BAIC and Magna Establish a Joint Venture to Create a New Model for High-end Electric Automobile Industry Cooperation

On June 18, BAIC Group and Magna held a strategic cooperation signing ceremony in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Leaders of Jiangsu Province and Zhenjiang City and Mr. Don Walker, CEO of Magna International, Mr. Xu Heyi, President of BAIC Group, Mr. Zhang Xiyong, General Manager of BAIC Group, Mr. Zheng Gang, General Manager of BAIC BJEV, and other leaders attended the ceremony. 

Through this cooperation, BAIC Group and Magna will establish a joint venture in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, to build an opening and sharing high-end intelligent pure electric vehicle R&D and manufacturing center, and plans to first put ARCFOX into production, a high-end brand of BAIC BJEV. It is reported that the company will be the first automobile joint venture established in the context of China’s announcement to expand the opening of the automobile industry and the gradual elimination of the ratio limit of auto companies’ joint ventures, and will become a model of international cooperation in the new era of the automobile industry.

According to the agreement content, the joint venture will carry out the development of a high-end intelligent pure electric vehicle sharing platform and the customization of specific models based on customer needs, and provide electric automotive engineering services. Meanwhile, BAIC Group and Magna will use BAIC’s local plant asset facilities for intelligent transformation and upgrading, and engage in the production of high-end intelligent pure electric vehicles. It plans to start production in 2020.

In April 2018, during the visit of the Austrian President and Prime Minister to China, under the leadership of the Chinese and Austrian government leaders, BAIC Group had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Magna and began the cooperation between the two parties. After the signing of this contract, BAIC Group and Magna will establish the clauses of the joint venture contract in accordance with the project plan, promote the establishment of the technology joint venture company and the manufacturing joint venture company, and implement the cooperation and yield positive results.

This strategic cooperation is an important move by BAIC Group and Magna to create a high-end development platform for electric vehicles.

As one of China's top five automobile groups, BAIC Group always adheres to the development approach of advanced planning and strategic. Anticipating the trend, BAIC Group took the lead in entering the new energy industry, established a specialized electric automobile manufacturing company, and obtained the first-mover advantage, and in 2017 it proposed the “Leading 2025 Strategy” in China to comprehensively engage in new energy development. In 2017, BAIC Group's annual sales of electric vehicles exceeded 100,000 units, ranking the first in the domestic pure electric market for five consecutive years, becoming an important leader in the electric automobile industry.

Magna is one of the world's largest automobile suppliers, with global leading vehicle engineering development technologies and high-end manufacturing capabilities. It has 328 manufacturing plants in 29 countries and provides product development and manufacturing service for many international luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. It is also a heavyweight international partner of BAIC Group.

“The favorable historical opportunity, broad development prospects, and multi-advantages have provided a solid foundation for the success of this strategic cooperation,” said Mr. Xu Heyi, “The new high-end electric vehicle engineering development center and high-end intelligent electric automobile plant that jointly established by BAIC Group and Magna will surely become the new model for leading “Made in China 2025”! The new model of high-end electric automobile industry cooperation will certainly inject new impetus into the development of China’s new electric automobile industry!"