Weltmeister (marque)

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]

Weltmeister
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

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.

In October 2023, WM Motor filed for pre-restructuring as the company struggled for cash.[3] According to founder Shen, the company was hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic than other newcomer EV manufacturers, as their factories had just started at this time. In addition, the lean manufacturing did not hold up with supply issues during the pandemic. Meanwhile, rivaling XPeng and Li Auto had already secured large investments just before the pandemic, combined with rising parts costs as inflation rose globally, the company entered a dire financial situation.[8] With fierce competition in the domestic market, the company started exporting its vehicles, claiming sales in Israel, Dubai, Turkey and Southeast Asia.[9]

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.[10]

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.[8]

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 E5
  • Weltmeister EX5
    Weltmeister EX5
  • Weltmeister EX5 Pro
    Weltmeister EX5 Pro
  • Weltmeister EX6 Limited
    Weltmeister EX6 Limited
  • Weltmeister W6
    Weltmeister W6
  • Weltmeister Evolve Concept
    Weltmeister Evolve Concept
  • Weltmeister Maven Concept
    Weltmeister Maven Concept

References
  1. "Chinese EV startup WM Motor raising at least $288 million from Baidu, others: sources". Reuters. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  2. Newby, Jack (29 March 2018). "Weltmeister's Smart SUV Rolls Off 'Record-Breaking' Production Line". Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  3. "Chinese EV startup WM Motor files for pre-restructuring". Reuters. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  4. "Major shakeout in Chinese electric cars seen by top startup". Nikkei. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  5. "Weltmeister EX5: first electric car from $1 billion Chinese company you've never heard of". Green Car Reports. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  6. "Freeman Shen". www.credit-suisse.com. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  7. "WM Motor gets production qualification via Polarsun Automobile". Sohu. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  8. "探访威马黄冈基地：老实造车的"冰与火"". www.guancha.cn. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  9. sina_mobile (25 September 2023). "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？". finance.sina.cn. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  10. "WM Motor delivers first batch of EX5, to hand over 100,000 EX5 cars next year". Gasgoo. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
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