Source of this article: Times Weekly Author: Wang He
Traditional car companies are accelerating the marketization rhythm of their new energy brands.
Recently, Lantu Automobile officially disclosed information on capital increase projects. After the capital increase is completed, it is expected that the equity held by Dongfeng Group will not be less than 77%, the total equity held by strategic investors will not be more than 15%, and the total equity held by employee will not be less than 8% of the equity held by platform. This capital increase is the first external equity financing since the establishment of Lantu Automobile. The strategic investment obtained will be used for Lantu Automobile's core technology research and development, digital system construction, production capacity construction and marketing investment.
Lantu Auto said that this capital increase will further optimize Lantu Auto's equity structure, stimulate the vitality of the enterprise market, and accelerate the reform of the system and mechanism of state-owned enterprises.
Zhang Xiang, a special expert and automobile analyst at Zhongbolian Think Tank, told the Times Weekly reporter that whether traditional car companies or new energy companies want to obtain financing to increase their capital. "Now, the research and development and marketing promotion of new models require funds. The market competition is very fierce at present. Whoever has more funds can go further and develop more sustainablely."
has the same destination as
and "Wei Xiaoli" (the collective name of "Wei Xiaoli" ( Weilai , Xiaopeng , and Ideal Brand, the same below), Lantu Auto is a representative of the birth of a "golden spoon".
Lantu Automobile was "reborn" from the traditional car company Dongfeng Motor . The latter is a traditional system with more than 50 years of experience in car manufacturing, but it is independent of Dongfeng . It has its own complete automobile production line and mature car manufacturing mechanism. On June 16, 2020, Lantu Auto was officially established; on July 29 of the same year, Lantu Auto held a brand launch conference at its Wuhan headquarters; on December 18 of the same year, Lantu Auto, which was established for only 185 days, released its first medium- and large-scale smart electric SUV Lantu FREE.
2020 is also a year when the knockout match between new car-making forces is intensifying, and the polarization between the beginning and the end is more obvious. In April, NIO received state-owned assistance and successfully extended her life; from July to August, Ideal and Xiaopeng went public in the United States one after another; in September, WM raised 10 billion yuan to be listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board . On the other hand, Byton , Qiantu, etc. gradually faded due to capital chain problems.
It was precisely because of the experiments of passers-by that Lantu Auto realized that it would be difficult to go further without the help of capital to build a car.
Therefore, in June 2021, Lantu Auto CEO Lu Fang said at a media communication meeting that in the future, Lantu Automobile will widely use the capital market platform to explore more possibilities in the capital market. Subsequently, news came out in the market that Lantu Auto's first strategic investor had been confirmed and was still in contact with more external capital.
" Lantu is also a product of Dongfeng's intention to independently develop electric vehicle brands, because high-end electric vehicle brands will eventually be split into the capital market independently, but because this is a state-owned asset, equity auctions will be carried out." Zhang Junyi, a person from the automobile industry, told the Times Weekly reporter.
Zhang Xiang believes that Lantu Auto's development is not satisfactory. The sales of the first car after it is launched are less than 10,000 units, which is still in the second echelon of car manufacturing. If you want to continue to develop later, you must first raise funds.
China Association of Automobile Manufacturers Data shows that from January to December 2021, Lantu FREE's cumulative production was 7,602 vehicles, and the cumulative sales were 6,791 vehicles. In 2021, Lantu FREE's total production was greater than the total sales, and 811 vehicles were backlogged. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, in the first half of 2022, Lantu Automobile's cumulative sales were 6,878 vehicles, with an average monthly sales of less than 1,200 vehicles.
This is far from the sales target set by Lantu Auto. At the beginning of this year, Lantu Auto announced that it would set its annual sales target at 46,000 units, but its actual sales volume was less than 20% of the 46,000 units. Therefore, at the mid-year work meeting on July 16, Lantu Auto adjusted its annual sales target to 31,000 vehicles, challenging 37,000 vehicles.
Actively raise funds
In fact, since last year, new energy brands under traditional car companies have set off a financing boom.
In August 2021, Geely Auto, a subsidiary of Geely Auto, has officially signed strategic investment agreements with 5 prospective investors; on May 12, 2022, Changan Automobile , a brand Avita , was listed on Chongqing property rights trading website for the second time; on August 2, 2022, Zhiji Auto, a subsidiary of SAIC Group , announced the signing of the A-round equity financing agreement; on September 7, 2022, GAC Aian New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd. was officially established and introduced strategic collaborative directors.
In Zhang Junyi's view, "Everyone hopes to create an independent new energy vehicle brand, and to motivate the team through market-oriented methods, and also expand the brand's influence."
Previously, SAIC Group's Feifan Auto used employee shareholding to motivate the team.
On October 29, 2021, SAIC Group issued an announcement stating that it plans to invest in the establishment of Feifan Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. In terms of equity structure, Feifan Automobile will be invested by SAIC Group, accounting for 95% of the shares; the employee shareholding platform will subscribe to 350 million yuan, accounting for 5% of the shares, and will fully stimulate the entrepreneurial enthusiasm of the innovation team through market-oriented methods.
