After nearly three years in a "coma", WM Motor has found a "rescuer". Can the debt-ridden Baoneng Group fulfill the dream worth 120 billion yuan?
Recently, WM Motor, which had been quiet for some time, released the "White Paper to Suppliers" through its official WeChat account. The once "struggling" WM Motor has finally seen the dawn of "resurrection."
After more than two years of suspension of production and bankruptcy reorganization, this company, once hailed as one of the "Four Little Dragons" among the new players in the automotive industry, is trying to re-enter the highly competitive new energy vehicle market.
According to the "White Paper to Suppliers" released by WM Motor, Shenzhen Xiangfei Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., as the reorganizing investor and new shareholder of WM Motor, has completed the takeover of four WM Motor companies and is making every effort to promote the rapid resumption of mass production at the Wenzhou base.
However, what is even more eye-catching is the ambitious "three-step" strategy put forward by the new WM Motor - starting with the resumption of production in September, aiming for an annual production of 100,000 vehicles by 2026, initiating preparations for an IPO from 2027 to 2028, and finally challenging the grand goal of an annual production of 1 million vehicles and a revenue of 120 billion yuan by 2030.
Leida Finance found through research that the strength and intentions of "Baoneng Group"-related Xiangfei Automobile, the new shareholder of WM Motor, are questionable. Currently, Baoneng Group itself is still deeply mired in debt.
Tianyancha shows that as of September 13, the total accumulated amount to be executed against Shenzhen Baoneng Investment Group Co., Ltd. exceeds 45 billion yuan, which makes people worried about whether Xiangfei Automobile has the ability and willingness to continuously "infuse blood" into WM Motor.
In addition, the battlefield in the new energy vehicle market is no longer the same as before. It remains to be seen whether the rejuvenated WM Motor can cross the line of life and death this time.
01
The new shareholder steps in, and WM Motor is "reborn"
According to Tianyancha information, Shenzhen Xiangfei Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., the new shareholder of WM Motor, was established in September 2023 with a registered capital of 100 million yuan. The company is mainly engaged in automobile sales, small and micro passenger car rental services, information consulting services, enterprise management consulting, marketing planning, domestic trade agency, and goods import and export.
In terms of the equity structure, the actual controller of Shenzhen Xiangfei Automobile Sales Co., Ltd. is Huang Jing, whose ultimate beneficial shareholding ratio in the company is 40.69%.
It is worth noting that Huang Jing's ultimate beneficial shareholding ratio in Kunshan Baoneng Automobile Co., Ltd. is 46%. Therefore, some people believe that it is the "Baoneng Group" companies that are "infusing blood" into WM Motor behind its "resurrection."
According to the "White Paper to Suppliers" released by WM Motor, Shenzhen Xiangfei Automobile Sales Co., Ltd. initially plans to invest 1 billion yuan in equipment upgrading, supply chain restoration, and product development.
Leida Finance noticed that the resumption of work and production of WM Motor has also received strong support from the local government. The Wenzhou Municipal Government and the Wenzhou Marine Economic Development Demonstration Zone have established a special working group: on the one hand, it coordinates the connection between local suppliers in Zhejiang and Wenzhou and the new WM Motor to resolve historical cooperation issues; on the other hand, it assists Xiangfei Automobile in communicating with local financial institutions for financing to provide financial support for equipment upgrading, supply chain restoration, and business expansion.
In addition, the Wenzhou Municipal Government is also considering providing subsidies for the resumption of work and production, production line technological transformation, product R & D, and market promotion of the new WM Motor, and is considering giving priority to including the new WM Motor in local public procurement and using local public resources to promote the resumption of work and production of the new WM Motor.
Meanwhile, WM Motor also revealed in the "White Paper to Suppliers" its three-step business development plan to achieve leapfrog development.
Specifically, the first stage is the revival stage from 2025 to 2026: resume the production of EX5/E.5 models in September, ensure an annual production and sales volume of 10,000 vehicles, and strive for 20,000 vehicles; at the same time, break into the overseas market, layout a KD factory in Thailand, and explore the Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets. Achieve an annual production of 100,000 vehicles in 2026.
The second stage is the development stage from 2027 to 2028: the annual sales volume will jump from 250,000 to 400,000 vehicles; mass-produce high-level assisted driving models, empower the entire R & D, production, and marketing chain with AI, and initiate preparations for an IPO.
The third stage is the leapfrog stage from 2027 to 2028: challenge the goal of an annual production of 1 million vehicles and a revenue of 120 billion yuan by 2030, build a smart mobility ecosystem, and become a new benchmark in the industry.
The new WM Motor claimed in the "White Paper to Suppliers" that the supply chain team has completed contact with 215 historical suppliers, and the vast majority of suppliers have stated their willingness to develop together with the new WM Motor. Only a very small number of historical issues with suppliers are being resolved.
Currently, the equipment, production, and operation teams at the Wenzhou production base are working intensively to resume work and production to regain mass production capacity in August. At the same time, on the sales side, the new WM Motor has restarted the establishment of the dealer network, and has received clear orders from the overseas market.
Xiangfei Automobile promised that the company has concentrated its efforts to deploy and form a professional team of 143 people (including 78 Xiangfei employees and 55 former WM Motor employees) from various bases across the country, and is accelerating recruitment to form a core team of 400 people, enabling the new WM Motor to quickly resume business operations.
