was launched on mega, Li Xiang's voice on Weibo became less and less frequent, and the once arrogant "King of Weibo" has now disappeared. However, just yesterday, a piece of news about Li Xiang's self-examination quickly became a hot search topic.
First of all, Li Xiang reflected on the rhythm issue of mega.
Li Xiang believes that Ideal Auto ’s misjudgment of the pace of pure electric strategy is the root cause of Ideal mega’s problems.
Li Xiang believes that Ideal mega and high-voltage pure electric vehicles must go through a stage from 0 to 1 similar to that of Ideal One and extended-range electric vehicles, and cannot have the operating potential from 1 to 10 as soon as the Ideal L series is launched. This is a misjudgment of the rhythm of pure electric strategy.
It was this misjudgment that allowed them to place mega in too high a position, causing mega and high-voltage pure electricity to be given too many marketing resources without commercial verification. This results in a "top-heavy" ideal sales strategy.
Secondly, the problem is that the entire team is too eager for quick success.
Previously, Li Xiang shared the launch trailer video of Ideal Mega in his circle of friends and compared himself to Steve Jobs. At this time, Li Xiang was so flattered by the KOLs that he mistook his pride for confidence. In the end, Li Xiang fell as hard as he was praised.
This mentality of eager for quick success has made the whole ideal forget the original intention of building a car, and everything is for the sake of sales. Can building a car with this mentality create a good car that consumers love?
What I have to admit is that the ideal of 2023 is indeed a bit too dazzling. It is precisely because of this dazzling quality that makes the entire Ideal brand feel a bit dazzling.
After the debut of Ideal Mega last year, Li Xiang bluntly stated that Mega will be the next hit model of Ideal Auto, and he is confident that it will become the number one product with sales of more than 500,000 yuan.
But the ideal is very full, and the reality is very skinny. The sales performance of mega was far less than expected. During this period, Li Xiang was also mercilessly attacked by his "big mouth" persona. Negative news about the ideal mega such as "coffin door" and "manual electric suction door" have emerged one after another, which has caused the reputation of mega to plummet. Mega's low sales and poor reputation hit Li Xiang's heart like a "boomerang".
This wave of misjudgments of the situation has indeed dealt a big blow to ideals. For ideals, market competition is far more cruel than imagined. For consumers, the ideal is not as "far ahead" as imagined.
In January 2024, the monthly sales volume of Ideal Auto was surpassed by wenjie for the first time. Ideal, which has been firmly on the throne of the new force for 23 years, smelled a sense of crisis for the first time. In the next April, the redesigned five-seater versions of the wenjie m5 and wenjie m9 will also be unveiled. Later, there is the Xiangjie s9 in cooperation with BAIC . The ideal pressure can be imagined.
There is no limit to the sea of suffering, but when you turn around, you will finally reach the shore. I hope Ideal can learn the lessons of the mega incident profoundly. Last year, Ideal delivered its best financial report. Whether it was gross profit margin or cash reserves, Ideal still holds relatively ideal chips in 2024. I hope this reflection can truly settle my ideals.