"On the other hand, the market value performance of independent listed new energy vehicle companies is also outstanding." Zhang Junyi said that, including the Science and Technology Innovation Board, it has also adjusted its corresponding strategies in the field of new energy vehicles and is very concerned about smart electric vehicle companies.
According to incomplete statistics from Times Weekly reporters, there are currently many domestic companies with valuations of 10 billion yuan in new energy vehicles, and some brands have even reached 100 billion yuan.
In August 2022, Zhiji Auto, a subsidiary of SAIC Group, announced the signing of the A-round equity financing agreement. After the first round of market-oriented financing was successfully completed, Zhiji Automobile's post-investment valuation was nearly 30 billion yuan.
On August 2, 2022, Changan Automobile issued an announcement that the company's associate Avita Technology has finally identified six investors, including National Green Development Fund Co., Ltd. , Jiaxing Juli Zhanye Luhao Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), etc. Avita said that after completing the A round of capital increase, Avita's overall financing scale will be nearly 5 billion yuan, and its post-investment valuation will be close to 10 billion yuan.
On August 26, 2022, GAC Aian's A round of capital increase was officially listed on the Canton Exchange, with the listing date from August 26 to September 23. Currently, GAC Aion’s valuation is 100 billion yuan.
Of course, the new energy vehicle industry is also in the stage of strong policy support.
On February 18, 2022, the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission released 37 replies to the suggestions and proposals of representatives and members of the 2021 National Two Sessions. In response to the reply of the "Suggestions on Accelerating the Development of the New Energy Vehicle Industry and Promoting the Transformation and Upgrading of my country's Economic" that in combination with the actual situations such as the high-tech industry and the characteristics of strategic emerging industries, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has established three market-oriented arrangements on the Science and Technology Innovation Board based on reality: First, establish diversified and inclusive issuance and listing conditions; second, establish a market-oriented new share issuance and underwriting mechanism; third, build an open, transparent and predictable review and registration mechanism.
On the same day, the China Securities Regulatory Commission responded to the "Suggestions on Financial Supporting the High-Quality Development of Smart Electric Vehicle Enterprises" and supported enterprises to actively support the development of the smart electric vehicle industry such as listing and financing in the capital market. First, support qualified new energy vehicle companies to list on the Science and Technology Innovation Board; second, provide credit policy support for the field of new energy vehicle. In the next step, People's Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission will combine their respective functions to improve the financial service system for new energy vehicles, guide financial institutions to meet the reasonable financing needs of new energy vehicle enterprises in accordance with the principles of controllable risks and commercial sustainability, and support eligible new energy vehicle enterprises to list and raise funds in the capital market.
can surpass "Wei Xiaoli"
Although the new energy brands of traditional car companies are constantly expanding their capital strength in the financing boom, it is still unknown whether they can catch up with "Wei Xiaoli" in the future.
Zhang Xiang pointed out that new forces such as Lantu, which contain "golden spoon", may catch up with "Wei Xiaoli", but there is no hope in the past one or two years because there is a big gap with "Wei Xiaoli".
The sales ranking of China's new energy vehicle manufacturers from January to August 2022 released by the China Passenger Car Association shows that only GAC Aion is among the top ten, and it ranks 6th. Judging from the August delivery volume announced by the new forces, Nezha, Ideal and NIO delivered more than 10,000 vehicles, accounting for the top three new forces deliveries in August. Lantu and Zhiji delivered 2,429 and 1,007 vehicles respectively, ranking 8th and 9th respectively.
Zhang Junyi pointed out that compared with the new forces of traditional car companies, "Wei Xiaoli" only has a first-mover advantage. In terms of delivery volume, among these independent brands of state-owned assets, some companies will be able to surpass "Wei Xiaoli". In fact, these independent new energy companies are all running forward, and the scale of financing is a very important signal. With a large strategic investment platform, independent brands of state-owned assets have no problems in vehicle manufacturing, and can also slowly learn from "Wei Xiaoli" in terms of concepts and consciousness.
Zhang Junyi judged: "From the five-year to ten-year cycle, the future outcome of these companies is still unknown." However, in Zhang Xiang's view, the new energy brands of traditional car companies have the opportunity to overtake, which can be seen from the recent changes in the stock price and sales of "Wei Xiaoli".
Since 2022, the stock price of "Wei Xiaoli" has declined. Not only that, as the new energy vehicle market overall rises, the sales of Xiaopeng Motors are declining month by month; the sudden price reduction of Ideal ONE caused collective dissatisfaction among old car owners. Then, Ideal Auto Chairman Li Xiang said that Ideal ONE will be discontinued, and Ideal Auto will launch a new model L8, which has once again ignited the dissatisfaction of old car owners; NIO has kept the cost high due to the construction of battery swap infrastructure and a large amount of operational investment, and the loss has always been among the new forces in car manufacturing.
Zhang Xiang further stated that the competition in the new energy vehicle market this year is particularly fierce, and traditional car companies have also caught up, and the entire market has become a red ocean. "The overall development of 'Wei Xiaoli' is not as lucky as Tesla . Tesla started early, so the competition is smaller. And for the current 'Wei Xiaoli', the crisis has arrived, and traditional car companies such as Dongfeng, BAIC, GAC, and SAIC have made efforts."
