Hexiefuteng, a company co-founded by Tencent and Foxconn, just announced the new CEO of its sub EV company, and their future plan to tap both economic and high-end electric vehicles (EV) markets.
The company’s name is a combination of the names of the three founding companies, Tencent, Foxconn and Chinese luxury auto dealer Harmony Auto. The three set up Aiche in South China’s Zhejiang province in March 2015 for producing economic EV models. The company’s other subsidiary, Future Mobility, will focus on supplying the high-end EV market.
Fu Qiang, the acting new CEO of Aiche since the end May, is the former president and CEO of Volvo Cars (China). Fu has been working in the auto industry for two decades. Before joining Volvo in 2012, Fu worked for Beijing Benz, Skoda under Shanghai Volkswagen, and as a senior executive for Faw-Volkswagen.
China’s BAT internet giants, known as Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent have all been exploring the smart EV industry.
Baidu released its smart auto strategy in collaboration with China’s state-owned manufacturer Chang’an Automobile in April 2016. Alibaba started collaborating with state-controlled SAIC Motor in smart internet-connected vehicles in March 2015, announcing planned investments of RMB one billion (USD 160 million) in the area. Chinese tech giant LeEco also introduced its smart EV in April 2016.
LeEco is making some aggressive moves in its investment into the EV sector, including stealing executives from the traditional auto industry. Former vice president of Shanghai General Motors Ding Lei joined LeEco as the company’s Supercar co-founder, and as head of its global team. Former vice president of SAIC Motor Zhang Hailiang joined LeEco as the president and COO of Supercar.
(Top photo from xiaoche123.com)