Chery Holdings plans to assemble battery-powered light commercial vehicles in China with Deutsche Post’s electric van subsidiary StreetScooter.
Under a memorandum signed during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to China this month, the two companies plan to invest 500 million euros (3.9 billion yuan) in a joint venture, Chery Holdings said.
The partnership will be able to produce up to 100,000 vehicles a year. It is expected to launch sales in China in 2021.
The joint venture will operate its own r&d center to develop an EV refit platform, Level 4 autonomous driving and smart mobility solutions for the logistics industry, according to Chery Holdings, a state-owned automotive holding company.
Additional details about the partnership, including where it will be based, were not released.
Chery Holdings, in Wuhu city in east China’s Anhui province, is the parent of Chery Automobile, a major light-vehicle maker in China. It also runs a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover, a unit of Tata Motors, in Changshu city in east China’s Jiangsu province.
StreetScooter is headquartered in Aachen, Germany.