Introduction: It is called the Gaohe HiPhi X.
According to data from China Passenger Car Association, the entire passenger car market has been significantly affected by factors such as chip shortages, leading to less “golden September”. In September, the retail sales of passenger cars was 1.582 million, an increase of only 9.1% from the lowest value in August, which is worth noting is the continuous explosion of new energy, with retail sales reaching 334,000 vehicles, a 33.2% increase from the previous month, with a penetration rate exceeding 20%, achieving a substitution effect on the fuel vehicle market and promoting the transformation of the automotive market to the electrification.
Among them, the sales of luxury electric vehicles priced above 500,000 yuan are particularly impressive. Data shows that the Gaohe HiPhi X, with sales of 641 vehicles, a month-on-month growth of 36.7%, has surpassed the famous Porsche Taycan and topped the list. The Gaohe HiPhi X not only maintains rapid growth but also is the first Chinese brand to top the sales of luxury electric vehicles in the monthly list. This not only reflects the advanced and hard-core technology and manufacturing strength of Gaohe but also means that Chinese intelligent production is really beginning to rise.
As the first Chinese automotive brand to top the monthly sales list of luxury electric vehicles priced above 500,000 yuan, Gaohe has been maintaining rapid production growth since it began mass production and delivery in May this year. Currently, it has delivered more than 2,000 vehicles in over 100 cities nationwide. At the end of August, Gaohe Automotive began delivering the HiPhi X 4-seater model, priced at 800,000 yuan, which is currently the highest-end new energy intelligent vehicle of Chinese brands.
With “smart cars, smart transportation, smart cities” as the strategic layout, Huachen Yuntong, which focuses on the future intelligent transportation industry, has made a series of operations from positioning, design, factory establishment, production, and delivery since its inception in 2017 by senior automotive professionals such as Ding Lei. It has to be said that this wave of speed is quite rapid. Ding Lei has also said that rather than better, it is better to be different. At the same time, he also emphasized: “Looking around today, the competition between traditional car companies and new car-making forces is not parallel competition but integrated forward competition. Facing the new era of automobiles 2.0, traditional car companies and new car-making forces must integrate innovation to forge new paths.”Regarding the HIPhi X breakthrough, it is built on the world’s leading HOA super body electronic and electrical architecture, utilizing advanced technologies including 5G data transmission, gigabit Ethernet, V2X, and 562 sensors. This not only enables massive data acquisition and transmission to other vehicles, people, networks, and infrastructure through cloud services, but also creates a new form of communication between the vehicle and the outside world, providing a sense of luxury, power, technology, and uniqueness. Behind this achievement lies the ideal of a new world of interconnected vehicles, roads, and cities.
For GAC’s HIPhi X, the September delivery data represents a preliminary foothold in the current market for new energy consumption. However, sustaining its top position still requires continuous observation in the face of competition from veteran automakers, such as Porsche, and the challenge of chip shortages. “The biggest bottleneck for me now is chip supply,” said Ding Lei, “If we didn’t have problems with chip supply, we would have even greater deliveries.” According to reports, HIPhi X contains about ten times the amount of chips that its counterparts have, mainly concentrated in programmable LED headlights. Overall, GAC’s achievements are well-deserved, but their pricing and sales positioning will inevitably affect sales.
Some analysts believe that if GAC continues to maintain high prices and only produces high-end products, it may follow in the footsteps of Porsche and experience restricted sales, but the company’s profit may continue to grow. Others argue that as the product line becomes more complete and widespread, production capacity is fully released, and sales channels and after-sales services networks are improved, HIPhi X sales are expected to rise. Ding Lei previously stated, “The mission and goal of our company and Huachen Automotive is to change the future of human mobility through integrated transportation and road systems, so that future people can enjoy better mobility. Intelligent automobiles are the first step for us.”In summary, as a Chinese luxury intelligent pure electric brand, GAC HiPhi was established with the original intention of targeting the high-end market. The first product, HiPhi X, is a standard large-sized vehicle body, which sets a good example for the high-end brand. Uniqueness is essential for high-end electric vehicles, and GAC HiPhi has achieved this aspect remarkably well, while also meeting consumers’ needs. GAC HiPhi has the confidence to target the high-end market of over 500,000 yuan from the beginning, with ultimate pursuit of design, luxury, performance, comfort and technology sense as well as personalization, which is promoting China’s new energy to make a breakthrough.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.