Is Chueneng trying to revitalize WM Motor's factories by venturing into the automotive industry?

During the National Day holiday, the weather in Wuhan was quite nice, but it was really hot. On the 5th, I drove off. Instead of going to any scenic spots, I headed to the High - tech Zone in Huanggang City. My destination was a factory by the Yangtze River - "Hubei Xinghui New Energy Intelligent Vehicle Co., Ltd." (hereinafter referred to as "WM Xinghui Factory").

Photo | The No. 1 Gate of Hubei Xinghui New Energy Intelligent Vehicle Co., Ltd.

I decided to visit because I got an exclusive piece of news that this factory might be used by the newly emerged "new forces in car - making" in the Wuhan area for vehicle production. This "Hubei horse" in the car - making industry is Chueneng New Energy Co., Ltd., which is under the Hengxin Auto Group and headquartered in Xiaogan (hereinafter referred to as "Chueneng New Energy").

The WM Xinghui Factory I was going to is one of the two manufacturing bases of WM Motor, which has already stopped production. The much - talked - about news of "Baoneng reviving WM Motor" actually involves the resumption of production at the other base in Wenzhou, not this factory in Huanggang.

If I were to sum it up in one sentence, Chueneng's foray into car - making is what's called "car - making by a dealer". So, this matter is really interesting, and it's the main reason for my visit. Can Chueneng's car - making revitalize this factory?

01

"It's Quiet at Dawn Here"

Soon, I arrived at the WM Xinghui Factory in the Huanggang High - tech Zone. It was pretty much the same as what the media reported at the beginning of this year. I drove around the entire factory area. This factory area covering 1,045 mu was completely silent, still showing no signs of "revival". The large parking shed at the back was still empty.

Moreover, after eight or nine months, the grass in front of the doorplate at the main entrance (No. 1 Gate) had grown so tall that it completely covered the doorplate. "In the past, they would always tidy it up every year. In winter, someone would definitely come to mow it down to prevent fires." Maybe because no one had come for a long time, the security guard on duty was quite enthusiastic. He greeted me and even poured me a glass of water. I chatted with him for a while.

The ideal is plump, but the reality is skinny. This factory started construction in 2017, carrying the high hopes of Huanggang, Hubei at that time. However, after it started production, it only made a total of 20,000 cars (mainly the W6 model) before shutting down, which is really a pity.

As one of the key development projects in Hubei Province, the WM Xinghui Factory was initially planned to have a total investment of over 20 billion RMB. The project covers an area of 1,045 mu with a construction area of 300,000 square meters. The first - phase plan was to build five workshops for stamping, bodywork, painting, assembly, and battery production. After completion, it was expected to provide about 2,200 jobs for the local area.

"At that time, the parking shed at the back was full of cars," the security guard sighed when I mentioned the empty parking shed at the back of the factory area. The factory has not been able to restart since it stopped production in the second half of 2022. "The cars inside the workshop are still brand - new."

Now, apart from the 10 people on duty, there are still some staff or managers in the main office building. "They used to come here every day, but now they don't." There are also 42 cars parked in a row in the parking shed near the factory entrance. The security guard said that these are cars that have been paid for and the certificates have been taken away, but the owners haven't picked them up yet.

The question is, isn't the local area worried? "People often come here for meetings and such. Of course, they're worried about the factory sitting idle," the security guard replied. Moreover, since the Hanlong Factory in Huangshi City, across the river from Huanggang, has been revitalized by Great Wall Motor, Huanggang should be even more eager.

In 2023, there was also a piece of gossip. Huanggang signed a "Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement" with Jia Yueting's Faraday Future, intending to revitalize the WM Xinghui Factory through Faraday Future. However, there has been no further news since then.

Now, although there are rumors that Hengxin (Chueneng) will take over, the security guard must know something, but he said, "We don't know if this is certain. How can we talk about it?"

Why is there news that Chueneng New Energy will use the Huanggang factory of WM? Actually, the value of the WM Xinghui Factory lies in its independent production qualification. If Chueneng New Energy wants to make cars, this factory meets the requirements. But then, why is there still no movement at the factory? The reason may also lie in the qualification.

In early 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Notice on Carrying out Pilot Projects for Entrusted Production of New Energy Vehicles". The OEM policy has changed from the previous single - qualification requirement to a dual - qualification requirement. That is, not only does the OEM enterprise need to have production qualifications, but the entrusting party also needs to have car - making qualifications, which has raised the threshold for car - making.

Meanwhile, according to the analysis of industry insiders, the Chinese new energy vehicle market has now entered a brutal elimination stage, and the Matthew effect is very obvious. Therefore, new players will face four insurmountable barriers in terms of policy, market, technology, and resources.

In the face of the very high policy barriers, there are three ways to obtain qualifications: acquiring an enterprise with existing qualifications, finding an OEM with qualifications, or applying for qualifications on one's own. As we all know, Xiaomi got the last production qualification, and the "shell - borrowing car - making" method has been completely blocked since 2024. Moreover, there are also strict thresholds for R & D, patents, and production standards.

So, now that the complete "dual - qualifications" (new energy vehicle production qualification and access qualification) have become scarce resources, if Chueneng takes over the WM Xinghui Factory, it will have the car - making qualification. Of course, it still needs the access qualification. So, how can this problem be solved?

