Short Torque

Xpeng expands into Middle East and Africa

China's electric vehicle startup Xpeng said on Thursday it has established a strategic partnership with UAE-based Ali & Sons and added Italy to its Europe plans, as it ramps up overseas expansion. The announcement adds to Xpeng's partnerships with local dealers for the Egyptian, Azerbaijani, Jordanian and Lebanese markets. Xpeng models will go on sale in the five Middle East and North African countries starting in the second quarter of this year, the company said. Xpeng will begin offering the G6 and G9 SUV models in the UAE from the third quarter. Meanwhile, deliveries of the P7 sedan and G9 SUV will start in Jordan and Lebanon from the second quarter and in Egypt from the third quarter.

Leapmotor production considered by Stellantis

Stellantis is considering manufacturing up to 150,000 of Leapmotor's electric vehicles in the Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy, it said last week. The automaker bought a 20 percent stake in Chinese EV maker Leapmotor in a $1.6 billion deal in 2023. As part of that deal, the two groups announced to set up a 51-49 Stellantis-led joint venture, which gives Stellantis "exclusive rights for the export and sales, as well as manufacturing, of Leapmotor products outside Greater China".A Stellantis spokesman said the first cars emerging from the Stellantis-Leapmotor partnership would appear on European roads no later than 2026, and that the first Leapmotor EVs could come off the assembly line in Italy in 2026 or 2027.

Sedan by BAIC and Huawei set for launch

BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology, the electric vehicle arm of BAIC, plans to launch its first sedan in partnership with Huawei Technologies this year, as Huawei steers into the EV market. The first model co-developed with Huawei is scheduled to hit the Chinese market this year, BAIC BluePark said last week. The car will be "a high-end intelligent sedan to meet consumers' demand for premium mobility experiences," the State-owned automaker added. Aito, an EV marque co-founded by Huawei and carmaker Seres in late 2021, topped Li Auto for the first time in sales in January, helped by the introduction of the revamped M7 SUV in September. Huawei has also built the S7 sedan with Chinese automaker Chery Auto under a new marquee, Luxeed.

Mercedes' transition goal delayed five years

Mercedes-Benz on Thursday delayed its electrification goal by five years and assured investors it would keep sprucing up its combustion engine models, becoming the latest carmaker to flag a weaker-than-expected appetite for battery-powered cars. The company now expects sales of electrified vehicles, including hybrids, to account for up to 50 percent of the total by 2030 — five years later than its forecast from 2021, when it aimed to hit the 50 percent milestone by 2025 with mostly all-electric cars. CEO Ola Kaellenius cautioned toward the end of last year that even in Europe, sales would likely not be all-electric by 2030, with battery-powered cars currently making up just 11 percent of total sales, and 19 percent including hybrids.

Incentive program expands in Thailand

Thailand will expand its incentive program to promote the adoption of electric trucks and buses and the local production of electric vehicle battery cells, with the aim to strengthen its status as a regional EV manufacturing hub, according to the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee on Wednesday. The committee also approved a special tax deduction for businesses to switch their fleets of large trucks and buses to EVs and grants for manufacturers to locally produce EV battery cells. The measures, covering large commercial vehicles, will expand earlier sets of measures focused on passenger cars to all segments of EVs.

Motoring - Agencies