User:Major Forest/Enovate ME-5

Overview
Envoate (Chinese: 天际汽车) is a Chinese EV start-up company, mainly producing electric vehicles. In 2015, Dianka Automobile Technology Co. Ltd founded Enovate in Zhejiang, China. The company first launched two models called the Dearcc EV10 and Enovate ME7. The production of the ME5 will start in 2022.

Regarding Enovate, the brand was founded in 2015 and launched its first pure electric SUV, the Enovate ME7, in September 2020. Last October, Enovate announced it had completed a new financing round of more than 5 billion Chinese Yuan. It is reported that this round of financing will be led by a local government industry guidance fund and large state-owned banks, and the funds will be used for follow-up research and development of new models, construction of sales channels and service system, brand marketing promotion and other work.

Specifications
ME5 is an electric compact SUV. There are two trim models available for the ME5. The base model is the ME5 1012, and the higher trim is—the ME5 1012 PRO. The specifications for both models remain the same, except the ME5 1012 PRO model offers an intelligent driving system. Both models offer the iMES intelligent range extension system, a high-efficiency intelligent power generation system. It adopts 1.5L naturally aspirated Atkinson cycle four cylinder engine, matching the first flywheel rotor integrated generator. It has good reliability, light weight and small size. The high efficiency overlap between the engine and the generator will offer high power generation efficiency.

Design
It is understood that the appearance of Enovate ME5 was designed by the former Porsche designer Hakan Saracoglu, head of the design. The appearance of the continuation of Enovate design language, a simple and modern design, the use of the "pioneer reconstruction aesthetics" design concept, the visual effect is very futuristic. In terms of details, the overall lines of the new car are rich and angular. The front grille adopts a closed surface and forms a penetrating design with the LED lamp belt under the front cabin cover, thus widening the horizontal perspective of the car.

Body proportion
ME5 breaks through the traditional proportion of the SUV. The new balance maximizes the cabin space. The ME5 offers 21-inch dynamic alloy wheels, which create a solid stance for the car. The sidelines of the body are very sharp, and the visual effect of the giant wheel rims is quite exaggerated, creating a good sense of sport as a whole. The overall shape of the tail echoes the design of the front and rear, with a strong sense of hierarchy. The taillight is integrated into the rear compartment door, recognizable when lit. The car's roof uses a dome-like canopy, and the visual effect is very transparent. In terms of body size, the new car's length, width, and height are 4580/1915/1635mm, and the wheelbase is 2750mm.

Interior features
In terms of its interior, Enovate ME5's cabin has a simple style, offering a combination of pure black and black-gray colors, geometric interior panels, and sporty seats. Officials say the car will also have a warm, color-changing atmosphere light inside. The center panel has a 14.8-inch display, while the full LCD dashboard measures 10.25 inches.

Autonomous system
As an electric model, ME5 highlights its philosophical aspects. Under this architecture, the new car creates an industry-leading smart technology cockpit. It has the unique magic-3D interactive interface at the same level, the industry's first 5+X screen instant connectivity technology, FaceME face recognition, AI intelligent assistant, ME Pilot intelligent driving system, and OTA upgrade of the vehicle, which can respond to the user's demand for mobile travel in all scenarios. Among them, ME Pilot intelligent driver assistance system contains 16 kinds of smart driver assistance application functions, including LDW lane departure warning, FCW front vehicle collision warning, BSD blind-spot monitoring, AEB active emergency braking system, LKA lane correction function, LCA lane change assistance system, RCTA rear crossing warning, TJA traffic congestion assist functions, coupled with C-NCAP 5-star safety standards to build the body, Enovate ME7 can be said to be fully equipped in safety, so that driving safety is more guaranteed.

Cooperation with JD
One of the most noteworthy aspects of Enovate ME5 is its integration into JD's service ecosystem. JD.com, Inc., also known as Jingdong, JD is a Chinese e-commerce company headquartered in Beijing. It is understood that as the first model of cooperation with JD, Enovate ME5 will create more intelligent technology based on users' car use scenarios, realizing one-stop cloud service functions such as car use, travel, shopping, entertainment and health. Previously, Enovate Auto has reached strategic cooperation with JD and will carry out in-depth cooperation in digital marketing, in-depth customization of intelligent products, intelligent travel and other aspects, and broaden the full-scene interaction capability of the cockpit with intelligent cockpit cooperation as the entry point.

The price of ME5 starts at 149,900 RMB, featuring the extended-range hybrid system, and the long-range mileage reaches 1012km. After purchasing this model, users can enjoy six free primary benefits, such as a lifetime free quality guarantee, lifetime free road service, software upgrade service, and a free-on-board charging gun. In addition, after Enovate cooperates with JD Group, consumers will also get an annual membership card and other car delivery gifts provided by JD Health service, which will further improve the cost performance of Enovate Auto.

Competitors
In terms of orientation alone, the ME5 is an extended-range compact SUV, slightly larger than well-known extended-range models such as ideal ONE, Lantu FREE, and Siris SF5. In the Asian market, the compact SUV is a very competitive segment. In the new energy market, there are fewer new products for compact SUVs, but more medium-sized and above, and more micro products. So the ME5 is facing a bright future.

