On March 1st, Ideal Automobile held a spring press conference and released four products in one go. The Ideal MEGA, the first pure electric MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicles) model of Ideal Automobile that has been preheated for a long time, is the first 5C high-voltage pure electric model of Ideal Automobile. It has the 5C supercharging ability of "charging for 12 minutes and a range of 500 kilometers", with a unified retail price of 559800 yuan, which is slightly higher than previous market expectations. At the press conference, Ideal Automobile also released three 2024 L-series models.
The launch of Ideal MEGA means that Ideal Automobile has officially entered the pure electric market. This year is the product year for Ideal Automobile, with a total of 8 products planned for the year, including 3 pure electric SUVs that will be launched in the second half of the year.
At the press conference, Li Xiang, CEO of Ideal Automobile, stated that MEGA adopts an 800V high-voltage platform and is equipped with a Kirin 5C battery pack, which can achieve peak 5C battery charging rate. The peak charging power exceeds 520kW, and it can charge 500 kilometers in 12 minutes. Meanwhile, relying on factors such as a 0.215 low wind resistance design, MEGA uses a 102.7 kilowatt hour battery and can achieve a range of 710 kilometers under CLTC conditions.
If Ideal MEGA wants to achieve fast charging, it cannot do without overcharging stations. Li Xiang said, "In high-speed scenarios, Ideal Automobile has built over 300 overcharging stations so far. By the end of this year, we will build over 2000 high-speed and urban overcharging stations." Li Xiang said that he plans to invest more than 6 billion yuan in the future, build more than 5000 directly operated 5C charging stations, covering 95% of the country's highways and important national roads.
In terms of sales, Li Xiang stated that the monthly delivery target for Ideal MEGA is 8000 units, and it is expected to deliver 80000 units this year. In addition, Ideal Automobile will release the L6 in the second quarter and three pure electric SUVs in the second half of the year. Ideal Automobile stated that among its sales target of 800000 vehicles in 2024, extended range models remain the main force.
In 2023, multiple car companies will launch MPV models intensively. Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the Passenger Car Association, stated that from 2022 to 2023, mainstream domestic joint venture and independent brand enterprises have successively launched high-end MPVs and successfully built a high MPV dam. The focus of MPV products has shifted upwards, which can be seen as the domestic MPV market entering the 3.0 era.
In February, Ideal Automobile delivered 20251 vehicles, which was once again overtaken by AITO. It is still unknown whether Ideal Automobile can achieve sales of 50000 vehicles in March. Whether the ideal MEGA with a price higher than market expectations can stand out in the MPV market remains to be seen.