(Yicai) Feb. 17 -- BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology said it plans to rename itself to cope with intense market competition by focusing more on its core new energy vehicle business, accelerating its transformation, and enhancing its brand market recognition and influence.

Renaming to BAIC Arcfox NEV aligns with BAIC BluePark's development direction, the Beijing-based carmaker announced on Feb. 14. The firm has set up the Arcfox, Beijing, and Xiangji brands, with its product lineup becoming more diverse and its brand image gradually improving, it added.

BAIC BluePark's sales jumped 24 percent to 114,000 autos last year from the year before, with its Arcfox car sales surging 170 percent to 81,000 units. However, its net loss likely climbed to CNY6.5 billion to CNY7 billion (USD896 million to USD965 million) from CNY5.4 billion.

BAIC BluePark recently significantly adjusted its product strategy to address the intense market competition, including canceling plans to develop two pure electric vehicle models to put more focus on plug-in hybrid autos.

According to data from BAIC BluePark's latest fundraiser for investment project, the carmaker is developing the Arcfox Alpha T5 extended-range and Alpha S5 pure electric and extended-range models. In addition, it will produce Arcfox multi-purpose vehicles based on its BE22 platform and invest CNY5.5 billion in developing the Xiangjie brand with Huawei Technologies, planning to launch three new models.

The pure EV market is highly competitive, while the hybrid market, including extended-range models, is rapidly growing, said Zhang Yongwei, vice president and secretary-general of third-party think tank China EV100. Plug-in hybrids and extended-range EVs will account for nearly half of the NEV market by the end of this year, Zhang added.

BAIC BluePark jointly owns BAIC Beijing EV with Beijing Automotive Group, BAIC Motor, BAIC Guangzhou Automotive, and Bohai Automotive Systems. BAIC BJEV and Canadian car parts giant Magna International established Arcfox in 2019.

Shares of BAIC BluePark [SHA: 600733] dropped 1.1 percent to CNY8.70 (USD1.20) apiece as of 1.45 p.m. in Shanghai today.

Editor: Martin Kadiev