The head of HiPhi has already gone to Changan headquarters
Ding Lei, CEO and founder of HiPhi, visited Changan's headquarters in Chongqing a few days ago.
Earlier this month, HiPhi announced that it would cease production for 6 months and that employees remaining with the company after March 15th would only be paid minimum wage, as required by Shanghai law.
Rumor has it that Changan will buy a 51% stake in HiPhi and that, together with cash infusions from Qingdao and Saudi Arabia, this will be enough to strengthen the company's balance sheet and preserve HiPhi as a brand. Zhu Huarong, chairman of Changan Automobile, said the issue is being discussed but no decision has been reached yet.
A Changan insider confirmed that Ding Lei and his team visited Changan: «They really hoped that Changan would consider the acquisition at this time, but the scope of the acquisition and the details presented on the Internet are fake , it is impossible to definitively clarify such details in one trip».
During the visit to Changan, inspections of cars of the relevant brands and test drives were carried out.
HiPhi, a brand from Human Horizons, produces a range of high-end electric vehicles that are currently officially sold in both China and Europe. Deliveries of the first HiPhi X model began in 2021, and last year the brand added models Z and Y to the line. After the release of HiPhi Z, many media outlets compared it not so much to a car, but to a spaceship
HiPhi confirmed that it delayed the payment of wages for January, canceled the bonus for 2023 and reduced the salaries of top managers