Is the strategic investment about to be "resurrected"? Gaohe Automobile responded: All information is subject to the official announcement

Reporter Yang Rangchen and Quartz Jing report from Shanghai

(Gaohe Automobile's store in Changning Longzhimeng has been covered with "stay tuned" wallpaper.) Newspaper Reference Room/Photo)

(In mid-March this year, Changning Longzhimeng Gaohe Automobile Store still has a brand logo.) Newspaper Reference Room/Photo)

As the three-month self-help window is approaching, Gaohe Automobile, a new car-making force that exploded at the beginning of 2024, is standing at the crossroads of fate.

According to relevant media reports, Gaohe Automobile has recently received strategic investment mainly to enhance the company's R&D strength, optimize production processes and expand market share, and will resume work and production soon. At the same time, the report also said that there are 5 to 10 companies negotiating with Gaohe Automobile, and FAW Group may have signed a framework agreement with Gaohe Automobile.

In this regard, the reporter of "China Business Daily" asked Gaohe Automobile to verify that the relevant person in charge of Gaohe Automobile responded that the company has paid attention to relevant information and thanked everyone for their concern. "We have been working hard, but there is no information that can be disclosed for the time being, and all information is subject to the company's official announcement."

Regarding FAW Group's acquisition of Gaohe Automobile, Yang Yueqing, director of Gaohe Automobile's automotive engineering project, also posted a video response on Douyin a few days ago, saying that there are currently a lot of information fallacies, and further dissemination may bring unnecessary trouble, "It's like two people talking about marriage, and everyone congratulates them with a blessing mentality, but they get their object wrong." Yang Yueqing further said that this may affect some of the current cooperation with Gaohe Automobile, and the relevant information is subject to the official.

Since the thunderstorm at the beginning of this year, the offline stores of Gaohe Automobile have begun to shrink. A few days ago, the reporter visited and found that many of the offline stores of Gaohe Automobile in Shanghai have surrendered their leases.

A number of stores were surrendered

At the same time as rumors of strategic investment, a number of Gaohe Automobile's stores in Shanghai have been surrendered.

The reporter recently visited the Global Harbor Shopping Center in Putuo District, Shanghai, and found that the Gaohe Automobile Experience Store, which was originally located on the third floor, has been changed to part of Xibei Xiaomian Village. In addition, the Gaohe Auto Store in the new energy vehicle block of Longemont Shopping Center in Changning District was covered with wallpaper with the words "Stay tuned". In mid-March this year, when the reporter visited the store, although there was no Gaohe Automobile display, there was still the logo of Gaohe Automobile on the façade.

Despite the gradual shrinkage of offline outlets, Hi-Hop Auto has not stopped supporting online and after-sales services. The reporter noticed that HiPhi Automobile is still maintaining the operation of the "HiPhi" APP, and as of May 10, there are still users posting through the APP.

In addition, according to a number of high-tech car owners, high-end cars are still providing after-sales service. According to a maintenance post posted by a Gaohe owner on May 7, the delivery center of Gaohe Automobile in Jinqiao, Shanghai, is still carrying out after-sales repair services. However, the specific situation needs to consult the after-sales party, and at the same time, due to the reason of reducing costs and increasing efficiency, the original supply of coffee and snacks in the store has also been canceled.

Another Ningbo Gaohe car owner posted that the after-sales maintenance of Gaohe Automobile in Ningbo has been carried out normally, the owner said that when consulting after-sales service in March, the after-sales team replied that there was a lack of relevant accessories, but when consulting again in May, the after-sales team was able to provide maintenance services.

However, some Gaohe car owners in Hangzhou said that the after-sales team in their area currently lacks some accessories and cannot provide related services.

The reporter noted that in February this year, Gaohe Automobile said in the announcement of "Recent Service Operation Guarantee" that since February 19, the company will take the user's service operation, vehicle after-sales maintenance and other related work as the highest priority.

"Please rest assured that no matter how difficult it is, the company will do its best to ensure customer service together with its partners. However, during this special period, we apologize for pressing the pause button on some businesses and projects. If there is any relevant progress in the future, we will also report to you in a timely manner. Gaohe Automobile said.

A variety of ways to save yourself

In fact, after the thunderstorm at the beginning of this year, Gaohe Automobile is saving itself in a variety of ways.

The reporter noticed that Ding Lei, the founder of Gaohe Automobile, went to Chongqing to visit Changan Automobile shortly after the thunderstorm at the beginning of the year, and met with Zhu Huarong, chairman of Changan Automobile.

Zhu Huarong responded at that time that he was talking, but it was still too early to negotiate. The relevant person in charge of Gaohe Automobile also said for the meeting that Ding Lei visited Changan Automobile this time, and the leaders of the two sides made exchanges, but the content of the exchange was not clear.

Gaohe Auto's self-rescue may not be smooth sailing. According to the analysis of PwC's relevant report, with the general decline in the profitability of the industry and the lack of investment momentum, the activity of investment and M&A transactions in the automotive industry has decreased. However, PwC also said that with the gradual stabilization of the domestic and foreign market environment and the continuous emergence of new technologies and innovations in the domestic automotive industry, investment and mergers and acquisitions in the automotive industry are expected to usher in a gradual recovery.

In fact, in addition to Changan Automobile, new car-making forces such as AVATR and FAW Group are also rumored to be acquiring Gaohe Automobile. In this regard, AVATR previously responded that the news was not true, and the relevant person in charge of Gaohe Automobile said that it would not respond to this matter. In response to the rumors of being acquired by FAW Group, Yang Yueqing said through a video that there are many fallacies in information, and further dissemination may bring unnecessary trouble, which will affect some of the current cooperation of Gaohe Automobile.

In addition to looking for foreign aid, another way for Gaohe Automobile to save itself is live streaming. The reporter noted that from January 22 to April 23 this year, Gaohe Automobile conducted a total of 40 live broadcasts. As of May 10, Gaohe Automobile has sold more than 10,000 products through live streaming, including steak, green tea and other products, with more than 11,000 followers.

However, since May, Gaohe Automobile has not conducted a live broadcast, and its Douyin homepage information also shows that the live broadcast content is being "struggling to plan".

With the passage of time, there is not much time left for Gaohe Auto to save itself. In February this year, Ding Lei said at an internal meeting at the Shanghai headquarters that Gaohe Automobile has three months to save itself in the future. At the same time, Gaohe Automobile has also set up a temporary working group, "will do everything possible to save the company".

As the halfway point of May is approaching, the three-month self-rescue window of Gaohe Automobile is gradually approaching, and the fate of Gaohe Automobile will be in the future, time may reveal the final answer.

(Editor: Quartz Jing Review: Tong Haihua Proofreader: Yan Yuxia)