Wenjie M7 Ultra was delivered as soon as it was released. Was the previous sales decline really due to insufficient production capacity?

Wenjie M7, a new energy vehicle that is good at playing the sales roller coaster game.

This car had a boom in 2022, but its sales declined rapidly a few months later and it withdrew from the mainstream market; it exploded again after the facelifted model was launched in September 2023, with monthly sales soaring to 29,000 units in January 2024, but then began to decline again, with sales falling below 10,000 units again in April. It was a heart-pounding experience.

Objectively speaking, large fluctuations in sales volume are not a good thing. The sales volume of the Wenjie M7 must be stabilized at a certain level in order to gain user recognition. If there are always peaks and valleys, suppliers will not be able to bear it and consumers will not dare to buy it.

This time, Huawei and Seres learned their lesson and took action when the M7 was still popular. On May 31, the M7 Ultra version was officially launched. The new car has a total of 4 models, priced at 289,800-329,800 yuan.

This price is exactly the same as the currently on-sale M7 Intelligent Driving Edition, but the configuration has been "increased".

First of all, it has changed its appearance. The front face of the current model looks too ordinary, and it has a sense of being converted from oil to electricity. The new model has cancelled the air intake grille in the lower part of the front of the car and changed it to a closed design, which has improved its appearance. However, it is still not amazing.

Secondly, it has upgraded the intelligent driving system, upgrading the 126-line laser radar on the current model to a 192-line radar, which has stronger sensing capabilities and an upgraded level of intelligent driving.

In addition, the new car has also upgraded the suspension system and added a new suspension hardness adjustment function. Previously, some consumers have questioned the "dubious pedigree" of the QXM7 and its weak basic skills, but this time it has made up for its shortcomings.

More quantity without increasing the price, this is the basic idea of ​​the Wenjie M7 Ultra. It is not a major change, but just a small upgrade, but it has enhanced its competitiveness. It is like adding a scope to the AK 47. Although the gun has not changed, it can shoot more accurately.

Huawei's idea is very simple. The M7 has not been on the market for long, and a lot of money has been spent on the last technological transformation. It is still in the harvest period. Although sales have declined, it still has the strength to sell over 10,000 units per month, so there is no need for a major facelift.

At the same time, the current Wenjie M7 still has a large number of undelivered orders. If a major facelift is to be carried out, the production line will have to be modified and new production capacity will have to be arranged. This is definitely not cost-effective for the factory. But if only the radar and the front face are replaced, everything will be much simpler.

More importantly, intelligent driving is the strongest point of the M7. Upgrading the intelligent driving system can gain recognition from users and strengthen Huawei's image as the "first echelon of intelligent driving." Moreover, if the intelligent driving is not "rolled", it can only work hard on components such as seats, air conditioning, and central control screens, but these things cannot widen the gap with competitors.

According to SERES officials, the number of pre-orders for the M7 Ultra exceeded 6,000 within one hour of its launch. At the same time, the car started to be delivered on June 2, which seems to be a good start.

It should be said that the overall performance of the M7 Ultra is good, and this facelift is the icing on the cake. Its main selling point is the intelligent driving system. Now the intelligent driving is enhanced without raising the price, which can be said to have hit the needs of consumers in one fell swoop, although this will cause many dissatisfaction among old customers.

SERES has been facing insufficient production capacity for several months. It could have ensured the normal delivery of the M7, but as the sales of the M9 far exceeded expectations, SERES shifted its production capacity toward the M9, resulting in a sharp decline in the delivery volume of the M7.

With the launch of the Wenjie M7 Ultra, Huawei and Seres must have expanded their production capacity to meet user demand. You know, even large orders may not all be converted into sales, and if users wait too long, orders will be lost.

The question now is, is the decline in sales of the M7 really just due to insufficient production capacity?

In fact, the hot sales of the M7 are mainly due to Huawei's N-piece suite, including the ADS2.0 intelligent driving system, Hongmeng smart cockpit, and DriveONE power platform. However, this car has been controversial from the beginning. Huawei has no experience in car manufacturing, and Seres is also unknown. Its parent company, Xiaokang, is a typical low-end small factory. These are all negative factors that affect the sales of the M7.

Consumers who are familiar with Huawei's development in the past two years know that you can't have the best of both worlds. After Huawei's high-end brand, its voice in the mid- and low-end markets has actually declined. For example, Huawei's Mate and P series phones are selling well, but the lower-end Nova series is not very good. The car industry seems to be proving this as well. The sales of the 500,000-level Q50 M9 are higher than those of the 200,000-plus-level Q50 M7.

Therefore, although the M7 Ultra has been upgraded, its future prospects are still uncertain. Huawei is undoubtedly the first echelon in terms of intelligent driving and intelligent cockpits. The Pangu model alone can bring huge advantages. But if users do not buy the M7 because they are not confident about the safety performance, body structure, suspension system, etc. of this car, then the problem is more serious.

We have always said that we should not deify any manufacturer. Even a strong company like BYD has some models that cannot be promoted, such as the Denza N7, Denza N8, and Frigate 07. It is normal for Huawei to make mistakes on some issues. The rise of the Wenjie M7 in a short period of time has given Huawei great confidence, but if it wants to truly gain a foothold in the market for a long time, it will take time to hone its internal strength.

Think about it, will consumers really not buy cars without intelligent driving? How did those fuel-powered cars that didn't even have 360-degree panoramic images sell before? Therefore, the decline in sales of the M7 is best due to insufficient production capacity; if not, the M7 Ultra is also unable to solve this problem. Huawei needs to find other reasons and turn this model into a hexagonal warrior as soon as possible.

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.