This article is the 452nd original work of deep diving atom
Gaohe Automobile, a company born in the "chaotic world", in just a few years, constantly provoked people's cognition of high-end electric vehicles, from an obscure enterprise, after the launch of Gaohe HiFi X, it became famous and became a ceiling product of domestic trams.
Since the launch of its first model, HiPhi X, in May 2021, Gaohe Automobile has been defining itself with expressions such as "the new world's first technology luxury brand" and "the new ceiling of China's luxury brand".
Every month, Gaohe Automobile is particularly keen to announce that "it ranks first in the segment of more than 500,000 luxury brand electric vehicles". But what about actual sales? According to the data released by Gaohe itself, the cumulative sales volume of 4237 vehicles in 2021, of which the cumulative sales from July to December were 3724, successfully winning the sales champion of luxury brand electric vehicles of more than 500,000 yuan in the second half of the year.
But throughout the history of the car, no brand can survive on the sales of hundreds of vehicles per month, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini in the end have not been acquired. Therefore, the data of hundreds of vehicles a month is really a drop in the bucket for Gaohe Automobile, not to mention that Gaohe does not have the background of Rolls-Royce, and it is impossible to talk about culture and feelings.
Therefore, The opening and closing of Gaohe is not simply to bring more high-end products in the electric vehicle market, from the perspective of the capital market, Gaohe's intention is to "cut leeks".
There are only two companies that can sell electric vehicles for more than 700,000 yuan in China, one is Gaohe and the other is the future car that has collapsed. How long can Gaohe last?
01
High imitation Jia Yueting
How bold people are, how productive the land is, in the field of new energy, all kinds of forces cross-industry car manufacturing, car names are various, not to mention, the price is also subverting people's imagination.
Gaohe founder Ding Lei, who had worked with Jia Yueting earlier, although later left Faraday Future. But his car-making dream was not shattered, and after finding a suitable investor, Gaohe Automobile came into being.
Perhaps it is the trust and admiration for Boss Jia from the bottom of his heart, Ding Lei is very keen on the word "ecology". In addition to the vehicle business sector of Gaohe Hiphi, Ding Lei has also repeatedly talked about the story of his three-wisdom strategy of building smart cars, smart transportation and smart cities.
In Ding Lei's eyes, Huaren Express is not simply building cars, but creating revolutionary new energy intelligent products and system solutions that lead the future travel mode of mankind, and is committed to changing the future travel of human beings. This is slightly similar to the LeTV ecology that Jia Yueting once talked about, or even more grand, but at the same time it is more out of reach.
The exterior styling of Gaohe's first model, HiPhi X, is also very coincidentally similar to Boss Jia's FF91 model. To say that they are not the same car is indeed hard to believe. Looking at the picture, both models have cancelled the door handle, the entry method is also from the B-pillar swipe card to enter, the steel and aluminum body, air suspension, interior layout is also similar.
△ Gaohe vsFF
In the face of doubts, Ding Lei said that there have been 69 different modeling categories in the history of automobiles, and he is the 70th, because the past car shapes are bound by engines, and the High H1 HiPhi series has no engine, so it is possible to try a new design.
But when the seemingly gorgeous appearance is peeled off a little bit, what is left of Gaohe? The only thing left is boss Jia's shell of FF91.
Some insiders pointed out pointedly, "Although the HiPhi X model is large enough and has enough doors, there is nothing particularly attractive, which means the lack of core competitiveness." Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, believes that it is not in line with the current high-end demand for young gold collars of electric vehicles.
The owner's summary is more straightforward, Gaohe HiPhi X does not have a rear entertainment system, lidar cannot be upgraded, computing power and chips are outdated next year, B-pillar does not have a side-view camera, and the chassis performance may not be as good as BMW's tuning of the chassis of the same size.
02
Can Gaohe Auto catch up later
In theory, gaohe pricing can be as much as you want, as long as the enterprise and the user both you like me, even if the price is 10 million, as long as someone pays money to accompany it.
The pricing of Gaohe above 500,000 yuan seems to be careless, and the actual purpose is clear.
The pricing of Xiaopeng P7 and BYD Han differentiates the inherent market of the traditional 3/4/C of BBA; THE ES6/ES8 and the ideal ONE differentiate the Q5/X3/GLC. Then you will find that the Q7/X5/GLE market still has few challengers.
Gao He, at a glance, took a fancy to this place. But unfortunately, the heart is here, and the foot is not heeled. Just like we would certainly think that Starbucks mineral water can be sold more expensive, but if it is more expensive than hand-brewed coffee, then we would rather choose coffee than high-end water.
Back to Gaohe, there is currently no killer tool to completely crush the Q7/X5/GLE in this price range. The only chance that Gaohe can still make special posters now is that the BBA has not yet matured in this price range.
In addition, from the perspective of enterprises, the delivery volume is actually a decisive factor in whether a company can develop for a long time and have a user base, at present, 50% of China's passenger car sales are concentrated within 200,000, which is a figure that any car company has to take seriously.
High-end products can only exist alone in the future, and users will not easily pay for it, let alone an electric vehicle worth nearly one million. Today, the second model officially announced by Gaohe is HiPhi Z, which will be released next year and will start at about 500,000 yuan, which is not a low-end model.
△ Gaohe Automobile
Time is the most important thing for any company, and occupying a larger market in a shorter period of time is the most important thing for the current new car-making enterprises to gain market share.
On the contrary, if it takes a long time to occupy a smaller market, fundamentally it is only futile, according to the development logic of the new forces car manufacturers, Gaohe is doomed to not go on for a long time, so where is the future of Gaohe?
Car building is cruel, inside and outside the circle, almost many people say so, and countless cases also confirm this view and conclusion. Brands that once had brief highlight moments have fallen on the road ahead and left a trail of chicken feathers. And those past goals, grand plans, and logical ideas will eventually be defeated by reality.
"No shortage of money" Gaohe Automobile can be said to be a magical existence in the new forces of car manufacturing. Four years of unhurried start to deliver the first mass production car, with high prices in exchange for sluggish sales, but did not fall on the capital chain. Li Bin and He Xiaopeng will cry silently when they see it. Ding Lei once said in public: "Huaren Express (the parent company of Gaohe Automobile) has original capital from the United States, as well as government 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."
But the time comes to 2022, and it is reported that Huaren Express is considering listing in Hong Kong as early as 2022, intends to raise no more than $500 million, and is cooperating with UBS and Morgan Stanley on IPO matters. I don't know whether it is the landlord's family that is short of money, or the hot money in the capital market. After all, I have been losing money, and sooner or later I will be flustered. Especially after the delivery of Gaohe HiPhi X, Huaren Express also needs a lot of funds to build channels and improve efficiency, and gradually improve its hematopoietic capacity.
It is undeniable that Ding Lei, who has been in the automotive industry and political and business circles for many years, is very good at telling stories and packaging brands. But as more and more new entrants enter, and traditional luxury brands have begun to exert their strength, in addition to the cool-looking packaging and inflated prices, how Gaohe will follow up to turn the high-held "technology luxury" slogan into reality and break the outside world's doubts, far more important than the false name of the high-end ceiling, which is a hundred times more important.