The new forces of new energy vehicles are facing the storm of layoffs, and the first-line news reveals the dilemma.

Recently, some netizens broke the news on a social platform, saying that Extreme Vietnam Automobile is experiencing large-scale layoffs, with a proportion as high as 40%, and old employees have been stopped from renewing their contracts. A netizen who claimed to be an employee of Jiyue revealed that the company suddenly terminated its employees without the knowledge of the management, which was unprepared. Although the official quickly responded to this, saying that "the news is not true", the hot discussion on this rumor in the market has aroused widespread concern.

The rumors of layoffs not only pushed the ultra-Vietnamese car to the cusp of public opinion, but also made the outside world once again focus on the living conditions of this new force of new energy vehicles. As a "latecomer" of the new energy automobile industry, Extreme Vietnam Automobile is experiencing multiple challenges.

Jiyue Automobile (formerly Jidu Automobile) was established in March 2021, and it is a smart car company jointly invested by Baidu and Geely. At the beginning of its establishment, the registered capital of the enterprise was as high as 2 billion yuan, with Baidu holding 55% and Geely holding 45%, and CEO Xia Yiping leading the team. It is reported that the company has quickly entered the market with the mode of "technology-driven+capital support", which has attracted great attention from both inside and outside the industry.

In 2022, Jidu launched the first intelligent car robot ROBO-01, with a price of 399,800 yuan, aiming at the high-end market. However, due to the qualification approval problem, the model has been delayed in delivery. In 2023, by adjusting the shareholding structure, Geely’s shareholding ratio rose to 56%, and the company reshaped its brand and renamed it "Extreme Yue Automobile", and renamed its first model "Extreme Yue 01". The price range has also been lowered to 219,900 yuan-309,900 yuan, trying to stimulate market demand by lowering the selling price.

Backed by two big trees, Baidu and Geely, Jiyue Automobile was initially regarded as a "potential stock" in the new energy track. However, the market performance is far less than expected. In the first half of this year, the sales volume of Extreme Yue 01 repeatedly hit a low point, with the highest monthly sales of 1,001 vehicles. According to official data, the sales from January to June were 218, 147, 511, 362, 1,001 and 461 respectively. Although the second model, the Extreme Yue 07, was launched in September with a price range of 199,900-289,900 yuan, the new car still failed to change the overall sales downturn.

Among the new forces of building cars, the extremely more cars are particularly lonely. In November, for example, its sales volume was only 2,485 units, while the monthly sales volume of leading enterprises in the same period had already exceeded 20,000 units. The sales gap reflects the dilemma of insufficient brand power and low market awareness. As the insiders say: "Without a consumer base, any price adjustment is futile."

The price war of the ultra-Vietnamese car obviously can’t bring the turning point of sales. The high pricing at the time of listing last year was criticized by the industry as "high opening and low going", and this year’s repeated price cuts were considered as "helpless actions to save the market". On the one hand, this strategy reflects the brand’s lack of confidence in the attractiveness of its own products, on the other hand, it also exposes the current situation of limited internal resources of enterprises.

The competition in the new energy market is fierce, and the rise of new forces is often accompanied by huge losses. Referring to the operation mode of other enterprises, it is almost impossible for brands with monthly sales of less than 5,000 vehicles to achieve profitability. With a monthly sales of only more than 2,000 vehicles, Extreme Vietnam is hard to get rid of the quagmire of losses in the short term. As market observers commented: "In the new energy industry, survival never depends on capital, but on the ability to continuously impress consumers."

In the fierce market competition, the performance of the ultra-Vietnamese car is even more insignificant. Wei Lai, Tucki, Ideals and other first-line new forces have gradually gained a firm foothold, while Ji Yue is still struggling to move forward. Take LI as an example, its monthly sales volume has exceeded 30,000 units for several months in a row, while the cumulative sales volume in the next year is only 14,000 units. This gap not only reflects the disparity in market position, but also reflects the shortage of technology, brand and channel of Extreme Vietnam.

It is worth mentioning that the success of other new forces in sales volume does not rely solely on low prices, but wins the trust of consumers through product innovation, user experience upgrade and other means. In contrast, the advantages of Jiyue are thin, and how to find a balance between product strength and brand strength has become the key to its future development.

Although the official is still full of confidence in the future, the industry generally believes that the prospect of the ultra-Vietnamese car is not optimistic. Xia Yiping, CEO of Extreme Vietnam, once said: "From the monthly sales of 2,000 to 5,000 to 10,000, we know how to do it." But the reality is that the inflection point of sales is still difficult to appear in the short term. For Ji Yue, the opportunity of the new energy market has not been completely lost, but the time and space left for it are getting less and less.

As an industry analyst said: "In the torrent of new energy, the laggards not only have to catch up desperately, but also need to find their own differentiated way of survival." The success or failure of the ultra-yue automobile in the future is not only related to the enterprise itself, but also sounded the alarm for other latecomers.

From the "layoff storm" to the sales dilemma, the problems of the ultra-Vietnamese car reflect that it is not easy for the new forces to survive in the fierce market. Although the new energy track is full of potential, it also tests the endurance and innovation of enterprises. For Extreme Yue Automobile, the next step is not only a breakthrough in sales volume, but also a reshaping of brand image. And this battle for survival has just begun.