On February 26, local time, Ideal Motors released its fourth-quarter and full-year results for the year ended December 31, 2023, before the U.S. stock market.。

Performance data show that in the fourth quarter, the ideal total revenue of 417.300 million yuan (RMB, the same below), up 136.4%, an increase of 20.3%。Among them, the vehicle sales revenue is 403.800 million yuan, an increase of 133.8%, an increase of 20.1%。

On the earnings side, the ideal net profit is 57.500 million yuan, up 2,068.2%, an increase of 104.5%。Gross profit was 97.900 million yuan, an increase of 174.4%, an increase of 28.0%。The company's overall gross margin for the fourth quarter was 23.5%, compared to 20 in the fourth quarter of 2022.2%, 22 in the third quarter of 2023.0%。Gross vehicle margin for the fourth quarter was 22.7%, 20 for the same period in 2022.0%, and 21 in the third quarter of 2023..2%。

Thanks to a surge in earnings, ideal free cash flow reached 146 in the fourth quarter..400 million yuan, an increase of 349.4%, an increase of 10.7%。

In terms of delivery data, total ideal vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023 were 131,805, up 184.6%, a record high。

Ideal Auto-W surges today, driven by strong results。By the close, Ideal was up more than 25% at 175.2 Hong Kong dollars。

The Ideal Car Goes Forward 2023

For the ideal, 2023 can be said to be a landmark year。

First, the ideal delivery data skyrocket in 2023。In 2023, in the face of fierce competition in the industry, Ideal won the championship in SUV sales of more than 300,000 yuan in the Chinese market and the championship in new energy vehicle sales of more than 300,000 yuan with three SUV models (Ideal L7, L8, L9).。

Ideal cumulative deliveries for the full year 2023 reached 376,030 vehicles, up 182 from 133,246 in 2022.2%, becoming the first Chinese new power car company to cross the 300,000-car annual delivery mark.。As of December 31, 2023, the cumulative delivery volume of Ideal Cars has reached 633,364, with a total of 467 retail centers covering 140 cities, and operating 360 after-sales repair centers and Ideal Car Authorized Sheet Spray Centers in 209 cities。

The significant increase in sales data also helped Ideal turn a profit in 2023.。Ideal Auto's full-year revenue in 2023 enters the era of hundreds of billions of dollars, with total revenue up 173 year-on-year.5% to 1,238.500 million yuan。Net profit reached 118.100 million, compared to 20 in 2022..Net loss of $300 million。Gross profit increased by 212.8% to $27.5 billion, with gross margin from 19% at the end of 2022..4% to 22.2%。At the end of 2023, ideal cash reserves had increased to $103.7 billion。

Ideal is also the first of the three new energy vehicle companies to turn losses into profits.。Although the other two fourth-quarter earnings have yet to be released, both companies recorded losses of about $4 billion in the third quarter of last year.。In addition to the loss, the gross margins of Weilai and Xiaopeng are not satisfactory.。In the third quarter of last year, Weilai's gross profit margin was less than 10%, Xiaopeng was even more "miserable," and the gross profit margin fell directly into negative territory, both of which were far from the ideal gross profit margin of more than 20%.。

At a time of rapid business development, Ideal was included in the Hang Seng Index as a constituent stock on December 4, 2023.。Ideally, this reflects investor recognition of the company's business performance and investment value。

Ideal: This year will be the product year

Looking forward to 2024, Ideal said that this year will be the product year of Ideal Cars, with 4 extended-range models and 4 pure electric models, a total of 8 models to meet the needs of home users.。Among them, the ideal home technology flagship MPV - ideal MEGA will be officially released and delivered in March, and the ideal first model under 300,000 yuan - L6 will also be launched in April。In addition, the ideal L7, L8, L9 will also usher in 2024 models。

The ideal L7, L8, and L9 currently on sale are all extended-range models, which are still hybrid vehicles in essence, and the ideal MEGA is a pure electric model.。Ideal said that the company's two self-built factories currently have a clear division of labor.。Changzhou manufacturing base is used to produce extended range models, while Beijing manufacturing base is actively preparing to produce ideal MEGA。In addition to the ideal MEGA, the remaining three pure electric models will not be available until the second half of this year。

In addition, in line with the development strategy of pure electric models, Ideal said that the company will continue to accelerate the layout of the 5C overcharge network.。As of December 31, 2023, Ideal had built 307 overcharge stations along highways across the country, exceeding its target of 300.。According to the company's plan, by the end of this year, Ideal will have built 700 highway supercharging stations, covering 70% of China's highways and 90% of the highways in the four major economic zones (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Greater Bay Area, Sichuan-Chongqing).。Urban charging stations will also be expanded simultaneously, with more than 1,300 urban charging stations expected to be completed by the end of this year.。

