HiPhi halts all production with immediate effect in China
The high-end Chinese EV maker HiPhi halted production in its sole facility in Yancheng, north of Shanghai. The local media reported that the production shutdown was only temporary, for six months. The company also confirmed rumors that January salaries will be postponed until the end of February.
CarNewsChina obtained the internal memo sent to company employees, confirming outlet Jiemian’s information. The announcement further states that factory entry is forbidden, and the payment date for salaries for February 1 – 18 is yet to be determined. The employees who remain with the company between February 18 and March 18 will receive a 70% salary. After March 18, all employees will receive only a minimum wage salary following the regional minimum guarantee.
“If you are anxious to pay social security, you need to resign before February 25 and pay social security by yourself because you can’t pay social security while working,” the Human Horizons internal message to employees ends.
HiPhi is a premium brand owned by EV maker Human Horizons. The company was famous for selling quirky EVs with futuristic designs and sound tech. For example, its latest spaceship-shaped sedan, HiPhi Z, was first among 23 EVs participating in Norwegian extreme cold testing, achieving a 522 km range, beating all its rivals, including Tesla Model 3, BMW i5, Nio ET5T, Mercedes EQE, and Kia EV9.
Human Horizons doesn’t manufacture the cars by itself but instead uses a Nio-like contract manufacturing approach. Kia contract manufactures HiPhi cars in its Yancheng plant. The facility was formerly known as Dongfeng Yueda Kia’s First Plant and suspended production at the end of June 2019. It was responsible for Kia Sportage, Soul, and Cerato. The first contract-manufactured car, HiPhi X, rolled off the production line in November 2021.
The production capacity of the Yancheng plant is 150,000 vehicles/year. The Hiphi sells three cars (X, Y, Z), and their sales in previous years were:
Most vehicles sold in 2023 were HiPhi Y, the entry-level SUV, which accounted for 4,17 cars. The Y is HiPhi’s cheapest EV, starting at 339,000 yuan (47,150 USD). The HiPhi X and Z had prices starting at over 600,000
