Recently, the Ideal MEGA was officially launched, with its unique appearance, spacious interior, 710 km range, and 5C overcharging function, making it unique in the pure electric MPV market. At a critical moment when MEGA was burdened with the annual sales target of 800000 vehicles and was overtaken by competitors in the first two months, Ideal placed high hopes on its driving role, and its success was crucial.
However, the performance of the pure electric MPV market is sluggish, making it difficult for Ideal MEGA to stand out. Cui Dongshu said, "The 710 kilometer range of the Ideal MEGA is only calibration data, and the actual distance it can travel during use remains to be determined. However, there are few layouts of 5C supercharging piles on the current market, and even if the Ideal car can complete the plan on time, its short-term effect may be very limited."
Within half an hour, 7-8 groups of people entered the store to view cars, mostly heading towards MEGA. Some experienced the interior space, some experienced intelligent systems, and some were discussing the appearance and wind resistance of vehicles... This is what a reporter from China Economic Net saw during a recent visit to the Ideal Car Experience Store. The staff of Ideal Automotive stated that after the launch of Ideal MEGA, there has been a high level of attention from everyone, with most people coming to the store to see cars on a family basis. Currently, there is relatively little foot traffic, and on weekends, we can only gather around to see cars.
Since its exposure in October last year, Ideal MEGA has maintained high popularity with its unique high-speed rail design and the continuous promotion of products by Ideal Automotive CEO Li Xiang. After nearly 5 months, the Ideal MEGA was launched on March 1st, with a new car price of 559800 yuan. It is reported that the new car was officially launched on March 4th and will begin delivery on March 11th.
Industry insiders say that at a critical moment of being surpassed by competitors in the first two months, while carrying the annual sales target of 800000 vehicles, Ideal Automobile has high hopes for the driving force of its first pure electric flagship MPV model - MEGA, and its success is crucial.
Shouldering the responsibility of sales volume
For Ideal Cars, 2023 is undoubtedly a successful year. In this year, Ideal Automobile delivered a total of 376000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 182.2%, ranking first in sales among new car manufacturers; The operating revenue was 123.85 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 173.5%; The net profit was 11.81 billion yuan, achieving annual profits for the first time, which is also unique among the new forces in the automotive industry.
However, since entering 2024, Ideal Automobile has missed out on the top selling new car making force in the first month. Although it timely launched a strategy of "reducing prices within the range of 35000-38000 yuan", the results were not significant. The data shows that the sales of Ideal Automobile in the first two months were 51400 units, lagging behind Wenjie's 54100 units. As a comparison, the monthly sales of Ideal Automobile reached 50500 units in December last year.
Correspondingly, the annual sales target for Ideal Automobile in 2024 is 800000 units, and it is committed to becoming the top selling luxury brand in the Chinese market. It is not difficult to calculate that the sales of Ideal Automobile in the first two months only achieved 6.25% of the annual sales target, and the pressure can be imagined.
For this reason, while Ideal Automobile is launching new models, it is also further increasing the discounts on the current models. According to the staff mentioned above, some of the 2024 models of the Ideal Automobile L series have already arrived at the store, while the discounts for the 2023 L7, L8, and L9 models have been increased to 43000 yuan, 44000 yuan, and 46000 yuan. "These are not inventory cars, but the production date is closer to the launch time of the new model, but the color configuration may not fully meet the demand."
According to the plan, Ideal Automobile will usher in a product year this year, with four extended range models and four pure electric models. This means that in addition to the three 2024 L-series models and L6 mentioned above, Ideal Automobile will also launch four pure electric models.
As the first pure electric model of Ideal Automobile and a new product category beyond its SUV models, Ideal MEGA is not only hoped to expand its territory, but also shoulders the responsibility of boosting sales. "Ideal MEGA will become the next explosive product of Ideal Automobile and will completely overturn the sales pattern of cars with sales exceeding 500000," Li Xiang said.
According to Li Xiang, the current small order quantity of 5000 yuan for Ideal MEGA has far exceeded the performance of the same period for Ideal L9 in 2022. He also reminded, "Suppliers and partners, we must keep up with production capacity supply and not be misled by the assumption that high-end pure electricity has no sales."
Encountering multiple difficulties
On the day of the MEGA press conference, there were disharmonious voices online expressing many doubts about its appearance, with flowers accompanied by thorns. "We have also noticed this issue, and some people have installed SF Express or Huo La La La on the MEGA body P, which cannot be ruled out as a prank in pursuit of traffic," said the above staff member.
