How is Weilai Automobile in China?

Production/Node Finance

In 20 19, weilai automobile was once full of jitters, and its founder Li Bin was dubbed as "the worst person of 20 19". However, just when the market was worried about whether Weilai would become the next LeTV, the situation suddenly changed in 2020. The market value of Weilai Automobile once exceeded $654.38+000 billion, surpassing the traditional automobile giants who have produced and sold over one million vehicles for many years.

From the dark moment to the stock market star, what has Weilai Automobile experienced?

The global automobile industry is in the midst of a once-in-a-century great change. As one of the representatives of the "new species" in the automobile industry, Weilai Automobile has been established for seven years, with tens of billions of funds, ambitions to change urban roads and ups and downs of business stories, and Li Bin is undoubtedly the key figure in this war.

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Billion qualified, benchmark Tesla

At the beginning of 20 14, I had dinner with Ma, and talked about my plan to resign from Easy Car and build a car, hoping to get Tencent's support. Ma Hua Teng agreed.

At that time, Li Bin was already a famous serial entrepreneur in the venture capital circle. The Peking University graduate successfully led Easy Car to become the first overseas listed car internet company in China on 20 1 1.

Previously, the penetration of the automobile industry made Li Bin more sensitive to the development trend of this industry. In order to achieve "overtaking in curve" in the automobile industry with the help of electric vehicles, since 2009, China has launched a series of new energy automobile industry support policies in an attempt to incite more social resources to enter this industry. As a key support direction, new energy vehicles will soon become one of the important industries for local governments to attract investment. At the same time, China is gradually becoming the top market of new energy vehicles in the world.

Li Bin realized that the policies and markets of China's new energy automobile industry were ready, and it was time to start a business.

This idea coincides with two other serial entrepreneurs: Li Xiang, who founded bubble net and car home respectively, and He, the co-founder of UC Vision. They all saw the opportunities in the new energy automobile industry, and soon set up Che Hejia (later renamed Li) and Xpeng Motors respectively. These three companies later became the backbone of the new forces to build cars.

At that time, the whole country was carrying out a car-making movement. Around 20 16, the projects of new energy automobile industrial parks in more than 20 provinces in China started. Under the tide of building cars, "there are more start-up car companies in China than in the whole world".

To some extent, these car companies are not only interested in the car itself, but also in the right to speak in urban travel in the wave of integration of cars and the Internet-this is an industrial change that traditional car companies compete with new forces. It involves many participants in the upstream and downstream industrial chains such as new and old energy, driverless, battery, domestic and foreign capital.

However, compared with Tesla, which was founded in 2003, Li Bin and others are facing a more severe situation than Musk, the founder of Tesla. When Tesla launched the first electric sports car Roadster, electric vehicles had not yet become the point of traditional car companies. By 20 16, almost all traditional car companies have made it clear that electrification is one of the transformation directions of the automobile industry. Traditional automobile giants such as BYD and BAIC new energy vehicles have realized the market application and inspection of the first generation of low-cost micro-electric vehicles, which have the first-Mover advantage.

This means that in order to survive, Li Bin must be faster than Musk. Find money and people faster and realize mass production faster.

Automobile production, as the peak project in modern manufacturing industry, not only needs huge manpower, material resources and time, but also needs huge funds. Billions of dollars are basically just the starting threshold, and the financing ability of entrepreneurial teams has become very important. One step ahead, Li Bin got VC investment from technology giants such as Tencent and Baidu, international organizations such as Temasek and GIC, and Joy Capital, and soon entered the first echelon of new energy vehicles.

At the same time, from 20 14 to 20 15, my classmate and CEO Qin of Weilai Automobile started a crazy recruitment model in Beijing and Shanghai to reserve talents for Weilai Automobile. In order to compete for talents, Li Bin went abroad nearly 20 times in 20 15, met hundreds of people, and took over the design backbone of many well-known traditional car companies such as BMW at a high price. He also established R&D in Munich, London and San Jose in North America. Center d

In order to realize mass production quickly and avoid the qualification problem of electric vehicles, Li Bin chose a lighter route, that is, it was designed and manufactured by JAC instead of building its own vehicle factory. In the first half of 20 16, weilai automobile signed a five-year OEM agreement with JAC automobile, and Li Bin plans to launch new models at the rate of one model per year. This light asset model enables enterprises to "exchange funds for time" and participate in market competition more quickly.

On the road of development, Weilai Automobile has chosen a road of high-end products against Tesla. 2016165438+10, Weilai Automobile launched an electric sports car similar to Tesla for the first time; 20 17 12, the first production model ES8 was released. The configuration of this seven-seat SUV is in line with Tesla's Model X, and the price of 448,000 yuan before subsidy is basically the same as that of Tesla Model3; 2065438+In March 2009, the second model-five-seat SUV ES6 was released. Many parts of this car are made of ES8***, which is equivalent to the smaller Weilai ES8.

Since then, Weilai Automobile, which appeared in a subversive posture, has found another way to break through the original automobile market in the Red Sea through the dimensions of users, intelligence and service.

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Extreme service and expensive expenses.

