Aiways, an electric-vehicle startup based in Shanghai, plans to sell its flagship car, U5, in Europe next spring. The company plans to sell the first Chinese-brand electric car in Germany, France, Switzerland, Norway, and the Netherlands.
Alexander Klose, vice president for overseas operation, said that the company plans to offer direct online sales and leasing instead to doing business with dealerships to reduce costs and compete with traditional gas-powered vehicles. They are planning to sell the U5 at less than €40,000 ($44,700).
The company plans to partner with Vehiculum, a German startup offering an online leasing marketplace. Mr. close said that leasing agreements of less than a year would not be offered. Lynk & Co-branded cars made by another Chinese startup, Geely, will be leased in Europe via monthly subscription next year.
The company's partnership with another Chinese automaker, Jiangling Motors, will mass produce its U5 in China in September. It is eight months before its plan to offer cars in Europe. The plan is said to be ambitious since the company has little time to adjust the safety standards of its cars to that of Europe's.
According to Quin Garcia, managing director at San Francisco-based Autotech Ventures, Chinese automakers have attempted many different methods to enter overseas markets.
He emphasized that the fundamental question is, 'What would cause a European consumer to choose the Chinese Aiways vehicles over other vehicle offerings available to these consumers in the European market.
Recently, the company received RMB1 billion worth of investment from a fund entity Shangrao Mingchi New Energy Innovative Center. According to a record from Qichacha, a Chinese enterprise data search platform, Mingchi Fund has two major shareholders, Shangrao Binjiang Investment Co. Ltd, and Jiangxi Development & Upgrade Guidance Fund (Limited Partnership), who held 60% and 30% equity Mingchi Fund respectively.
The JXCT Funds, an investment entity under the umbrella of Jiangxi Provincial Government, said on May 9 that the Jiangxi Development & Upgrade Guidance Fund invested RMB3 billion in Mingchi Fund to support Aiways development programs that include the construction of its Shangrao-based plant, workshops and assembly lines with annual capacity totaling 300,000 NEVs, the R&D over new models and the deployment of sales and experience outlets across China.
The financing record recently exposed by Qichacha showed that the company acquired stakes in Jiangling Motors Co., Ltd. (JMC), while the detail transaction value still remained unknown. The purchase will allow the company to produce vehicles using JMC's manufacturing qualification and car capacity.