Challenges
Enovate was founded on June 23, 2015, formerly known as Zhejiang Auto manufacturing enterprise Dianka Automobile, one of leEco Auto's investment projects in the automobile industry. In 2017, Jia Yueting, then chairman of LeEco, sold out his 35 percent stake in Dianka Car after the company's funding chain collapsed. Zhang Hailiang took over the stake, then CEO of LeEco Auto, who became chairman of Dianka. Since then, some of leEco's employees in China have also moved to Dianka.

In 2017, Dianka launched an entry-level electric car with a range of 155km, and in 2018, an upgraded model with a range of 320 km. Perhaps because this product has not been recognized by the market, in 2019, Dianka auto announced the plan to create a dual-brand, launched the high-end brand "Enovate", and launched its first model, Enovate ME7, in 2020. Although from the point of view of the establishment time, Enovate Auto entered the market in a timely way, it did not make any waves in the market. After all, it is difficult for consumers to accept a car enterprise making a transition from the field of cheap electric vehicles to the area of high-end electric cars.

Entering 2021, "Internet + manufacturing" has become the new form of the automobile industry. In this context, Skyrim Auto also reached strategic cooperation with JD and launched its second model, Skyrim ME5. However, the launch of the new car and JD's marketing support did not improve the sales of Enovate. From January to September this year, the cumulative sales volume of Enovate cars was 1,156 units, while the sales volume of Enovate ME5 was only 27 units, according to Datso. This is a far cry from Zhang's 2020 target of 20,000-30,000 Enovate cars being sold a year later and 40,000 by next year.

Liu Hao, an auto analyst, said, "The current new energy market is polarized. High-end models with a price of more than 200,000 yuan are in one category, and low-end alternative models with less than 100,000 RMB are also in one category. Although there are fewer competitors in the range of 100,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan, the brand awareness of Enovate ME5 is stronger than that of Enovate. That's why Enovate didn't sell any cars."

In addition to weak brand strength, positioning confusion is also a big problem for Enovate cars. Just from the data information released by Enovate Auto, the two models have commendable points in appearance, interior decoration, and configuration. Still, they are much worse in terms of cost performance. Take Enovate ME7 as an example. Its price is as high as 2388-269,800 RMB, and in this price range, BYD Tang EV's endurance has reached 565 kilometers, GAC Aian LX's endurance also reached 520 kilometers, 500 kilometers higher than the horizon ME7. And in terms of intelligence, Enovatei auto's automatic parking also needs to be optional, and more than 100,000 yuan of autonomous models have been standard with automatic parking. Zhang Xiang, an auto analyst, said, "It's not an era when you can build a car and sell it. Many automakers have their unique labels, such as NIO's electric-switching mode and XPENG's autonomous driving, but Enovate has not shown its unique competitive advantage."

Hoping for a successful listing will change the situation.

Some analysts believe that Enovate does not have its own characteristics because the research and development fund is not enough. If it can get more capital, Enovate may also stand out. According to The State Council released on October 26 "2030 carbon peak action plan", new energy vehicles in 2030 accounted for 40%, showing a significant dividend in the new energy market. From the side, new energy vehicles will also be the focus of the capital market. When the window for the car manufacturing business is about to close, no money means backward technology research and development and marketing channel construction, and it will face the possibility of being eliminated at any time. As a result, IPO financing has become a way for new forces to survive. The same is true of Skyrim Auto, which is also on the agenda for an IPO as capital continues to be injected.

Enovate has raised about rmb10bn since its inception, according to Enovate. LeTV invested tens of millions of yuan in 2015. In 2017, Xingzheng Capital invested hundreds of millions of yuan to participate in angel round financing; In 2018, Enovate Auto obtained A pre-A round financing of 2.5 billion yuan. In April 2019, Shanghai Electric invested more than 2 billion yuan in participating in the funding A-round. In July 2019, November 2019, and May 2020, Enovate Auto also received three rounds of equity financing from Shenglong Investment, SoftBank China Capital, and Minsheng Securities, with an undisclosed amount. The last public financing information of Enovate Auto was in October 2020, which was led by local government industry guidance fund and large state-owned banks, with a total investment of 5 billion yuan. Zhang Hailiang said: "Enovate auto adheres to a timely and appropriate financing strategy and will use the funds efficiently and rationally. With the completion of a new round of financing, the company's follow-up new model research and development, retail space construction, service system improvement, and brand marketing promotion will accelerate. And we have the capital to sustain us until we go public."

In January 2021, Zhang Hailiang said that he had started the pre-IPO financing round simultaneously, and relevant work was in total progress and planned to go public in 2021. However, by the end of the year, Enovate has not made any disclosure. In this regard, Zhang Xiang said: "In the case of new car manufacturing forces such as NIO automobile and Ideal Automobile have been listed, the capital market has a clear view of the prospect of new energy vehicles, investment heat is also cooling, car companies are now listed more difficult than before."

From the impact of the science and technology innovation board, we can see that the capital market will not easily invest without excellent sales. Moreover, even if the launch is successful, the problems of Enovate car will not be rectified in a short time. Its current difficulties also indicate that the survival of the fittest has entered the final stage of the new force of car manufacturing, leaving the second and third line of new force car manufacturers no longer having much time.