system is developed based on the road conditions in China, which is more suitable for China's national conditions. " Freeman Shen explained.
Weimar showed great respect for Tesla, a competitor who came from overseas and eventually became a derby.
"Practically speaking, Tesla has subverted many traditions and practices in the automobile manufacturing industry, and has played a positive role in promoting the popularity of electric vehicles around the world, so that more people can understand and use electric vehicles. There is no doubt about it. " Freeman Shen said.
He also said that Tesla has a significant brand advantage in the hearts of users, and its marketing work is also quite excellent. ?
In addition, Tesla's ups and downs on the profit and loss line over the years seem to have taught many things to rivals in the same city.
"It takes a process for new energy automobile companies to achieve profitability. Tesla has been in the investment stage for more than ten years. Profitability has been achieved in the third quarter of this year, which has given confidence to new forces. " Freeman Shen said with emotion, "Weimar Automobile has obvious advantages in refined operation, balanced input-output ratio, cost control and team experience. I am confident that Weimar will become the first new car-making enterprise in China to achieve profitability. "
A noteworthy phenomenon is that investors and capital markets seem to have similar perceptions of Freeman Shen. During the preparation of Tesla Giga in Shanghai, Weimar Automobile announced that it was seeking a new round of financing (round D), hoping to raise 1 billion dollars for technology research and development, brand promotion, customer service and channel expansion.
"At present, it is progressing smoothly, and the capital market is still optimistic about Weimar Automobile." Freeman Shen said.
In the first quarter of this year, Weimar Automobile just completed the C round of financing with a total amount of 3 billion yuan. Before the C round of financing, Weimar Automobile has completed six rounds of financing, with a total financing of more than 20 billion yuan.
The same good news comes from Tesla's other rival in the same city. Feng Wei, the new chief financial officer of Weilai, revealed on Monday that "Tencent's $654.38 billion convertible bond capital injection has been completed, and Li Bin's $90.5 million capital injection has also been completed, and the rest is being processed and traded".
Affected by this news, Weilai Automobile's share price rose to 40% that day, the biggest one-day increase since the day after listing.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.