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According to a report on the official Wechat account RoboX on March 14, SAIC insiders revealed that Feifan would cut more than 70 per cent of its jobs due to cost cuts and brand adjustments. At the same time, the person also revealed that even if they avoid this round of layoffs, Feifan employees will face a pay cut.

In fact, this is not the first time Feifan has been laid off. In January, some netizens posted on the Internet that all members of Feifan's smart driving team were facing layoffs.

SAIC has offered three options for employees to choose from, providing internal transfer opportunities for employees who want to stay in SAIC. For those employees who do not want to stay in SAIC, Never1's severance compensation scheme is provided. At that time, the news also sparked a heated discussion on the Internet. Some industry insiders said that the layoffs may be related to poor product performance and adjusting the layout of smart driving business. However, there was no official response at the time.

The data show that Feifan Automobile was an independent R brand of SAIC Roewe. In 2020, SAIC Roewe launched the double-label strategy of "R Standard" and "New Lion Standard" and launched a number of new cars. It is worth noting that the new R mark is different from the Roewe positioning, R mark is the exclusive logo of high-end new energy models. After the launch of the R brand, the ER6 and MARVEL R models were launched successively, and the authorities had high hopes. At that time, the sales target of the R brand was about 20, 000 vehicles in 2021, but the sales of the R brand did not meet the official expectations, with only about 18000 vehicles sold that year.

To this end, the official set up Feifan Automobile in October 2021 and announced that it would enter the middle and high-end smart electric car market, focusing on 200000 to 400000 yuan. The previous R brand has also been segmented, and Feifan Automobile operates in a market-oriented manner as an independent company.

Since the establishment of Feifan Automobile, Feifan R7 and Feifan F7 have been launched before and after. Among them, Feifan R7 went on sale on September 27th, 2022, positioning pure electric SUV, launched a total of 4 models, the subsidized price is 28.99-356900 yuan. Feifan F7 launched in March last year, positioning pure electric medium-sized sedan, a total of six models, the price range is 20.99-301900 yuan.

However, the launch of both models failed to open the market. Data show that the cumulative sales of Feifan cars are 13600 in 2022 and about 20, 000 in 2023.

Sales are not good, and officials have also made adjustments in personnel and products. In January this year, SAIC official announced personnel adjustment. Wu Bing, CEO of Feifan Automobile, stepped down and was replaced by Wang Jun, general manager of Huayu Automobile. In terms of products, the 2024 Feifan R7 has been launched. Compared with the old model, the price of the new model has been reduced, and the price range is 18.99-229900 yuan. However, the reduction in prices has not led to a significant increase in sales. Data show that in January, Feifan R7 sold 1803 vehicles and Feifan F7 sold 53 vehicles.

Feifan Automobile Group attaches great importance to it as a brand that hits the high-end new energy market of SAIC. According to the plan, between 2022 and 2025, Feifan will launch at least five new models, covering cars, SUV, MPV and so on, while achieving at least 100 per cent annual sales growth. However, judging from the sales performance of Feifan in the past two years, there is a big difference. It may be difficult to achieve the plans previously laid down by the authorities.

In addition, as the automobile market becomes more and more fierce, the pressure of price reduction competition among automobile enterprises is also increasing. In this context, Feifan Automobile will also face great survival challenges.

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