Can the sales target set by Huawei to reach 10,000 units in four and a half months help Mengshi turn things around?
Mengshi played this card loudly and urgently.
Recently, the Dongfeng Mengshi M817 was officially launched. This new intelligent off-road vehicle, with a starting price of 319,800 yuan and a maximum time-limited benefit of 70,000 yuan, is regarded by the outside world as Mengshi's brand's "turnaround battle."
People familiar with the matter revealed to Caixin that as a deep cooperation partner for the new car and future models, Huawei has set a "military order" for the M817 to complete the sales task of 12,400 units in four and a half months, while the internal expectation of Dongfeng Group is 15,000 units.
Whether it's the product positioning or Huawei's "guarantee," behind the M817, there is no way to bypass the real predicament of the Mengshi brand in the three years since its establishment.
In 2023, Dongfeng Mengshi launched its first model, the 917, with an official guide price ranging from 637,700 yuan to 1,098,000 yuan. However, the market performance of this product, which Dongfeng had high hopes for, has been below expectations for two years.
According to third - party statistical data, in the first seven months of 2025, the total sales volume of all Mengshi 917 models was only 689 units. Among them, the sales volume of the extended - range version was 632 units, almost halving compared with the same period last year. The continuous decline in sales has triggered a series of negative effects: the attention to the Mengshi brand has decreased, the distribution channels have suffered full - scale losses, and the profitability of the OEM has been highly pressured.
At a Mengshi experience center in Beijing, Caixin noticed that due to huge losses over the past two years, nearly two - thirds of the area of the new car showroom has been given to other brands. Although such a scenario is not an isolated case in the current automotive market, it is commonly seen in brands such as Infiniti and Chevrolet, whose market shares are becoming increasingly marginal.
According to the profit warning of Dongfeng Group Co., Ltd. (00489.HK), the net profit attributable to the parent company in the first half of 2025 is expected to be between 30 million and 70 million yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 90% to 95%. In addition to the sharp decline in the sales of joint - venture brands, Dongfeng Group admitted that the continuous increase in R & D, brand, and channel investment in its independent business is also an important reason for the company's performance decline.
As an important layout of its independent luxury new - energy brand, the contrast between Mengshi's sales volume and high investment is obvious. It can be seen that it is urgent for this brand to accelerate the pace of increasing sales.
Industry insiders pointed out that the price sincerity shown by the M817 is only the first step for the enterprise to try to reverse the predicament. If the brand wants to leverage the reversal of the entire brand through the transformation of a single car, it needs to solve more complex variables than just "pricing."
The Helpless Turn from Luxury Off - Road to "Cost - Effectiveness"
The final price of the entry - level M817 product is 319,800 yuan, and the top - end model does not exceed 350,000 yuan. This price is 10,000 yuan lower than the pre - sale price. Coupled with the new car launch benefits of up to 70,000 yuan, the order - locking rate of many stores in northern regions has reached over 40%, far higher than the industry's average level of 30%. This tactical combination has quickly attracted the attention of the industry and has become a concentrated attempt by Mengshi to find a solution to the current dilemma.
The appearance of the Mengshi 817
Mengshi's active adjustments in product, price, and communication dimensions mean a change in directional judgment. As a key project in Dongfeng Group's new - energy transformation, Mengshi was highly anticipated from the beginning of its establishment. When Dongfeng launched the Mengshi 917, it hoped that the car could open up a luxury new - energy off - road track for independent brands with its military background and off - road genes.
However, the gap between ideal and reality was quickly exposed. From August to December 2023, the sales volume of the Mengshi 917 was only 824 units; although it increased to 2,101 units in 2024, the sales volume dropped again to 689 units in the first seven months of 2025. Compared with the initial strategic vision, the market feedback was almost at freezing point.
The feedback from the channels is more direct. A channel manager close to Dongfeng Mengshi told Caixin that currently, all Mengshi direct - operated stores are in a loss - making state. "The current goal of the headquarters is not even to make a profit, but to 'lose less.'"
In fact, the pricing adjustment of the M817 was not initially in the plan. The above - mentioned person familiar with the matter said that Dongfeng originally hoped that this car could succeed the 917. Considering the comprehensive R & D costs, the initial price was set between 400,000 yuan and 500,000 yuan, and it was not equipped with Huawei's intelligent driving system.
However, according to market research, the industry was more pessimistic about this. Finally, Mengshi's senior management had to withstand the pressure and push the price of the car down to the 300,000 - yuan range.
Therefore, choosing to bet on "cost - effectiveness" and "Huawei's intelligent driving" was not in Mengshi's original plan. This not only means that it has to re - understand user needs but also means that it must re - prioritize between technological claims and brand building. The M817 not only bears the chance of a sales turnaround but is also entrusted with multiple tasks of stopping losses in channels and restarting the brand.
After the synchronous transformation of pricing, technological expression, and communication rhythm, the M817 has opened a crack. Industry insiders said that in the short term, this crack can at least bring a glimmer of breathing space for the brand and effectively relieve the profit pressure on the existing dealer channels. However, new problems have also emerged: Are users willing to listen to Mengshi's new story?
