WM Motor M7 - the new leader of the new peaks

Apr 03, 2024

The starting price of the Wanjie M7 is $24.98, with picture parameters and configuration details available for inquiries. Understanding the car prices at 4.07, tested space, performance, and other aspects are discussed by car enthusiasts, with discussions reaching 9.10 thousand car enthusiasts. The price of used cars starts at $18.80, with 52 vehicles available.

After all, no one had ever thought that the Huawei-powered smart interface, M7, did not receive a warm welcome on its first appearance, but rather made an inglorious exit. What's even more unexpected is that its return attempt unexpectedly became a hit, with the impressive five-month sales figures still vividly remembered. Now, the M7, which was once overlooked by most car companies, has transformed into a position that "most car companies cannot afford to reach."

From the January sales data, it is not difficult to see that the Wanjie M7, with a figure of 29997, narrowly beat the Tesla Model Y by a two-digit margin in the SUV sales rankings, ranking second overall, and ranking first in the high-end SUV field, surpassing Tesla and ushering in the peak moment of the car's life, also setting a new record.

With the M7 performing so brilliantly, it's hard not to think about its old rival, how is Ideal doing now?

The answer is still selling well. Sales data for the past six months shows that the cumulative sales of Ideal L7 are 87,000 units, the half-year cumulative sales of Ideal L9 are 66,000 units, and the half-year cumulative sales of Ideal L8 are 65,000 units.

If we look at specific models, the Weilai M7 was once positioned against the Ideal vehicle, but now it has found its niche. Its sales are rapidly increasing, with 21,083 units sold in February, and it has sold over 20,000 units for two consecutive months. This might be a difficult achievement for an A-level car. At the same time, the sales of the Ideal L7 are 8,459 units, Ideal L8's sales are 5,457 units, and Ideal L9's sales are 6,336 units, for a total of 20,252 units sold.

So, is the success of Wanjie M7 built on the basis of encroaching and eroding the sales of their ideal brand? Actually, not entirely.

The Wanjie M7 will be launched in late September 2023, and its release actually did not have much impact or ripple effect on Ideals car sales. They are like two species in a forest, each with its own habitat, two parallel products.

From September to January, the monthly sales volume of Ideal L7 were 1.3 million, 1.55 million, 1.65 million, 2.04 million, 1.33 million respectively; the monthly sales of Ideal L8 were 1.11 million, 1.21 million, 1.24 million, 1.5 million, 0.9 million respectively; and the monthly sales of Ideal L9 were 1.18 million, 1.27 million, 1.19 million, 1.49 million, 0.87 million respectively.

The monthly sales volume of AskM7 are 5,200, 12,200, 17,000, 25,500, and 29,900, respectively.

The minimum selling price of the Ideal L8 is $300K. Picture parameter configuration inquiry bottom price understanding vehicle division 4.06 understanding vehicle test space, performance and other car circle 43,000 car friends discussed, with a starting price for used cars of $3.5M and 97 vehicles.

It can be seen that the rapid rise of the Wanjie M7 is not based on the erosion of market share, nor even at the peak of Wanjie M7's glory, ideal performance is not bad.

This needs to start with the target and potential audience.

The Ideal L7 and Ideal L8 are designed for traditional fuel car owners, especially those in their middle years and with family needs as their main priority. These are users who particularly value the third row of seats. Ideal, as a transition from fuel to new energy, is very suitable for this group, and these users also do not care too much about the price threshold; they can afford over $41'500, which is the most important factor, and the driving and riding experience should be excellent. Just right, the Ideal's refrigerator, TV, and big sofa can meet these needs, with a strong presence. Even if used for business purposes, it can still hold up. The six-seat layout, including the third row, does not feel cramped, making it the most suitable option for family users.

The audience of the Wanjie M7 is relatively younger, focusing on value for money and intelligent driving experience for home users.

The third row is not used frequently in daily use, mostly for emergencies. It belongs to the category of having but not commonly used, which is clearly distinct from the ideal.

Next is the emphasis on the intelligent driving experience. The Wanjie M7 is able to stand out in this area, and it's hard not to attribute this success to Huawei. With Huawei's deep empowerment, the performance in the field of intelligent driving and the level of consumer recognition are unmatched by many car companies.

The third point is that there is a budget, but it does not reach the point of disregarding the budget. The budget is above $27'500, there is a certain budget, but it is also not to the point of disregarding the budget, just for the driving experience or other needs, it pays more attention to cost-effectiveness and comprehensive performance.

It can be understood that the WENJIE M7 is capturing the market share that originally belonged to the Tesla Model Y, simply because the Model Y cannot meet the needs of multi-person families in terms of space and layout, so they chose the WENJIE. The ideal car model is capturing the audience that previously belonged to luxury brands priced at $42K or more, now there is a better choice at the same price point.

So looking at it this way, the positioning of the two cars is actually very clear, and the target audience also has a distinct differentiation. In theory, they should not interfere with each other and each should be doing well. But obviously, the ideal is not satisfied with the current situation. It's not the pressure of the annual sales target of 800,000, but the ideal subsequent product architecture and layout that have led to their temporary and peaceful situation being an illusion.

The ideal is not to plot a way out for the existing trio, but to consider more about the follow-up product planning. For example, the soon-to-be-launched Ideal L6 (pictured), theoretically speaking, the price should be around $36K. If there was no interference from the WM Motor M7, Ideal wouldn't have to worry about whether the pricing was reasonable, because it would be the dominant player. But now it's different, Ideal is probably going to play it safe, and the pricing of Ideal L6 may be lower than expected.

So the war between the ideal and WM is actually not started yet, and it is not an exaggeration to say that if you want to buy cars from these two brands, you must wait a bit longer. There may be some surprises in the second half of the year, and there is going to be a tough battle between the two brands. In the second half of the year, WM M7 will have passed the period for new cars, and the terminal will provide discounts and incentives. In order to support the L6, Ideal will also need to offer reasonable and sincere prices for its models. Other products will also need to maintain a certain level of discounts to achieve the sales target of 800,000 vehicles. The confrontation between them is still to come.