Lead

Recently, Ideal Motors has stirred up the new energy vehicle market with the unveiling of its revamped L Series. The entire lineup boasts enhanced features in assisted driving, smart cabin technology, and chassis performance, all while maintaining its original price points. This value boost without a price hike underscores the need to shore up sales amidst waning interest in the L Series and the untapped potential of pure electric vehicles (BEVs). Sustaining sales volume has emerged as Ideal Motors' paramount objective.

Produced by | Heyan Yueche Studio

Written by | Cai Jialun

Edited by | He Zi

Total words: 2041

Reading time: 4 minutes

The market remains unpredictable, placing Ideal Motors under immense sales pressure.

According to reports, Ideal Motors has revised its annual sales target downwards to 640,000 units, a reduction of 60,000 units from its initial projection. The company now confronts significant challenges in both sales volume and gross margin. The L Series has transitioned from an incremental market to a fiercely competitive one, with new entrants flooding the EREV market and BEV market giants like Xiaomi leading the charge. Breaking this deadlock has become a pressing challenge for Ideal Motors.

△Multiple new models in the Ideal L Series offer enhanced value without increasing prices

Enhanced Value without Price Increase for L Series New Models

In May this year, Ideal Motors launched the Smart Refresh Edition of the L Series, encompassing models from Ideal L6 to Ideal L9. These new models have undergone comprehensive upgrades in assisted driving systems, smart cabin features, and chassis architecture. The assisted driving system now comes standard with ATL lidar and upgraded chips, with the Ideal AD Pro equipped with the latest Horizon J3 Orin-6 chip, demonstrating significant improvements in both architecture and performance. It rivals the Lenovo AD Max in terms of active safety capabilities, which itself boasts the NVIDIA Thor-U chip, an upgrade from the outdated Orin-X, with computing power increased from 500 TOPS to 700 TOPS. These hardware upgrades pave the way for more advanced assisted driving functionalities. Additionally, the Smart Refresh Edition has introduced an updated VLA driver large model solution. Ideal Motors has spared no expense in upgrading both hardware and software for assisted driving, recognizing its importance as a key evaluation criterion for many automakers. These significant upgrades reflect Ideal Motors' commitment to competing vigorously with its rivals.

The Ideal L7 and L8 models feature an upgraded magic carpet air suspension system, replacing single-chamber air springs with dual-chamber ones for enhanced spring support and reduced pitch during acceleration and deceleration, as well as roll during high-speed cornering, resulting in a more comfortable ride. The battery pack has also been upgraded, with a capacity of 53.2kWh and a faster charging time from 20% to 80%, reduced from 30 minutes to 25 minutes. Furthermore, the pure electric range has been improved. The Ideal L9 series, meanwhile, has significantly enhanced the luxury feel of its smart cabin, aligning with Ideal Motors' core philosophy of prioritizing comfort and intelligence. This is evident in the 21.4-inch rear TV screen, second-row 4D vibrating seats, and 18-point hot stone massage function, offering an unparalleled family-oriented comfort experience.

Behind the hardware and functional upgrades of the Smart Refresh Edition of the Ideal L Series, and the strategy of providing more value without price increases, lies Ideal Motors' deep-seated anxiety about slowing sales growth. While the number of test drives at Ideal Motors' retail centers surged post-launch, this boost is only temporary.

△The Ideal L Series has seen the most substantial upgrades in its assisted driving system

Ideal Motors in a Race Against Time

The L Series undeniably drives the sales engine for Ideal Motors, but stabilizing the baseline sales volume has become the company's paramount concern. Since the start of this year, all L Series models have experienced varying degrees of decline. Sales of the volume model Ideal L6 have been sluggish, with monthly sales of the Ideal L7 dipping below 10,000 units. The decline in L Series sales is not surprising. A closer look at the two core competitive advantages of the L Series reveals that as the domestic new energy penetration rate continues to rise, Ideal Motors' EREV products have attracted numerous copycats from emerging automakers. Some automakers have swiftly shifted from staunchly opposing EREVs to embracing them within just a few years. Consequently, EREV new energy vehicles at various price points have emerged, with models like the AITO M8, Ledao L60, and Xpeng G7 further eroding the core competitiveness of the L Series. Ideal Motors' core theme revolves around family travel, focusing on creating a comfortable and intelligent experience centered around the "refrigerator, TV, and large sofa" concept. It was Ideal Motors that pioneered the deviation from the traditional BBA route in the domestic luxury car market. However, in the current large six-seater family new energy vehicle market, the "refrigerator, TV, and large sofa" concept has become a norm. With smart cabins becoming standard, the advantages of the L Series are no longer apparent. Moreover, NIO Auto, an emerging competitor, has perfectly replicated the successful path of the L Series, offering a half-priced alternative with similar smart configurations but a more competitive price.

However, Ideal Motors has yet to establish a robust brand power that can naturally sustain a luxury aura akin to BBA. AITO, a competitor to Ideal Motors, targets the high-end models of the L Series. The AITO M9 has emerged as the biggest rival to the Ideal L9, while the AITO M7 and M8 also pose a threat to other products in the L Series. For the L Series, the combination of family-oriented positioning and the EREV route has become an open secret in the industry, and severe homogenization has become a significant challenge for Ideal Motors in maintaining its premium positioning.

△The AITO M9 has become the biggest rival to the Ideal L9

Can Ideal Motors' Pure Electric Vehicles Turn the Tide?

As the advantages of the L Series models continue to diminish, Ideal Motors intends to shift its focus to the BEV market in the future, planning to launch its first pure electric SUV, the Ideal i8, this year. The new model is equipped with an 800V high-voltage platform and 5C supercharging technology, offering a driving range of 700km. However, it remains uncertain whether this delayed BEV product can shoulder the responsibility of reviving Ideal Motors' fortunes. Previously, Ideal Motors' first pure electric model, the Ideal MEGA, faced significant setbacks post-launch. While mispricing and design mistakes appear to be the superficial reasons, the underlying issue lies in the trustworthiness of Ideal Motors. As a company that began with EREVs, it remains to be seen whether Ideal Motors' technology in the BEV field can catch up with automakers like BYD and Xiaomi.

Ideal Motors has failed to make an accurate prediction about the sales of its pure electric vehicles. At the beginning of the year, the company anticipated sales of only 50,000 units for the Ideal i8 and i6, with a total expected sales volume of 60,000 units for pure electric vehicles. Currently, few domestic brands have made significant inroads into the high-end pure electric vehicle market above the 300,000 yuan price point. It appears challenging for Ideal Motors' pure electric models to rescue the market in the short term.

△The sales setback of the MEGA has had a lasting impact on Ideal Motors' development

Commentary

In the dual battlefields of pure electric transformation and EREV defense, Ideal Motors confronts multiple contradictions between technological innovation and user reputation. The company is now engaged in its most arduous breakthrough battle since its inception. In the second half of the new energy vehicle elimination race, every move made by Ideal Motors is critical to its survival.

(This article is originally created by Heyan Yueche and cannot be reproduced without authorization)