Kandi to Cooperate With Alibaba, Uber on Electric Car Eco-System

[DaNGeROuS KiLLeR]

 

Kandi Technologies Group Inc. plans to work with companies including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Uber China and China Minsheng Banking Corp. to promote connected electric cars.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and ZTE Corp. are the other companies that signed a manifesto in Hangzhou, China, on Tuesday. The companies will form a group of strategic partners to work together on areas conducive to promoting connected electric cars. Alibaba will support the initiative with its Big Data analytics and cloud computing services, ZTE will provide its wireless charging technology while Uber will contribute with its car-sharing know-how.

“Traffic jams, air pollution are pushing gasoline-powered cars into a dead end,” Kandi President Hu Xiaoming said in an interview. “The development of data technologies is providing us with an enormous opportunity to make electric cars much easier to use.”

The initiative takes place after the central government in July unveiled a plan to link technology companies with manufacturers under an “Internet Plus” plan to rejuvenate traditional industries through the use of services such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Promoting the use of electric cars and reducing air pollution are also national priorities, with China pouring billions into subsidies and research grants into battery development and the building of charging stations.

Last month, the State Council, or cabinet, said it will add to subsidies aimed at speeding up the building of electric-car recharging stations, targeting enough infrastructure to handle 5 million plug-in vehicles by 2020.

Besides manufacturing and selling EVs to consumers, Kandi also provides them for short-term hire using automated multilevel garages. It has expanded its services to more than 10 Chinese cities with over 16,000 electric cars, according to the company.

Kandi, which makes cars with joint venture partner Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., announced on Tuesday it will add 200 Gleagle K17 electric cars into its rental network. BYD Co., the biggest electric carmaker in China that’s not involved in Tuesday’s agreement, fell 8.3 percent in Hong Kong trading.