The merger of Feifan Automobile is almost certain. No matter who breaks the impasse, time is no longer on SAIC's side.

Recently, there are reports that SAIC Feifan Automobile has begun to lay off 70% of its employees, with Feifan headquarters being the hardest hit. Previously, Feifan's advanced intelligent driving team had also been transferred to other departments. Some radical views in the industry say that SAIC may have given up on the Feifan brand.

Feifan's history can be traced back to 2020, when it was launched as the R brand of Roewe under SAIC Group. After being separated from the Roewe brand, SAIC Group holds 95% of its shares, and Feifan employees hold the remaining 5%.

In fact, Feifan Motors faced challenges in the early stages of brand establishment, including insufficient sales and brand positioning issues. Despite this, Feifan Motors is still committed to creating a high-end intelligent pure electric mobility space, launching a number of models including the Feifan R7, and innovating in technology, such as developing a full-stack self-developed high-end intelligent driving solution.

Feifan R7 is the first model launched by the brand after its independent operation, but its cumulative sales in 2022 were less than 15,000 units, which is even lower than the monthly sales of many new car-making forces. It can be seen that Feifan has not had an easy time after its independence.

Now, the news of large-scale layoffs and the "wiping out" of the high-end intelligent driving team means that Feifan Automobile has almost reached the end. For example, the Feifan F7 model originally exported to Europe has been replaced with the MG logo and sold as MG 9.

China's new energy vehicle market has experienced rapid growth and development, and has now entered a stage of both market size and development quality improvement. During this period, many brands may directly enter the knockout round with further market integration and optimization. This means that the market will pay more attention to the quality of products and technologies, rather than just the growth of quantity.

However, Feifan seems to have failed to make it through this hurdle. After other brands launched a price war, Feifan was unable to resist. At the same time, its market disadvantages were further magnified due to its small number of vehicles and weak brand influence. Now, there are only two options left for Feifan: shut down completely or merge into other businesses of SAIC.

At present, it is unlikely that Feifan will be completely cut off. After all, after many years of operation, Feifan's value still remains. It is reported that Feifan employees' computer terminals will be added to the passenger car domain environment for unified management, and the original Feifan accounts and Feifan wireless network will be shut down in the near future. This move indicates that Feifan may be gradually being fully absorbed by SAIC, and the brand is likely to be gradually merged into other SAIC brands in the future.

In addition to Feifan and many joint ventures with Volkswagen and GM, SAIC Group also has several sub-brands of its own, such as MG, Roewe and Zhiji. Among them, MG has successfully entered the overseas market. In 2023, MG's global sales exceeded 840,000 vehicles, and its MG 4 electric model became the sales champion of compact pure electric vehicles in Europe.

As for Roewe, SAIC is working hard to promote the development of its overseas markets. It is reported that SAIC Group intends to promote the export of Roewe iMAX8 to overseas markets, and the first stop may be the European market, which shows that Roewe is also actively exploring opportunities in overseas markets.

Zhiji Auto is facing some pressure. According to reports, the sales of the brand in 2023 will lag behind those of new high-end independent brands such as Geely Zeekr, Dongfeng Lantu and Changan Shenlan. Its sales in September were even lower than those of Changan Avita. Zhiji has tried to improve its product competitiveness by lowering prices, but this has also raised questions about its high-end brand image in the market.

From the initial high-spiritedness to the current hardships, looking back now, Feifan's journey actually reflects SAIC's bitter exploration in the journey of electrification - there are resources and capital, but the market does not recognize it. Feifan's dilemma is also SAIC's dilemma. No matter who will solve this puzzle in the future, time will probably not be on SAIC's side.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.