20 17 12 16, the first NIO day was held in Beijing Wukesong gymnasium. With the help of Imagine Dragons, the 10,000-person gymnasium was almost packed. On the same day, Li Bin announced that the first production car ES8 of Weilai was officially launched and opened for booking, with a price of 400,000-500,000 yuan (RMB, the same below). This luxurious conference made Weilai truly enter the public's field of vision.

But why do users buy an "unknown" electric car with the money they buy Mercedes? Where are the opportunities for the new car company?

At the time node of 20 15, the mobile phone has achieved many major iterations relying on the technology internet. However, because the traditional automobile has formed a set of molding industrial systems and processes, the application of technology Internet has been lagging behind. This means that there is a huge "technical depression" in the automobile industry, which is considered as an opportunity for new entrepreneurs. New technologies such as digital system, intelligent cockpit and ADAS (Automatic Driver Assistance System) have brought about "faster iteration and better user experience", which is regarded by Li Bin as the key weapon of the new force to build cars.

At the same time, traditional automobile enterprises lack the concept of "user" in the Internet field. They develop, manufacture, produce and sell cars, and hand over their sales and service systems to external partners, but they almost never thought that they could build a service system in them, which in Li Bin's view is the value that has not been fully released in the automobile field.

20 15 Qin, CEO of Weilai, and I chatted until midnight at Crown Hotel Wuzhou, Beijing, and finally decided that the core value of the company was the service system. Unlike traditional car companies, which regard cars as means of transportation, Weilai regards cars as user clubs: when users buy cars, they can be regarded as joining a club.

Car sales are no longer a "one-time transaction". With the smart car, Weilai has contact with the owner, but this is only the first step. Li Bin tries to break the traditional 4S stores and car services and establish a brand-new service system for electric vehicles. To this end, he did a lot of things other than building a car: he built an expensive NIO House (Weilai Center) in the core business districts of major cities across the country, where users can participate in various cultural activities, drink coffee, watch movies, and exercise ... In order to alleviate users' anxiety about charging, he set up charging stations all over the country and adopted the "one-click electricity" service.

"What we have to do is to experience the whole process beyond expectations. We can't do too much around this matter. " Qin once summed up Weilai's service system in this way. These services are of different types, but usually they can poke the pain points of users. For example, Fellow prepares birthday parties for users and children; Help dress up the new car when handing over the car; Organize free and active car owners to watch Formula One races in Hainan, and even help car owners propose marriage ... Some users feel that "they didn't buy a car, bought VIP service, and sent the car all the way".

Many owners of Weilai ES8 mentioned that if they were attracted by Weilai's hardware at first and then became fans of Weilai, it was more because of the company's soft service. "When you buy a traditional luxury car, your relationship with the car brand usually ends at the turn-key moment. When you buy a Weilai car, when you turn the key, your relationship with it has just begun. "

To some extent, Weilai has created a new mode, thinking and user experience. Users compare it to an Apple phone. "Apple has hardly invented any mobile phone technology, but it has redefined the experience of mobile phones: mobile phones can be used not only for making calls, but also as a window for users to contact with the outside world and a companion to kill time. The car is not only a means of transportation to take you from A to B, but also carries people's emotions. "

However, behind the ultimate service, it is expensive.

Someone once posted the bill of NIO House in Beijing Oriental Plaza: based on the daily rent 105 yuan/square meter, its annual rent exceeds 1 100 million yuan. But Li Bin thinks this is a good deal, because to sell thousands of cars a year in Shanghai and other big cities, the traditional 4S store model may need five or six stores, which is "more expensive than NIO House", and the latter can provide unparalleled services.

Under the multiple "burning money", from 20 16 to 20 18, Weilai Automobile lost about 3.5 billion yuan, 7.6 billion yuan and 23.3 billion yuan respectively, and the accumulated loss in three years was about 34.4 billion yuan.

Just as the direct selling model pioneered by Tesla is not optimistic, the heavy investment model of Weilai Automobile in the service system is not understood by the market. However, in Li Bin's view, the system innovation ability of Apple's mobile phone is an important competitive point for the company. It relies on hardware products to get a one-time high profit, but at the same time it relies on content sales to get a continuous profit from repeated purchases. This model may also be used in the new energy automobile industry.

Even if the market is puzzled, from 2065438 to September 2008, Weilai Automobile successfully went to the US IPO, becoming the first new energy start-up car company listed in China. From its establishment to landing on Nasdaq, Tesla took seven years, while Weilai Automobile took less than four years.

The "fast" tactics have made Weilai Automobile gain a lot of affirmation. However, as a person with a strong sense of crisis, Li Bin remained calm about the crisis behind the flowers and applause. After listing in September, 2065438+08, he held an executive meeting, saying that now is the most dangerous time for the company, because "the most dangerous time is when the plane takes off. Once the flameout, it's over. There is no chance. "

Three months after listing, Wu, CEO of Weilai North America, announced his resignation. Subsequently, Sino-US relations, industry competition and capital market fluctuations followed, and various crises such as internal batteries broke out intensively. Weilai Automobile ushered in the biggest crisis since its establishment.

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Drive through the "fatal curve"

Where is Weilai's future going?

