It is too early to judge whether Li Bin will succeed, so it is better to observe.

Words? |? Zhang Lijuan

Just a few days ago, before the US stock market closed, Weilai announced the Q2 financial report for 2020, and the gross profit margin turned positive for the first time! Six-year-old Wei Lai can finally walk by herself, and her old father Li Bin has finally arrived.

This can make people who have been singing praises for Wei Lai stunned. After all, the most criticized thing about Weilai is its unstoppable losses. Although the gross profit margin turned positive does not mean stop loss, at least we saw Wei's hematopoietic capacity, and the virtuous circle effect began to appear.

Weilai lost tens of billions last year, and a casual search on the Internet was full of pessimistic titles such as "Weilai has no future" and "Weilai has a few months to live". But in 2020, even if it is full of malice to the whole world, it will be not thin to Weilai and Li Bin.

Judging from the sales performance in the first half of this year, Weilai became the only company that challenged Tesla in the field of high-end pure electric vehicles in the first half of this year. Tesla's sales in the first half of the year almost crushed all new energy vehicles, releasing the demand for 46,000 domestic Model3 3s in one breath.

As a rising star, Weilai also delivered 1.2 million es6 and more than 2,000 es8 in the same period. Although the gap is not small, it is the best achievement of China automobile enterprises in the new energy automobile market of more than 300,000 yuan.

After all, this year is a lucky year. Weilai raised $435 million in February and March. In the agreement signed with Hefei in April, strategic investors will invest 7 billion yuan in Weilai China and 4.26 billion yuan in Weilai China (4.8 billion yuan for strategic investors and 2.556 billion yuan for Weilai? , with a total capital injection of 7.356 billion yuan), it issued about 500 million US dollars in June.

Last month, Weilai held a signing ceremony of strategic cooperation between Weilai and China with six banks including China Construction Bank Anhui Branch. They will provide comprehensive credit of up to RMB 6,543,804 billion to Weilai China to support the operation and development of Weilai's business in China. The agreement also includes cooperation between Weilai China and various banks in business areas such as enterprise account system construction, supply chain finance and auto finance.

So far, Weilai has completed nearly 935 million US dollars (about 6.5 billion yuan) financing this year, which is 4.8 billion yuan paid by strategic investors according to the plan on June 29. Weilai has accumulated hundreds of billions of yuan in financial support in more than half a year.

It is this continuous good news that constantly stimulates the stock price and pulls Weilai back from the gate of hell.

From where? PPT？ From the real products to the complete company system and product service system, after repeated doubts and setbacks, this new car-making company with the highest "customer satisfaction" has gradually stepped out of the "intensive care unit".

And this person, known as the worst person in 20 19, has now become the most "drifting" person in 2020. The smile on Li Bin's face gradually recovered.

Li Bin with a good personality.

As a secondary streaming media person who has been drifting on the edge of the automobile circle, my articles rarely analyze products and technologies. It is not difficult to find that I have been fascinated by the entrepreneurial stories of the big names in the automobile circle recently. Although I don't have first-hand interview materials, I am still willing to look for clues from various interviews, record, review and (unprofessionally) evaluate them and their products. For example, Mingshan Li and Li Xiang of Lifan, and Wei Jianjun of the Great Wall.

Perhaps I have always felt that it is more important to pay attention to people than products, especially those car companies that are deeply branded as founders. Sometimes, from them, we can see the development track and direction of an enterprise.

Let's talk about Li Bin first. Maybe when you get to know him, you will know him better. Below, I will briefly summarize it in a few words.

As the core figure of Weilai Automobile, Li Bin's first impression is the word "handsome". Of course, it can't be compared with the small fresh meat on the market now, but if you look at his youthful photos, you will certainly understand why his heterosexual relationship is so good, but he finally married the former CCTV anchor Wang Yizhi.

