Geely's HiCar to Receive 6 Billion Yuan Investment: Urban Channel Recruitment Plan Launched
Each reporter Sun Lei Each editor Pei Jianru Intern editor Yu Tingting
As the carrier project of Geely Group and Huawei cooperation, HiCar has made new progress recently.
Recently, Geely Group held a mobilization meeting for the development of HiCar. "HiCar is the key node in Geely's deepening cooperation with Huawei, carrying the 'Geely manufacturing + Huawei intelligence' advantages to challenge the high-end intelligent new energy vehicle market, and is an important part of the 'Bao'an Action' reform." said Feng Xingya, Chairman of Geely Group.
It was also reported that Geely's subsidiary, Guangqi Eain, plans to invest in HiCar Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as HiCar), with a stake ratio not exceeding 30%.
Regarding this, HiCar told the reporter of Every Day Economic News that "we also saw the news online and are currently further understanding it."
On August 13th, Geely Group announced that its subsidiary, Guangqi Eain, is planning to invest 6 billion yuan in HiCar. After completing this investment, Geely Group will directly hold a 71.43% stake in HiCar and indirectly hold a 28.57% stake through Guangqi Eain.
HiCar has planned two car models
On March 18th, Geely Group invested 15 billion yuan to establish a new company, HiCar, which officially launched. Subsequently, Geely Group indicated on its interactive platform that HiCar is an important carrier of Geely's strategic cooperation with Huawei. Notably, HiCar was fully owned by Geely Group, and Huawei had not yet participated in the capital.
"In a stable cooperative state, Huawei and we have different divisions." said Geely Group. HiCar will deeply integrate the advantages of Geely Group and Huawei in areas such as intelligence, ecology, and branding, and build a new process based on Huawei's IPD (integrated product development) and IPMS (integrated product marketing and sales) system experiences.
Feng Xingya said at the 2024 Geely Group Investor Performance Explanation Meeting held on March 29th that for the management process and organizational structure of HiCar, Geely Group and Huawei will create a new cooperative model to meet consumer needs and achieve success in new business fields.
"If there is no organizational guarantee or unclear division of labor, Geely's cooperation with Huawei will often produce many differences due to different concepts, operation methods, etc., which cannot solidify into a stable cooperative mode." Feng Xingya said at the above Investor Performance Explanation Meeting.
According to reporters, Geely Group and Huawei will adopt a new management model called "main battle main build" to respond more efficiently to market demand and shorten product development cycles. To ensure cooperation success, both parties will clarify responsibilities, with Huawei responsible for consumer insight and product definition, and Geely Group focusing on car research and production.
In terms of products, HiCar has planned two models: a sedan and an SUV, with power options including pure electric and extended-range. The expected launch date is next year. Both new cars will have styles similar to current 20 million-plus market hot brands, but targeting the 30 million-level market.
Urban Channel Recruitment Plan Launched
Feng Xingya said that in response to this cooperation with Huawei, Geely Group has taken a new approach, establishing a new company and setting up a new channel. According to reports, HiCar and Hongmeng's business model differ mainly in terms of the responsible party for sales work – Hongmeng's business model is managed by Hongmeng's sales companies, while Geely and Huawei's cooperation model has a new team responsible for sales.
On August 8th, HiCar announced that its urban channel recruitment plan had officially launched. The priority cities will be divided into five zones: East, South, West, North, and Central, covering cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Changsha, etc.
According to reporters, HiCar will adhere to the principle of "few merchants, many stores" in terms of channel layout. The store form will be based on a "1+N" channel model, with "1" representing user centers located mainly at core car city commercial areas; and "N" representing experience centers located mainly at commercial and supermarket areas.
Regarding recruitment conditions for the channel, HiCar has set four requirements: nationwide top 100 car dealers or regional well-known dealers with experiences in luxury brands or mainstream new energy brands; having a sufficient reserve of professional personnel; and possessing core car city commercial area resources. In terms of site requirements, HiCar requires that stores be located at cities' TOP3 car commercial areas or core city regions; street face width must be greater than or equal to 25 meters, with a suggested width of over 30 meters; and the floor area must be greater than or equal to 2000 square meters, with a suggested area of over 3000 square meters, and having a Class II or higher maintenance qualification.