Roundup of partnerships in auto industry during visit of Premier Li Keqiang to Germany

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- As the trade war between China and the U.S. escalates, Germany and China tend to join forces to combat the looming trade disasters. On July 9, China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang visited Germany. During his visit, Premier Li Keqiang held a series of talks with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel. In particular, Germany and China signed a raft of commercial accords in auto industry. Here, Gasgoo rounds up the partnerships signed in the presence of Premier Li Keqiang and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Brilliance, BMW deepen cooperation with long-term framework agreement

On July 9, BMW Group and Brilliance Automotive Group Holdings signed a long-term framework agreement to further expand their joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA). According to the agreement, BBA will increase the capacity of its two local production facilities Tiexi and Dadong in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, to a total of 520,000 BMW branded vehicles in 2019. Furthermore, BMW's first all-electric core model of the BMW brand, the iX3 will be produced by BBA and is planned for export to markets outside of China.

Daimler, Tsinghua University deepen joint research cooperation on sustainable transportation

Daimler and Tsinghua University signed an agreement in the German Chancellery, Berlin on July 9 to further deepen their cooperation on sustainable transportation research in China.

Founded in 2012, the Tsinghua Daimler Joint Research Center for Sustainable Transportation has made full use of Daimler's innovation capabilities and Tsinghua University's academic strengths to conduct automotive research. With an annual multi-million RMB investment, the Center will sharpen its focus and research efforts in the fields of autonomous driving and intelligent mobility over the next three years.

In the wake of the agreement, the Center will further expand the cooperation range, such as innovations of information technologies like VR.

JAC, Volkswagen, SEAT sign Memorandum of Understanding

On July 9, Volkswagen Group China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp., Ltd. (JAC) and SEAT in Berlin, aiming to enhance the leading role of Volkswagen Group China in e-mobility.

According to the MoU, the three parties will jointly establish a new R&D center to develop electric vehicles, connectivity and autonomous driving technologies, as well as supporting parts and core technologies. In addition, JAC Volkswagen will develop a competitive platform for battery electric vehicles (BEV) with the help of the three parties' technologies.

By investing in JAC Volkswagen or receiving a share transfer from Volkswagen Group China, SEAT will become a shareholder in JAC Volkswagen. The SEAT brand will be introduced to China by 2020- 2021.

CATL to build first EV battery plant in Thuringia, Germany

On July 9, the world's largest EV battery maker CATL signed an investment agreement with the government of Thuringia, Germany in the German Chancellery, Berlin. According to the agreement, CATL will invest 240 euros (around RMB 1.87 billion) to build a battery manufacturing base and an intelligent manufacturing technology R&D center in Thuringia.

As is planned, CATL's Thuringia-based battery manufacturing base will be constructed in two phases, and mainly engage in the R&D and manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries. The factory will begin producing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles in 2021, aiming to achieve production capacity of 14GWh in 2022. The project is expected to create about 600 jobs locally.

In the meantime, BMW awarded a contract with CATL, saying that the automaker will procure CATL's batteries worth up to $4.7 billion (about RMB 31.07 billion). $1.76 billion batteries will be produced by CATL's German plant, and the rest will come from CATL's Chinese battery plants.

NIO sign strategic agreement with Bosch

On July 9, China's EV startup NIO signed a strategic cooperation agreement with German engineering and electronics company Robert Bosch GmbH, announcing that both parties will focus on such areas as sensor technology, automated driving, electric motor controls and intelligent transport systems.

The ES8, NIO's first seven-seat pure electric SUV, started delivery from June. Bosch provides key components such as driver assistance systems, control units, sensors and the intelligent iBooster to the ES8. In the future, the two companies will further develop these components to equip other NIO models.

BMW teams up with Baidu to boost development of autonomous driving technology

On July 10, BMW Group and Chinese Internet giant Baidu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), under which the BMW Group will join the Apollo, Baidu's open autonomous driving platform, as a board member.

The partnership was officially formed during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Germany to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Under the newly-signed MoU, both companies will join forces to provide safe, convenient and smart mobility services for consumers in China.

The BMW Group is developing an autonomous driving platform that works on technology solutions covering Level 2 (advanced driving assistance system) to Level 5 (fully autonomous driving). Meanwhile, the group has teamed up with many technology and OEM partners, which contribute their expertise, resources and intellectual property assets to the platform development.

BMW, GWM sign contract on JV operation

In the presence of China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, BMW (Netherland) Holding Ltd. (BMW) signed a contract on joint venture (JV) operation with China's automaker Great Wall Motor (GWM) on July 10.

As the contract regulates, GWM and BMW will set up a new 50-50 JV, which will be named Spotlight Automotive Ltd., with a registered capital of RMB 1.7 billion. To be sited in Zhang Jiagang, Jiangsu Province, the new JV will enjoy a total investment of RMB 5.1 billion. The JV plans to build up a world-leading vehicle-manufacturing plant which will have an annual production capacity of 160,000 units.

Audi partners with Huawei to develop ICV

Audi announced on July 10 that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Huawei, China's leading provider of ICT (information and communications technology) infrastructure and smart devices, to develop in-depth cooperation in ICV (intelligent-connected vehicle) area.

The agreement constitutes part of a broad-based partnership between companies in China and Germany initiated by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Volkswagen signed two MoUs with two Chinese companies to deploy e-mobility service  

On July 10, Volkswagen Group China signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with two Chinese Group, namely FAW Group and the China Intelligent and Connected Vehicles Research Institute (ICV) on technologies including e-mobility, connectivity and autonomous driving.

Volkswagen Group China will further deepen the partnership with its long-term partner FAW Group. Under the newly-signed MoU, Volkswagen Group and FAW Group will establish another two new joint ventures in China. The partnership involves such works as developing and producing components for new energy vehicles (NEV), expanding vehicle connectivity and automotive data services and enhancing autonomous driving. Meanwhile, the cooperative plans also include developing a national battery-charging infrastructure in China and other businesses that pertain to it.

Volkswagen Group China and ICV will conduct cooperation in the Chinese market, which stands at the forefront of internet worldwide, to jointly develop intelligent technologies in sync with changing demand of Chinese market development. What's more, both parties will explore industry standards to further promote the development of intelligent connected vehicle and autonomous driving technologies.