In the rare group of new car manufacturers with sales exceeding 10,000, WM Motor is an outlier. When other companies were embroiled in public opinion storms one after another, WM Motor sold cars successfully in silence.
On August 1, WM Motor’s Senior Vice President, Lu Bin, posted a tweet with the title “New Forces in Car Manufacturing Facing a Life and Death Examination, Only a Few Production Companies Remain” and a picture of a CCTV 2 report. In the chart of compulsory insurance for the first half of the year in the new car market, WM Motor ranked first with 8,548 vehicles.
Of course, talking about sales without discussing prices is misleading. However, even in the sub-segment market of intelligent electric SUVs priced between RMB 140,000 and RMB 200,000, WM Motor performed well among new car manufacturers, and to be more specific, ranked first.
However, as Lu Bin said, “It’s not easy for anyone,” even for WM Motor, which is temporarily leading the race and has not yet reached the safe zone. In 2019, NCM 811 batteries, comprehensive operating conditions of 500 km scatter like flowers in the new car industry, and L2 level assisted driving is taking off. These are the most basic product performance requirements.
It’s impossible to say WM Motor is not under pressure, but the company’s honesty and carefulness to customers are particularly important to new car manufacturers seeking a second wave of consumer spending. Just last week, Lu Bin invited core users of WM Motor to a dinner party, where he disclosed a series of product planning and user service policy information. This is not the first time a WM Motor executive has engaged deeply with customers. Whenever an important milestone is reached, such user-oriented communication form has become the standard practice of WM Motor. Let’s now take a look at what kind of information was released in this latest briefing by Mr. Lu.
Battery Pack Upgrade Service for Older Car Users
As early as July 24th, WM Motor’s official WeChat account hinted at the signal of paid battery upgrade services. “Is OTA the only way to upgrade intelligent electric vehicles?” was the tweet, accompanied by a picture of the EX5 battery pack. Later, WM Motor confirmed the changeable EX5 battery pack via poster.
So, here comes the question. The 2018 EX5 model has a maximum battery capacity of only 59 kWh and a range of just 460 km. Should those who bought the car just three months ago be in the same position as XPeng Motors users, protesting the outdated models?According to Lu Bin, WM Motor will launch a battery pack payment-upgrade service for its old car owners. The details of the upgrade are as follows:
- High Cost
The cost of NCM811 battery with an energy density of 170-180 Wh/kg is high, reaching around CNY100,000. The discount on the second-hand batteries being replaced is not high. Therefore, although the specific price for the paid upgrade service has not been announced, the price cannot be too low.
- Time Limitation
Considering the relatively low production capacity of NCM811 batteries from CATL, besides WM Motor, many automakers such as NIO, GAC NE, and Xpeng are competing for the production capacity of NCM811 batteries. In this context, WM Motor will certainly prioritize the matching of 69 kWh batteries with new cars.
The battery payment-upgrade service for old car owners can only be launched in 2020. However, Lu Bin mentioned some means to safeguard the rights and interests of old users. WM Motor will introduce a 3-year policy that allows them to buy back the cars at 61.8% of the original price.
It must be said that in the context of such rapid progress in electrochemical technology, WM Motor’s policy is very courageous. Not to mention other companies, last year’s EX5 with a driving range of 460 km has been upgraded to 520 km this year. What about three years later?
Another piece of information related to “three years later” is that WM Motor’s first car model is planned to be launched in 2021. At a 38.2% buyback, will you buy the car again?
520 km New Model
The new model was first revealed in the Catalogue of New Energy Vehicle Models (the 25th Batch) Exempted from Vehicle Purchase Tax released by the MIIT on June 12. WM Motor’s EX5 will be equipped with a 69 kWh battery pack, which can provide a range of 520 km under the comprehensive working condition.
According to Lu Bin’s statement at the user meeting, the price of the 520 km version of EX5 will be slightly higher than that of Xpeng G3, because EX5 is larger than Xpeng G3. The larger battery pack means higher costs, without any doubt.
However, what I am curious about (I believe many potential users are also concerned) is how much “slightly” the price will be higher than that of Xpeng G3.
L2 Level ADAS Cannot Be Paid for Upgrading
On July 28, NIO and Xpeng both conducted major updates to their ADAS systems. This is a new battlefield for new car manufacturers. On April 12, WM Motor released the EX5 Intelligent Drive 2.0, equipped with a standard L2 level ADAS system, Living Pilot.
What about the previous users? Can they have a chance to pay for the upgrading?
No, this is Lu Bin’s answer.The software system is not the problem, according to Lu Bin’s statement, the previously delivered EX5 did not reserve hardware, which is the problem. This means that if you want to upgrade by paying a fee, WM Motor needs to install a complete set of auxiliary driving equipment on the old car, including cameras, millimeter-wave radar, front windshield (for cameras), steering wheel (function buttons), domain controllers, wiring, etc.
With labor costs added, the paid upgrade of the entire system is likely to be a high-cost service. However, according to the information at the user meeting, WM Motor might have indeed upgraded a batch of old cars and tested the feasibility of paid upgrades. However, the results were not satisfactory: the retrofitted Living Pilot was less reliable than the original version.
Simply put, “We tried our best, but we couldn’t save it”:)
You might ask, why does Tesla always require paid upgrades? This goes back to the hardware issue mentioned earlier. Tesla’s entire series are equipped with auxiliary driving hardware as standard, and the two companies have different strategies.
Polar Warming Function Upgrade
Other information is worth mentioning, but it is not relevant to old car owners.
First is the “minus 30 °C polar warming” function upgrade. The so-called polar warming refers to the option of installing a diesel heater, which is used to preheat the battery pack in scenes with lower temperatures. This function has low fuel consumption, and most importantly, it solves the problem of the large decline in winter range for users in northern China.
The problem is that besides preheating the battery, air conditioning is the main power consumer during winter. Lu Bin said that the polar warming of the 2019 EX5 will support air-conditioning heating. Therefore, theoretically, the winter range of the 2019 EX5 is basically on par with that of spring and autumn. This is a function that people are looking forward to, and hopefully, a range test can be conducted on the 2019 EX5 later this year.
In the general consensus, WM Motor is regarded as the new carmaker with the heaviest traditional automotive genes. However, with such detailed product planning and updated user service policies, everything is laid out in detail when having a meal with users. This is something that would never happen in any traditional car company. Of course, the most important thing is that users benefit a lot from this, and WM Motor’s reliable image is gradually accumulated in this way.
Speaking of paid upgrades, this matter is basically concentrated in the new car camp. The trend of intelligent and electrified development is only superficial. The relationship between users and companies is undergoing fundamental changes. Enterprises are talking to users directly without intermediaries such as the media or dealerships. This is the most fundamental change that has occurred in the automotive industry.
Building cars is like the Long March. I am curious to see if WM Motor, which is a step ahead, can continue to lead the industry.
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This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.