SAIC set up Feifan Automobile to operate the R brand independently, and sprinted to a new track with Zhiji

SAIC Motor (600104. SH) announced on October 29 that it will invest in the establishment of Feifan Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Feifan Automobile"), and separate the R brand of SAIC's passenger car branch, and Feifan Automobile will carry out market-oriented operations in an asset-light manner.

The registered capital of Feifan Automobile reached 7 billion yuan, of which SAIC Motor subscribed to contribute 6.65 billion yuan, accounting for 95% of the registered capital, and Shanghai Ruyi Automobile Technology Partnership (Limited Partnership) (employee shareholding platform) subscribed and contributed 350 million yuan, accounting for 5% of the registered capital. SAIC Motor said that Feifan Automobile is positioned as a "user-oriented data-driven technology company" and intends to achieve independent operation and self-financing by improving the "intelligent experience of automobiles and user scene mining capabilities", and exploring the use of innovative company operation methods, business operation models and market-oriented incentive and constraint mechanisms, hoping to become a new engine for SAIC's innovation transformation and development.

"The establishment of Feifan Automobile means that after the independence of R Automobile, it will become a company directly managed by the group and parallel to SAIC Passenger Cars." An insider of SAIC Told Reporters. In addition, it is reported that Wu Bing, CEO of SAIC's mobile travel strategy brand "Xiangdao Travel", has been appointed as the CEO of Feifan Automobile. The reporter tried to ask Wu Bing himself for verification, but as of press time, he had not received a reply.

R Auto is independently operated by Feifan Automobile, which means that in the future, Feifan Automobile and Zhiji Automobile will join hands to assume the heavy responsibility of SAIC Group's breakthrough in the high-end electric intelligent new track. In terms of positioning, R Auto will focus on the range of 200,000 to 400,000 yuan of high-end new energy intelligent products after independence, while Zhiji Auto will focus on the range of more than 400,000 yuan.

The automotive industry is facing pressure and opportunities for collective transformation. Previously, SAIC motor has launched two major independent passenger car brands, Roewe and MG, but these two brands are still concentrated in the price range of 100,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan, and in the more high-end intelligent pure electric market, SAIC passenger cars have a layout. At present, BAIC ARCFOX Polar Fox, Dongfeng Lantu, GAC E-An, Geely Krypton, etc. are all entering the intelligent electric vehicle market, bringing breakthroughs in technology and brand recognition to the original brand.

SAIC R Auto has released the pure electric coupe SUV ES33, ES33 will use Luminar lidar solution, equipped with ZF's PREMIUM 4D imaging radar, and will also take the lead in the application of NVIDIA DRIVE AGX OrinTM super computing chip. The model is scheduled to be produced at the Shanghai Lingang Digital Factory and is expected to be launched in mass production in the second half of 2022.

After its establishment, Zhiji Automobile has thrown out plans for independent operation and independent IPO, and it is reported that Feifan Automobile also has plans for an independent IPO. An independent IPO is also a plan currently owned by startups including BAIC Jihu, Dongfeng Lantu, GAC Aegean and Geely Kr. The reporter noted that at the same time as announcing the establishment of Feifan Automobile, SAIC Motor also announced the independence of its zero beam software branch, SAIC Motor Collective intends to invest in the establishment of Zero Beam Technology Co., Ltd., the registered capital of Zero Beam Technology is 3.7 billion yuan, SAIC Group subscribed to contribute 3.45 billion yuan, accounting for 93.24% of the registered capital; Shanghai Zero Liter Technology Partnership (Limited Partnership) (employee shareholding platform) subscribed to contribute 250 million yuan, accounting for 6.76% of the registered capital.

While announcing the independence of the two companies, SAIC Motor released its third quarter report for 2021, and the group's profit in the third quarter of this year fell by nearly 15% year-on-year to 7.036 billion yuan. In the first three quarters, SAIC Motor's net profit attributable to the mother was 20.35 billion yuan, down 22.24% year-on-year.

From January to September this year, the sales performance of the joint venture plate and the independent plate was further differentiated, among which the cumulative sales of SAIC Volkswagen in the joint venture sector were about 850,000 units, down 17.54% year-on-year; the cumulative sales of SAIC passenger cars in the autonomous sector were 495,400 units, an increase of 22.84% year-on-year.