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Traditional Luxury Made Noise: BMW Unveils Electric SUV iX
On the evening of November 11, 2020, BMW held its NEXTGen Future Summit online and unveiled its heavyweight electric SUV iX, which is based on the iNEXT electric concept car released by BMW two years ago and has undergone bold innovations.
To this end, BMW Group officially established the “Digital Car” department on October 1 this year, integrating all digital-related R&D business such as autonomous driving and smart connectivity to promote the concentration and release of internal R&D forces.
Currently, BMW has more than 7,000 information technology professionals worldwide and has the largest R&D system in China, with more than 1,100 R&D personnel, including over 400 software development engineers.
Quick Comment:
The era is pushing for the development of new energy vehicles. BMW, which once suffered setbacks in the field of electric vehicles, has returned to the battlefield. It must be said that the leader has become a follower, and the performance of BMW’s comeback still needs to be tested by the market.
Porsche 911 Won’t Go All-Electric, But Taycan May Have a Coupe ModelRecently, according to foreign media reports, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume denied rumors about Porsche 911 coming out with an all-electric version in an interview.
He believes that there will not be an all-electric Porsche 911 in the near future, and not even in the future, but it may develop towards the direction of hybrid power. Oliver Blume also mentioned that Taycan may develop a coupe version in the future.
Quick comment:
As the totem model and spiritual leader of Porsche, 911 still stubbornly refuses to compromise in the era of electrification. However, as the spokesperson for driving pleasure, the four-door version of Taycan clearly cannot meet users’ expectations of Porsche. The coupe version of Taycan may meet us in the near future.
Ideal released Q3 financial report, vehicle gross profit was 19.8%, and total revenue was RMB 2.511 billion
On November 14, 2020, Ideal officially released its financial report for the third quarter of 2020. This is the first financial report released by Ideal since its listing. The following is a summary of the core data.
In terms of delivery:
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8,660 vehicles were delivered in Q3 2020
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6,604 vehicles were delivered in Q2 2020
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2,896 vehicles were delivered in Q1 2020
In October of this year, Ideal delivered a total of 3,692 vehicles, and accumulated delivery of 21,852 vehicles as of October 31, 2020. Li Xiang stated in the financial report that the expected delivery volume for Q4 2020 is between 11,000-12,000 vehicles, which can basically achieve the sales target of 30,000 vehicles for this year.
In terms of finance:
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The auto sales revenue in Q3 2020 was RMB 2.46 billion, which increased by 28.4% from RMB 1.92 billion in Q2 2020. (The total revenue of Q3 was RMB 2.511 billion, compared to RMB 1.95 billion in Q2 2020, an increase of 28.9% YoY.)
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The gross profit margin of vehicles in Q3 2020 was 19.8%, while it was 13.7% in Q2 2020. (The total gross profit margin of Q3 was 19.8%, while it was 13.3% in Q2 2020.)
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The net loss in Q3 2020 was RMB 106.9 million, an increase of 42.2% from RMB 75.2 million in Q2 2020.This quarter, the gross profit of Ideal Auto has increased to an astonishing figure once again, mainly due to the decrease of vehicle material costs and the decrease of unit manufacturing costs brought about by the increase in production. According to the financial report, the sales cost in Q3 2020 was 2.01 billion yuan, an increase of 19.3% compared to 1.69 billion yuan in Q2 2020; the total profit in Q3 2020 was 469 million yuan, an increase of 91.3% compared to 259 million yuan in Q2 2020; the R&D investment was 334 million yuan, an increase of 66.1% compared to 201 million yuan in Q2 2020; as of October 31, 2020, Ideal Auto has a total of 41 retail stores, covering 36 cities; as of September 30, 2020, the cash reserve of Ideal Auto was 18.916 billion yuan, a substantial increase compared to 3.709 billion yuan at the end of 2019; Ideal Auto is expected to have a total revenue of about 3.11-3.39 billion yuan in Q4 2020.
Quick Comment:
Ideal Auto, which was only pre-sold in April of last year, has entered a period of strong growth this year. Judging from the performance of Q3 2020 financial report, the sales volume, sales revenue, and gross profit rate of Ideal Auto have been steadily increasing since this year. The more sufficient cash reserves also provide Ideal Auto with greater room for product development in the future.
XPeng Motors Q3 financial report disclosed, total revenue of 1.99 billion yuan, and first quarterly gross profit turned positive
Operation：
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Delivered 8,578 vehicles in Q3, an increase of 265.8% year-on-year;
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Delivered 6,210 P7 in Q3;
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98% of the delivered P7 are equipped with XPILOT 2.5 or 3.0;
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As of September 30, XPeng has established 50 city service centers and 116 sales outlets in 58 cities in China, and has built 135 fast-charging stations in 50 cities.
