11.6 billion yuan! International giants invest in zero-run cars

　　On October 26th, Zero Run announced that Stellantis Group, the fourth largest automobile group in the world, plans to invest up to 1.5 billion euros (about 11.6 billion yuan) to acquire about 20% of the company’s equity. According to the subscription agreement, the subscription price is HK$ 43.8 per share, which is a premium of 19.02% compared with the closing price of HK$ 36.8 on the previous trading day.

　　Shanghai securities news reporter learned that with the continuous progress of independent research and development and manufacturing level of new energy vehicles in China, the new force of building cars has become a bridge for the exchange of advanced manufacturing industries between China and the West. In addition to zero-run cars, Xpeng Motors was also selected by Volkswagen Group, the world’s largest automobile group, to cooperate hand in hand. Insiders told reporters that this shows that international giants are optimistic about China and agree that exchange and cooperation are the right way, and international cooperation is expected to extend to the industrial chain.

　　"International giants vote with funds and are optimistic about China." Wu Qiang, co-president of Zero Run Auto, told reporters that his partners told him that exchanges and cooperation with China enterprises are the right way.

　　Complementary advantages make cooperation.

　　According to the agreement between the two parties, the strategic cooperation between Stellantis Group and Zero Run Automobile includes three core contents.

　　In terms of investment, Stellantis Group invested 1.5 billion euros to become a strategic shareholder of Zero Run Automobile, acquired about 20% equity of Zero Run Automobile, and won two seats on the board of Zero Run Automobile.

　　At the same time, the two sides decided to form a joint venture called "Zero Run International", with the share ratio of Stellantis Group and Zero Run Automobile being 51%:49%, and the CEO of the joint venture company will be appointed by Stellantis Group. Except for Greater China, the joint venture company will have the exclusive right to export and sell to other markets around the world, as well as the exclusive right to manufacture zero-run automobile products locally.

　　In addition, with the help of Stellantis Group’s extensive commercial assets, strength and accumulation around the world, the joint venture will accelerate and expand the global sales of high-tech and cost-effective products of the automobile. Stellantis Group will help the group achieve the electrification goal in the "Dare Forward 2030" strategic plan with the help of the electric vehicle ecosystem led by zero-run vehicle technology, while Stellantis Group remains open to exploring further synergies with its partners.

　　"We are not very successful in the China market at present, so we are very inclined to rely on a successful company in China. This is our intention. If we want to win the China market, we’d better win the help of a good company in China first. This is our logic. " Carlos TAVARES, CEO of Stellantis Group, said.

　　Stellantis Group is formed by the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Group (FCA) with a share ratio of 50:50. The group includes 15 automobile brands including Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Maserati, Jeep, Opel and Peugeot, covering all market segments such as ultra-luxury, luxury and mainstream passenger cars, as well as heavy pickups, SUVs and light commercial vehicles.

　　"This cooperation has been negotiated for more than seven months, which is an unprecedented in-depth cooperation in the automobile industry and will bring great opportunities for our future development." Zhu Jiangming, chairman of Zero Run Auto, revealed that this year Zero Run has contacted many international auto companies. The reason for choosing Stellantis Group is that the two corporate cultures are in harmony, both of which are frugal, pay attention to efficiency and focus on product technology.

　　Another important reason is complementarity. In Zhu Jiangming’s view, Zero Run is a technical company. For many years, it has adhered to global self-research and technological innovation. 70% of the core components in a car are developed and manufactured by itself. But at present, more than 98% of retail sales are in China. To expand the global market, we need a good partner. "In the future, both markets and products can complement each other, resulting in greater value of 1+1>2."

　　International cooperation goes from deep to real.

　　On July 26th, audi ag, which ranks first in the world in new car sales, announced that it would accelerate the development of electrification strategy in China through the cooperation between Volkswagen brand and Xpeng Motors, Audi and SAIC. Among them, the Volkswagen brand has reached a technical cooperation framework agreement with Xpeng Motors, which will increase the capital of Xiaopeng Automobile by about 700 million US dollars, and acquire about 4.99% equity of the latter at the price of 15 US dollars per American Depository Receipt (ADR). This is also the first time that a multinational automobile enterprise has increased its capital to a new domestic car-making force.

　　"We hope this is a close and long-term strategic cooperation." Oliver Blume, CEO of audi ag, believes that the partnership with Tucki will bring great value to the business of Volkswagen Group in China.

　　Some auto industry analysts pointed out to reporters that with the vigorous development of China’s new energy automobile industry, domestic enterprises have established their global advantages by relying on independent research and development, product innovation and cost reduction. International cooperation is no longer a case, and it is no longer limited to new energy vehicles, and it has begun to extend to the new energy automobile industry chain.

　　Tianqi Co., Ltd. previously announced that the company signed a memorandum with Stellantis Group, and Stellantis Group intends to acquire a 32% stake in Tianqi Ouruide (Guangzhou) Auto Parts Remanufacturing Co., Ltd., a company’s shareholding company, by way of capital increase through its subsidiaries. The two sides will deepen cooperation and continue to seek cooperation opportunities in various fields of automobile recycling industry, including recycling and dismantling of used vehicles, remanufacturing and recycling of power batteries.

　　According to the person in charge of Volkswagen China, Volkswagen’s battery suppliers in China are mainly local companies, and Volkswagen and Guoxuan Hi-Tech maintain cooperative research and development on "standard batteries" and solid-state batteries, but Guoxuan Hi-Tech is not the only partner of Volkswagen in China, and Volkswagen has also formed an ecological relationship with China companies such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited.

　　Orders for up to 160GWh batteries tendered by BMW Group in early 2023 have also surfaced recently. According to sources close to the BMW Group, Honeycomb Energy, a subsidiary of Great Wall Motor Forest Ecology, has obtained nearly 90GWh capacity orders from BMW Europe. In addition, BMW has previously reached strategic cooperation with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited and Yiwei Lithium Energy on large cylindrical batteries.

　　He Xiaopeng, chairman of Xpeng Motors, recently revealed that he had just visited the headquarters of Volkswagen Group in Wolfsburg at the end of September. "In the past few months, the models jointly developed by us have been accelerating. The technical teams of both sides, like an entrepreneurial team, are fully committed to the common goal and advance at full speed. The strategic cooperation promoted in the supply chain will bring us the potential to reduce costs together. " He Xiaopeng said.