A California-based EV startup has partnered with one of China’s largest automakers to take on Tesla and released a teaser of their planned Tesla-fighter.
According to the UK’s AutoCar, the BAIC has become the majority stakeholder — via their Beijing Electric Vehicle Company subsidiary — of Atieva, an EV firm from Silicon Valley. German engineering conglomerate Siemens and SK Group, Korean battery manufacturer.
Though BAIC currently sells an electric five-door compact in China with an 87-mile range, by the looks of the teaser sketch Atieva is going the Tesla route. Rather than an econobox, the Atieva’s debut car is slated to be a sleek luxury sedan that has the Model S in its sights.
As the report points out, the BAIC’s comparatively paltry range is hindered by its 23.4 kWh lithium ion battery. The Atieva, however, will sport a larger battery pack and up-to-date battery technology, extending that range to a rumored 300 miles.
AutoCar also reveals that Atieva was co-founded by a former vice president at Tesla. The company started out creating code to support battery functions in plug-in hybrid applications. BAIC, on the other hand, is owned by the Chinese government and boasts an 8 percent market share in its home country. It has also formed joint ventures with Hyundai and Daimler-Benz.
The first Atieva model is scheduled to debut at the 2016 Beijing Motor Show.
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