Geely & Baidu JV Jiyue cuts projects due to financial troubles, denies bankruptcy

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1. Cars News China:

Jiyue, the joint venture between Geely and Chinese search giant Baidu, faces financial troubles. It cuts projects and merges departments as the cumulative sales volume for 11 months of 2024 lies below 14,000 units. The company reportedly has no money to pay social security to employees but denies the bankruptcy rumors.

2. Xiejackie:

Jiyue, a smart car company jointly established by Baidu and Geely, likely to announce its bankruptcy. The CEO was besieged, and the anchor was devastated when he learned during the live broadcast that he was laid off. Netizens complained: I just paid a deposit to buy Jiyue at 5 pm, and Jiyue went bankrupt at 7 pm. Musk once said that most car companies will go bankrupt in the future.

My Take

I highlighted this article because someone shared an article in May (InsideEVs post dated 7 May 2024) reporting Jiyue's point to point Autopilot is "near Level 4" and uses "Baidu HD mapping". Jiyue was also rolling out a futuristic model called Robocar a month ago. There are many EV makers who like to roll out cash burning projects and not focusing on managing costs may end up like Jiyue (even with a big company back up). Another recent example is GM's Cruise who has just been shut down because of unsustainable high cost. Read here:
Tesla stock surges to ATH price in 3 yrs amid its Autopilot HW Director to join Amazon's Zoox and GM's Cruise to shutdown