Guangqi Honda announced the layoff of 900 people, and the BYD Formula Leopard responded to the fuel consumption test

Every reporter: Dong Tianyi Every editor: Sun Lei

1. JAC (SH600418, stock price: 17.27 yuan, market value: 37.72 billion yuan): On the evening of December 1, JAC announced that it signed the "Intelligent New Energy Vehicle Cooperation Agreement" with Huawei Terminal Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Huawei Terminal), which will be valid for 10 years from the date of signing. JAC said that based on Huawei's intelligent vehicle solution, the two parties will cooperate in product development, manufacturing, sales, service and other fields, and strive to build luxury intelligent networked electric vehicles, and meet users' needs for intelligent networked vehicles through continuous upgrading and iteration of cooperative models.

Comments: The cooperation between JAC and Huawei is a milestone in China's automotive industry. This move not only demonstrates JAC's open and cooperative attitude, but also indicates the rapid development of intelligent networked vehicles. With Huawei's smart technology, the two parties are expected to promote the high-end of the electric vehicle market, enrich consumer choices, and accelerate the realization of a smart mobility future.

2. Honda Motor (HMC, stock price: $31.170, market capitalization: $51.88 billion): Honda Motor said on December 2 that it would lay off about 900 contract workers at its Chinese joint venture, Guangqi Honda, due to a rapid shift to the electric vehicle market. A spokesman for Honda said the layoffs were equivalent to 7% of the joint venture's total workforce. Honda said that production was decreasing, so the dispatch contract was terminated.

Comment: Honda's decision to lay off employees reflects the challenges and costs of the automotive industry's transformation. While this change is a necessary adjustment towards the electric vehicle market, it also reveals the uncertainty brought by the technological transformation to traditional manufacturing employees, and highlights the human resource management challenges of the industry as it adapts to new trends.

3. Equation Leopard: Recently, a self-media blogger measured the fuel consumption of Equation Leopard Leopard 5 as high as 18 liters per 100 kilometers, which is far from the official propaganda and has aroused heated discussions among netizens. On December 2, Formula Leopard Auto's official Weibo issued a statement in response to the incident, saying that the recent related videos have formed a wide range of discussions on the Internet, which has had a bad impact on the brand's reputation and business development. For such malicious smear behavior, Equation Leopard will not tolerate it, and will directly protect the legitimate rights and interests of the brand itself through legal channels.

Comment: The Formula Leopard 5 fuel consumption controversy highlights the crisis of consumer trust in the automotive industry. The discrepancy between the exposure of self-media and the official data has raised questions about the authenticity of the products, and it also shows how auto companies deal with the crisis in the face of doubts.

4. Honeycomb Energy: Recently, Yang Hongxin, chairman of Honeycomb Energy, said at the 2023 Gaogong Lithium Battery Annual Meeting that in the case of excess in the whole industry, the lithium battery industry has shown two heavens: some lithium battery companies have more orders, and some other companies have fewer orders. Orders from battery and material companies are acceptable, but profits are not good. According to the current bidding situation, the price of energy storage cells continues to hit a new low. The overcapacity crisis will also continue until at least 2025.

Comments: Yang Hongxin, chairman of SVOLT Energy, made a speech revealing the current predicament and future challenges of the lithium battery industry. Overcapacity and price competition have led to industry differentiation, indicating the unevenness of the market adjustment period. This situation is a warning to the need for companies to improve technological innovation and cost control in order to maintain profitability and sustainability in a highly competitive market.

5. Aiways: Recently, the Qichacha App showed that on November 30, Aiways (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. added a bankruptcy review case, the applicant is Anji Automobile Logistics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and the economic court is the Shanghai Third Intermediate People's Court. According to relevant documents, Anji Automobile Logistics Co., Ltd. applied to the court for bankruptcy liquidation on the grounds that Aiways Shanghai Company could not pay off its due debts and obviously lacked solvency, and the case has now been filed.

Comments: Aiways' bankruptcy review case has exposed the financial risks in the automotive industry chain. With the intensification of competition in the new energy vehicle market, the phenomenon of tight capital chain is becoming more and more common among small and medium-sized car companies. This case may serve as a warning to the industry, prompting relevant enterprises to strengthen financial management and risk prevention and control to ensure sustainable operation.

6. BMW: On December 2, the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) disclosed that BMW North America recently announced the recall of 486 vehicles, involving some 2014 X3 xDrive28i, X3 xDrive35i, X4 xDrive35i, X5 sDrive35i and X5 xDrive35i. Due to a manufacturing defect, the driver airbag inflator may explode during deployment or cause sharp metal shards to hit the driver or other passengers, resulting in serious injury or death.

Comment: BMW North America's recall highlights safety hazards in automotive manufacturing. Although the decision to recall due to airbag defects involves a small number of vehicles, it is a matter of life safety, reflecting the great importance that automakers attach to product quality and consumer safety. This also reminds consumers to pay attention to car recall information and ensure driving safety.

7. Jiewei Power: Recently, a "Notice of Company Shutdown, Employee Vacation and Training" issued by Jiewei Power was circulated on the Internet. According to the notice, affected by objective factors such as the market and the upstream and downstream industrial chains, in order to ensure the sustainable development of the company's business, the management has decided to suspend work and production from December 1, 2023. The shutdown of Jiewei Power reflects the reality of overcapacity of power and energy storage batteries.

Comments: Jiewei Power's shutdown highlights the problem of overcapacity in the power and energy storage battery industry. This decision not only reveals the complex challenges of the market and the industrial chain, but also shows the company's coping strategy in the face of economic pressure. This situation provides an important reference for other companies in the industry on market adjustment and risk management.

8. Toyota Motor (TM, stock price: $192.740, market capitalization: $260.47 billion): On December 1, GAC Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd. filed a recall plan with the State Administration for Market Regulation, recalling more than 180,000 Highlanders from now on, the recall scope of the vehicle due to the engine electronic control unit (ECU) in the fuel injection correction control program is not perfect, resulting in the actual engine fuel injection may be lower than expected, resulting in the engine cold start speed instability, in extreme cases, the vehicle at low speed when the engine accidentally stalls, increasing the risk of being rear-ended, there are potential safety hazards.

Comments: GAC Toyota's large-scale recall of Highlander highlights the sense of responsibility of automakers on product safety issues. The recall due to fuel injection control issues reflects the importance of consumer safety, and such a proactive recall will help boost the brand's credibility, even if it may have an impact on sales in the short term.

National Business Daily