There are countless new car companies, but only a few can make an impression.
It has been five years since its establishment, however, I believe that many people still feel unfamiliar with this brand, because it is not very loud in the market.
According to the data, Hechuang Automobile, formerly known as GAC NIO New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd., was jointly held and founded by GAC Group, GAC New Energy, NIO Fund, NIO and the founding team. The development of this car company, which attracted much attention at the beginning of its establishment, was not all smooth sailing. In August 2022, Shanghai NIO Automotive Co., Ltd. withdrew from the ranks of shareholders of Hechuang Company. At this point, NIO officially withdrew from Hechuang Automobile.
Hechuang received another capital increase from shareholders
Recently, GAC Group issued an announcement that the board of directors deliberated and approved the proposal to increase capital to Hechuang Automobile, and agreed that the company and its subsidiary GAC AION will increase capital to the shareholding company Hechuang Auto according to the current shareholding ratio of 4.46% and 20.54%, respectively, with capital increases of 107 million yuan and 493 million yuan, respectively.
However, there was also a small episode in this capital increase, which was not unanimously approved. Guan Dayuan, director of GAC Group, abstained from voting on the proposal, believing that the future development of Hechuang Auto is uncertain and suggesting prudent investment.
Indeed, in the domestic automobile market, Hechuang Auto is an obscure brand. According to data from the Passenger Association, in 2022, Hechuang Auto delivered a total of 18,240 units, of which the highest-selling model was Hechuang Z03, with a total of 17,219 units. The sales of the other two models, Hechuang 007 and Hechuang A06, are almost negligible.
For Hechuang Automobile, which is backed by GAC Group and Zhujiang Investment Management Group, this achievement is not impressive. Hence the abstention of directors. Guan Dayuan's attitude may also represent the current views of some investors on the development of Hechuang Automobile.
Especially in 2023, the withdrawal of national subsidies coupled with Tesla's frequent price adjustments and the strong counterattack of traditional automobiles, new energy vehicle companies may enter the "knockout competition". In this context, Hechuang Automobile, born with a "golden spoon", has not been able to appear a product that can hit with monthly sales of more than 10,000, which inevitably makes the outside world pessimistic about its prospects.
What does GAC like about Hechuang?
It stands to reason that such a dou that cannot be supported, GAC Group should stop the loss in time, but why should it add Hechuang?
This starts from the beginning of the establishment of Hechuang Automobile, as we have mentioned earlier, Hechuang Automobile was originally the original "GAC NIO", which was first established by GAC and NIO. Only later GAC focused on Aion, NIO slowly faded out, and introduced a new strategic investor Zhujiang Investment Management Group, which became a major shareholder, which was renamed Hechuang Automobile.
Therefore, strictly speaking, the Hechuang A06 launched at the end of last year is the first model of Hechuang Automobile. Hechuang 007 is actually a product of GAC's NIO period, so from this point of view, Hechuang Auto can be regarded as a new start after welcoming new shareholders, so GAC's capital increase behavior can be understood. This is one of them.
Second, for GAC, Hechuang Auto actually undertakes the task of sharing excess capacity for GAC. At the end of 2021, Hechuang Automobile acquired a 49% stake in GAC Passenger Vehicle's Hangzhou plant through auction. Then, Hechuang Auto made great efforts to migrate its blockbuster model Hechuang Z03 to Hangzhou production.
Third, the joint venture between traditional state-owned automobile groups and private enterprises is a useful attempt. For example, Changan has Avita, SAIC has Zhiji Automobile, and GAC can only have Hechuang Automobile. Obviously, GAC has no reason to give up Hechuang at present.
But even if it doesn't give up, it doesn't mean that Hechuang Auto can successfully stand on its feet.
Can the capital increase solve the urgent needs of Hechuang?
With the entry of new energy vehicles into the stock market, without excellent product strength and insufficient brand halo, no one can take a piece of the big cake of new energy vehicles.
Take the Z03, which currently has the highest sales volume of Hechuang, as the first model after Zhujiang Investment Management took over, what is in sharp contrast to the 300,000-level Hechuang 007 is that the Hechuang Z03, which is positioned as a compact SUV, sets the price between 132,800 and 168,800 yuan, and begins to explore the route of "price for quantity". But this car, in addition to being cheap, is not outstanding enough in all aspects, so that monthly sales are only maintained between one and two thousand.
At the end of last year, Hechuang Auto launched its first coupe model, the Hechuang A06. The starting price of Hechuang A06 is 179,800 yuan, which is positioned higher than that of Z03, but this pricing is just in a new energy market of 200,000 yuan, and the competition is extremely fierce.
The delivery volume of the A06 in the first month of operation was only 456 units, and the delivery volume fell to 65 units in January. Putting aside the appearance design, after all, turnip greens have their own love, and in terms of core technologies, such as electric drive, battery, and electronic control, Hechuang A06 does not have eye-catching competitiveness.
In today's market where Tesla wants to reduce prices, it may be difficult for A06 to break through in the 200,000 range. First of all, in terms of traditional car companies, BYD Seal, Changan Deep Blue SL03, in terms of core technology, after-sales service and even brand image reputation, have comprehensively crushed Hechuang A06; Secondly, among the new forces of car manufacturing, the Xpeng P7, which has excellent intelligent performance, will also have a critical impact on the Hechuang A06. It can only be said that in the high-end new energy market, the absence of core technology and high-end brand image is the biggest original sin.
To sum up, perhaps the 600 million capital increase is only in exchange for Hechuang Auto to continue to be safe and sound this year.
Ma Yue:
With the official withdrawal of new energy vehicles in 2023, brand competition has become more intense. Whether it is a traditional car company or a new force in car manufacturing, it will launch new models in order to compete for the market. Under the background of low brand awareness and insufficient product strength, the heavy task of Hechuang Auto is more difficult. It is foreseeable that the gap between Hechuang Auto and other new energy brands has widened, and it will face more severe competitive pressure.