Starting in 2014, Internet giants like LeEco, Alibaba, Tencent, Google, and Baidu announced to set foot in the field of intelligent connected cars successively. Moreover, the emerging internet firms that venture into car manufacturing such as ZHICHEAUTO, Xiaopeng Motors, NextEV, and WM Motor were successively established, which obviously paces up the development of Internet giants' car manufacturing. In 2016, various news about Internet giants' car manufacturing aroused public concern. First, senior executives of traditional automakers left for internet companies that venture into car manufacturing, and then LeSEE was released and NextEV and JAC signed OEM agreements.
So far, however, the car manufacturing of most internet companies has been still in planning and conceptual phase, but only a few have made substantial progress, which is reflected in the following:
In terms of product, most players have launched concept cars. In July 2016, Alibaba and BAIC jointly rolled out Roewe RX5, a connected car model that can be mass produced, with the order volume of 25,000 units in the first month after the release.
As for the footprint of auto plants, some Internet giants that venture into car manufacturing has started construction of their independent manufacturing factories, such as LeSEE’s Zhejiang Base, Chehejia’sChangwu Base in Changzhou, WM Motor’s Wenzhou Base, and LingyunIntelligent’s Hefei Base; others have confirmed their OEM plants, including NextEV (with JAC), Xiaopeng Motors, and ZHICHEAUTO.
With regard to financing, most Internet giants that venture into car manufacturing have achieved A-round of financing, such as LeSEE (USD1.08 billion), WM Motor (USD1 billion), and Chehejia (USD780 million); only a few companies are conducting B round of financing.
In terms of automotive manufacturing qualification, only a small number of Internet firms have gained qualification for the production of new energy vehicles through M&A or cooperation, these companies including Dearcc (cooperation withSoueast Motor) and Harmony Futeng (through the holding of Zhejiang Green Field Motor). As yet, there has been no individual Internet company that has obtained the qualification for manufacturing new energy vehicles.
In the short run, restricted by basic manufacturing of automobiles and layout of production line, the development of Internet giants that venture into car manufacturing is pessimistic, and they still need to put fund into the development of telematics products, ADAS, and other Internet technological products.
But in the long run, according to the strategic planning for Internet giants' car manufacturing, Internet giants that venture into car manufacturing happen to share the development direction with traditional car makers. Development of electricity–driven, intelligent, and internet-connected auto products helps make it possible to mutually fuse Internet companies’ hardware-oriented development with internet-connection of traditional auto makers, at length leading to a gradual fusion development. This mainly comes out of the following factors: (1) favorable polices on Internet Plus and new energy vehicles; (2) the increase in demand for personalized and customized automobiles; (3) With Internet technical superiority, Internet giants that venture into car manufacturing could easily make layout in Internet-connected vehicles in advance.
The report mainly includes three sections:
(1)Industry policies, development history, development path, financing, and development trend, etc. of China’s Internet giants' car manufacturing industry;
(2)Current situation, enterprise presence, and development trend, etc. of intelligent, electricity-driven, and Internet-connected automobiles in China
(3)Core talents, financing, plants, strategic planning, and development layout, etc. of 13 Chinese Internet giants that venture into car manufacturing
Development History of Major Internet Giants That Venture into Car Manufacturing in China
Global and China Intelligent Vehicle Standard System Construction and Certification Research Report, 2026
Intelligent Driving Standards and Certification: With the Maturing Standardization System, China Will Participate in Formulation of Global Standards
China's automotive industry is transforming from ...
Automotive Intelligent Diagnosis Industry Report, 2026
Automotive Intelligent Diagnosis Research: Powered by AI, Remote Diagnosis Is Being Upgraded towards Intelligence.
ResearchInChina released the Automotive Intelligent Diagnosis Industry Report, 2026....
Automotive Cloud Service Platform Research Report, 2026
Research on automotive cloud service platform: with architecture upgrade and computing power improvement, cloud services enter a new stage
In 2026, the Internet of Vehicles industry generates petaby...