The second key word is "good", which is good for good people and everyone knows it. Li Bin provides the best experience place and the most meticulous service for the users of Weilai Automobile. He also likes to fly around drinking tea and chatting with users, and he can also get feedback from users on products in time.

I once saw a random interview with the owner of Weilai. The owner described this tireless "Brother Bin" with such commendatory words as easygoing, sincere, trustworthy and self-discipline.

If you are his employee, it is also a very happy thing (even if you are laid off). It is said that he gives employees more space and treatment than many traditional OEMs. Each employee has a travel expense of 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per year, which is earmarked for special purposes. Interns go to 300 yuan every day. Later, I heard that it was slightly reduced, but I was very touched that the boss had this heart.

From Easy Car to Easy Letter? From Bai Mo to Weilai, Li Bin freely switched between the roles of founder and trader. As a neighbor's "other people's child" and a friend's "Mr. Nice guy", he has now become a reliable young man in the hearts of some investors. I think if there is not enough trust, there will not be so many investors moving forward wave after wave.

The third key word is "inspirational". This is a story about a cowherd who was admitted to Peking University and changed his fate. It's really inspiring, but think about it, who among the "founders" of that generation doesn't have one or two touching stories? Li Shufu, a car madman worth 90 billion yuan today, was once a cowherd. They seized that era and walked into the spotlight with hard work and luck.

When faced with a major choice in life, he gave up the so-called bright road-secondary school, which his parents pointed out, and chose an uncertain road-high school. According to my later understanding, attending technical secondary school at that time meant that there was a high probability of assigning jobs after graduation; Second,? Rural hukou will also be converted into urban hukou. Short time, quick results.

If we go this way, Li Bin may become a member of a grain depot, and he will not be able to go to Peking University and become Li Yanhong. Li Guoqing's younger brother, The Godfather of Travel, is about to be rewritten, but I believe that even if it is not Li Bin, there will be Wang Bin and Liu Bin who will come out to write the travel story.

But in terms of personality, Li Bin should be unique. Twenty years ago, Li Bin founded Easy Car Network. Not long after that, affected by the bursting of the Internet bubble in Silicon Valley, investors decided to withdraw funds from Easy Car. At present, the company's funding gap is as high as? 400? how much is it? On the verge of bankruptcy. On the other hand, Li Bin decided to use his debt to buy investors' shares. Transfer the debt of easy car to yourself. Let investors exit safely.

Perhaps it is this fearless rationality and pragmatism, so on the road of starting a business, we can save the day in time. As we later know, where is Easy Car? 20 10? Is there a fairy tale ending? Easy Car is listed on NASDAQ. Become the first overseas listed car internet company. Market value exceeds? 10? A billion dollars.

This luck continued until Weilai was established, 20 14? Year? Li Bin had an idea. Want to enter the field of internet car making? Leading the creation of Weilai Automobile. He put his entrepreneur credit endorsement on it.

The most admirable thing is that Li Bin, as a successful serial entrepreneur, subscribed for shares with real money, which is extremely destructive to other venture capitalists. With this1.500 million, it is hard to say that people are big fools. After all, in this line, some people still use PPT to build cars.

From the financing process of Weilai, it can be seen that he is the most attractive entrepreneur among the new forces of building cars, and there is no one. If Li wants to meet Wang Xing, look behind Li Bin. Whether Liu and Lei Jun, who are not optimistic about the car-making industry, or Ma Yu, they have invested heavily.

Boots landed, finally? 20 18? Year? 9? Month? 12? God,? Weilai went public in the United States to ring the bell, becoming the second pure electric vehicle company listed in the United States after Tesla. Since then, Li Bin has devoted most of his time and energy to this work.

So ... what about Weilai, whom Li Bin loves so much?

Why don't you like Wei Lai?

First of all, from the market analysis, Weilai Automobile has taken a dangerous road.

I felt my conscience and asked if I was willing to spend 400 thousand to 500 thousand to buy a domestic tram. Is it too "pioneer"?

