(Yicai Global) June 28 -- Dongfeng Motor, one of China’s largest state-owned automakers, has split off Voyah, setting up an independent company for the high-end electric vehicle brand.

Dongfeng Motor decided on the move to better promote its electric vehicle business, the Wuhan-based carmaker said on June 26. The new firm has initial registered capital of CNY1.5 million (USD232,000), according to corporate information platform Tianyancha. Voyah’s key employee shareholding platform has a 10 percent stake, while Dongfeng owns the rest.

The new firm has brought out an equity incentive plan for key employees, and will bring in strategic investors, Chief Executive Lu Fang said, without revealing further details. Under the plan, staff can buy a certain amount of shares based on their position for CNY1 (15 US cents) each after Dec. 31, 2023, Yicai Global learned.

Dongfeng expects the move to help Voyah become more market oriented, thereby accelerating its development as a leader in China's high-end new energy passenger vehicle market, according to You Zheng, deputy general manager at Dongfeng.

“Poor management awareness, a large organization, an inefficient decision-making process and insufficient marketization are often common drawbacks of large state-backed companies,” a Dongfeng insider told Yicai Global.

Privately held Great Wall Motor and Geely Automobile Holdings have also split off their premium smart EV brands as independent businesses, as the research and development of smart electrification is too expensive and demands action at the brand level to attract the attention of the capital market, the person added.

Dongfeng Motor officially released Voyah last July, announcing nine planned pure electric and hybrid models. The first, the Voyah Free, came out on June 19. It plans to release at least one new model every year starting from this year. In the next five years, its products will include sedans, sport utility and multi-purpose vehicles.

Sources at Voyah said it has already opened 14 directly managed sales outlets across the country, with the total number expected to exceed 50 by the end of 2021.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione