American auto-giant Ford and Chinese automaker Anhui Zotye Automobile have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form a 50: 50 joint venture to develop, produce and market all-electric vehicles (EVs).
Electric vehicles produced from the joint venture will be sold in the Chinese market. Ford stated that forming a joint venture in China is its first step towards selling a comprehensive range of electrified vehicles around the world.
This move is claimed to be consistent with Ford’s vision for a sustainable auto industry and to reduce the impact of climate change and to improve air quality.
Electric vehicles produced will be sold under a brand owned by the new joint venture. Details about the brand, products and production volumes will be disclosed at a later date, after a definitive agreement has been arrived at and after obtaining required regulatory approvals, noted Ford.
For quite some time, China has been struggling with high pollution levels in its urban areas and hence, has started encouraging plug-in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the country. It has a target to have at least a fifth of its vehicles to be all-electric by 2025, to control the pollution levels.
Many of the auto companies in China have now opened their doors to foreign investments and collaborations to build electric vehicles. Recently, German automaker Volkswagen formed a joint venture with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile to develop electric vehicles.
On the other hand, Zotye Auto claims to be a pioneer in the all-electric vehicle segment and was one of the first to manufacture electric vehicles in the country. This July, the company claims to have sold more than 16,000 all-electric vehicles, which is a 56% growth over last year.
Ford group vice president and Ford Asia Pacific president Peter Fleet said: “The potential to launch a new line of all-electric vehicles in the world’s largest auto market is an exciting next step for Ford in China.
“Electric vehicles will be a big part of the future in China and Ford wants to lead in delivering great solutions to customers.”
Anhui Zotye Automobile chairman and president Jin ZheYong said: “The MoU between Zotye Auto and Ford opens the door for us to explore our cooperation in the development of clean energy vehicles.
“This presents us with an exciting opportunity to leverage each other’s strengths in achieving a win-win situation for both parties’ growth in the fast-evolving Chinese electric vehicle market.”
Recently, some of the European countries including France, the UK and Hungary have declared that they will completely ban diesel or petrol-powered vehicles in the years to come.
