Alibaba To Launch An EV Brand In Partnership With SAIC

So, another Chinese company has joined the EV construction bandwagon. This time it is the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba that has joined hands with SAIC to develop all-electric vehicles under the banner of Zhiji.

The automotive startup has managed to procure $1.5 billion in funding for this project and previewed two if its new vehicles in the shape of concepts. These comprise of a sedan and a sports utility vehicle.

Zhiji will unveil these concepts at the 2021 Shanghai auto show in April and other vehicles.

Interestingly, the introduction of Zhiji coincides with another Chinese joint venture planning to produce EVs. The Chinese search engine giant Baidu has teamed up with Geely in this regard.

Furthermore, Taiwanese electronics goods contract manufacturer Foxconn has also shown their interest to develop vehicles and their parts in association with Geely.

Talking about the Zhiji EVs, we do not know about the upcoming vehicles. However, we know that the automaker will make available two battery packs, i.e. 93 and 115 kilowatt-hours, created by SAIC in collaboration with CATL. These batteries will boast an energy density of 300 watt-hours per kilogram, and the ability to offer around 600 miles of range according to the Chinese test cycle.

Reportedly, the Zhiji sedan will churn out 536 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, enabling it to hit 60 mph in less than four seconds.

Like Tesla, Zhiji will be equipping its vehicles with full autonomous tech. The hardware will comprise Nvidia's Drive AGX Orin computer chip, 15 cameras, 12 ultrasonic radars and five millimeter-wave radars.

There will also be a range of connectivity facilities powered by AI. In support, Alibaba will offer its big data, AI, and cloud services.

Source: MotorAuthority