Author |Shen Tianxiang.
Edit |Li Guozheng.
Produced by |Bangning Studio (GBNGZS).
At the time, if I knew all the things I knew now, I might have been afraid to do them. Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang said. He recently said in an interview with the American "Wired" reporter that if he is 30 years old now, he may not dare to start Nvidia because of fear. On February 23, Nvidia's market capitalization exceeded $2 trillion, becoming the fastest company in history to go from $1 trillion to $2 trillion in market capitalization — in just nine months. The 61-year-old Huang ushered in the highlight of entrepreneurial history. Success is often backed by countless sacrifices and hard work, Huang said. For entrepreneurs, this road is full of challenges and hardships. Working hard for long hours, facing doubts and denials from the outside world, insecurity, fragility, and even sometimes humiliation are all realities that entrepreneurs have to face. "CEOs, entrepreneurs, and others are all people. It's embarrassing when they fail in public. He said. Ding Lei, who is also 61 years old this year, is facing this embarrassment. The Gaohe car he founded is like lying in the ICU, in urgent need of rescue. 
On January 12 this year, Bangning Studio published "From a dark horse to a "Weima", can the 4-year-old Gao He survive 2024", which analyzed its crisis and fate. I never thought that it would become a prophecy, and it came so quickly, only more than 1 month later. On February 18, the first day of resumption of work after the Spring Festival in the Year of the Dragon, Gaohe Automobile held an internal meeting and announced that it would suspend production for six months. On the evening of the 22nd, Gaohe issued the "Announcement on the Guarantee of Recent Service Operations", stating that since February 19, the company's daily operations have made great adjustments, and various relief measures are currently being taken. At an internal meeting on the 22nd, Ding Lei appeared at the Shanghai headquarters, apologized to the employees, and said that the window period was only 3 months. "The next 3 months will be very difficult for Gaohe car, and I will not sleep for almost 24 hours. In the past few months, it has been a low point for me, and I have not been able to get out of a misunderstanding, and I can't beat the Internet with traditional business strategies. At the same time, he also revealed a message - some people in the outside world are interested in acquiring or investing in Gaohe. This may be the only turning point for Gaohe. A few days ago, there were rumors that Huawei intended to acquire Gaohe, but it was not confirmed. Will this illusion of a turnaround also be shattered? People don't know. 
Where do employees and users go?
Seeing the comments on Gao He on the Internet, I don't know what these people think, isn't Ding Lei worthy of respect and admiration?! On February 19, Daniel Zhang, CEO of Nezha Automobile, posted on social platforms to support Ding Lei, but deleted it soon after. After the outbreak of the Gaohe crisis, there was no shortage of crusades and voices on the Internet against Gao He and Ding Lei, and some people felt sorry, saying that Ding Lei was worthy of respect. Ding Lei's behavior of appearing at the headquarters and apologizing has been praised by many people, saying that with this behavior alone, Ding Lei is much better than those who run away after failing to start a business. The next day, the official live broadcast room of HiPhi Automobile opened a live broadcast of "Gao Family Has Something to Say", and Yang Yueqing, director of Hiphi Engineering Project, appeared to tell about the current difficulties encountered by Hihe, apologized to the owner and colleagues, and begged everyone to "give Gaohe some more time". During this time, he choked up and shed tears several times. 
However, the rules of the market are cruel, and the market economy does not believe in tears. Some industry insiders believe that in the fiercely competitive Chinese auto market, it is almost impossible for Gaohe to resurrect, even if it is a short-term "return to the light". First of all, the competition in the automotive industry is fierce, almost all companies are too busy to take care of themselves, and it is unlikely to take over this hot potato, and the capital market is becoming more and more cautious about investment in automobiles - Gaohe does not even have production qualifications, what can the receiver or investor buy from Gaohe? Secondly, the shutdown of Gaohe will definitely lead to the departure of many employees, including core talents. Even if Gaohe finds money to continue his life, he has lost his most valuable talent asset. Previously, some employees of Gaohe revealed that the company's policy was that the wages of employees before February 18 would be paid as usual; Employees who remained in Gaohe Automobile before March 18 will only be paid basic salary; After March 18, employees will be paid according to the minimum wage in the relevant region. Yang Yueqing said during the live broadcast that in order to ensure follow-up services with key funds, Gaohe has reduced the salary of internal employees to the lowest level, and stopped benefits such as social security and provident fund. Many colleagues can only get a basic salary of more than 2,000 yuan, but they still stick to their posts. An employee at the Yancheng factory in Jiangsu Province revealed that he could not enter the factory at present, and he had not received the wages and reimbursements he deserved. A recent employee said: "This situation requires us to leave voluntarily. We also had to go. If you don't leave, social security will be cut off next month. ”
In addition to the employees, there are also users of Gaohe Automobile. Previously, they spent nearly one million yuan to buy Gaohe's products, out of love for the product and brand, and of course hoped that the company would have a turnaround. Some car owners also launched the "Shanghai Gaohe Solidarity Activity" to support the Gaohe brand. Users are most worried about follow-up repairs. On February 22, Hi-Hop Automobile announced that it will ensure after-sales service, maintenance of IoV-related functions, vehicle control and community use of Hi-Hop app. At the same time, it will work with Yancheng Yueda Zhichuang New Energy Vehicle, a subsidiary of Jiangsu Yueda Group, to provide users with after-sales service guarantee. However, at present, the charging stations, charging pile installation, and APP charging functions (including free charging services) of Gaohe Automobile have been temporarily suspended, and the operation of APP points and ** has also been suspended. According to the information in the owner's rights protection group, now, many service consultants and supervisors of Gaohe have resigned, and some people can still be contacted in the morning, and their corporate WeChat accounts will be deactivated in the afternoon. "The after-sales center is all carried out by a third party, and Gaohe also owes them a lot of money. Some users said in the rights protection group. Gaohe users are about to encounter a similar dilemma as WM car owners. After the shutdown of Weimar manufacturers, its users can only repair in some roadside repair shops or online accessories for maintenance, and simply ignore the faults that have no accessories or are more expensive to repair. As for the upgrade of the car and other software, it is completely stalled. Some high-tech users are saving themselves. Some people are looking for the source of spare parts, and some people want to get the maintenance and inspection. "If Gaohe really falls, I hope that someone will take over the server, and then the car owners across the country can share (the cost) equally. "Someone in the group of high-tech car owners proposed. 