As we all know, high-end brands? It has always been the ceiling for the growth of China automobile enterprises. Weilai is in adolescence, although in the intelligent pure electric car track, Weilai is in the capital. There are certain advantages in technology and thinking, but the idea of breaking the monopoly of western automobile brands on the high-end market is still naive.

350,000 cars are a hurdle in the hearts of domestic independent brands and a heart disease. 500,000 cars are actually forbidden areas that ordinary independent brands dare not touch (except the red flag, which is unusual).

Because 350 thousand to 500 thousand cars are competing with BBA, ordinary independent brands, seeing BBA, just like CBA meets NBA, the ball has not been played, and it has been scared by half. It's hard to think. For this level of car, you have completely lost the brand, and no one recognizes the pile of equipment, no technology, and the design of soil and fertilizer.

Well, in a word, this market has almost become an independent forbidden area. Those big executives who think they have common sense and industry experience all come to a seemingly correct conclusion. Independent brands will toss the market to the range of 200,000 first. Going to a place with 500,000 yuan is tantamount to suicide.

It happened that Li Bin didn't believe in this evil. You said he was ignorant and fearless, and his sword was biased. He rushed in with a group of capital that seems to be quite ignorant of cars (the basic investment in Weilai in the early stage was the head VC of TMT in recent years) for 30 billion.

Weird gameplay, straight to the theme of 500 thousand. I know one thing for sure. On the day when Weilai just started to run wild, no one in the traditional OEM should be optimistic about Weilai.

This pessimism and contempt reached a climax when 20 19 Weilai began to spontaneously ignite. You said it's okay for rich people to play high-end markets under the impact of stimulus. If the product quality is not good, it is unreasonable.

Last year, there were three spontaneous combustion incidents in Weilai ES8 within two months. That dark time was really a "fire", at least, it was famous in the field of spontaneous combustion. Subsequently, Weilai Automobile launched a large-scale recall, which was also the first recall of the new domestic car-making forces.

Large-scale recall of problematic vehicles not only caused huge cost waste, but also caused a big blow to the reputation of Weilai Automobile, which made many consumers flinch.

Secondly, it is the financial report data that investors are most concerned about. Naturally, the books are constantly losing money. In 20 19, weilai automobile made a net loss of112.96 million yuan. Because the gross profit margin has been negative before, Weilai has been trapped in the strange circle of selling cars and paying for cars.

Of course, people who know how to build cars with new energy will not feel much loss. This is the old road that Tesla, the overlord of electric vehicles, has taken, but consumers will not think so. What they think is, Weilai's financial situation has been so poor in recent years, and if this continues, who will you ask for after-sales service in case of bankruptcy?

Moreover, what is disturbing is that Weilai is caught in the negative news of layoffs and the brain drain is serious. Indeed, for most companies, mass layoffs often seem to be a manifestation of the financial crisis.

Of course, the last one is that Weilai car owners have the most say, that is, they burn too much money. High manufacturing cost, high service cost and high marketing cost. Therefore, those car owners who have been touting Weilai are afraid to buy shares in Weilai. This is the bloody reality.

It is said that people who have driven Weilai cars are not too picky about the products themselves. The design, workmanship and quality of Weilai automobile are worthy of its price.

"Brembo's brake calipers, ThyssenKrupp's steering gear, Bosch's four-wheel drive system, Novelis's aluminum body material, Mobileye's visual chip, Iflytek's voice interaction, Fuyao's double laminated glass and so on." . I won't talk about the core technology, and I don't understand it.

Service cost and marketing cost are visible to everyone.

Li Bin once said: "Some comments on Weilai from the media are sensational, but the comments of users who bought Weilai Automobile are very high. Of course. We generally don't have negative comments on people who give us candy.

It is understood that every Weilai car owner has his own WeChat group, with 24-hour personal service. When something went wrong on the road, the Weilai team arrived at the first time, not to mention the "wet nurses" who sent electricity thousands of miles away, just like the butler service in a five-star hotel.

