Retail sales in the narrow passenger car market increased by about 66% in March compared with the same period last year. Foxconn may buy electric car production line.

Retail sales of 1.74 million vehicles in the narrow passenger car market in March are expected to increase by about 66% compared with the same period last year.

According to the dealer survey data released by the cheng Federation on March 19, the retail target of major manufacturers in March this year increased by 67% compared with the same period last year, accounting for about 80% of the overall market sample size. It is estimated that the narrow passenger car retail market this month is about 1.74 million units, an increase of about 66% year-on-year and 47.5% month-on-month growth. After the Spring Festival, the market recovers quickly, the retail market shows a steady upward trend in March, and the new energy market continues to maintain strong demand, but the hidden danger of chip shortage still exists.

SAIC announces leading investment in autopilot startup Momenta C round financing

On March 19, SAIC announced that it would participate in the joint investment in the self-driving startup Momenta C round financing, and further deepen its strategic cooperation with the latter to create a self-driving "China plan". It is reported that the two companies will jointly create a "Door to Door Pilot" function in view of China's complex traffic conditions. The new car with this feature is scheduled to go on sale at the Shanghai Auto Show in April, making Zhiji the first high-end smart electric vehicle with Momenta technology. Holding hands with Momenta, will undoubtedly further enhance the core competitiveness of SAIC Intelligent Network United products.

Xiaomi built a car or Wang Chuan took the lead in setting up a project in April.

On March 19, the media learned from informed sources such as investors and executives close to Lei Jun that Xiaomi Group is rapidly promoting car-building and is expected to set up a project within 1-2 months at the earliest. The brand positioning discussed in the preliminary is similar to Xiaopeng Automobile, focusing on the middle and high-end markets with strong technological attributes. The direct person in charge of the plan is Xiaomi veteran Wang Chuan. No smoke without fire, build a car or Xiaomi vital "Plan B".

Will push high-end electric vehicle brand "Zeekr" Geely Holdings: will be announced in due course

Geely is preparing to launch a new electric car brand, which may be named "Zeekr", according to people familiar with the matter. In addition, the new brand will adopt different sales strategies to compete with its main competitor Tesla with higher-end models. Geely Holdings responded to the news: it will be announced in due course. Promoting the high-end electric car brand is a new attempt of Geely, and the establishment of "Zeekr" may complete the transformation of Geely.

Foxconn is in talks with Vinfast of Vietnam to cooperate or acquire the latter's electric vehicle production line.

Taiwan's Foxconn is in preliminary talks with Vietnamese automaker VinFast on electric vehicle cooperation, according to foreign media reports. Foxconn has proposed to buy VinFast's electric vehicle production line, according to sources. However, VinFast, owned by Vingroup JSC, Vietnam's largest conglomerate, is more cooperative because it wants to build itself into an environmentally friendly carmaker and to retain its electric car business. Foxconn declined to comment on the news. A spokesman for Vingroup said the company did not provide information on the matter. Foxconn, one of the world's largest contract manufacturers, is completely unable to contain its ambitions to enter the car industry-it has reached co-operation agreements with FCA, Baiteng and Geely and will build factories in the US.

Porsche reports 14.6% return on sales for fiscal 2020

On March 19, Porsche released its financial data for 2020. Porsche achieved operating income of 28.7 billion euros in 2020, an increase of more than 100 million euros over the previous fiscal year, with a sales profit of 4.2 billion euros, a pre-tax profit of 4.4 billion euros and a return on sales of 14.6 percent. In terms of sales, Porsche delivered 272000 new cars worldwide last year, down 3 per cent from a year earlier. China remains Porsche's largest single market, delivering 88958 new cars in China last year, up 3 per cent from a year earlier and accounting for 33 per cent of Porsche's global sales. In addition, in terms of electrification transformation, Porsche plans to achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2030. According to its plan, pure electric or plug-in hybrid models will account for 50% of Porsche's overall sales by 2025 and more than 80% by 2030. The 14.6% return on sales, and the practice of electrified transformation, give Porsche, which is about to IPO, the possibility of a higher valuation.

Renault partnered with Veolia and Solvay to build a closed-loop battery value chain.

On March 18, European time, Renault announced a partnership with Veolia (Veolia), a global leader in resource optimization management, and science-based Solvay (Solvay) to realize the recycling economy of battery metal materials for electric vehicles in Europe through closed-loop recycling. The consortium outlines a new cooperation model for the entire battery value chain to protect resources, reduce carbon emissions and achieve value creation. With the popularity of electric vehicles, battery recycling will become the next tuyere in the industrial chain.

Affected by chip shortage, Nissan's factories in the United States and Mexico will stop production.

Nissan is reducing production at its North American plants affected by chip supply, foreign media reported on March 19. Among them, its Tennessee plant will stop production of two models, and the Michigan plant's production line will be suspended until March 22. In addition, Nissan's factories in Mexico were also affected. At present, the impact of the chip shortage on the North American automobile industry is far greater than that in Asia and Europe. Earlier, Toyota and Honda had just announced a suspension of some production at their US plants; Ford and GM had made similar decisions one after another.