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We had to smile when we passed a Chinese exhibitor stand at the Beijing Auto Show in 2018, where electric vehicles from the German Weltmeister brand were on display.
At that time, no one spoke German at the Chinese manufacturer’s exhibition stand. So is English. It was only through a translator that we learned that Weltmeister was the start-up WM Motor Technology, founded by Freeman Shen in January 2015. Founder Shen chose the German name Weltmeister as his company’s brand name because he once intended to employ German engineers.
Five different models
In the fall of 2016, Shen had a manufacturing facility built for the world champions in Wenzhou, China, designed to produce around 100,000 electric cars annually. Almost two years later, the time has come and the first world champions have rolled off the assembly line. Launched in 2018, these electric SUVs called EX5 were optical copies of vehicles based on the previous Chinese model. The EX5 was followed a year later by the larger EX6. The third model, the world champion W6, was launched in 2021, and the mid-size sedan E5 was launched shortly after. Introduced two years ago, the Weltmeister M7 was Weltmeister’s latest innovation.
Corona and battery fires
After that there were only negative headlines. Strict coronavirus quarantines, rising material costs and incomplete supply chains are putting pressure on production and sales. Battery fires have also led to many recalls. As a result, sales and production collapsed, production was halted and layoffs occurred.
Just seven months ago it was said that Weltmeister had overcome the difficulties and would continue production with the help of the government. But this attempt has now definitely failed. The world champion recently filed for bankruptcy in Shanghai.
More startups are at risk
According to various experts, Weltmeister will not be the last Chinese automaker to file for bankruptcy. Many new automotive start-ups have been established in China in recent years. Although demand remains high in the world’s largest auto market, not all of these young companies will be able to survive the fierce competition with huge discount wars and price cuts. Seen this way, Weltmeister’s bankruptcy may be just the beginning of a series of subsequent bankruptcies.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