Basic parts and maintenance are more than difficult, but maintenance and upgrades at the software level are difficult, and this is precisely the soul of advanced smart electric vehicles. Some people regret Gaohe's death, some people snicker, some people sigh, and some admire, all of which are reasonable. But it is too early to talk about whether Gaohe is worthy of respect. After the three-month window period, how to repay the arrears of partners, how to solve employee problems, and how to deal with the aftermath of user services will truly reflect the responsibility of Gaohe. 
Consumers are more interested in the endorsement of major manufacturers
Since last year, new car-making forces such as Hengchi, Tianji, Weimar, and Aiways have been mass-produced and delivered, and have successively "exploded". So far, some have fallen, and some are still breathing. Who will be the next high-hop? Perhaps there will be more than one answer in a few years. On February 19, BYD, the world's new energy vehicle sales champion, launched a starting price of 7The 980,000 yuan Qin plus glory version kicked off the prelude to "electricity is lower than oil". This move will undoubtedly spread the war from new energy vehicles to fuel vehicles. The scale effect and profitability have helped BYD grasp the market pricing power. This time, it has set off a new round of ** war, so that the car market in 2024 will only be more volatile. 
Last year, only BYD and Li Auto were profitable among China's new energy brands, and the others were burning money, especially the new car-making forces that were reliable without big trees. Competition in the industry is accelerating, and the knockout competition is gradually escalating. Seeing the death of Weimar and the death of Gaohe, do consumers still dare to spend real money to buy new power brands full of uncertainty? "If I buy a new energy vehicle, I will choose to consider big manufacturers like BYD and Huawei (cooperation). "I'm thinking about Zeekrypton right now. NIO is also good, but the price point is relatively high. I don't think much about other new forces. "I do like the ideal, and if it doesn't have business problems in 5 years, I have no doubt about it." "The new energy brands backed by large groups, including VOYAH, ZEEKR, and AVATAR, are trustworthy, and no matter what happens, (the consequences) will not be too bad for ......usersThese are the feedback from the random interviews of Bangning Studio. This may indicate that the new energy vehicle brands (often referred to as "new car manufacturing capabilities") born in traditional car companies will usher in better opportunities. 
Recently, the sales of some new EV manufacturers have increased significantly. In January this year, Geely's Zeekr Automobile delivered 12,537 new cars, a year-on-year increase of 302%; Dongfeng's VOYAH delivered 7,041 new vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 355%; Changan's AVATR and Deep Blue delivered 7,059 and 17,042 vehicles respectively; BYD's Denza Auto delivered 9,068 vehicles; GAC's Aion sold 19,700 units. To some extent, these increases are related to consumers' car buying philosophy, which is becoming more and more important to the endorsement of large manufacturers, and even becoming the primary car buying factor. The endorsement of major manufacturers also includes Huawei, whose sales in January reached 32,973 units, even exceeding the ideal (31,165 units), and it seems that the gold content of Huawei's endorsement is very high. Now, will the untimely death of Gaohe affect consumers' views and choices of new forces even more? Because, in addition to the ideal of making a profit, the other new forces have one of the biggest suspenses - they cannot make a profit. If they continue to lose money, they can only withdraw once the funds are burned out. This is not a decline in the new forces of car manufacturing. In fact, in this group, there are some brands that have maintained industry-leading competitiveness, such as Xpeng's intelligent driving and Weilai's user thinking. Gaohe fell, and more consumers did not dare to choose the new forces. How to solve their worries? It has been suggested that special insurance policies could be introduced for car consumers to ensure basic services throughout the life cycle of the car. This idea is feasible and can be referred to, such as the deposit insurance system introduced by the state in 2015. But this is only an idealized approach after all. Far water can't quench your thirst. For new car-making forces, making profits as soon as possible is the "reassurance" for consumers to buy cars with confidence.