New NEV by JD, CATL, GAC Group to hit road

Chinese e-commerce giant JD has announced that it will launch a new car in collaboration with Chinese automaker GAC Group and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) during the upcoming Singles Day shopping festival, a move industry experts said will bolster sales of new energy vehicles and shore up consumption.

JD said internal and public testing of the new vehicle will begin at the end of this month, with the official release scheduled for Nov 9 exclusively on JD's online marketplace. The price of the new vehicle is expected to range between 100,000 yuan ($14,038) and 120,000 yuan.

JD said it is not directly involved in the manufacturing process, but is responsible for exclusive sales of the new vehicle, while GAC is in charge of manufacturing the vehicle and CATL will provide battery technology and battery-swapping ecosystem support.

The vehicle will achieve breakthroughs in safety, battery and energy replenishment, support facilities and pricing, JD said, adding that consumers can now search for the model on JD's app to submit suggestions or book test drives, with nearly 80,000 people having already participated in the program.

JD has expanded its presence in the automotive sector, with its layout covering car purchases, maintenance, usage and trade-in services, while offering a wide range of auto products and parts on its online channels. It operates nearly 3,000 offline car service centers, and collaborates with more than 40,000 stores.

Pan Helin, a member of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Expert Committee for Information and Communication Economy, said JD aims to expand its footprint in the automotive after-sales market on a larger scale, which may even include maintenance services for electric vehicle batteries.

Pan said NEV manufacturers need to cooperate with third-party platforms in the face of rising pressure from the after-sales services of NEVs, so their collaboration with JD mainly focuses on the vehicle maintenance and after-sales sector. "However, at present, the transaction volume of vehicles through e-commerce platforms is quite limited."

Looking ahead, auto sales will integrate online and offline channels, Pan said, highlighting that e-commerce platforms will serve as a key traffic gateway attracting more consumers, while offline stores will offer test driving opportunities.

GAC said the new vehicle will adopt CATL's battery swap system for NEVs. GAC has signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with CATL, and plans to work with the Fujian province-based firm on a wide range of areas, including battery swap station construction, sales and marketing of car models capable of battery swapping, and the reuse of abandoned batteries.

CATL inked a strategic partnership with JD on Wednesday. The two companies will jointly establish an official direct-sales channel for CATL's battery swap system, and expand sales of battery swap vehicles. The partners will also cooperate in the battery after-sales segment.

Chinese tech giants such as Huawei and Xiaomi have already made inroads into the automotive sector. Cao Lei, director of the Internet Economy Institute, a domestic consultancy, said, "JD will provide traditional automakers with consumer insights and integrated online and offline sales channels rather than engaging in the R&D or manufacturing of vehicles."

Noting that the growth of the e-commerce sector is currently slowing down, Cao said smart EVs are emerging as a vital entry platform to attract a new breed of users and rev up sales, adding that JD can leverage data from 20 million annual searches for vehicles and precisely identify consumer demand to provide customized services.

NEVs represent a major breakthrough for China's manufacturing sector on the global stage, and Chinese internet companies are marching into the automotive sector as they have gained certain technological advantages, such as deep consumer insights and AI capabilities, said Liu Junbin, a special researcher at the IEI.

The key challenge lies in how internet-driven thinking patterns can integrate with traditional auto manufacturing to boost the development of service-oriented consumption, Liu said.