Future Mobility, a joint venture set up by Foxconn Electronics, Tencent Holdings and China Harmony Auto Holding to develop smart electric vehicles in China, will invest CNY11.6 billion (US$1.69 billion) to build a smart vehicle manufacturing plant in Nanjing, according to a company statement.
The first phase of construction of the plant is scheduled for completion in 2019 with an annual production capacity of 150,000 smart electric cars initially. Future mobility will eventually ramp up the plant's production capacity to 300,000 units after the second phase construction is completed, according to media reports in China.
The first model is likely to be a SUV (sports utility vehicle), which is expected to hit the China market in 2019 with a price tag of around CNY300,000 per unit, said the report.
Sales of smart electric vehicles in China will account for over 50% of the global smart electric car market in the future, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report, citing data from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
