Chinese internet giant LeEco announced Wednesday that it’s going to invest 20 billion yuan ($3 billion USD) to build an automotive plant as well as an ‘eco automotive experience’ complex in China’s Zhejiang Province.
The park, which will be 2.87 square kilometers, will include an electric car plant which has an annual production capability of around 400,000 cars. The investment in auto manufacturing facilities totals 12 billion yuan, the company says. Phase 1 investment capital is set at 6 billion yuan and will result in an annual production capacity of 200,000 cars. Phase 2 is scheduled to begin within two years of Phase 1.
Jia Yueting, CEO and founder of the company, said that the plant would host China’s first high-end car (D-class) assembly line with independent intellectual property rights.
The rest of the capital will go into a automotive theme park, which will supposedly allows customers to experience concept auto projects and other related technology.
According to the plan, all vehicles used in the “automotive eco-town” will be electric, shared, and driven autonomously. In addition, LeEco will also use content resources, such as music, sports and film etc. in the town.
LeEco, previously known as LeTV, started as a video streaming service provider in 2004. The company has diversified rapidly with into smart devices, cloud computing and film production.
LeEco’s electric car project “LeSee” was launched in 2014. The company has partnered with Aston Martin and GAC Group. In April, the company unveiled LeSee, an all-electric concept car with autonomous vehicle capabilities.
LeEco founder Jia Yueting is also an investor in U.S. electric car startup Faraday Future, which promised last year to spend $1 billion USD on a factory built near Las Vegas.