For the first quarter of 2024, Ideal expects vehicle deliveries of 100,000 to 103,000 units, up 90.2% to 95.9%, lower than analysts expected。Previously, Ideal had disclosed its January delivery figures.。Ideal delivered a total of 31,365 electric vehicles in January, which means that in the following February and March, Ideal's monthly sales reached between 34,317-35,817 vehicles to complete the target。

It's worth noting that Ideal's January data, while up 106% year-on-year, was down 38% month-on-month.。This is related to the car market coming to the off-season。Generally speaking, China's auto sales are usually weak from January to February each year, and the extension of the Spring Festival holiday has a greater impact on production and sales.。

Li Xiang: There is no plan to manufacture models under 200,000 in the next five years.

Although the first quarter guidance is weak, Ideal has great confidence in sales for the rest of the year。

Zou Liangjun, senior vice president of Ideal, said on a conference call that Ideal MEGA and the 2024 Ideal L7, L8, L9 will be released and delivered in March.。"It can be said that we will gradually enter a new product cycle.。And with the gradual introduction and delivery of these more competitive new products, we expect the ideal monthly delivery volume to exceed 50,000 units in March and 70,000 units in June.。"

With so many new cars to be delivered on the market, Ideal is also well prepared for capacity。Ideal Auto President Ma Donghui said the company's progress in developing several new models is in line with the development plan。In manufacturing, the company has completed ahead of schedule capacity planning for the plant, construction of the plant and production lines, and recruitment and training of blue-collar workers.。On the supply side, Ideal has also prepared a capacity strategy and risk analysis for supply in advance, and has developed a plan for the identified risks.。"2024 is indeed the ideal year for new products to come to market, and we are confident to ensure the stability and timeliness of production and delivery.。"

During the conference call, the ideal executive also revealed a lot of heavy information。

Li Xiang, chairman and CEO of Ideal Motors, said that looking ahead to the next five years, the company's entire product plan is currently no more than 200,000 models.。Li Xiang believes that if by 2030, Ideal can occupy a third of the market share in China's more than 200,000 home user car market, it can achieve more than a trillion-dollar level of revenue.。If the overseas market develops well, the company can reach a level close to the global operating income of iPhone in the market of more than 200,000 home users alone。

"In my opinion, this is a huge gold mine.。Li Xiang said, "Today we have only eaten a small part of this gold mine, there is no need to distract our energy to look elsewhere, we should make the family market of more than 200,000 more popular in the world and gain more and more market share."。I think it's our most important choice。"

Li Xiang also shared the Ideal executives' forecast for the next auto market at the meeting: "We think that in the fourth quarter of 2024, the 200,000-plus new energy vehicle market, I think there will be a situation that you can't imagine - that is, there will be three brands with heads that can gain nearly 70% of the market share by the fourth quarter of this year.。We can verify by the fourth quarter of this year。He added, "Overall, we will deliver 800,000 vehicles in this year's challenge year, achieving the goal of being the number one luxury car brand in the Chinese market."。All the teams in the company are ready for this.。"

As for entering overseas markets, Zou Liangjun said on the phone that one of the company's goals is to accelerate the development of overseas markets.。Zou Liangjun said, "We hope to establish a direct sales business model in overseas markets, focusing on building a strong sales network and comprehensive and integrated after-sales service infrastructure for ideal cars in overseas markets.。"

In addition, Zou Liangjun also shared the ideal recent business development process in the Middle East market.。He said Ideal has begun recruiting local sales and service teams in Dubai and plans to establish a dedicated after-sales service network for Ideal cars in Central Asia and the Middle East in the first half of this year.。In the first quarter of this year, the company will introduce the ideal L9 and L7 models to the local market and start delivering them.。However, these two models will be combined with the local environment and policies to make some changes。

In terms of intelligent driving, Ma Donghui, President of Ideal Motors, said: "In the second quarter of this year, our Max models will be unmapped, and the city NOA will be open nationwide. The scope of use is no longer limited by the number of cities, and it can be upgraded to all AD Max vehicles.。In terms of ordinary models, we will also use the BEV model to upgrade the high-speed NOA function to improve the experience of high-speed ramps and lane changes。Ma Donghui said: "We can say with great confidence that the ideal automotive intelligent driving products and R & D capabilities in 2024 are definitely among the best in China."。"