Integrated Battery and Innovative Battery Technology Research Report, 2026
Power Battery Research: Sales of High-Capacity Vehicles Keep Rising, and Solid-State Batteries Begin to Be Installed in Vehicles
I. Sales of High-Capacity Vehicles Sustain Growth, and Those with A C...
Chinese Independent OEMs’ ADAS and Autonomous Driving Report, 2026
Research on OEMs' Intelligent Driving: Era of Physical AI, Standard Configuration of D2D, and Initial Exploration of L3 Commercial Pilot Projects
From 2023 to 2025, the intelligent driving installati...
Intelligent Vehicle New Technology Application Analysis Report, 2025-2026
New Technology Research: Innovative Products such as Bionic Cameras, Vision-LiDAR Fusion Sensors, Auditory Sensors Further Enhance Vehicle Perception Capabilities
ForewordResearchInChina released th...
Automotive Optical Fiber Communication (Optical Fiber Ethernet, PON) and Supply Chain Research Report, 2026
Research on Automotive Optical Fiber Communication: Introduction of Optical Fiber in Vehicles Accelerates, with Priority Deployment in High-Speed Communication Link (10+Gbps) Scenarios
Automotive opt...
Automotive Intelligent Cockpit SoC Research Report, 2026
Automotive Cockpit SoC Research: Passenger Cars in the Price Range of RMB100,000–200,000 Account for Nearly 50% of Total Sales, and New-Generation Cockpit SoC Products Largely Enter Mass Production
P...
LiDAR (Automotive, Pan-Robotics, etc.) Application Research Report, 2025-2026
LiDAR research: hardware competition shifts to combined sensing capabilities from "point cloud" to "images” and from automotive to robots The "LiDAR (Automotive, Pan-Robotics, ...
Global and China Passenger Car T-Box Market Report, 2026
Based on 2025 market data and the latest business layouts of OEMs and suppliers from 2025 to 2026, this report analyzes the development status quo and future trends of China’s passenger car T-Box mark...
Global and China Range Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Research Report, 2026
Research on REEVs and PHEVs: Foreign OEMs are considering extended-range technology as an important strategic option and will launch a series of new vehicles
Global PHEVs & REEVs tend to be domin...
Automotive Voice Industry Report, 2026
Automotive Voice Research: Explosive Growth in Features Like "See and Speak", 35-Fold Increase in External Voice Interaction in Two Years
ResearchInChina has released the Automotive Voice Industry R...
China Passenger Car Digital Chassis Research Report, 2026
Research on Digital Chassis: Leading OEMs Have Completed Configuration of Version 2.0 1. Leading OEMs Have Completed Configuration of Digital Chassis 2.0
By the degree of wired control of each c...
Vehicle Functional Safety and Safety Of The Intended Functionality (SOTIF) Research Report, 2026
Multiple Mandatory Standards for Intelligent Vehicles in China Upgrade Functional Safety Requirements from Recommended to Mandatory Access Criteria In 2026, China has intensively issued and promo...
Automotive 12V/48V Low-Voltage Lithium-ion Battery/Sodium-ion Battery Industry Research Report, 2026
Research on 12V/48V automotive low-voltage lithium-ion (sodium-ion) batteries: promoted by regulations and standardization, it is imperative to "replace lithium-ion (sodium-ion) batteries with lead-ac...
Next-Generation Automotive Wireless Communication Technologies (6G/5G-A, NearLink, Satellite Communication, UWB, etc.) and Automotive Communication Module Industry Report, 2026
Research on Next-Generation Communication and Modules: Accelerated Deployment of 5G-A, Satellite Communication, NearLink, UWB and Other Technologies in Automobiles
Automotive wireless communication t...
Research on Zonal Architecture: Smart Actuators (Micro-motors) and Application Trends in Sub-scenarios, 2026
Smart Actuator and Micro-motor Research: Under Zonal Architecture, Actuators Are Developing towards Edge Computing, 48V, and Brushless Motors.
The core components of automotive zonal architecture mai...
China Passenger Car Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) Industry Report, 2025
In 2025, NOA standardization was popularized, refined and deepened in parallel. In 2026, core variables will be added to the competitive landscape.
The evolution of autonomous driving follows a clear...