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Key financial information:
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Total revenue is 1.99 billion yuan;
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Automotive sales revenue is 1.898 billion yuan;- Q3 gross profit margin was 4.6%, up from -10.1% in the same period last year, and was -2.7% in Q2 of this year;
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Unit gross profit margin was 3.2%, up from -10.8% in the same period last year, and was -5.6% in Q2 of this year;
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Total cash, restricted funds, and short-term investments amounted to RMB 19.998 billion;
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The average sales price of vehicles in Q3 was RMB 221,000.
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Sales cost:
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In Q3 2020, the sales cost was RMB 1.899 billion, an increase of 283.5% from RMB 495 million in the same period last year and an increase of 212.8% from RMB 607 million in Q2. The growth was mainly due to the increase in vehicle delivery volume.
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Research and development investment:
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In Q3 2020, R&D expenses were RMB 635 million, up 46.1% from RMB 435 million in the same period last year and up 98.7% from RMB 320 million in Q2.
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Sales and general administrative expenses:
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Sales and general administrative expenses in Q3 2020 were RMB 1.204 billion, up 320.8% from RMB 286 million in the same period last year and up 152.3% from RMB 477 million in Q2. The increase was mainly due to a large amount of equity compensation expenses. In addition to stock-based compensation costs, the other major reason for the increase was the marketing, promotional, and advertising expenses brought by the increase in new car sales volume.
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After the financial report was released, XPeng’s stock price rose by 10% in pre-market trading, reaching a peak of $37 per share.
Comment:
In Q3 2020, XPeng Motors completed a $900 million C+ financing and a $1.7 billion IPO. The funds were mainly used for brand building and sales channel expansion. The biggest highlight of the financial report was the overall gross profit margin turning positive at 4.6%, indicating that XPeng’s development is starting to take off. However, the future still presents challenges, and the question of how to achieve profit and ultimately profitability in the increasingly competitive field of new energy vehicles is the issue that lies ahead of them.
October new energy SUV insurance registration list announced, Ideal ONE tops with 3,438 registrations for the second consecutive month
The list of new energy SUV insurance registrations in China for October has been released. The Ideal ONE ranked first again with 3,438 insurance registrations, making it the top new energy SUV in China for two consecutive months.
The top 5 on the list were:
- Ideal ONE with 3,438 registrations
- NIO ES6 with 2,610 registrations
- BYD Tang DM with 2,052 registrations
- NIO ES8 with 1,484 registrations.- WM EX5 1,345 units
As of October, in the cumulative sales of domestic mid-to-large-sized new energy SUVs, the Ideal ONE ranks first with 22,160 units, followed by NIO ES8 with 7,434 units. Interestingly, the sales of Cayenne hybrid and Tesla Model X are close, both exceeding 4,000 units. However, last month, due to concentrated delivery of orders when the ship arrived at the port, Model X was at risk with a monthly delivery of 1,977 units.
Comment:
Since the third quarter, the new energy vehicle market has been continuously hot, and October set a new record in monthly sales. From the sales data of SUVs in October, many new force automakers are among the top of the new energy vehicle list, among which the extended-range Ideal ONE performed the strongest and has been the best-selling new energy SUV in China for two consecutive months.
BMW unveils the pure electric concept scooter CE 04
CE 04, the second car unveiled by BMW at the press conference on November 11, is a pure electric scooter. Its prototype is the Conceptlink concept car released by BMW in May 2017.
This new car is a vision of BMW for future urban two-wheeled transportation. The designer said that this way of transportation should be cool and very personalized.
The appearance of CE 04 three years later largely retains the design of the concept car at that time, but some details use solutions closer to mass-produced cars, such as LED headlights and a 10.25-inch LCD instrument panel.
This large scooter does not use a rear wheel hub motor, which is used by the vast majority of electric vehicles, but adopts a transmission with the motor located under the seat.
CE 04 adopts a flat battery pack design, which leaves storage space under the seat for helmets, and the low center of gravity of the vehicle is conducive to handling.
Comment:
Although BMW did not reveal the specific parameters of CE 04 such as power, maximum speed, and cruising range, the production plan is not clear at present. However, the innovative digital interconnection function will help riders connect to the digital world, and this innovative concept also conveys BMW’s thinking about the future to consumers.
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.