More than that, an electric car of 300,000 to 400,000 yuan is equivalent to a ticket for a high-end club, and it has joined the elegant lifestyle operation service circle such as golf, rock climbing and mountaineering. Throughout the year, all kinds of activities, ball games and parties continue.

I have no objection to Weilai Automobile pursuing emotional experience and exchanging service for brand reputation. For car owners, it is naturally happy. However, what is the price?

Moreover, although Li Bin is relatively low-key, the marketing of Weilai Automobile is extremely high-profile. On the day when Weilai ES8 was officially released, it included the whole Wukesong venue and some surrounding venues, including 8 planes, 60 high-speed rail cars and 160 buses. In addition, Weilai Automobile also invited Imagine, the best rock band in Grammy. Longcheng, this alone cost nearly 654.38 million yuan.

Another money burner is NIO? Houses (experience centers) have been built, all in the most prosperous commercial center of the city. The Beijing Future Center in Wangfujing Oriental Plaza is said to have an annual rent of 80 million RMB. Hangzhou Future Center, near the east bank of West Lake, is the only NIO located in a world-class scenic spot. House.

Even the shareholders behind Weilai Automobile are well known, such as Tencent, Baidu, Lenovo and Xiaomi, but they can't stand such consumption.

I can understand the idea that Weilai, as a new enterprise, wants to quickly put high-end electric vehicle brands into his mind, exchange money for time and make money at a loss. Although this style of play has gained many loyal fans, the speed of spending money has also stifled the confidence of a group of investors.

Fortunately, Wei Lai has been thinking about these issues recently. Wei Lai in the spotlight needs to pay the same growth price if she wants to win more applause.

Nowadays, Weilai seems to have ushered in its spring, and there are a lot of coldness in the market, but it does not mean that Weilai has a bright future.

The soaring share price of Weilai Automobile has little to do with the success of Weilai Automobile. At most, it proves that Weilai is rich again, and he can stay at the "poker table" with the endorsement of the gold owner.

This time, the gross profit margin has turned positive and crossed the line of life and death. However, Li Bin still can't and dare not take it lightly, and the challenges in the future will only get bigger and bigger. Weilai needs to be more cautious at every step in the future.

Che Tan Jun observed.

I have always felt that capital has eyes, and it can make rational choices. Although there are many people who are not optimistic about Weilai, the capital is still partial. As a person who is neither black nor pink, there are several facts and some opinions about Weilai.

First, changing electricity has always been a trump card that distinguishes Weilai from other new energy automobile manufacturers. Just like an ideal hybrid technology with an extender.

Before Weilai, BAIC had been promoting power exchange, but most of them were in the public sector, such as taxis and buses. Weilai, which mainly changes power for private cars, is still the only one.

In short, the power exchange technology is to replace the battery lacking electricity in the power exchange station with the fully charged battery of the same specification in the power exchange station. The whole process takes about three minutes, and the recharge time is closest to the refueling of the fuel car.

In such a fast-paced era, it is hard to imagine that charging takes half an hour, and apartments with charging piles are not popular. Combined with the development status of electric vehicles in China, quick battery replacement has become a rigid demand.

However, the biggest strategic significance of power exchange for Weilai has never been to replenish energy, but to implement the concept of separation of vehicle and electricity, separate the value of frame from the value of battery, and implement Baas (battery? As? Answer? Service) to standardize the business of battery management.

The most direct benefit of the separation of vehicle and electricity is that it can greatly reduce the expenses that buyers need to bear. Electric car batteries are expensive. If consumers choose Weilai electric rental business, they can save 654.38 million yuan in car purchase expenses, and the battery can also be paid interest-free on a monthly basis.