At the same time, Ideal Automobile has also faced fierce competition from its competitors. On the same day as MEGA was launched, General Manager Zhuang Jingxiong of SAIC General Motors announced that the Buick GL8 plug-in hybrid model would be launched within the year. "The GL8's position as the leader is unshakable, constantly being chased and never surpassed! The Buick GL8 plug-in hybrid model will definitely become the most preferred MPV in its class, and only the GL8 can surpass it."
"At present, the 2024 exhibition car of Tengshi D9 has arrived at the store," said Zhao Changjiang, General Manager of Tengshi Sales Business Unit, on the same day. As a groundbreaking intelligent luxury MPV, Tengshi D9 has been developed with luxury vehicles as its core definition and has been imitated and never surpassed.
In addition, in recent years, there has been a surge of new energy trends in the domestic MPV market, including the Lantu Dreamer, Tengshi D9, Roewe iMAX8 EV, Jike 009, GAC Motor E9, Xiaopeng X9, and others, which have changed the market pattern of traditional MPVs. Last year, the Tengshi D9 surpassed the old powerhouse Buick GL8 with a record of 118600 vehicles.
However, compared to plug-in hybrid models, the market performance of pure electric MPVs is relatively sluggish. Taking Tengshi D9 as an example, the sales volume in January was 8360 units, of which the pure electric version only sold 330 units, accounting for less than 4%; And Lantu Dreamer's pure electric sales also account for less than 10%. On the other hand, the best performing pure electric MPV model in the market is the Xiaopeng X9, with sales of 2478 units in January.
Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, stated that the poor sales of pure electric MPVs are ultimately due to the high quality of the vehicle equipment and the need to solve the problem of range.
Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, why does Ideal MEGA lean towards traveling to Tiger Mountain? "Under the existing fuel powered frame structure, the spatial potential of MPVs has been basically maximized. Assuming the ideal MEGA is an extended range MPV, the space for components such as the range extender and fuel tank must be left out, and space cannot be fully released, and the design cannot be perfect. The only way to generate a qualitative change in internal space is through pure electrification," explained Ideal Automobile.
5C overcharging is difficult to break the game
Objectively speaking, the Ideal MEGA does have outstanding features, with a body length of over 5.3 meters and a wheelbase of up to 3.3 meters, providing spacious and comfortable space; Paired with a highly recognizable appearance, a full field intelligent driving system, as well as a 710 kilometer range and 5C overcharging function, it stands out in the pure electric MPV market.
However, it cannot be ignored that "the popularity of the Ideal MAGE is indeed high, but some potential customers are still in a wait-and-see state, and large orders are not particularly ideal." The above staff said that the reason is that many people still have anxiety about the range of pure electric MPVs. Many customers who come to the store to see cars say, "If MEGA's power system is an extended range, I will place an order immediately.".
At the same time, the ideal MEGA has a curb weight of 2785 kilograms. Although multiple exterior designs have reduced the wind resistance to only 0.215, achieving an ultra long range of 710 kilometers still requires it to be equipped with a 102.7 kilowatt hour battery. Therefore, the issue of energy replenishment has always been a focus of attention from the outside world.
Therefore, Ideal Automobile hopes to break through the deadlock with the help of 5C overcharging. According to Li Xiang, the 800V high-voltage platform, Kirin 5C batteries, and the nationwide 5C overcharging network enable Ideal MEGA to achieve a charging speed of "12 minutes and 500 kilometers". The latest data shows that as of March 1, 2024, 349 Ideal 5C Supercharging Stations have been completed and put into use.
According to the plan, Ideal Automobile is expected to launch 2000+seat and 5000+seat super charging stations in 2024 and 2025, respectively; In the coming years, an investment of over 6 billion yuan will be made to build over 5000 line 5C charging stations, covering 95% of the country's highways and national highways.
But in Cui Dongshu's view, it is difficult for Ideal MEGA to stand out in the MPV market. He said, "The 710 kilometer range of the Ideal MEGA is only calibration data, and the actual distance it can travel during use remains to be determined. However, there are few layouts of 5C supercharging piles on the current market, and even if the Ideal car can complete the plan on time, its short-term effect may be very limited." (Jiang Zhiwen, reporter from China Economic Network)