MEGA order volume falls short of expectations, Ideal Motors (02015) encounters a "Waterloo"

In the morning session on March 19, LI AUTO-W (02015) stock price opened significantly lower and continued to decline, falling more than 9% as of the time of writing. According to media reports, the number of orders for the Ideal Automobile MEGA model is lower than expected, and sales targets may be adjusted downward. It has been half a month since the release of MEGA, and the official data on orders for MEGA and the L series have not been disclosed by Ideal. According to an exclusive report by "Late Auto", Ideal expected around 3,000 orders for MEGA within 24 hours, but the actual result fell short, only achieving half of the target. In the first half-month after the release of MEGA, nearly 4,000 orders were received, while the monthly production capacity of MEGA at the factory is 5,000 units. According to previous reports by Caixin, the large orders for the new electric car model MEGA from Ideal did not exceed ten thousand, and the number of small orders converted to large orders is limited. Within 72 hours of the launch, about 3,218 units of MEGA were ordered, but there were also 10,297 cancellations. Ideal Automobile had high expectations for MEGA, with an annual sales target of around 80,000 units and a monthly average sales target of nearly 8,000 units. In response to the poor sales of MEGA, Ideal Automobile CEO Li Xiang explained earlier that the performance of MEGA orders was affected by "cyberattacks". Previously, Ideal MEGA had faced unprecedented controversy and turmoil on the internet due to its unique design. It was reported that on March 2, users such as "Mature Kitten" on the Today's Headlines platform maliciously edited images of the new MEGA model, adding words like "coffin" and "new energy hearse" to the body. For Chinese people who value auspiciousness in all things, the attack of instilling the concept of a "coffin" onto a car could potentially create negative emotions among potential consumers, leading to their aversion to Ideal MEGA, thus putting Ideal MEGA in a difficult position. Institutional analysis believes that the unsatisfactory number of MEGA orders is partly due to its high price, exceeding 550,000 RMB, making it a high-end model among domestic new MPV models, but not particularly outstanding in terms of product features. On the other hand, the relatively novel design of the new car has led to polarized opinions, as not everyone can accept this design language. Bloggers generally believe that Ideal should return to reality and provide a more realistic pricing to survive better. There are market rumors that the core management of Ideal Automobile is considering lowering the sales target to 50,000 to 60,000 units, but no final decision has been made yet.