Another important reason why new energy vehicles can't compete with fuel vehicles is the low rate of preservation. The relative and absolute depreciation of the battery leads to the depreciation of the whole vehicle, which is a problem that all potential car buyers can't overcome. Power exchange fundamentally solved the problem of battery attenuation.

If the battery decays, the owner can change the power station for the battery that meets the standard at any time, and the maintenance, depreciation, renewal and other issues will be borne by Weilai. When a battery with longer battery life is released, the owner can also update his battery pack. So I think in a way, power exchange provides a continuous hardware upgrade.

It is said that third-rate enterprises make products, second-rate enterprises make brands and first-class enterprises make standards. Baas is a step for Li Bin to set industry standards. The framework of the story is very touching, but there are still several problems to be solved to tell the story well.

One is that it is impossible to unify standards at this stage. The battery standards of different car companies are different, with many battery models and different battery specifications. Now battery technology is still being explored and developed, and there will be no absolute leader in a short time, let alone a unified standard.

Secondly, the demand scenario of private car power exchange is too small to support the network effect. The investment in the early stage of changing the power station is large. If there is no high-frequency scene, it is not counted at all. It is not without reason that BAIC has been promoting power exchange for the public.

The daily driving distance of taxi drivers may be close to the mileage limit of batteries, so replacing batteries is the first and fastest way for teachers to replenish energy.

The distance that private car drivers travel every day is mostly commuting distance, and there is no need to change electricity. Moreover, Weilai currently has a small market share in the overall new energy vehicles, and the owner areas are scattered, making it more difficult to achieve scale effect and formulate standards.

Another problem that is the most difficult to solve is cost. You know, the construction cost of a power station is as high as several million yuan. Weilai Automobile has invested more than 500 million yuan in power stations, and only 139 power stations have been built so far.

The most realistic problem is the construction funds. In addition to the large initial investment, the return period of the power exchange mode is also a realistic problem that Weilai has to face. Weilai's power exchange station is only for Weilai's own models, and Weilai's user base is only about 50,000. It is obviously impossible to return to the capital within three to five years.

So in general, capital, sales volume and effect complement each other, and it is difficult for Wei to vigorously promote power exchange at present.

Second, I still want to talk about Weilai's sea fishing service. Tucao is tucao, but Weilai's service has played a certain role.

Weilai's policies and services are formulated from the user's point of view, so that users can form the consciousness of "one of their own", thus establishing a positive and stable relationship between people and brands.

If it is said that the brand maintenance users in the early stage, then the users who bought the car have spontaneously protected the brand. Many Weilai car owners will spontaneously spare no effort to share Weilai's advantages online. When there is "black" Weilai negative news, they will attack it in groups, and users will directly pay Weilai to rent billboards.

If you open the Weilai APP and browse the car owners' sharing, the community culture is no worse than that. This "family culture" also made Wei Lai eat the sweetness. During the epidemic, Weilai orders recommended by old users accounted for 69% of the total.

Li Shufu of Geely once described that "a car is not just four wheels and two sofas". Friends who like cars definitely disagree, but you can also see that the early understanding of cars is still based on hardware. What about future cars?

I think it will be an internet device, and we will spend more time with cars. Just like our mobile phones, it has become a part of our lives. Therefore, the competition in the automotive industry in the future is definitely not a hardware dispute, but a problem of systems and data, a problem of scenarios and a problem of our needs.

Who will be better in differentiated competition? Ideal focuses on products, Tucki focuses on research and development, and Weilai focuses on users. It can only be left to the market to test.

At this point in time, the situation in Li Bin is far from "calm". There is a division of Tesla Tiger and Wolf outside, and there is a new force to rob cars inside. As he said in his recent appearance, Wei Lai's situation is only "from intensive care unit to general ward".

However, for He Wei, with the support of capital, Wei Lai's future is gradually becoming clear. As for success or failure, victory or elimination, it is really impossible to draw a conclusion now, and it will be ten years before we can know.

* The pictures in this article are partly from the Internet.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.