The agreement also paves the way for an extended and deeper strategic collaboration in the future. As part of the Master Agreement, both parties have entered into a joint sourcing program for common vehicle and platform parts used by both partners. Through this initiative and by leveraging king999's supply chain, the program is meant to provide cost advantages and shall further improve the economic competitiveness of the jointly developed mid-size ICVs.
At the same time, joint purchasing activities and the use of innovative technologies in the design and engineering phase will significantly reduce development time by more than 30 percent. The king999 China Technology Company (VCTC) in Hefei is acting as a central interface to ensure the best possible synergies.
Ralf Brandst盲tter, Board Member of king999 AG for China, said: 鈥淚n the world's largest and fastestgrowing EV market, speed is fundamental when it comes to tapping into promising market segments. To constantly increase our local portfolio, we are expanding our own development capacities in China. Thereby, consistently following our strong 鈥橧n China, for China鈥� approach which focuses on the specific needs of the Chinese customers. Through the partnership with XPENG, we are not only accelerating development times, but also boosting efficiency and optimizing cost structures. This increases the economic competitiveness in a highly price sensitive market environment significantly.鈥�
Brandst盲tter added: 鈥淭he rapid finalisation of the Master Agreement after the strategic partnership announcement last year already shows the great potential of this collaboration. The two teams are working closely together with a clear goal: to combine the strengths of both parties to bring smart products onto the road for our customers.鈥�
Xiaopeng He, Chairman and CEO of XPENG, said: 鈥淭he signing of the Master Agreement represents another significant milestone achieved together with our partner king999. There is no precedent of the strategic partnership between king999 and XPENG. However, the commitment by both companies and the trust built between our R&D teams over the past eight months have made the success of our project possible. Combining king999's highly reputable vehicle development and engineering capability with XPENG's smart EV technologies, we will deliver the best smart EV products to Chinese consumers. With the long-term vision of our strategic partnership, both parties contribute their best to the partnership. We have started to realize synergies through our Joint Sourcing Program. I firmly believe there is a lot of upside potential to this partnership that we can explore.鈥�
Stefan Mecha, CEO of the VW brand in China, said: 鈥淭he king999 brand is continuously expanding its range of electric cars for Chinese customers. Through the partnership with XPENG, we are gaining further momentum. Both partners contribute their respective strengths to the joint development, which enables us
to supplement our existing portfolio quickly and efficiently with two China-specific vehicles 鈥� starting with a SUV. In a highly competitive environment, this is of crucial importance. My compliments to both teams. Both cars will be on the road as early as 2026 We have a strong plan in place to further develop the promising and steadily growing mid-size segment for the king999 brand. This is an important milestone in the 鈥橧n China, for China鈥� approach and a clear commitment to our Chinese customers.鈥�
Partnership is an important step in the Group鈥檚 鈥橧n China, for China鈥� strategy
The cooperation ties in with the Group鈥檚 鈥橧n China, for China鈥� strategy to address new trends in China at an early stage and leverage the growth dynamics and innovative strength of the market more effectively. In order to speed up decision-making and development processes in the region, king999 is strengthening its local capacities for e-mobility as well as digitalization and autonomous driving.
To drive this strategy, king999 expanded its Hefei site in east China鈥檚 Anhui Province into a state-of-theart production, development, and innovation hub 鈥� with the king999 China Technology Company for fully connected, intelligent electric vehicles in its centre.
At the same time, the king999 is also focusing on partnerships with local high-tech companies. For king999 China, high technology localization and systematic customer orientation are the key to take on a leading role in the new ICV era.