More than half a year after the release of the R-TECH high-energy intelligent body and the ES33 concept car, the SAIC R brand has ushered in another "big move" - officially announcing the brand Chinese named "Feifan Automobile". As a high-end brand under SAIC Motor, the R brand has continuously increased its market share since its launch, providing sufficient confidence for the Group to promote the development of high-end, intelligent and electrification. Now, the brand's Chinese name release will further enhance its visibility in the market.
In fact, this time, not only the Chinese name of the R brand was announced, but also a series of changes to the brand. The first is brand positioning, the R brand has now become independent from SAIC's passenger cars, and will adopt a new Chinese name of "Feifan Automobile" or "SAIC Feifan". The brand and Zhiji Automobile belong to the same level of parallel relationship.
Secondly, Wu Bing, who was the CEO of SAIC Mobility brand Xiangdao Travel, took over Yang Xiaodong as the brand CEO. In addition, product positioning, Feifan Automobile will focus on high-end new energy intelligent models with a price of 200,000-400,000 in the future, while the more high-end market will be laid out by the Zhiji brand. Together, the two brands will take on the heavy responsibility of SAIC's impact on the high-end intelligent electrification market.
It is worth mentioning that of the 7 billion yuan registered capital of Feifan Automobile, 6.65 billion yuan is funded by SAIC Motor, and the remaining 350 million yuan is held by employees, which will effectively motivate the enthusiasm of the team.
In terms of model layout, Feifan Automobile will launch a mass-produced version of the ES33 concept car in the second half of 2022, which is positioned as a medium- and large-scale pure electric SUV. As the brand's first product after the renewal, the Feifan ES33 is equipped with many advanced scientific and technological equipment. Previously, SAIC Zero Beam and Horizon signed a strategic cooperation agreement, and the two sides will cooperate in vehicle chips and vehicle operating systems based on Zero Beam Galaxy Full Stack 3.0. The results of these cooperation are implemented in the product, which will bring the global integration of "cloud, mobile phone, car and intelligent hardware" to the Feifan ES33.
Brother Rumble has something to say: Since its launch, Feifan Automobile has adopted a new design language, a new independent sales system, a new brand operation logic, etc., but this has not brought it too good market performance. Nowadays, Feifan Automobile is officially independent and has a new Chinese naming and positioning, and the "decentralization" of SAIC Motor group has enabled Feifan Automobile to have a greater independent voice and is more conducive to the sustainable development of the brand. However, as a nascent brand, how Feifan Automobile tells the "story" of high-end in the smart electric vehicle market and makes consumers accept it, which is quite a test of the ability of the marketing team. Brother Ruan hopes that SAIC Motor can occupy a place in the independent high-end camp, create high-value, high-quality models, and gain market recognition, rather than succumbing to sales pressure and once again participating in the shared travel market.