Wang Chuanfu's prophecy: China's future prospects and challenges.
According to Interface, on February 18 this year, the company held an all-staff meeting and said that it would suspend production for half a year.
After announcing the cessation of production, Gaohe also issued a statement that all workers' wages would be paid normally by February 18; Employees who are still working before March 15 will only receive the basic salary; Only employees after March 15 will receive the basic salary in Shanghai.
In other words, Gaohe's car is on a "cliff".
In fact, in January this year, there were news reports that Gaohe Automobile was about to stop production. In the shortest possible time, Gaohe Company stood up and explained: "The company is currently operating well. ”
Wang Chuanfu once said that the next three to five years will be the best time for the development of the new energy vehicle industry, and new energy vehicles will change from a blue to a red sea. Now it seems that the prediction of BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu (Wang Chuanfu) is gradually becoming a reality.
In the competition of domestic new energy vehicles, high-end areas will always be competitors.
Weilai, Ideal and BYD are not inferior to those old luxury brands in terms of high-end configuration, such as Gaohe, which once released a new car with 800,000 **.
Gaohe, formerly known as China Express, was founded by Ding Lei.
Ding Lei is a veteran driver who has been engaged in the automobile industry for more than 30 years.
He graduated from school in 1988 and joined SAIC, witnessed the rise and growth of SAIC, and finally served as the vice president of SAIC, enjoying a high status in the industry.
Jia Yueting has entered the field of new energy in 2015, and Ding Lei also joined LeTV and joined the ranks as the co-founder of LeTV's super car. However, with the announcement of LeTV's automobile industry, LeTV's funds had problems, and Ding Lei also resigned.
After Ding Lei resigned from LeTV, he established Huayuntong in 2017 and officially opened the road of automobile manufacturing.
In 2019, China Express launched its first "HiPhi" model. In 2020, the price of Hiphix will start at 680,000 yuan to 800,000 yuan, while the average price of NIO, which was originally known as a high-end company, is only 400,000 yuan, and Hiphix is enough to be called a "ceiling".
As for why "hold high and fight", Ding Lei explained: "The current number of cars in China is about 1.2 million units, and 30% of them are replaced by electric vehicles, which is 400,000 units, and there are not many models of 500,000 yuan, so as long as 10% of people buy them, the monthly sales will exceed 2,000 units." ”
Judging from the current situation, Gaohe Group has also achieved good results at the beginning.
According to relevant information, in 2021, Hiphix was only sold in the market for 10 months, and the sales volume reached 4,213 units; In 2022, the total annual sales volume of Hiphix reached 4,349 units, which remained at the same level as in 2021. Although the sales performance of Hiphix is average, it is still very competitive as a new energy vehicle with a starting price of 680,000 yuan and a maximum price of 800,000 yuan.
In November 2021, the company launched its second product, the Hiphi Z, which is between 600,000 and 000,000, and on December 21, 2022, the first prototype was produced in China.
However, HiPhi Z has not been able to replicate the glory of HiPhi X, according to the information released by major **, in 2023, the total sales of HiPhi Z will be 429 units, and by January 2024, the highest monthly sales will only be 100 units, which can be described as miserable.
After the failure of the Hiphi Z, the company released an even cheaper iphiy, but it failed to save the day.
On July 15 this year, Gaohe unveiled its third new car, the Hafei Y.
According to the description on the official website, there are four models of iPhoney, **from 339,000 to 44Ranging from 9,000, compared to the iphix, the phone's ** has almost been "cut in half".
The price reduction was small, but it was sold out quickly. From August to October 2023, Hiphiy sold a total of 1,021, 1,556 and 1,606 units, and the sales volume in the three months was basically the same as in 2022.
However, due to the fierce competition in the new energy vehicle industry, the iPhi Y did not continue to sell well, and it is reported that only 21 units of the Hiphix were sold in January, and the same is true of the iPhi Y and HiPhi Z, which sold only 136 units, and the iPhi Z also sold 75 units.
In the past, we have mentioned several times that car manufacturers that sell more than 10,000 units a month are the "life and death line" on the premise of survival, but now, Gaohe sells less than 300 units a month.
In fact, from the moment HiPhi was born, the fate of HiPhi Group was already sealed, because it was made up of three different models "pieced together", as if it were an "OEM car". For example, the power system of HiphiX uses Ningde ternary tertiary batteries, the front and rear motors are produced by Bosch, and the chassis is manufactured by Yueda Kia.
The only advantage of HiPhi is its appearance, such as the HiPhi Z's mecha style, and intelligent interactive lighting, but these are far from its price.
The reason why Gaohe Company has come to this point today is largely because its brand does not have enough market competitiveness. In addition, the fierce competition in the new energy vehicle market is also an important factor in the bankruptcy of Gaohe. At present, traditional automobile companies such as BYD and Geely Automobile are "moving upward", and new forces such as Weilai and Ideal have gradually formed their own characteristics.
In fact, Gaohe has already seen the light of day in 2022. In June, Saudi Arabia's financial sector and China Express signed a SAR 21 billion deal to establish a joint venture for the development, production and sales of automobiles. In early November, Interface News published another report,** revealing that a Saudi Arabian national wealth** is considering giving no less than 250 million to Chinese electric vehicle maker China Express for joint research and development of a new energy vehicle.
However, with the continuous expansion of the new energy vehicle market, if it is eliminated, it is almost impossible to re-enter the new energy vehicle market.