China** Daily reporter Wen Xi.
Gaohe Automobile, which is rumored to have "stopped work and production", finally spoke out.
On the evening of February 22, the first "thunderstorm" of the new year, the new car-making force, released a "recent service operation guarantee announcement" on its official APP. In the announcement, Gaohe Automobile admitted that it is currently making every effort to take various relief measures, and at the same time pressing the "pause button" on some services.
This is also the first time that Gaohe Automobile has recently made a public statement. This statement also confirms the fact that he is already standing on the "edge of the cliff". There is widespread speculation in the industry that Gaohe may become the next "falling" new force in car manufacturing after Tianji and Weimar.
Speak out on the cusp of the stormThe founder shows up
Gaohe Automobile has been on the cusp in recent days. On the evening of February 22, Gaohe Automobile finally issued a "Recent Service Operation Guarantee Announcement" in response to recent market speculation.
In the announcement, Gaohe said frankly that in the face of internal and external pressures and challenges, the company's daily operations have been greatly adjusted since February 19, and various relief measures are currently being taken. Gaohe said that during this period, it will make every effort to ensure the user's service operation, vehicle after-sales maintenance and other related work as the highest priority.
According to the announcement, during the special period, the company is actively coordinating resources and striving to ensure that the after-sales service of Hiphi vehicles, the maintenance of related functions of the Internet of Vehicles, the vehicle control function of Hiphi APP, and the community section can be used normally.
However, the service of Gaohe charging stations, charging pile installation, and APP charging functions (including free charging services) will be temporarily suspended, and the issuance of APP Hi Bei points and Gaohe Choice** will also be temporarily suspended. Wait until the follow-up resources are in place before turning it back on.
At the same time, this new car-making force said that it will also work with Yancheng Yueda Zhichuang New Energy Vehicle, a subsidiary of Jiangsu Yueda Group, a strategic partner, to provide users with after-sales service guarantee.
It is worth noting that it is reported that Ding Lei, the founder of Gaohe Automobile, appeared at the Shanghai headquarters on February 22. He admitted that the company was speechless when he encountered this situation, and the window period for Gaohe Automobile to turn over was at most three months. "At present, there are many companies out there that are interested in Gaohe Automobile, acquiring or investing. He said.
The next 3 months will be very difficult, and I will not sleep for almost 24 hours. In the past few months, I have been at a low point, and I have not been able to get out of a misunderstanding, and I can't beat the Internet with traditional business strategies. Ding Lei said.
There have been rumors of arrears, work stoppages, and salary cuts for a long time
Looking back on the past, the market has repeatedly reported that Gaohe Automobile has defaulted on commercial payments, layoffs and salary cuts. At the beginning of January this year, Gaohe once again reported that it would "suspend all work", including stopping shipments and stopping the development of new projects.
However, Gaohe Automobile immediately refuted the rumors and issued a statement through social platforms, saying, "The company's operation is normal, and various tasks such as R&D, production, marketing, and delivery are progressing normally." ”
Gaohe also said at the time that the original platform had deleted the post and warned the member who posted it, and the misinterpretation of the relevant information had caused serious damage to the brand reputation of Gaohe Automobile and misled the society, and the company had reported the case to the public security department.
However, after the Spring Festival holiday, rumors of "thunderstorm" struck again. On February 18, Gaohe Automobile once again reported that it had stopped work and production for 6 months.
At the same time, in terms of employee salaries, it is reported that the wages of employees before February 18 will be paid as usual; Employees who remained in Gaohe Automobile before March 15 will only be paid basic salary; After March 15, employees will only be paid their Shanghai basic salary.
All the information seems to indicate that this new car-making force is facing a "banging down".
Previously, there was little news of the lack of money in the market. Ding Lei made it clear at the beginning of the establishment of Gaohe: "Human Horizons has the original capital from the United States, as well as the first investment, and there is no plan to start social private placement for the time being, and there will be no A, B, C, D rounds of investment." ”
Born in the high-end
Sales are "hard wounds".
From the perspective of the industry, the main reason behind the business difficulties of Gaohe Automobile is the long-term poor sales.
Human Horizons, the operating entity of Gaohe Automobile, was established in 2017. At the beginning of its establishment, the Hiphi X model launched by Gaohe Automobile was a sci-fi shape, giving people a refreshing feeling. Relying on this model, Gaohe Automobile focuses on the high-end luxury car market of 600,000-800,000 yuan.
However, in the C-end market, Gaohe Automobile has always been "applauded". According to public data, in 2021 and 2022, the cumulative annual sales of Gaohe Automobile will only be 4,237 and 4,349 respectively.
Subsequently, Gaohe Automobile tried to "put down its body". In December 2022, the Hiphi Z, the second model of HiPhi, was officially delivered, with a price of 610,000 yuan to 630,000 yuan. The Hiphi Y, the real volume model, will be officially delivered at the end of July 2023, and the price will drop to 3390,000 yuan.
But in the whole year of 2023, the sales volume of Gaohe Automobile will only be 8,681 units. And in December 2023, according to the data of the passenger association, the new force sold only 564 cars. Such sales volume is obviously difficult to support the normal operation of a new energy vehicle company.
In November 2023, it was reported that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth, Saudi Public Investment (PIF), was in talks to invest at least 2$500 million. At the same time, PIF may buy a stake in Human Horizons at a valuation of $3 billion. However, at present, it seems that the probability of this investment finally landing is not large.
There has long been a consensus in the market that the competition between new energy vehicle companies will be more fierce this year. From the perspective of the industry, weak new power car companies will face a more severe survival problem. Prior to this, new forces including WM Motor, Tianji Motor, and Aiways have fallen one after another. Gaohe Automobile, on the other hand, is facing the risk of being the next out.
Editor: Xiaomo Review: Muyu.