Company:Weltmeister (marque)

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Short description: Chinese electric car brand owned by WM Motor Technology Co Ltd
Weltmeister
Weltmeister Logo.svg
Product typeAutomobiles
OwnerWM Motor
IntroducedJanuary 2015
DiscontinuedOctober 2023 (as a pre-restructuring process)
MarketsChina
Websitewww.wm-motor.com
Weltmeister showroom in Zhengzhou, China
Weltmeister logo since 2017

Weltmeister (Chinese: 威马汽车) is a Chinese electric car brand owned by WM Motor Technology Co Ltd, a Shanghai-based automotive company which specialises in the creation of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). It launched its first production car, the EX5 in May 2018 at the Beijing Auto Show, with deliveries starting in September 2018. WM investors include Chinese technology companies Baidu and Tencent.[1] Weltmeister vehicles are manufactured at WM Motor's manufacturing facility in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, which has an annual capacity of 100,000 units.[2] WM Motor also maintains R&D facilities in China, Germany and the United States. In October 2023, WM Motor filed for pre-restructuring as the company struggled for cash.[3]

History

WM Motor was founded in January 2015 by Freeman Shen,[4] a former executive at Geely and later chairman of Volvo's China operations.[5] Prior to WM, Freeman also co-founded and was CEO of Pateo Group, a leading vehicle connectivity and telematics company.[6]

In November 2016, the company commenced construction of its first plant in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. The facility has been mass-producing the company's first vehicle model, the EX5, since 28 September 2018.

In August 2017, WM Motor acquired Polarsun Automobile (Chinese: 中顺汽车), a licensed passenger vehicles manufacturer in China, and subsequently gained the relevant licenses to produce all types of passenger NEVs (new energy vehicles).[7]

In January 2018, the company began construction of its second manufacturing facility in Huanggang, Hubei Province. By this time, Weltmeister was considered one of the most promising Chinese EV startups, with financial backing by the likes of Baidu, Tencent and SAIC Motor. In 2021, WM Motor secured another USD 300 million of funding.[8][9]

Pre-restructuring

In the second half of 2022, WM Motors found itself in a bad financial situation, which was caused by growing debt and losses recorded despite attempts to increase sales and product portfolio. With fierce competition in the domestic market, the company started exporting its vehicles, claiming sales in Israel, Dubai, Turkey and Southeast Asia.[10] The company was unable to put the flagship M7 model on sale, ended the production of all its existing models at the end of 2022, laid off employees and closed most of its sales points.[11] Meanwhile, rivaling EV startups XPeng and Li Auto had already secured large investments just before the pandemic and thus avoided similar troubles.[12]

The following year, president Freeman Shen started looking for new sources of financing and implemented a savings plan.[13] These actions were unsuccessful, and as a result, in mid-October 2023, WM Motor announced pre-restructuring.[14] Freeman Shen indicated that the factors preventing the company from remaining on the market were the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, stagnation of the capital market and the increase in raw material prices.[15] The pre-restructuring of the company also affected existing owners of Weltmeister vehicles. A day after the pre-restructuring petition was accepted by the Shanghai court, drivers lost access to the WM Motor mobile application, the website stopped working, and contact with the support center disappeared, leaving post-sales and service support in doubt.[16]

Manufacturing

Wenzhou Plant

WM Motor's Wenzhou Plant has a site area of 650,000 sqm, and is currently operational.  The plant currently has a maximum operating capacity of 100,000 units per year.

Wenzhou Plant has a site area of 650,000 sqm, and is currently operational.  The plant currently has an operating capacity of 100,000 units per annum. Construction of the facility began in September 2016, and mass production commenced on 28 September 2018.[17]

Huanggang Plant

WM Motor's second manufacturing facility in Huanggang, Hubei Province, was scheduled for completion in early 2020. Due the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it only produced 10,000 vehicles of its planned 2022 production capacity of 150,000.[18]

Mobile App - GETnGO

WM Motor operates a proprietary app called GETnGO (Chinese: 即客行), which is primarily aimed at offering search, navigation and payment options for public chargers in China. As of October 2019, the GETnGO app had registered 200,000 public chargers to the service through its partnerships with public charging providers, including the State Grid.

