With the vigorous development of the global new energy vehicle market, China's new energy vehicle market has also ushered in unprecedented growth opportunities. In early July, major new energy manufacturers collectively released their sales figures. Data from the China Passenger Car Association shows that domestic new energy vehicle sales in June are expected to be around 860,000 units, an increase of 32.7% year-on-year, with penetration rate expected to rise to 49.1%, indicating a still promising situation.

However, amidst the fierce market competition, high-end new energy brands with a state-owned or central enterprise background, such as AVATR, IM Motors, and VOYAH, although maintaining a relatively fast growth rate, have yet to cross the threshold of monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units. Relying on large state-owned automakers, the "second-generation innovators" are gradually falling behind in the new energy race.

01

Monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units becomes a challenge

In the first half of 2024, the new energy vehicle market continued to erode the traditional fuel vehicle market, maintaining a certain growth rate. However, for high-end new energy brands with a state-owned or central enterprise background, monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units have become an insurmountable threshold.

Data shows that VOYAH sold 5,507 vehicles in June, an increase of 83% year-on-year, with cumulative sales of 30,376 vehicles from January to June, up 102% year-on-year; IM Motors sold 6,015 vehicles in June, an increase of 200% year-on-year and 41% month-on-month; AVATR sold 4,682 vehicles in June, up 167% year-on-year, with cumulative deliveries reaching 29,030 vehicles from January to June.

In terms of growth rate alone, these brands have performed well, outperforming the overall market and seemingly on an unstoppable trend. However, neither VOYAH, IM Motors, nor AVATR have reached the 10,000-unit level. In contrast, mainstream domestic new energy brands such as NIO, Xpeng, Li Auto, Wenjie, Zeekr, ARCFOX, Nezha, and Leapmotor have long surpassed this threshold and are marching towards higher goals.

From the perspective of sales target achievement, both VOYAH and AVATR have set annual sales targets of 100,000 units, while IM Motors aims to achieve 120,000 to 130,000 units. However, the sales figures for the first half of the year were 30,300 units, 29,000 units, and 23,000 units respectively, with target completion rates of 30%, 29%, and 23% respectively. This means that in the second half of the year, the three brands need to achieve monthly sales of 16,100 units, 11,800 units, and 16,100 units respectively to meet their annual targets. This task is undoubtedly arduous, especially for brands that have yet to achieve monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units.

In fact, with the market development reaching this stage, it proves that the elimination race has already begun. VOYAH, IM Motors, AVATR, and other second-generation innovators born with a golden spoon are still stuck in the "low base, high growth" stage, indicating that their development pace has gradually diverged from that of the entire industry.

02

Slow product rhythm and lack of best-sellers

Industry insiders generally believe that the primary reason for the failure of second-generation new energy brands to achieve scale growth lies in the lack of continuous output of best-selling models. Taking AVATR as an example, although its first model, AVATR 11, attracted much attention at the initial stage of its launch, sales have never broken through the bottleneck of more than 1,000 units. It was not until the launch of AVATR 12 that brand sales improved, but it still failed to form a sustained hot sales trend. In contrast, private brands such as NIO, Xpeng, and Li Auto have achieved rapid sales growth by continuously launching best-selling models.

In the first half of the year, the automotive market experienced a frenzied price war, with automakers engaging in fierce competition not only in products, prices, and technology but also in financial policies. In such a competitive market environment, Zeekr and Leapmotor were able to enter the "20,000 club," proving that although the current market has entered a red ocean stage, there are still opportunities as long as products and sales strategies are appropriate.

The main problem with these brands is their slow product rhythm. At present, VOYAH's main models include VOYAH FREE, VOYAH Dreamer, and VOYAH Chase Light series. IM Motors, as a high-end intelligent electric brand under SAIC Motor, focuses on SUVs and sedans in its product portfolio. AVATR's product portfolio includes SUVs, sedans, and other series. Overall, these models focus on mid-to-large sedans, mid-to-large SUVs, and mid-to-large MPVs, which directly discourage most potential users.

A senior industry analyst told AutoTalk that the reason for the widening gap between state-owned and private enterprises lies in the lack of best-selling models among state-owned enterprises, as well as shortcomings in marketing. The IM Motors brand has repeatedly failed in major marketing events, such as the pre-launch promotion of the IM L6 which got into trouble with Xiaomi, along with various other marketing blunders in the past."

"In addition, the second-generation innovators also need to improve their brand influence. SAIC Motor and Dongfeng Motor are well-known, but it does not necessarily mean that consumers will recognize IM Motors and VOYAH. The lack of brand influence has led to their models being well-received but not well-sold for a long time. If the second-generation innovators want to truly turn around, they need to correct their condescending attitude," the analyst added.

03

Betting on extended-range vehicles and intelligence

In March this year, relevant departments proposed separate evaluations for the new energy vehicle businesses of three state-owned automakers. The head of the relevant department once said, "In the field of new energy vehicles, state-owned automakers are not developing fast enough, not as good as Tesla or BYD. The policy of separate evaluations for the new energy vehicle businesses of these three automakers aims to break this barrier, focusing on assessing their technology, market share, and future development."

Facing fierce market competition, even the "second-generation innovators" who once had the wind at their backs must act quickly. In terms of brand initiatives, AVATR and IM Motors have turned to the extended-range path. In the second half of this year, the extended-range versions of AVATR 11 and AVATR 12 will be officially launched, along with the fastest-to-market AVATR 07. It has been previously reported that IM Motors will launch its first extended-range vehicle in the first quarter of 2025.

In the field of intelligence, IM Motors has also accelerated the deployment of cutting-edge intelligent driving solutions. The relevant person in charge of IM Motors previously revealed to AutoTalk that "IM Motors is switching to a NOA mapping technology solution without high-precision maps for city driving, which will be officially mass-produced in the third quarter and rolled out nationwide within the year."

VOYAH's upcoming "Zhiyin" model, empowered by Huawei and VOYAH's latest self-developed achievements, is based on its full-stack self-developed "Lanhai Power-BEV" platform and will be equipped with Huawei's HarmonyOS intelligent cockpit. According to the plan, it will be launched in the third quarter of this year. Lu Fang, CEO of VOYAH, has high hopes for the new model, saying, "VOYAH Zhiyin is expected to achieve 'launch and delivery, delivery and volume,' boosting VOYAH's sales." Lu Fang previously stated publicly.

In addition, VOYAH is actively signing strategic cooperation agreements with industry giants such as Huawei and JD.com to jointly explore smart car solutions and new retail models. Meanwhile, AVATR is recruiting a large number of dealers and optimizing its channel layout.

Currently, the penetration rate of the domestic new energy market is close to 50%, and within three years, the market share of domestic brands may exceed 70%. In the wave of survival of the fittest, competition in the second half of the year will be even fiercer. The second-generation innovators with a state-owned background need time to give answers to the question of which is more important: the advantages or disadvantages.