AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)09/01 Report--

With the rapid development of new energy vehicles, more and more multinational enterprises have thrown an olive branch to the new power of domestic car-building. In the past, Volkswagen and Xiaopeng Motor reached a framework agreement on technical cooperation, increasing the capital of Xiaopeng Motor by about 700 million US dollars. Later, Audi and SAIC will jointly develop electric intelligent online vehicles exclusive to the Chinese market. As a new force in car-building, zero-running cars have also been frequently reported recently that they will reach technical cooperation with multinational companies.

Today, there are media reports that JSW Group, an Indian steel and energy company, is in preliminary talks with Chinese carmaker Zero cars to obtain a technical license to produce electric vehicles in India. The report said the source was a number of people familiar with the matter. JSW will use the zero-running car platform to produce its own-brand electric cars in India, and JSW hopes to sell cars under its own brand, according to people familiar with the matter. At the same time, it also revealed that JSW is also in talks with several other Chinese automakers in addition to zero-run negotiations. At present, neither side has responded to the news.

Relevant data show that JSW Group plays an important role in iron and steel, energy, cement, infrastructure and other core industries, and is the leader of Indian enterprises. It is part of the O.P.Jindal Group and its parent company is an iron and steel energy complex enterprise group founded by Indian tycoon Aum Prakash Jindal, with total assets of US $17.5 billion so far. In fact, in recent years, JSW Group has been thinking of entering the automotive industry. As early as January this year, JSW Group revealed that it wants to start to lay out the car manufacturing field, and is actively seeking to build "four-wheeled vehicles" and try to get involved in the production and manufacture of electric vehicles. But the JSW Group also said at the time that "technology and platforms are needed". In addition, in response to rumors in June that JSW would buy a stake in MG Motor India, SAIC urgently clarified that the report was a serious departure from the facts. At the same time, it said that MG India-related equity transactions need to be approved by the Chinese government, and official information will be released in due course.

It is worth noting that recently, zero-running cars are not just rumored to be working with JSW. Just a few days ago, there was news on the market that Stellantis was considering working with Chinese electric car manufacturers to expand its business in China. In early August, it was also reported that FAW-Volkswagen brand Jetta was in talks with zero-running cars or buying a zero-running technology platform. Zero running management said that outside reports do not make specific comments, zero running has potential opportunities for foreign technical cooperation, and actively build and seek cooperation opportunities.

In addition, in July, it was also reported that some overseas enterprises are negotiating technical cooperation with Zero Automobile, a new force in Chinese car-making, and have made substantial progress. Once the cooperation is reached, Zero will become the first Chinese new power car company to go out to sea with technology. The authorities have not responded positively to these news. However, at the end of July, Zhu Jiangming, CEO of Zero car, revealed: "at present, there are two definite cooperation companies, one will be the cooperation mode of vehicle technology authorization, and the other will be the authorization cooperation of car body structure." However, Zhu Jiangming did not disclose specific information about the two companies at that time, but he expressed the hope that Zero will be not only a vehicle company, but also a core technology export company.

Relevant data show that Zero Automobile, founded in December 2015, is a new energy vehicle company focusing on the research, design, production and sales of new energy vehicles and auto parts and accessories. Zero running Automobile was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September 2022, becoming the fourth listed car company after the new domestic car-building power, Ji Wei Xiaoli. Sales of zero-running cars were also affected in 2023 against the backdrop of Tesla's big price cuts, with cumulative sales falling 51.3% in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. To this end, zero-running cars have to adopt price reduction strategy to occupy the market segment, or driven by big price cuts, zero-running car sales have also been improved in the second half of the year. Figures show that zero-running car sales in July were 14335, up 19% from a year earlier.

Although sales have picked up and revenue has grown, the gross margin of zero-running cars in the first half is still negative. Relevant data show that the operating income of zero-running cars in the first half of 2023 was 5.813 billion yuan, an increase of 14.4 percent over the same period last year, with a net loss of 2.276 billion yuan in the first half of 2023, with a net loss rate of 39.12 percent. In terms of gross profit margin, the gross profit margin for the first half of the year was-5.9%. In terms of cash flow, cash and equivalents as of the second quarter were 7.108 billion yuan. Or in this context, we have to choose the export of foreign technology.

For the Indian electric car market, there is still a lot of room for development, or this is why JSW Group wants to enter the car-building field. Figures show that India sold 49800 electric vehicles in 2022, accounting for less than 2 per cent of total car sales in India. Earlier, the Indian government had set a target of 30% of total electric car sales by 2030. This means that there will be great potential and demand in the Indian electric vehicle market in the next few years, which may be the reason why domestic car companies have set up the Indian electric vehicle market one after another recently.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat