A Chinese video website operator is applying for a license to produce electric vehicles in the world’s largest auto market, as the government prepares a policy to open auto manufacturing to non-carmakers.
Leshi Internet Information & Technology (Beijing) Co. (300104), which streams dramas including NBC’s “The Blacklist” on its letv.com website, has spent the past year developing an EV with the ambition of helping China upend traditional auto industry leaders like the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea while cutting pollution, according to the Beijing-based company.
“This is our dream and passion,” Chairman and President Jia Yueting, 41, said in an interview by e-mail, without elaborating on when the car will be available for sale. “Look at China’s skies, all responsible corporate citizens want to do something about it. This is the truth.”