Models

  • Weltmeister E5

  • Weltmeister EX5

  • Weltmeister EX5 Pro

  • Weltmeister EX6 Limited

  • Weltmeister W6

  • Weltmeister Evolve Concept

  • Weltmeister Maven Concept

Sales

Sales of Weltmeister[19][20]
Year Total
2019 12,799
2020 21,937
2021 44,152
2022 29,450
2023 0

References

  1. ↑ "Chinese EV startup WM Motor raising at least $288 million from Baidu, others: sources". 25 October 2018. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-wmmotor-fundraising/chinese-ev-startup-wm-motor-raising-at-least-288-million-from-baidu-others-sources-idUKKCN1MZ0AC. 
  2. ↑ Newby, Jack (29 March 2018). "Weltmeister's Smart SUV Rolls Off 'Record-Breaking' Production Line". https://radiichina.com/weltmeisters-smart-suv-rolls-off-a-record-breaking-production-line/. 
  3. ↑ "Chinese EV startup WM Motor files for pre-restructuring" (in en). October 10, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/chinese-ev-startup-wm-motor-files-bankruptcy-2023-10-10/. 
  4. ↑ "Major shakeout in Chinese electric cars seen by top startup". 13 September 2018. https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Electric-cars-in-China/Major-shakeout-in-Chinese-electric-cars-seen-by-top-startup. 
  5. ↑ "Weltmeister EX5: first electric car from $1 billion Chinese company you've never heard of". 18 December 2017. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1114361_weltmeister-ex5-first-electric-car-from-1-billion-chinese-company-youve-never-heard-of. 
  6. ↑ "Freeman Shen". https://www.credit-suisse.com/microsites/conferences/aic/en/speakers/speakers/freeman-shen.html. 
  7. ↑ "WM Motor gets production qualification via Polarsun Automobile". 23 March 2018. http://www.sohu.com/a/226625306_352084. 
  8. ↑ "Baidu-backed EV-maker WM Motor raises $300m despite setbacks" (in en-GB). https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Caixin/Baidu-backed-EV-maker-WM-Motor-raises-300m-despite-setbacks. 
  9. ↑ De Guzman, Marcus (12 October 2023). "Weltmeister PH to support owners despite brand bankruptcy". https://www.autoindustriya.com/auto-industry-news/weltmeister-ph-to-support-owners-despite-brand-bankruptcy.html. 
  10. ↑ sina_mobile (2023-09-25). "黄冈工厂主体破产重整，40亿元股权又被冻结，威马还能翻盘吗？". https://finance.sina.cn/2023-09-25/detail-imznxuyx1979364.d.html. 
  11. ↑ "Big Read – How Niutron failed to build its car" (in en). https://carnewschina.com/2023/02/19/big-read-how-niutron-failed-to-build-its-car/. 
  12. ↑ "探访威马黄冈基地：老实造车的“冰与火”". https://www.guancha.cn/ChanJing/2023_03_17_684524.shtml. 
  13. ↑ "WM Motor files for bankruptcy" (in en). https://www.just-auto.com/news/wm-motor-files-for-bankruptcy/?cf-view. 
  14. ↑ "Chinese electric vehicle maker WM Motor files for bankruptcy" (in en). https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Automobiles/Chinese-electric-vehicle-maker-WM-Motor-files-for-bankruptcy. 
  15. ↑ "WM Motor’s bankruptcy highlights challenges faced by EV startups in China" (in en). https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/10/wm-motors-bankruptcy-highlights-challenges-faced-by-ev-startups-in-china/. 
  16. ↑ "EV maker WM Motor suspends in-car services, files for bankruptcy: report" (in en). https://technode.com/2023/10/12/ev-maker-wm-motor-suspends-in-car-services-files-for-bankruptcy-report/. 
  17. ↑ "WM Motor delivers first batch of EX5, to hand over 100,000 EX5 cars next year". http://autonews.gasgoo.com/Detail.aspx?ClassId=2&ArticleId=70015220. 
  18. ↑ "探访威马黄冈基地：老实造车的“冰与火”". https://www.guancha.cn/ChanJing/2023_03_17_684524.shtml. 
  19. ↑ "不放弃治疗，威马汽车还有救？投资人“排队”入场". https://m.qctt.cn/news/1602694. 
  20. ↑ sina_mobile (2022-06-10). "威马港股递表，新能源投资迎来“纵横四海”时代". https://finance.sina.cn/2022-06-10/detail-imizirau7660906.d.html. 

External links



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