China’s Great Wall says in talks with BMW for Mini cooperation, no JV signed yet

A man takes a look at second-hand BMW cars at a dealer shop in Beijing, China, September 11, 2015. (File photo by Reuters)
Updated 13 October 2017
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China’s Great Wall says in talks with BMW for Mini cooperation, no JV signed yet

SHANGHAI: China’s Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd. on Friday said it was in talks with BMW to cooperate on vehicles including those the German firm produces under the Mini brand, and that the pair have not yet agreed on any new ventures.
Great Wall made the comments in a stock exchange filing.
Reuters earlier this week reported the two automakers were looking to establish a joint venture in China.
Great Wall said trading in its Hong Kong and mainland-listed shares would resume on Monday. The company suspended trading in the shares on Oct. 12 and Sept. 29 respectively.
BMW, in a separate statement, said it aimed to expand business in China and could imagine partnership and cooperation for the Mini brand.


Price cuts drive sales of Saudi-owned electric car

Updated 09 July 2024
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Price cuts drive sales of Saudi-owned electric car

  • Lucid delivers more vehicles than expected as it prepares to launch luxury new Gravity SUV

RIYADH: The majority Saudi-owned electric car maker Lucid delivered more vehicles than expected in the past three months as price cuts helped boost demand.
The company delivered 2,394 cars from April to June 30, above analysts’ predictions of 1,940.

Lucid produced 3,838 vehicles in the first six months of 2024 and needs to make more than 5,162 cars by end of the year to meet its annual output forecast of 9,000. It made 8,428 cars in 2023.
“I think at this point everything is shaping for them to achieve that,” said Andres Sheppard, senior equity analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. Lucid will produce and deliver more cars in the second half of the year because of the usual seasonal effects on the industry, he said.

Demand for electric vehicles has grown more slowly than expected pace in the past year, under pressure from high borrowing costs, economic uncertainties and consumer preference for hybrid alternatives.
Lucid and the market leader Tesla have responded by slashing prices and offering incentives such as cheaper financing options. Lucid, which is 60-per-cent owned by the Public Investment Fund, the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, cut the price of its flagship Air model by 10 percent in February.
Its new Gravity SUV model, a rival for Tesla's Model X, goes into production this year and will cost about $80,000.