2065438+In June 2009, a round-table forum will be held in Shenzhen. Li Bin, who was ready to play, took a phone call and changed his face.

On the same day, a Weilai ES8 spontaneously ignited, and the call to Li Bin came from Weilai's automatic alarm system. Weilai has a background system that will monitor the battery usage of all cars. Once a battery is found to be abnormal, the phone will be dialed to all senior managers at the same time.

This is the third spontaneous combustion event of Weilai Automobile in three months. Management analysis should be that the module design of power battery pack has potential safety hazards. To be on the safe side, at the end of June, 2065438+2009, Weilai Automobile announced the recall of its first production model, 4803 ES8s, accounting for about a quarter of its delivered 17550 es8.

Judging from the development history of the automobile industry, automobile recall is nothing new. Toyota, BMW and other traditional car giants. They have recalled cars in large quantities, and Tesla has also recalled many times since it delivered new cars in large quantities. Even so, battery safety, car recall, etc. It still makes Weilai Automobile the focus of public opinion disputes, and the market's doubts about it have reached its peak.

In addition to battery safety, Weilai Automobile is still suffering from financial crisis at this time. When the company went public, it originally planned to raise $2 billion, and finally only raised 1 1 billion. In order to reduce expenses, in the first half of 20 19, Weilai Automobile started personnel optimization, which made the outside world feel that the company was "suspended".

Subsequently, Li Bin said, "The battery recall was the most difficult thing in 20 19 years, because it touched the interests of users and failed to meet expectations." However, what he didn't expect was that the more difficult part was yet to come.

20 19, capital winter is coming, and major investment institutions are tightening their bullets. The organization that used to call Li Bin for a small share of investment has now disappeared. Li Bin searched for VC/PE, Internet and traditional car giants everywhere, trying to find life-saving food and grass, but all failed.

2065438+May 2009, Weilai Automobile signed a framework agreement with Beijing Yizhuang State Investment Co., Ltd. to establish a new entity Weilai China, and Yizhuang State Investment Co., Ltd. plans to inject 65.438 billion yuan into it. However, after spontaneous combustion and other events, this cooperation eventually died. In the most difficult time, founder Li Bin had to sell the ordered production equipment to rival Tesla in exchange for more than one billion yuan of "life-saving money".

In the eyes of many people, Weilai has become a sinking ship at this time, and bad voices are constantly appearing. Weilai's car has reached the most dangerous section.

At the critical moment, there are still a group of people shouting for Weilai Automobile, that is, the owner of Weilai Automobile.

Since the third quarter of 20 19, dozens of die-hard fans of Weilai have chosen to pay for advertising Weilai in railway station square and other places. Some car owners even bought more than 10,000 taxis to advertise Weilai. More car owners spontaneously promoted Weilai in the circle of friends.

With the recommendation of old car owners, Weilai's car sales have gradually increased. 20 19 in the fourth quarter, there was still about 10 billion RMB in Weilai automobile account. According to the company's past expenditure rate, this expense will not last long. Fortunately, more than 8,000 car owners chose to pay to pick up their cars this quarter, and a large part of the sales came from the recommendation of old car owners, which brought more than 3 billion revenue to the company.

To some extent, the "user confidence" cultivated by Weilai Automobile's once controversial user enterprise model saved the company in difficult times.

The wind is also changing. In 2020, Tesla Model 3 attacked the city globally, and its sales reached a new high, reaching 500,000 units. The company's share price soared, triggering a new round of "new energy frenzy" in the global capital market. Capital has shifted from hesitation to chasing new energy sectors.

In this context, Hefei extended a helping hand to Weilai Automobile. In February 2020, Weilai Automobile announced that it had signed a cooperation framework agreement with Hefei, and obtained the latter's investment of 654.38 billion yuan. According to the agreement, Weilai China headquarters project will be settled in Hefei. After the grain and grass were replenished, Weilai Automobile entered the fast lane of automobile delivery.

202 1, the prelude of the first stage electrification in China market has been basically completed. As the first wave of new car-making forces, Weilai Automobile has paid a lot of trial and error costs for the second wave of new car-making forces and completed important consumer education. At the same time, the company penetrated the technology and business model of smart cars through the early investment. With the increase of the company's sales volume, all the indicators show an improvement trend.

The financial report shows that in 2020, Weilai Company's annual revenue, automobile sales and gross profit margin all reached record highs: the annual revenue was about 654.38+062 billion yuan, up 654.38+008% year-on-year; Automobile sales reached 654.38+052 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 654.38+006%; Gross profit margin is 1 1.5%, which is significantly higher than -9.9% in 20 19 years.

At the beginning of 20021,with the release of the "second generation" platform, Weilai released the first car ET7. By April of 20021year, the first100th production car of Weilai automobile rolled off the assembly line. By the beginning of August, 20021year, Weilai Automobile had delivered 49,887 vehicles in 20021year, exceeding the annual delivery in 2020.

For the fact that the company has not yet made a profit, Weilai Automobile told Node Finance that the company's current vehicle sales business is healthy, and the losses are mainly R&; D and sales.

Million car purchase subsidy