Posted on 12 Oct 2023
Beijing Hyundai, the automotive joint venture of Hyundai Motor and Beijing Automotive (BAIC), recently put up its Chongqing factory for sale for the second time. This came just as Hyundai disclosed its intention to collaborate with Chinese automaker BAIC on launching electric vehicles in the Chinese market, Kallanish learns.
According to China Beijing Equity Exchange, the base price Beijing Hyundai set this time for the sale is CNY 2.58 billion ($353.53 million), which is over CNY 1.1 billion lower than the first tender and about one third of the construction investment (CNY 7.75 billion).
Previously on 10 August, Beijing Hyundai tried to sell the Chongqing factory at a base price of CNY 3.68 billion but failed.
In May 2022, there was rumour that Chinese new energy automaker Li Auto may take over this Chongqing factory for its production expansion. Neither Li Auto nor Beijing Hyundai responded to this rumour.
An executive of Hyundai Motor disclosed in a recent interview reported by Zaker that Hyundai is preparing to jointly launch EVs with its Chinese partner BAIC Group. BAIC is expected to provide technical support and the EV models will belong to Beijing Hyundai, which will also be responsible for sales in China. The EV products will be priced within the range of CNY 100,000-250,000, which is about the same level as Beijing Hyundai's conventional cars.
In addition, Hyundai plans to introduce its Ioniq EV brand into China and start to sell the Ioniq 5N in China next year.
In 2021, Beijing Hyundai's first factory in Shunyi was taken over by Li Auto after two years of stoppage. The Chongqing factory has not operated since December 2021.
Source:Kallanish