02
Why did one of the once "Four Little Dragons" among the new players fall into the abyss?
From being one of the "Four Little Dragons" among the new players in the automotive industry to finally applying for bankruptcy reorganization, the previous failure of WM Motor was the result of multiple factors. It did not collapse suddenly but was the result of long - term latent and gradually accumulated problems in strategy, products, funds, management, etc., which finally erupted collectively.
In terms of strategic path, WM Motor chose the heavy - asset model of building its own factories (two major factories in Wenzhou and Huanggang). In contrast to NIO's early OEM model, although this move ensured production capacity and control, it also greatly consumed its precious cash reserves, leaving its cash flow in a tight state.
Although WM Motor had raised more than 41 billion yuan in cumulative financing, the huge investment and continuous losses made it always difficult to escape the pressure on the capital side.
According to the prospectus previously submitted by WM Motor, from 2019 to 2021, WM Motor's total losses exceeded 17.4 billion yuan. By the end of 2021, the company's net assets were - 20.536 billion yuan, and it had fallen into a state of insolvency.
In order to seek financial support from the capital market, WM Motor had launched several attempts to go public, targeting the A - share and Hong Kong - share markets successively, and also tried to list on the US stock market through a back - door listing with Kaixin Auto, but all attempts ended in failure.
The repeated failures of WM Motor in its listing attempts not only blocked the most important "blood - infusion" channel but also severely hit market confidence, making subsequent financing even more difficult.
In terms of products, WM Motor also faced severe challenges. After the launch of its first mass - produced model, the EX5, there were multiple vehicle spontaneous combustion incidents, which triggered widespread public doubts about the safety of its batteries.
According to media reports, in order to deal with battery safety hazards, WM Motor even carried out the highly controversial "battery - locking" operation, which further damaged the rights and interests of car owners and brand trust. In addition to battery problems, WM Motor was also exposed to various quality problems, including brake failure and power battery malfunctions.
These product quality and safety issues, especially the "battery - locking" operation, greatly affected WM Motor's reputation. A large number of old car owners felt deceived and betrayed, and the brand was severely damaged. This not only affected WM Motor's subsequent sales but also set a huge obstacle to rebuilding brand trust.
As the competition in the Chinese new energy vehicle market became increasingly fierce, WM Motor gradually lagged behind its competitors such as "NIO, XPENG, and Li Auto" in terms of product update speed, R & D and application of intelligent technologies (such as intelligent cockpits and high - level assisted driving).
In addition, there were reports that the core management of WM Motor had been investigated for contract fraud, and the annual salary of founder Shen Hui as high as 1.2 billion yuan also raised questions from the outside world about WM Motor's internal management and capital use efficiency.
03
Re - entering the battlefield, the future of the new WM Motor remains uncertain
Although the new WM Motor has officially announced its "return" this time, it still needs to face many problems after resuming work and production.
First of all, compared with the capital gap, the brand trust gap that WM Motor created before is even more difficult to fill. WM Motor's previous suspension of production, long - term stagnation of after - sales service, and the relatively influential "battery - locking incident" seriously hurt users' feelings and trust.
Some public relations practitioners pointed out that reshaping a brand with a strong negative label may be more difficult than building a new brand from scratch. Therefore, the primary task of the new WM Motor in the future is to face consumers with the most sincere attitude in order to try to repair the rift between the brand and consumers.
Secondly, the competitiveness of WM Motor's existing products is out of touch with the market. It is reported that the EX5 and E.5 models that the new WM Motor plans to resume production of first are old models from several years ago.
The more than two - year gap has created an obvious generational gap between WM Motor and the current mainstream products in the market. Price cuts seem to be the only way out. However, in the extremely "involutionary" Chinese new energy vehicle market, it is difficult to continuously attract mainstream consumers with low prices alone.
At the same time, the strength and intentions of "Baoneng Group"-related Xiangfei Automobile, the new shareholder of WM Motor, are questionable. Currently, Baoneng Group itself is still deeply mired in debt.
Tianyancha shows that as of September 13, the total accumulated amount to be executed against Shenzhen Baoneng Investment Group Co., Ltd. exceeds 45 billion yuan, which makes people worried about whether Xiangfei Automobile has the ability and willingness to continuously "infuse blood" into WM Motor.
Some analysts believe that the "Baoneng Group" took over WM Motor through Xiangfei Automobile, perhaps because it took a fancy to WM Motor's new energy vehicle production qualifications, land resources and other assets, aiming at "risk isolation" and "narrative reconstruction."
What is even more severe is that in today's new energy vehicle market, the competitive landscape has changed dramatically. During the period when WM Motor was shut down, it was a period of rapid development and in - depth reshuffle in the Chinese new energy vehicle market.
During this period, BYD and Tesla led the way, "NIO, XPENG, and Li Auto" continuously deepened their moats, and new players such as Huawei Hongmeng Zhixing and Xiaomi Auto came on strongly. When price wars have become the norm and the industry has entered the "winner - takes - all" elimination stage, it is extremely difficult for the new WM Motor to grab market share.
In the future, can the new WM Motor successfully complete its three - step plan and regain its former glory? Leida Finance will continue to pay attention.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Leida Finance" (ID: leidaplus) . Author: Ding Yu, Editor: Meng Shuai. Republished by 36Kr with authorization.