Founded in 2019, HiPhi is currently facing major financial difficulties. The Chinese manufacturer will pause the production of its electric cars for a period of at least six months, but that’s not all.
In recent years, Chinese manufacturers have been expanding en masse and invading the European market. Some are particularly doing well, like BYD, which recently became the number 1 in electric cars in the world. We also think of MG as well as Nio and Xpeng, among others.
A critical situation
But not everyone knows success story as great, quite the contrary. In fact, others are experiencing great difficulty surviving in an increasingly competitive market. We think, for example, of Aiways, which had to review its strategy in order to survive following major financial problems. Others have even simply gone bankrupt, like Byton or the little-known firm WM Motorthe automotive subsidiary of Chinese real estate giant Evergrande.
But another manufacturer is currently in a very delicate situation at the moment. This is HiPhi, a young brand which was founded in 2019 by the Chinese company Human Horizons. The latter currently markets no less than three models, and was particularly talked about for the excellent performance of its HiPhi Z in the winter autonomy test, even surpassing the Tesla Model 3. But behind appearances, nothing is going right. for the firm.
This is what the site says Car News China, which relays an internal mail sent to employees. The latter indicates in particular that he will interrupt production of its cars in its one and only factory, located Yancheng, north of Shanghai. A complete closure, which should last at least six months, but which would therefore only be temporary. Even if this obviously does not bode well for the young brand.
But that’s not all, because the latter also indicates that she will reduce the salaries of its employees. Thus, those for the month of January would not be paid before the end of February. Regarding those of this month, no date has yet been communicated, since it is under discussion. Employees who decide to stay with the company in March will only receive 70% of their pay.
Great difficulties
But the situation is expected to continue to deteriorate. And for good reason, from March 18, all employees will receive a minimum wage, depending on local legislation. Which corresponds in some way to the minimum wage in France. Worse still, the manufacturer indicates in the internal mail that “ if you want to pay social security, you must resign before February 25 and pay social security yourself, because you can’t pay social security while working“.
All this obviously does not bode well for the manufacturer, which has been experiencing difficulties for several months already, without really admitting it. The firm has in fact denied having sent their employees home without them being able to leave with the company’s computers to continue working. She explains that only some of them wanted to leave early for Chinese New Year. Moreover, several showrooms have already closedparticularly in Chengdu and Guangzhou.
It remains to be seen how the company could now bounce back, while competition is increasingly tough, in China as elsewhere. Currently, there are more than 94 electric car manufacturers in the Middle Kingdom, while some now want establish a lasting presence in Europe. Currently, the HiPhi Y constitutes the entry level of the brand, with a price displayed from 339,000 yuan, or approximately 43,708 euros.
A price which would of course be higher if the vehicle arrived in France, which should not be the case for a certain time. Because for the moment, the manufacturer’s situation does not really lend itself to optimism and there is no doubt that its international development is no longer its priority for the moment.