BEV Joint Venture
Interieur Aito M5 EV
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of Aito [Homepage])
Management Summary
In China in particular, many companies from the IT sector or the supplier industry are taking advantage of the paradigm shift to enter the automotive industry themselves. In many cases, the companies are cooperating with established automotive manufacturers and setting up joint ventures.
Chinese BEV newcomers include Sokon Group, IT companies Huawei and Alibaba, and cell manufacturer CATL, all of which have established Chinese BEV joint ventures.
Sokon Group is a major Chinese automotive supplier for internal combustion and electric vehicles. Together with state-owned automaker Dongfeng, Sokon has launched a joint venture called Dongfeng Sokon Motors. The vehicles are sold under the Seres brand, and 80,000 units were sold in 2022.
Seres is thus the most successful Chinese BEV joint venture. Seres models are also exported to Germany, where the vehicles can be purchased through Indimo GmbH.
Interestingly, Dongfeng Sokon Motors has established another joint venture with IT company Huawei using the Seres brand. This company markets its BEV models under the name Aito, where the “I” is supposed to stand for “Intelligence”.
So in principle, Aito is a joint venture of a joint venture. Aito also got off to a good start, selling ~75,000 vehicles in its home market in 2022 after all, with sales only starting in March 2022.
Alibaba, an IT company, has entered into cooperation with state-owned automaker SAIC Motors, the joint venture is called IM Motors. It was only established in 2021, with ~5000 units sold in 2022.
In July 2023, the news that VW subsidiary Audi was conducting intensive negotiations with SAIC Motors to be able to use the technical platform of IM Motors for Audi models in the future caused a stir.
The world’s largest cell manufacturer CATL has established a joint venture with state-owned automaker Changan to develop BEV vehicles under the Avatr brand. Another cooperation partner is Huawei, although the electronics giant does not have a financial stake in the company.
Sales figures for 2022 are not yet available, but sales of 100,000 vehicles are planned for 2023.
A Japanese BEV joint venture has also been established in Japan by the IT company Sony.
Sony has chosen Honda as its partner, and the joint venture is called Afeela. The first model was not presented until early 2023, so sales figures do not yet exist.
Chinese BEV joint venture
Seres 5 – Exterieur
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of CHONGQING SOKON MOTOR(GROUP)IMP.&EXP.CO.,LTD [Homepage])
Seres 5 – Interieur
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of CHONGQING SOKON MOTOR(GROUP)IMP.&EXP.CO.,LTD [Homepage])
The Chinese BEV joint venture Seres has its roots in Silicon Valley, which is also expressed by the S in its name. Founded in 2016 as SF Motor in California, Seres is now part of the Chinese joint venture Dongfeng Sokon Motors. The name Seres can be read from both sides, expressing the perfect symmetry important in Chinese mythology.
In 2022, Seres could sell ~80,000 vehicles in its home market. The Seres 3 SUV model is also imported to Germany via Indimo GmbH.
Aito M5 EV – Exterieur
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of Aito [Press Release])
Aito M5 EV – Interieur
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of Aito [Press Release])
Huawei has teamed up with Seres to create the BEV brand Aito. Seres itself is a brand of the Dongfeng Sokon Motors (DSVK) joint venture, where Dongfeng is a state-owned Chinese automaker and Sokon is a large Chinese supplier of internal combustion and electric vehicles.
The first battery-electric vehicle called the M5 EV has already been unveiled for the Chinese market. The model uses Huawei’s DriveONE drive platform and Huawei operating system, and the cockpit uses Huawei’s Harmony OS3 operating system.
Aito has so far sold its vehicles exclusively in China, with just under 75,000 units sold by December 2022.
IM Motors LS7 IM – Exterieur
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of Zhiji Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. [Homepage])
IM Motors LS7 IM – Interieur
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of Zhiji Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. [Homepage])
IM Motors is a joint venture of SAIC Motors, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech and Alibaba, which was only founded in 2021, with the name standing for “Intelligence in Motion”.
All the models presented so far take their cues from Tesla, with the premium sedan L7 positioned against the Tesla Model S and equipped with a variety of assistance systems. The L5 model goes up against Tesla’s Model 3 and the LS7 against the Model Y.
So far, the models are only offered on the Chinese domestic market, nothing is known about an export to Europe. In 2022, about 5,000 models were sold by IM Motors.ist ein Joint-Venture von SAIC Motors, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech und Alibaba, das erst 2021 gegründet wurde, wobei der Name für “Intelligence in Motion” steht.
Avatr 11 – Exterieur
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of Avatr Technology (Chongqing) Co., LTD. [Homepage])
Avatr 11 – Interieur
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of Avatr Technology (Chongqing) Co., LTD. [Homepage])
Avatr was originally founded in 2018 by Changan and Nio, but Nio has since withdrawn. Instead, Chinese cell and battery manufacturer CATL has stepped in. Huawei is also assisting with development, but does not have a stake in the company.
Production only started in November 2022, so sales figures over a longer period are not yet available. Avatr is aiming to sell 100,000 vehicles in 2023.
Japanese BEV joint venture
Afeela – Exterieur
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of Sony Honda Mobility Inc. [Gallery])
Afeela – Interieur
(Mit freundlicher Genehmigung/Courtesy of Sony Honda Mobility Inc. [Homepage])
Sony and Honda have formed a joint venture under the name Sony Honda Mobility Inc. which is developing car under the brand name Afeela.
A first prototype was unveiled at CES© in Las Vegas in January 2023. It is a four-door sedan with coupe-like lines. The prototype is to have a total of 45 cameras and 800 tops of computing power (Tera Operations per Second), and the electronics hardware is the so-called “Snapdragon Digital Chassis” from Qualcomm.