Faced with the "P-map controversy" of Ideal MEGA, Li Xiang, Chairman and CEO of Ideal Automobile, made a formal response.
On March 11th, Li Xiang posted on his WeChat Moments, saying, "We are already using legal means to deal with the organized illegal and criminal activities in the incident." Li Xiang also stated that after careful consideration, he has decided to start a counterattack, using light to counter darkness.
From the perspective of automobile sales, the annual delivery volume of Ideal Automobile reached 376000 units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 182.2%, becoming the sales champion of new forces in the automotive industry. However, as we enter 2024, the sales of Ideal Automobile in January and February have both been surpassed, losing the title of "sales champion".
As of the close on March 11th, the stock price of Ideal Automobile Hong Kong was HKD 144.2 per share, a decrease of 0.35%, a 21.2% decrease from the highest of HKD 182.9 per share on February 28th.
Li Xiang posts a response, and Yu Chengdong and He Xiaopeng support
Li Xiang said on his Moments, "Everyone should be quite clear about what happened in the past ten days. Many users and friends are worried about us, speak up for us, and continue to help and support us no matter how difficult it is. I am deeply grateful, which is also the core driving force for our growth. We are already using legal means to deal with the organized illegal and criminal activities in the incident. I would like to express my opinion through this: although I am in the dark, I still choose the light."
On March 1st, ten days ago, Ideal Automobile's first pure electric MPV, Ideal MEGA, was launched with a starting price of 559800 yuan. Li Xiang once said that MEGA will be the next explosive product of Ideal Automobile and is confident to become the best-selling product for passenger cars priced over 500000 yuan. According to a research report by Ping An Securities, the Ideal MEGA is a heavyweight model in the high-end new energy vehicle market in 2024, and it is also the pioneering work of Ideal Automobile in the pure electric field, indicating that its product matrix has officially entered the era of "dual power".
However, since the launch of Ideal MEGA, due to its unique appearance, it has also suffered from a malicious "P-image controversy". A notice letter from an automotive blogger regarding a complaint from Ideal Auto to a certain platform revealed that on March 2, 2024, a user on a social media platform maliciously posted "P images" of Ideal Auto's new MEGA model, with words such as "Dian" and "New Energy Funeral Parlor Car" pasted on the body, seriously infringing on Ideal Auto's product image and brand reputation, and infringing on Ideal Auto's reputation. In this regard, the ideal side requests that the relevant content of the platform be deleted or processed.
In Li Xiang's circle of friends, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei Terminal BG and Chairman of Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, expressed support and replied, "Always choose light, which is the correct value system. If a company's values are damaged, there will be no bright future. May we work together with the industry, take practical actions, persist in always choosing light, and fight back against darkness with light."
Xiaopeng Motors CEO He Xiaopeng also replied, "Last year, we also experienced a huge lesson at the end of the year. For the first time, we understood what a business is like a battlefield, and for the first time, we learned the meaning of 'national defense capability'."
It is understood that the official Weibo account of "Xiaopeng Automobile Legal Department" once posted on December 26, 2023, stating: "The automotive industry is ecologically prosperous, and the creation and dissemination of high-quality car reviews are also widely popular. However, if self media rely solely on unfounded speculation to withhold conspiracy theories such as" manipulating the media, "" pulling on peers, "and" smearing competitors, "they will not wait for traffic and will only wait for court subpoenas. Xiaopeng Automobile insists on healthy competition. However, when it comes to the smearing of conspiracy theories, Xiaopeng Legal insists on zero tolerance and will not tolerate it."
Competing for the "sales crown" with Wenjie, Ideal Automobile's decisive battle in 2024
In 2023, Ideal Automobile stood out among the new forces in the automotive industry with a delivery volume of 376000 vehicles, winning the sales championship. In 2024, it has become a crucial year for the development of Ideal Automobile, and multiple products will be launched one after another.
Li Xiang said, "2024 will be an unprecedented product year for Ideal Automobile, with four extended range models and four pure electric models, and eight highly competitive product combinations to meet the needs of household users. In March of this year, the flagship MPV of Home Technology, Ideal MEGA, was launched and delivered, and Ideal L7, Ideal L8, and Ideal L9 will also usher in the 2024 model year. At the same time, we will significantly increase research and development investment, continuously improve our technical capabilities in the fields of intelligent driving, intelligent space, and intelligent electric."
In 2024, Li Xiang set a challenging sales target of "delivering 800000 units annually" for Ideal Automobile, and at the same time, Ideal Automobile will also strive to achieve the goal of "being the best-selling luxury car brand in the Chinese market".
However, since the beginning of the new year, Ideal Automobile has lost its position as the best-selling new car manufacturer for two consecutive months. In January, Wenjie Automobile's sales reached 32973 units, a year-on-year increase of over 6.5 times, surpassing Ideal Automobile's delivery volume of 31165 units, and winning the monthly sales championship for the first time for the new car making force.
When forwarding the delivery information, Yu Chengdong also said, "Our estimate of the popularity of smart cars is not conservative enough, and 'Yu Da Mouth' has become 'Yu Xiao Mouth'. The top priority now is to work with our partners to ensure high-quality delivery and deliver more new cars to consumers."
In February, Wenjie's sales reached 21100 units, winning the championship of new car making forces in sales. Ideal followed closely behind, with sales of 20300 units in February, a year-on-year increase of 21.8%. Li Xiang said, "In February, despite experiencing an 8-day Spring Festival holiday and some models of the Ideal L series model year being sold out, we still achieved a daily delivery of nearly a thousand vehicles (excluding the Spring Festival holiday), a significant increase in the daily delivery volume compared to February last year."
According to Li Xiang, with the release and delivery of new models, the goal of Ideal Automobile is to recover to the monthly delivery level of 50000 vehicles by March.
Southwest Securities Research Report believes that the main competitors of the Ideal MEGA for high-end MPV models are Toyota Alphard, Buick Century, Mercedes Benz V-Class, Lantu Dreamer, Tengshi D9, and Jike 009. As a high-end pure electric MPV, if the monthly sales of Ideal MEGA can be maintained at 5000 units, it will be very successful. Benefiting from the 2024 facelifted models and the launch of new models, Ideal Automobile's sales performance will continue to rise, and its market share will steadily expand. It is recommended to pay attention to related industry chain targets.
