Aston Martin and LeEco end electric car partnership, sources say

As of press time, LeEco Holdings' public relations department responded to the matter by saying that they were confirming the latest progress of the cooperation between the two parties with the senior management of the automotive business. Simon Sproule, Aston Martin's chief vice president and marketing officer, has not yet responded to the interview email, but he did not mention the topic of cooperation between the two parties when he was interviewed by LeEco Video at the Shanghai Auto Show.

LeEco and Aston Martin officially signed a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of an electric vehicle joint venture in Frankfurt, Germany on February 17, 2016. Ding Lei, then co-founder and global vice chairman of LeEco Supercar, attended the signing ceremony, but he had already resigned from LeEco Auto in March 2017.

At that time, LeEco said that Aston Martin was responsible for providing RapidE's vehicle technology, while LeEco would provide powertrain and car networking technology. However, a person close to Aston Martin's board of directors recently learned in Beijing time that the cooperation between the two parties only remained at the level of intention and had not been implemented. "It was not technical reasons that caused the cooperation to stop, but LeEco did not invest money." The person did not want to be named.

In fact, LeEco and Aston Martin have a publicized cooperation result. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2016, Aston Martin and LeEco jointly released the Rapide S LeEco Internet Concept Car, which is built on the basis of the current Rapide S and equipped with LeEco's LEUI car networking system. The appearance is the same as that of the Rapide S. In April of the same year, the car also appeared at the Beijing Auto Show. However, the Rapide S model currently on sale on the Aston Martin official website does not have LeEco's car networking system, but uses "AMI III".

Another Chinese company is promoting cooperation with Aston Martin on electric vehicle projects. In 2014, Wang Chaoyong, the actual controller of Hong Kong-listed Xin Zhongli, and Li Yifei, the Xin Zhongli International Holdings Company controlled overseas, jointly with Italian private equity fund Investindustrial, acquired 40% of Aston Martin's shares from a Middle Eastern consortium for more than US$300 million, becoming the majority shareholder.

At the Pangu Think Tank China-Europe Cooperation Forum held in Beijing on April 21, Wang Chaoyong told Beijing Time Zero Time Difference: "In terms of R&D, at the end of 2015, we invested US$75 million to hold 42% of the shares of the first phase electric vehicle RapideE project company, and plan to mass produce it in 2018; in terms of marketing, the Xinzhongli AMR team will send four cars to participate in the "China GT" Chinese Supercar Championship, and we also plan to launch the China-Europe cross-border rally next year."

LeEco is still pushing forward its electric car plan. In January 2017, Faraday Future (LeEco FF), an American company invested by Jia Yueting, released its first mass-produced electric car FF91 at the CES, announcing that the model received 64,124 pre-orders within 36 hours of its release, and that it would be delivered in 2018. In the same month, Jia Yueting said at the LeEco Sunac Strategic Investment and Cooperation Conference that LeEco Auto's Series A financing would be officially launched soon.

On April 21, Sunac China announced that Chairman Sun Hongbin, together with LeEco Holdings Chairman Jia Yueting, visited Faraday Future's office areas in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, but the company did not consider investing in the project.

In March 2017, Aston Martin released its 2016 annual financial report, with record sales in China and a 29% increase in registrations. At the 2017 Shanghai Auto Show, Aston Martin exhibited four new models, but LeTV Auto was absent.

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.