The collapsed car brand Jiuye, founded in China and partly owned by Volvo's parent company Geely, has sold brand new cars for as little as 19,000 kroner.
The Chinese electric car brand Jiuye, partly owned by the Geely group, has made headlines around the world by selling new cars for as little as 19,000 Danish kroner.
This move comes after a period of financial problems and declining sales figures for the car brand.
Jiuye otherwise had ambitious plans to launch several luxury models, and one of them even won the prestigious Red Dot Award.
But success failed to materialize, and only 14,000 cars have been sold in China. Today, it looks as if the car brand is approaching bankruptcy.
The owners, Geely and Baidu, are reportedly refusing to invest further in the company, which has led to frustration among employees. In December, Jiuyue's office was besieged by angry employees who had not received their salaries or any form of severance pay.
According to Chinese media, the financial problems are due to a $7 billion gap in the company's accounts. Baidu discovered this problem during a due diligence in October and decided to stop financing.
To alleviate the economic situation, Jiuye has tried to sell their luxury model, Jiyue 07, at extremely low prices – as low as 19,000 kroner. Normally, the car costs about ten times as much.
The Jiyue 07 is a large sedan measuring almost five meters in length with a luxurious design. The unusual selling price has caused a stir, and Jiuyue has since stopped selling the cars.
The remaining employees at Jiuye deny having any knowledge of the drastic price drop. The future of Jiuye is uncertain, and it is not yet known whether the car brand can actually survive the current crisis.
However, it is clear that the low sales prices and financial problems have created great uncertainty about Jiuyue's future and whether customers will ever be able to get license plates on the extremely cheap electric cars.
