Pandaily’s Digest #20220415
Amid ongoing pandemic containment efforts, car companies in China are facing supply chain problems. He Xiaopeng, CEO of electric vehicle maker XPeng, expressed his worries on Thursday.
XPeng CEO Warns of Suspended Production if Lockdowns Persist
Amid ongoing pandemic containment efforts, car companies in China are facing supply chain problems. He Xiaopeng, CEO of electric vehicle maker XPeng, made the following comment on Thursday: “Automakers in China may have to suspend production in May if suppliers in Shanghai and surrounding areas are not able to resume work.”
BYD to Build Power Battery and Energy Storage Plant in Guangxi Province
Local authorities in China’s Guangxi province announced recently that electric vehicle firm BYD’s subsidiary Guangxi Fudi will build a power battery and energy storage plant with an annual output of 45GWh in the province’s capital city of Nanning.
The land area of the project is about 2,500 mu (411.8 acres), with a planned investment of about 14 billion yuan ($2.2 billion). Zones for the manufacturing of power battery cells, modules and energy storage projects are estimated to cover about 750,000 square meters.
OnePlus Ace to Be Launched on April 21
Smartphone brand OnePlus announced on Thursday morning that the online launch conference for its new model, the OnePlus Ace, will be held at 19:00 on April 21.
Alibaba’s Price-for-Quality Brand Taobao Xinxuan to Recede
Taobao Xinxuan, an affiliate shopping channel and product line of Alibaba’s Taobao, will change from an independent brand to providing products for Tmall Supermarket, focusing on young families, LatePost reported on Wednesday.
Under this arrangement, Taobao Xinxuan will be upgraded to a new brand called “Miaomanfen,” which will provide a variety of items for Tmall Supermarket. The first batch of products under the new brand will be sold in mid-April.
Geely-Backed Caocao Mobility Reaches Strategic Cooperation With Ruilan Auto
Caocao Mobility, which has received key investment from Chinese automaker Geely, reached a strategic cooperation with Ruilan Auto on Wednesday. Under the partnership, Caocao Mobility will continue to adopt Ruilan Auto’s Maple 60S model in its operations across the country. In addition, Caocao launched two new ride-hailing brands. Gong Xin, CEO of Caocao Mobility, said that its total number of users has now exceeded 120 million.
Intelligent Automation Firm Laiye Acquires French AI Company Mindsay
Beijing-based intelligent automation firm Laiye announced its acquisition of Mindsay, a French conversational AI company. This will further enhance the firm’s capabilities regarding automation products, expand the application of industry solutions and accelerate the transformation of intelligent automation in global organizations in the post-pandemic era.
Cybersecurity Firm Qihoo 360 Launches Metaverse Product “N World”
Cybersecurity company Qihoo 360 has recently launched a metaverse product called “N World,” Tech Planet reported on Friday. The platform is composed of a number of “interest worlds,” which can be created by users.
Xiaomi POCO C40 Smartphone Leaked, Equipped With Non-Qualcomm/MediaTek Chipset
POCO is a smartphone brand launched by Chinese consumer electronics company Xiaomi in overseas markets, among which the C series offers budget models. The Xiaomi POCO C40 has recently passed FCC certification, and its model number is C3QP, according to information discovered by an XDA developers user.
CATL Subsidiary to Build Power Battery Project in Indonesia
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), China’s leading power battery manufacturer, announced on Friday that in order to ensure its supply of key upstream resources and raw materials, Contemporary Brunp Lygend Co., Ltd. (Ningbo Puqin), a subsidiary of CATL, and its partners PT Aneka Tambang Tbk. and PT Industri Baterai Indonesia have jointly invested in the construction of a power battery industry chain project in the Indonesian Industrial Park.
Tencent to Cease Chinese Operations for “Raziel” Game
Tencent announced on Thursday afternoon that it will officially cease operations for its Diablo-like game, “Raziel,” for users in the Chinese mainland at 11:00 on June 15, 2022.