18 | Monday, June 24, 2019 Motoring CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION New energy vehicle companies Human Horizons to manufacture cars at facing tightened scrutiny Kia’s joint venture Ministry of Industry and Information Technology threatens By LI FUSHENG punishment in wake of recent fire incidents Chinese electric car startup Under this continued Human Horizons will produce its first model at a plant owned by partnership, there By LI FUSHENG South Korean carmaker Kia’s joint are further [email protected] venture in China, with mass pro- duction scheduled to start in 2021. opportunities for China’s top industry regulator is This is part of a recent deal the fruitful collaboration urging new energy carmakers in startup signed with Dongfeng Yue- the country to screen models for da Kia and parent company Yueda in the near future.” faulty vehicles amid widespread Group in strategic cooperation Human Horizons safety concerns following recent about new energy vehicle manu- cases of electric cars catching fire. facturing and supply chains, said Carmakers should check batter- Human Horizons in a statement ies and other parts of vehicles last week. 5+ prone to accidents and file the The startup did not offer details million vehicles results with potential solutions by about the model. Human Hori- have rolled off the assembly the end of October, said the Minis- zons bills itself as the developer of lines of Kia’s joint venture in try of Industry and Information future mobility solutions encom- China since its establishment Technology in a statement last passing smart vehicles, smart in 2002 week. roads and smart cities. Automakers that fail to comply It’s focused on innovation and will be punished, including for- has been working on developing will extend a helping hand to the bidding sales of their vehicles in smart electric vehicles since its joint venture as well. the market, said the statement. establishment in 2017. Kia has seen its sales slump in It said carmakers should be Human Horizons said the China as part of an overall held accountable for the fire acci- cooperation is intended to “seize decline in China’s automotive dents of their vehicles and the opportunity created by elec- market and increased competi- demanded that they begin investi- trification, intelligent transpor- tion from Chinese brands. gation into the causes immediate- tation and the upgrading of the The joint venture is also plan- ly after the incidents. automotive industry” in China. ning to roll out its new energy Carmakers are required to This is the latest step of coopera- vehicles, which will be produced report basic information about tion between Human Horizons at the other two plants, accord- the accidents in six hours and and Yueda. ing to business website Yicai. The detailed information in 48 hours The two joined hands in Sep- venture will offer a total of six to the ministry, said the state- WM Motor’s EX5 model is displayed at the CES Asia show in Shanghai early this month. tember 2017 in new energy vehi- models by 2020. ment. LI FUSHENG / CHINA DAILY cles. Yueda Group increased its Other electric car startups out- It was the third statement the investment in late 2018. source production at established ministry has issued since Septem- “Under this continued partner- carmakers, but usually in Chi- ber 2018. seen a rise in fire-related incidents. energy vehicles were on Chinese ship, there are further opportuni- nese ones. For instance, JAC The first is concerned with elec- On June 19, two models, one from roads by the end of 2018. ties for fruitful collaboration in Motors, a State-owned carmaker tric buses and the second is about If not handled Lifan and another from Changan, The association expected anoth- the near future,” said Human in East China’s Anhui province, is passengers cars and cargo vehi- caught fire at an expo center in er 1.6 million such vehicles to join Horizons. producing vehicles for Nio, the cles. properly, the fire Chongqing, where both carmakers them by the end of 2019. According to Chinese media most renowned electric car start- Analysts said the latest state- incidents may have a are headquartered. Dong Yang, vice-president of the reports, the three sides will set up up in China. Xpeng Motors is ment was largely the result of Tes- More than 40 fire-related inci- International Organization of a team and renovate the joint having its first vehicle produced la and Nio vehicles catching fire in negative impact on dents involving new energy vehi- Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, said venture’s No 1 plant located in at Haima Automobile’s plant in recent months. Both carmakers the new energy cles were recorded in China and as electric vehicles gain popularity Yancheng, Jiangsu province for central