BAIC to remove fuel-powered cars from its line-up

By 2025, Chinese carmaker BAIC wants to stop selling combustion-powered cars in China, according to CEO Xu Heyi. In Beijing even by 2020. That is true for the company’s own-branded fuel-powered cars.

BAIC has also JVs with Hyundai and Daimler. Since summer, also the Sino-German cooperation heads for electrification. As reported, Daimler and BAIC agreed to expand their cooperation to include hybrid and electric vehicles. The deal was sealed with the prime minister Li Keqiang and Chancellor Merkel in attendance in Berlin. Thus, Mercedes-Benz will upgrade its factory in Beijing to produce new energy vehicles and acquire a stake in BAIC’s subsidiary Beijing Electric Vehicle (BJEV), that focuses on R&D. Moreover, both partners invested a three-digit million euro sum to build a new battery factory by Beijing Benz Automotive Co. (BBAC) in the People’s Republic.

In November, Daimler announced to invest additional 640 million euros to boost up its EV and battery business in China. The investment is part of the carmaker’s global EQ strategy. BAIC and Daimler seek to produce and launch BEVs in China under the EQ brand by 2019. The first model to come up is the EQC.
chinadaily.com.cn