Is Huawei's Intelligent Driving the Real Star? The Story of "Intelligent Off - Road" Is Hard to Tell
During media interviews, You Zheng, a member of the Party Committee Standing Committee and Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd., and Jin Yuzhi, the CEO of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solution Business Unit, both emphasized many times that they want to use the M817 to open up a new "intelligent off - road" track and make it the world's number one.
Obviously, in terms of brand setting, Mengshi hopes to strengthen the brand expression of "all - terrain intelligent off - road" ability on the basis of continuing its military genes. However, this expression has encountered deviations at the terminal. Many salespeople more often self - define the M817 as a city SUV equipped with Huawei's Qiankun Intelligent Driving system in their sales pitches.
"The reason is simple. First, a retail volume of only about 2,000 units is simply not enough to support Mengshi's position in the off - road track; second, more intuitively, users of this car are more concerned about Huawei's intelligent driving." A sales manager in the North China region told Caixin. According to their in - store research, more than 60% of users' motivation to buy the car comes from the support of Huawei's ADS4.0, and the off - road performance is at best just icing on the cake.
In fact, Mengshi has spared no expense in "stacking up" the off - road capabilities of the product. The M817 is equipped with a front - and - rear double - wishbone all - aluminum chassis, a dual - motor differential lock, and an intelligent E - lock system. The intelligent driving system has also been further extended from urban and highway scenarios to off - road scenarios, forming a unified all - terrain dispatching system.
Huawei's Hongmeng cockpit
In Dongfeng's view, this kind of ability is not a gimmick but the underlying support for the company's differentiated technological route. Even if many users will not actually drive the vehicle through deserts or shell holes, the existence of these capabilities still represents the brand's "muscle - flexing" in the field of intelligent off - road.
Meanwhile, Mengshi is also facing the pressure of the timeliness of "telling stories."
The off - road track is a very niche market. Against the background that the traditional mass - market tracks such as sedans and SUVs are crowded with competitors, many brands and models still choose to enter this niche market, including Zhijie and Xiangjie, which have a deep - seated relationship with Huawei.
According to people familiar with the matter, both Chery and BAIC are cooperating with Huawei to promote the launch of intelligent new - energy off - road SUVs. Especially the latter, whose BJ series has accumulated a mature off - road reputation, and the product conversion path is more direct. Once these brands launch new products in the same price range, the current scarcity window of Mengshi will be quickly compressed.
"In this situation, Mengshi must form brand perception first and support its luxury positioning with real sales volume." Analysts believe that in Dongfeng Group's overall new - energy strategy, as the only luxury brand, Mengshi is regarded as a key fulcrum for the upward movement of brand value. Whether it can gain a foothold in the luxury market will determine whether Dongfeng Motor can have real brand premium ability in the future.
Breaking into the Red Sea of 300,000 - Yuan Market: A Shortcut to Breakthrough or a Brand Maze?
In the Chinese automotive market, the 300,000 - yuan level is a special zone. It neither belongs to the price range of traditional luxury brands nor can it be easily regarded as the budget range for mass - market car purchases. In other words, the user - cognitive boundary of this price range is both high and narrow. By pushing the price of the Mengshi M817 into this range, it will inevitably face the most intense competition and the most picky users.
Currently, the 300,000 - yuan - level new - energy hardcore SUV niche market has already gathered a large number of players. In the first seven months of 2025, the cumulative sales volume of the Fangchengbao 8 was 14,186 units; the sales volume of the Tank 500 exceeded 33,163 units, with an average monthly sales volume of nearly 5,000 units, and it has shown signs of fatigue compared with the same period in 2024. The sales target of the Mengshi M817 in the next four and a half months is only less than the three - month sales volume of the latter and is even lower than the monthly delivery volume of the Wenjie M8.
According to the statistics of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the first seven months of 2025, among new - energy passenger cars, only the products in the 300,000 - 400,000 - yuan price range showed a year - on - year decline in sales volume, with the most obvious decline in the 300,000 - 350,000 - yuan range, a 18% decline compared with the same period in 2024.
In the view of analysts, the real test that Mengshi has to face is not how much "stacking up" it can do but how to establish brand value.
Dongfeng's pricing of the Mengshi M817 is more like a "stop - gap measure," which reflects the brand's strategic contraction after being blocked in high - end development.
The latest "Investigation Report on the Survival Status of National Automobile Dealers in the First Half of 2025" released by the China Automobile Dealers Association shows that 52.6% of dealers are in a loss - making state, and only 30.3% have completed their sales targets. The already - pressured channel ecosystem's tolerance for "high investment and low output" has dropped to freezing point.
Against the background of the increasing survival pressure on automotive dealers as a whole, if Mengshi cannot quickly break through the market gap and achieve sales volume breakthroughs in its niche market with the M817, not only will the previous price cut become a "losing - money business for popularity," but the brand will also fall into a dilemma of being caught between the luxury and mass - market segments.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Caixin Auto". Author: Caixin Auto. Republished by 36Kr with permission.