China’s Henan province. are among the most well-known 135,700 units were recalled last in China, the absolute number of Human Horizons models. China has been the largest mar- new energy vehicle producers. vehicle industry and year, according to the State fire accidents is attracting atten- The joint venture has more ket for new energy vehicles since it A Nio ES8 SUV went into flames scare away some Administration for Market Regu- tion. But gasoline vehicles have a than a decade of experience in passed the United States in 2015. in April in Xi’an, capital of lation. similar, if not larger, percentage. car manufacturing, with more The China Association of Automo- Shaanxi province, and another potential customers.” Following the accidents of Nio He said with technological than 5 million vehicles having bile Manufacturers expected sales caught fire one month later in Xu Haidong, an assistant to the and Tesla, Xin Guobin, vice-minis- improvement the possibility of rolled off its assembly lines since in the segment to reach 1.6 million Shanghai. secretary-general of the CAAM ter of industry and information electric vehicles catching fire will its establishment in 2002. this year, up from 1.26 million from A Tesla Model S sedan burned in technology, called on car manufac- gradually drop. Analysts said the cooperation 2018. April in Shanghai, while another turers to improve the safety of new Xu Haidong, an assistant to the vehicle fire ensued in May in Hong energy vehicle batteries and take secretary-general of the CAAM, Kong. 1.26 measures to eliminate dangers. said, “If not handled properly, the Nio made a statement in late million units He said the government will fire incidents may have a negative April via its official Sina Weibo new energy vehicles sold accelerate the establishment of a impact on the new energy vehicle account that the incident resulted in China last year comprehensive safety guarantee industry and scare away some from a short circuit of its internal system to improve the quality of potential customers.” battery package after the vehicle new energy vehicles and carmak- The segment has already shown was struck in chassis impacts. ers should strengthen the research signs of slowing down mainly Tesla said early findings on the 40+ and development of safety tech- because of the overall slump that accident in Hong Kong showed fire-related nology. had swept the Chinese automotive only a few battery modules were incidents involving new China became the world’s larg- market for 11 months in a row by affected and the majority of the energy vehicles were est market for new energy vehicles the end of May. car’s battery pack was undamaged. recorded in China last year in 2015. Statistics from the CAAM show The companies have not Last year, it sold 1.26 million new energy vehicle sales in May released detailed results of their units, up 61.7 percent year-on-year, stood at 100,400, a mere 1.8 per- findings about other vehicles nor according to the statistics of the cent growth year-on-year. how to prevent the potential dan- China Association of Automobile The growth rate was 18.1 per- Representatives from Human Horizons, Dongfeng Yueda Kia and ger in the future. Manufacturers. cent in April and 85.4 percent in Yueda Group attend the cooperation signing ceremony. Other car companies have also An estimated 3 million new March. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY BMW launches new 3 Series sedan for customers in largest auto market By LI FUSHENG manufactured nearly 1 million 3 Series models of different genera- BMW has launched its 7th-gener tions. It now has a lineup of six Chi- ation 3 Series sedan in China, one of To many customers na-produced models, and the the German premium carmaker’s and fans, the 3 Series seventh, the carmaker said the new most iconic models, expecting to X2 SUV will join them later this year. woo more Chinese fans with the new is the ultimate BMW. Jochen Goller, president and CEO car’s heritage of sportiness and latest An icon that has been of BMW Group Region China, said features. “China is not only BMW’s largest The model, first unveiled in 1975, is creating unique market in terms of sales volume but synonymous for driving pleasure, driving moments and has also become the leading market earning the vehicle the nickname of for customer trends and expecta- king of sports cars. memories since 1975 tions. The 3 Series sedan has won the for 15.5 million “This is exactly why we have devel- Nurburgring 24-Hour race and the oped our dedicated 2+4 China Strat- World and European Touring Car customers.” egy — with the number 2 standing Champion for four years in a row. Johann Wieland, president and for our two brands BMW and The new 3 Series, produced at the CEO of BMW Brilliance MINI,” Goller added.