Ignoring the failure of MEGA, Ideal will launch five more pure electric models next year, not only because of policy risks

In August 2024, Ideal Auto's delivery volume reached 48,000 units, far ahead of many new forces, most of which were contributed by extended-range models.

However, Ideal Auto does not seem to be satisfied with such results. In the Q2 earnings conference call, Li Xiang stated that it will release a new pure electric SUV model in the first half of next year, and will release 5 models within a year.

In fact, Ideal has long had the idea of ​​launching pure electric models. According to previous plans, Ideal should launch three pure electric SUVs in the second half of this year, but due to the poor performance of MEGA, this plan was postponed to 2025.

Although MEGA suffered a major setback and its average monthly sales were suppressed below 1,000 vehicles, Ideal still determined to attack the pure electric market, even more aggressively than originally planned.

Currently, Ideal has a total of 5 models on sale. The highest-end one is the pure electric MPV MEGA, priced at 529,800 yuan; the lowest-end one is the medium and large SUV Ideal L6, with a starting price of 249,800 yuan.

Among the five models, the extended-range model is the absolute main force, and they are all aimed at high-end family users, relying on the positioning of "super daddy car" to attract users.

This brings two problems. The current positioning of Ideal L series is single, and it cannot eat cakes other than family users. You should know that the market capacity of medium and large sedans and B-class sedans is amazing. Moreover, among them, the L6 with a price of 249,800 yuan contributed nearly half of the sales. As a result, Ideal sold 189,000 vehicles in the first half of the year, but lost 117 million yuan. However, it earned 1.4 billion yuan in the first half of the year with interest income and investment income of 90 billion yuan in cash.

The reason why the extended-range model has always been controversial is that its engine is only used to generate electricity and cannot directly drive the vehicle. As former Volkswagen China CEO Stephan Wöllenstein said, "The extended-range model is the worst solution."

The reason why extended-range models have become mainstream in China is mainly because they can eliminate range anxiety while meeting policy requirements. Therefore, a colleague at 91che commented that "extended-range models are not a loophole. From the day they were born, they were born in a loophole."

Nowadays, with the continuous improvement of charging infrastructure in various places and the rapid popularization of 800V high-voltage fast charging platforms, the range anxiety problem of pure electric vehicles has been greatly alleviated. The advantage of "no range anxiety" of extended-range electric vehicles is relatively less attractive.

In this case, the problem of high fuel consumption of extended-range electric vehicles will be taken seriously again. As a result, Ideal's L series models will be "doubly weakened".

There is indeed such a group of consumers in the market who spend most of their time in urban areas and rely mainly on airplanes and high-speed trains for long-distance travel. Therefore, they do not care much about the range of new energy vehicles. On the contrary, they are more sensitive to the cost of using vehicles due to their high frequency of use. It is still relatively difficult for extended-range electric vehicles to attract such a group of users.

Ideal Auto must not only maintain its current base, but also find new growth points, and cannot turn away users who only like pure electric models. Extended-range and pure electric vehicles are a healthy development.

In addition, although Ideal Auto relies on its extended-range electric vehicle to dominate the market, there is still one most important hidden danger, which is the risk of policy changes.

Starting last year, extended-range electric vehicles, along with plug-in hybrid vehicles, were kicked out of Shanghai's exclusive new energy license plate range; and although another major city, Beijing, can issue green license plates to extended-range electric vehicles, they are required to have a fuel vehicle quota, and are the same as fuel vehicles in terms of policy.

At present, there are not many cities in the country that "discriminate" against extended-range electric vehicles, but this is still a risk. If the range of pure electric vehicles continues to increase in the future, the charging speed continues to increase, or the policy standards for automobile exhaust emissions become more stringent, extended-range electric vehicles may suffer a major blow.

These are the hidden dangers of extended-range electric vehicles, and these hidden dangers are precisely the reason why Ideal Auto develops pure electric models. Judging from the soaring sales of brands such as Ideal and Wenjie, extended-range electric vehicles are still very popular, and there is no problem with its own operation, but Ideal needs to prepare for a rainy day.

Technically, there are no obstacles for Ideal Auto to develop electric vehicles, which is also an important reason why Ideal Auto dares to formulate such a radical plan of "launching 5 pure electric models a year". The first pure electric model did not start well, mainly because the appearance of this car was highly controversial, but the performance of the product itself was still excellent.

Therefore, it is imperative for Ideal Auto to develop pure electric models. Starting early and opening up a new pure electric product lineup can avoid excessive reliance on extended-range electric vehicles.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.