Exclusive-Geely-backed Ecarx in talks with VW to develop smart cars for Europe, US, CEO says

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Volkswagen is successful talks with integer cockpit strategy developer Ecarx to enactment the Chinese company's technologies successful cars it sells successful developed markets, specified arsenic Europe and United States, Ecarx's CEO said connected Wednesday.

Volkswagen already has a concern with the Geely-backed steadfast to manufacture astute cars successful Brazil and India with Ecarx's integer cockpit strategy Antora 1000, which features its proprietary spot and bundle and offers services specified arsenic dependable designation and navigation maps.

The 2 companies are present looking to widen the concern to see VW's Skoda-branded cars sold successful Europe and besides exploring the anticipation of launching vehicles that are equipped with Ecarx technologies successful the U.S., Ecarx CEO Shen Ziyu told Reuters.

VW did not instantly reply to a petition for comment.

The program underscores increasing efforts by Western automakers to leverage Chinese prowess successful astute driving technologies to clasp connected to their planetary marketplace stock aft income declined sharply successful China successful caller years.

Nearly each bequest car brands present person to contend with Chinese electrical conveyance makers, which person upended the car manufacture with sleek software-rich cars.

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz plans to make astute driving cars for planetary markets equipped with Chinese steadfast Hesai's lidar sensors, Reuters reported connected Tuesday, the archetypal clip a overseas automaker has sought to usage specified Chinese-made exertion for models sold extracurricular China.

Shen said it took much than a twelvemonth for Volkswagen to determine connected the astute exertion supplier among 13 different candidates that included South Korean brands, specified arsenic LG and Samsung, arsenic good arsenic Chinese rival Desay SV.

"The R&D for the full technologies of user electronics, including semiconductors, is inactive rooted successful Asia," Shen said. "That's the main crushed wherefore the advancement of processing bundle capabilities successful Europe is not smooth."

Volkswagen has had constricted occurrence truthful acold with its in-house bundle portion Cariad, which plans to laic disconnected astir 30% of unit by the extremity of the year, the Handelsblatt concern regular reported connected Tuesday, citing institution sources.

Ecarx generates 70% of its gross from Geely and its affiliated brands and aims to little its reliance connected the Chinese radical to beneath 50% by arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2028, Shen said.

Half of its gross would travel from overseas by 2030, arsenic Ecarx has been gathering its R&D teams abroad, a determination Shen expects to assistance code concerns implicit geopolitical risks involving the usage of Chinese technologies.