More electric car R&D in Silicon Valley

A focus on developing battery-powered cars tapping into region's cutting-edge innovation

BAIC Motor Corp Ltd, one of China's largest automakers, and Guoxuan High Tech Co Ltd, a major Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturer, plan to set up a research and development center in Silicon Valley to take advantage of the region's innovative and cutting-edge science and technology.

The joint venture will focus on electric vehicle (EV) technology development with the support of the battery management system (BMS) project of Gotion Inc, a Fremont, California-based startup wholly-funded by Guoxuan, Gotion told China Daily, but declined to disclose further details.

Besides the Silicon Valley joint venture, the two companies will team up to build an overseas research and development platform as part of their strategic partnership to develop EV, according to a statement released late last month on the website of Hefei-based Guoxuan High Tech. BAIC Motor did not respond to requests for comment.

An earlier statement from BAIC Motor said it expected its Silicon Valley R&D center to realize progress in "areas of future growth", including vehicle networking and autonomous driving technologies.

In addition to the research center's affiliation with the Beijing New Engineering Research Institute, Beijing Electric Vehicle Co Ltd (BAIC BJEV), the electric vehicle arm of BAIC Motor, will partner with Guoxuan for their "advances in battery cell design, materials technology and power management," said the statement.

"Over 40 percent of an electric vehicle's cost comes from batteries," said Jason Yan, business development manager of Gotion. "The explosive growth in China's sales of new energy vehicles has called for surging demand for batteries, thanks to the government's preferential policies, including subsidies and tax cuts."

China, the world's largest new-car market, is expected to surpass the US as the world's largest electric vehicle market with sales estimated between 220,000 and 250,000 in 2015, compared with the US market projection of 180,000 and the worldwide sales projection of 600,000, according to a recent statement by China Association of Automobile Manufactures (CAAM).

In the first 10 months, China's EV sales reached 171,145, up 29 percent year on year, according to CAAM.

Guoxuan set up its first overseas R&D center in Fremont, near the assembly plant of Tesla, in July 2014, the first among Chinese EV battery manufactures to establish an overseas research center, said Yan.

"Internet technologies have no boundaries. Many foreign battery manufacturers have entered China, such as Samsung, LG and Panasonic," he said. "In this industry, every second matters."

Gotion, which currently has 15 engineers who previously worked for major OEMs and EV-related companies worldwide, is tasked to develop BMS, power train and vehicle control at three stages, with the first BMS sample expected to be delivered to Chinese customers in the first or second quarter of 2016, said George Chen, COO of Gotion.

Prior to the BAIC Motor, another major Chinese State-owned automaker, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) Motor Corp, also Guoxuan's client, also set up a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com