Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

China’s BAIC invests in US startup aiming to take on Tesla Motors

Ronan Glon
By

Atieva EV teaser
The list of companies looking to fight head to head against Tesla Motors is getting bigger every month. Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC), one of China’s largest automakers, has invested a substantial amount of money in a California-based startup named Atieva in order to develop electric cars for markets all around the globe.

Co-founded in 2007 by former Tesla Vice President Bernard Tse and Astoria Networks founder Sam Weng, Atieva initially built components for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, but it quickly turned its attention to becoming a full-fledged car maker. A major deal with BAIC offshoot Beijing Electric Vehicle Company is expected to provide Atieva with the funds it needs to reach its goal. Atieva has also inked partnerships with Germany’s Siemens, a South Korean firm called SK Group that makes battery cells, and an Italian company named CECOMP that specializes in the small-scale production of cars and in building prototypes.

Related Videos

BAIC and Atieva are currently designing their first car at a newly inaugurated research center in Silicon Valley, and an early sketch (pictured) published on the company’s official website suggests the model will boast a highly aerodynamic design with a sleek, fastback-like silhouette. Reuters has seen more revealing design sketches, and it reports that the car looks like “a futuristic descendant of the Audi A7.” We’ll let you judge whether or not that’s a flattering description.

Engineers are putting a big emphasis on performance; clearly, Tesla’s oft-publicized Ludicrous Mode has left no one in the auto industry indifferent. That’s why the startup is working on an all-electric drivetrain programmed to generate no less than 900 horsepower. The setup is currently installed in a heavily modified Mercedes-Benz Vito, a midsize commercial van that’s closely related to the Metris. The roughly 5,000-pound van is capable of hitting 60 mph from a stop in just 3.1 seconds, on par with many of the world’s most-expensive sports cars, and Atieva predicts its first series-produced car will perform that same task in approximately 2.7 seconds.

Atieva’s A7-like premium sedan is scheduled to launch in 2018, and the lineup will grow with the addition of two premium crossovers in 2020-2021. By the time these three models hit the market, the company’s rivals could also include an enigmatic startup named Faraday Future that’s currently based in a former Nissan research and design building in Gardena, California.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
How much does an electric car battery cost?
electrify america evgo and chargepoint interoperability agreement for electric car charging station

Electric cars are often hailed as being cheaper to operate and repair than gas-powered cars. It makes sense — on the operation side, you only need to pay for electricity (not gasoline), and on the repair side, there’s no motor or transmission to deal with.

But electric cars have other costly repairs, and while in total they do generally cost less than repairs for gasoline cars, it’s worth knowing about the potential costs ahead of time. Perhaps the most obvious, and one of the most costly, has to do with an electric car’s battery. After all, while all cars have batteries, those in electric cars are far bigger and more advanced — and thus can cost quite a bit to replace.
How much does an electric car battery cost?

Read more
Tesla Cybertruck prototype spotted with minor changes
A Tesla Cybertruck prototype.

What appears to be a new Tesla Cybertruck prototype has been spotted testing on public roads.

As relayed by Electrek, Twitter user Greg posted a photo Thursday showing a Cybertruck with a different front-end design from what we've seen previously. The front bumper has a more distinct rectangular opening, possibly for cooling. This prototype also has triangular side mirrors, as opposed to the squared-off ones seen previously.

Read more
Why you should consider a plug-in hybrid in 2023
2020 audi q5 tfsi e first drive review phev 19

EVs are all the rage — and it makes sense. Electric vehicles allow you to avoid high gas prices and feel good about not impacting the environment as much, plus they’re usually sleek, stylish, and fast.

But in 2023, owning an EV isn’t for everyone. After all, charging stations, while improving, still aren’t as common as they should be -- and depending on your car, they sometimes aren’t all that fast. If you’re worried about those issues, there’s an alternative — a plug-in hybrid (also known as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or PHEV). These are cars that essentially offer the best of both worlds: A battery and electric motor for quick, clean trips around town, and a gas engine for longer road trips.
What makes a PHEV so great?

Read more