Judging from the current situation of the factory, there are two possibilities. One is that Chueneng is still observing and negotiating with Huanggang about car - making. The other is that Chueneng wants to use this qualification now, but it has to solve the access qualification problem first.

However, the WM Xinghui Factory has a big problem, which is the issue of equity. As the asset entity of this factory, Hubei Xinghui Company's equity worth 6 billion RMB has been frozen. Although the WM Xinghui Factory has the production qualifications for sedans, SUVs, and MPVs and an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, it has become a "zombie factory" due to a broken capital chain, resulting in the waste of resources.

With such a large capital gap, even if Baoneng takes over the Wenzhou factory and says it wants to resume production, it may be powerless when it comes to the Huanggang factory. Besides, casually taking out 6 billion RMB is not the style of Mr. Dai, the boss of Chueneng New Energy.

It should also be noted that although there have been waves of car - making in recent years, when Xiaomi entered the car - making industry, it was generally recognized in the industry that the golden age of car - making has ended. Now, for Chueneng New Energy to dare to announce its entry into car - making, it really shows great courage.

02

"The Great Adventure of Car - Making: Confidence from Past Successes"

To enter the car - making industry, it must be a decision made by the person in charge. So, who is the person in charge of Chueneng's car - making?

The answer is Dai Deming, the chairman of the Hengxin Auto Group. Born in Yichang, Hubei in 1964, Dai Deming created a "Hubei legend" before. He made a magnificent transformation from a retired soldier and achieved a life turnaround.

After being transferred from the army to become a grass - roots salesman, at the age of 30 in 1994, Dai Deming decided to start an appliance company and enter the business world. He obtained the agency rights for brands such as Gree and Midea and did very well. In 2000, Dai Deming made a decisive decision based on the situation and founded Hubei Hengxin Delong Industrial Co., Ltd., officially shifting from appliance sales to the automotive sales business.

With China's accession to the WTO in 2001, Dai Deming seized the opportunity of the golden decade. In 2002, Hengxin Delong opened the first Guangzhou Honda 4S store in Yichang and then successively obtained the agency rights for luxury brands such as Volkswagen, Chevrolet, Toyota, Mercedes - Benz, Cadillac, Lexus, and Audi.

In 2011, when I was in Huangshi, Hubei, Hengxin Delong already had more than 70 4S stores. In the following more than 10 years, the sales area of the Hengxin Auto Group gradually expanded. As of 2025, the Hengxin Auto Group has established a presence in more than 60 cities in 15 provinces across the country, with more than 310 4S stores.

Now, the Hengxin Group is the largest dealer group in Central China and the fourth - largest dealer group in the country. In 2024, the total revenue of the Hengxin Group reached 78.512 billion RMB, and the total sales volume exceeded 410,000 vehicles. Moreover, Dai Deming, the leader of the Hengxin Group, is also a "super retail investor" and has made a lot of money in the stock market.

Perhaps it is these past successes that have given Dai Deming the confidence to take the first step in car - making and establish Chueneng New Energy. And from the very beginning of making batteries, Chueneng New Energy and Dai Deming were full of ambition and believed they could succeed.

In August 2021, Chueneng New Energy Co., Ltd. was established, with its main business being the R & D and manufacturing of new energy storage batteries, power batteries, and energy management systems. Moreover, its expansion speed is quite fast. Five months after the company was established, it invested 10 billion to build the Chueneng Jiangxia Base, and the factory was completed and put into operation in just 10 months. Now, the car - making part is also in the Jiangxia Base.

In terms of products, Chueneng is very smart to avoid the crowded track of power batteries and choose the energy storage field.

Backed by Hubei, a province rich in hydropower resources, Chueneng New Energy has successively launched batteries of different specifications such as 20.5Ah, 100Ah, 150Ah, 280Ah, 314Ah, and 625Ah. In 2023, it launched a "price war + capacity expansion" strategy, driving the price of 280Ah energy - storage lithium batteries below 0.5 yuan/Wh.

Through the price war, Chueneng expanded rapidly. As of 2025, Chueneng New Energy has successively built energy - storage and power - battery production bases with a total production capacity of more than 110GWh in Xiaogan, Wuhan, and Yichang, with a total planned production capacity of more than 350GWh, presenting the remarkable "Chueneng Speed" in the industry. It's also interesting that Dai Deming used his own funds for these hundreds of billions of investments, truly showing that he "has plenty of money".

In the first half of 2025, Chueneng New Energy's energy - storage battery shipments exceeded 20GWh, ranking among the top five in the world. By August, its global market share had risen to 8.7%, and its shipment ranking had risen to the fourth in the world. Dai Deming also announced that Chueneng's monthly shipments had exceeded 8GWh, and at the same time, Chueneng's power - battery business had also entered the top ten in the country.

Chueneng New Energy's ambition is to achieve an annual shipment of more than 60GWh in 2025 and aim to rank among the top ten in global lithium - battery enterprise sales. In terms of business, in addition to having cooperative relationships with large power groups such as the "Five Big and Six Small" and "Two Grids and Two Constructions" in China, Chueneng has also received orders from dozens of foreign enterprises in Japan, the United States, Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, India, etc.

This time, I also visited the global headquarters of Chueneng New Energy in Xiaogan. This headquarters was completed and put into use at the end of November 2024. With a scale