Gasgoo Daily: Li Auto CTO resigns

With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.

Li Auto CTO resigns

Wang Kai, CTO of Li Auto, resigned for personal reasons, but continue to serve as the company’s senior consultant until December 31, 2022, the automaker announced today. Ma Donghui, head engineer of the Li Auto, will be responsible for the company’s development of intelligent vehicle technology.

XPeng sets up new firm in Beijing

A new company, wholly-owned by Xiaopeng Motors Sales Co., Ltd., was incorporated on February 23 with a registered capital of RMB5 million. The new company’s business covers vehicle sales and renting, charging service for electric vehicles.

AITO announces price of M5

The AITO M5, the first car with Huawei’s HarmonyOS operating system, has a price range of RMB249,800 ($39,568) to RMB319,800 ($50,656), the brand announced today on its website.

Photo credit: AITO

Li Auto Inc. Announces Unaudited Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Results

Li Auto’s total revenues were RMB10.62 billion (US$1.67 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2021, representing an increase of 156.1% from RMB4.15 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 and an increase of 36.6% from RMB7.78 billion in the third quarter of 2021.

BYD said to choose Baidu as intelligent driving technology supplier

BYD, has chosen Baidu as its intelligent driving supplier, local media outlets reported on February 25th. Baidu will provide integrated ANP intelligent driving products and maps for human-machine co-driving for BYD, according to the sources. Moreover, the automaker is reportedly working with Baidu’s intelligent driving team already, and the model with new technologies will start production soon.  

PilotD completes Pre-A financing round

On February 25th, the Shanghai-based intelligent driving startup, PilotD Automotive, announced that the company had completed its Pre-A investment round led by GL Ventures, raising dozens of millions of yuan.

RoboSense said to score biggest LiDAR investment in history

RoboSense, one of China’s leading LiDAR suppliers, is reportedly to finish the largest single investment round in the automotive LiDAR industry, possibly exceeding RMB2.4 billion ($379.3 million), a local media outlet reported.

Li Auto invests in power battery maker Sunwoda EVB

Chinese power battery maker Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery Co., Ltd. (“Sunwoda EVB”) will increase capital by introducing 19 investors. Notably, Jiangsu Chehejia Automobile Co., Ltd. (“Chehejia”), an affiliated company of Li Auto, is among the new investors. It will invest 400 million yuan ($63.272 million) to get a 3.218% stake in Sunwoda EVB.

BMW Brilliance appoints Dr. Franz Decker as new CEO

On February 25th, the board of BMW Brilliance announced that starting April 1st, 2022, Dr. Franz Decker, senior vice president of technology & manufacturing, will assume the position of president and CEO of BMW Brilliance after Dr. Johann Wieland.