Weima becomes Guima, the App is forcibly disconnected, and financial executives suffer an internal crisis of trust

Shen Hui, who just celebrated his 53rd birthday a month ago, may be going through the most difficult period in his career.

From the frequent spontaneous combustion of vehicles to the exposure of forced power locks, to the current financial crisis and salary cuts for all employees, WM Motor, which was once comparable to Wei Xiaoli, is in deep trouble.

Even though Apollo is about to be listed on the Hong Kong stock market through backdooring, Shen Hui still borrowed the phrase "live like an animal" from the movie "Furong Town" to express his feeling of powerlessness.

Recently, some WM Motor owners said that the function of their WM Motor APP has been disabled for more than two weeks. Although the official customer service gave an explanation for the server failure, according to the Automobile Industry News, there is something behind it. The reason is that Weimar failed to pay the telecom operator on time and was forcibly disconnected from the network.

At the same time, someone posted an internal notice on social media that WM will suspend all employees without pay.

In fact, at the end of last year, Shen Hui confessed for the first time in a letter to all employees of the company that WM was experiencing a shortage of funds and its life was hanging by a thread. In order to cope with the financial pressure, WM announced a plan. A series of cost reduction measures include proactive salary reductions for managers at M4 and above levels, paying 50% of the basic salary, and 70% of the basic salary for other employees, canceling year-end bonuses and other bonuses, and suspending car purchase subsidies.

In the opinion of an insider, it is understandable that the company has encountered difficulties and made some cost-saving adjustments, but some directions are incomprehensible.

“For example, arrears with telecom operators and preventing so many car owners from using the App is simply a mystery. Without the support of these old car owners, Weimar would not be where it is today.”

On Weibo, many car owners also expressed their disappointment with Weimar.

A consumer who just picked up W6 less than half a year ago said that it has been almost a month since it prompted a server exception when logging into the APP. Sales were pushed to the manufacturer, but the manufacturer couldn't get through the phone and did not respond to manual messages.

“People’s money is not blown by strong winds. I really hope someone can take care of it.”

Weima W6 will be launched in 2021. This car is praised by Weima as “ "The first mass-produced smart electric model in China with autonomous driving function", the official price is 169,800-259,800 yuan. However, in the past two years, WM has not launched any new models, and the M7, which has been unveiled before, has also It was revealed that the listing was postponed indefinitely due to funding issues.

Some insiders close to WM believe that the departure of Du Ligang, a company veteran and former CFO, was the trigger for WM’s recent turmoil, and that a senior executive who subsequently took over the business did not understand it at all. In the automotive industry, many decisions appear amateurish and impersonal.

Weima, established in 2015, is the first brand among the new domestic car-making forces to achieve mass production and delivery. In 2019, its delivery volume ranked second after Weilai. However, sales have been deteriorating in recent years. Last year Only less than 30,000 new cars were sold.

In early January this year, WM announced that the prices of its entire series of models would increase by as much as 15,000-25,000 yuan.

Weima Motors said frankly in the announcement: "Survive" has become the industry's consensus, and "profit" has become the company's goal.

Although WM is not the only car company to raise prices at the beginning of the year, the paralysis in after-sales service has left countless car owners feeling chilled.

According to media reports, nearly half of WM’s showrooms in Shanghai have been closed, and only one repair shop is still open in Beijing. WM’s factory in Wenzhou has also been revealed to have stopped production due to no orders. .

A car owner in Zhejiang complained that his car had been parked in a 4S store for nearly three months because there were no spare parts, and said that he regretted buying a WM.

Of course, it is not all bad news for Weimar.

In January this year, Apollo Travel stated that it had completed a strategic merger with WM. According to the plan, WM will most likely be listed on the Hong Kong stock market in the second or third quarter of this year.

Subsequently, Weimar also disclosed three recent financings totaling approximately 2.01 billion yuan. This amount will also serve as an effective supplement to Weimar’s cash flow before its listing.

In the comment area of ??Shen Hui’s latest Weibo post, some people sent him warm birthday wishes, while others scolded Weimar for its inaction. Just like a person drinking water, he knows whether it is warm or cold.

Today, the success of the backdoor listing has been regarded as a "life and death issue" for Weimar in 2023. If you succeed, the game continues; if you fail, you may be out of the game.