91 Ten Articles: Zhou Hongyi starts again and leads 360 to build cars; Mercedes-Benz executives join Audi to help restart

1. Internet security company 360 announced yesterday that it will cooperate with Nezha Auto to build cars. The red-clad cannon Zhou Hongyi once again appeared to catch the trend. Nezha Auto’s official Weibo said, “I finally waited for you, my destined ‘Nezha partner’.”

Data shows that as of March 2020, 360 has reached cooperation with 80% of the mainstream automobile manufacturers in China, and more than 500,000 cars on the road are connected to the 360 ​​car safety brain for real-time protection. In addition, 360 also led China's first international standard for automobile information security - ITU-T X.mdcv (security detection mechanism for abnormal behavior of connected cars based on big data analysis), and participated in the formulation of more than 10 automobile network security standards such as ISO and the China Automotive Standardization Administration.

2. Audi China announced the appointment of Zhang Mingxia as executive vice president of marketing and sales, responsible for the marketing and sales related business of the Audi brand in China, and reporting directly to Audi China President An Shihao. The appointment officially took effect on May 1.

China is Audi's most important market in the world, with sales accounting for more than 40% of Audi's global total. An Shihao's return to the Chinese market after leaving in 2008 is seen by the industry as the beginning of Audi's business transformation and a new round of efforts in the Chinese market, and his goal may be to return to the top spot of Chinese luxury car brands.

3. Innovusion announced the completion of a US$64 million Series B financing round, which was jointly invested by Temasek, BAI Capital and Joy Capital, with old shareholders NIO Capital, Eight Roads Capital and F Prime also participating.

It is reported that the financing will be used to strengthen R&D in China and the United States, as well as to support supply chain partners to jointly build a high-performance LiDAR mass production supply chain system. Currently, Tudatong's LiDAR products have been confirmed to be used in NIO's first smart electric sedan ET7.

4. Pony.ai said that its next-generation robot taxi technology will use lidar produced by Luminar Technologies. The company's CEO Peng Jun said that the reason for choosing Luminar's Iris lidar is not only because of its high performance, but also because it can be better integrated into the car than traditional lidar.

5. Geely Auto released its sales data for April 2021. The data showed that Geely Auto sold a total of 100,331 new cars in April. So far, from January to April this year, Geely Auto has sold a total of 433,907 new cars, an increase of about 39% over the same period last year, and has completed 28% of the group's annual sales target.

6. Tesla spent $3 to purchase three patent applications from Springpower International, a small Canadian battery company, to help it reduce battery manufacturing costs. Tesla once proposed an ambitious plan to increase battery production capacity to 100GWh in 2022 and 3TWh in 2030.

7. PlusAI, an autonomous driving company with a market value of approximately US$3.3 billion, will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the third quarter of this year. Founded in 2016, PlusAI adopts a "dual-line parallel" development strategy, on the one hand promoting the mass production of automotive-grade autonomous driving heavy trucks, and on the other hand developing L4 autonomous driving technology to help logistics companies reduce high-speed trunk logistics costs and enhance road safety.

8. According to Qichacha information, Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd. has applied to register trademarks related to "Xiaomi Travel", "Xiaomi Smart Connection", "Xiaomi Internet of Vehicles" and "Xiaomi Smart Travel". The international classifications involve transportation tools, communication services, scientific instruments, website services, etc., and the trademark status is "trademark application in progress".

9. The website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that the new Ideal ONE may be released on May 17. Judging from the spy photos and information currently circulating on the Internet, the new Ideal ONE has no obvious changes in appearance, but the interior and configuration have been optimized and upgraded by about 60 items, and the estimated price is about 350,000 yuan.

10. Toyota's electrification process in China is progressing slowly. Currently, it only has two pure electric products, the IZOA E-Drive and Toyota C-HR EV, on sale, with sales of just over 600 units in the first quarter. Toyota ranks last in sales among many century-old gasoline car brands. Observers say that if Toyota remains so careless, it may lose its market leadership in the future.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.