SAIC Motor is shuttering the all-electric vehicle marque “Rising Auto” that the concern founded in late 2021, CnEVPost reports referencing sources in the local media. While there has been no official confirmation yet, reports talk about staff cuts at Rising Auto, which had apparently failed to secure a market niche for itself and couldn’t compete against the corporation’s other EV brand, IM Motors (a.k.a. Zhiji).
We are told that the company has already dismissed the entire team responsible for designing self-driving solutions for Rising Auto. Moving forward, SAIC Group plans to rely on just one company – Z-One Software – for all research and development in semi-autonomous driving. As for Rising Auto, reports are coming in that more than 70% of its staff will be permanently dismissed with the remaining workers getting their wages cut.
Right now, the portfolio of the car brand consists of two EVs: the coupe-like R7 SUV and the F7 liftback. Both come loaded with advanced autopilot features and have quick-release battery packs, like Nio cars. The manufacturer had hoped to develop its own charging network in China that would enable owners to swap batteries quickly without waiting for the charging. However, by the time the Rising F7 officially debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show last March, the company had only three such stations up and running.
In Europe, the cars mentioned above are being sold under the MG Motor sub-brand, which also belongs to SAIC Group. The Rising F7 is known there as the MG9 EV and the R7 is known as the S9 EV.
IM Motors, which used to be positioned above Rising Auto on the local market, has recently slipped in the same price segment as EV price wars began in China. Apparently, SAIC Group decided not to downgrade Rising Auto any further because that would simply make it overlap with Roewe, the affordable EV brand it was originally derived from.
