China’s WM Motor bets on factory expansion in push to get ahead in electric car market
The company will be entering a crowded field with a lot of local competitors, but says it plans to be the first to deliver vehicles on a mass scale
China’s WM Motor Technology, an electric car start-up founded by the former China head of Volvo Car Corporation, plans a 4.3 billion yuan (US$685 million) expansion of its factory near Shanghai as it aims to deliver affordable vehicles and get ahead of local competition.
The company, set up in 2015, plans to double the annual capacity at the recently commissioned factory in Wenzhou to 200,000 units, according to founder and chairman Freeman Shen Hui.
“We believe we will be the first among our peers to deliver a higher end EV product on a mass scale, by that I mean at least 10,000 units,” Shen said in an interview on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia last week.
The company has already spent 6.7 billion yuan at the plant to build a 100,000 unit-a-year first-phase production facility, which features “smart manufacturing” technology provided by German industrial hardware and software giant Siemens.
Shen said the technology integrates WM’s sales, materials procurement and production to improve operational efficiency and better meet customer needs.
WM plans to launch its EX5 pure electric SUV on April 20 at a price of less than 200,000 yuan, Shen said, adding it also plans to offer at least one new model annually – each selling at less than 300,000 yuan – from this year.
