Tusimple, a Beijing-based start-up focused on developing autonomous trucks, has received funding from U.S. firm Nvidia, which will own 3% of Tusimple following its investment. Previously, Tusimple received CNY50 million in angel investment from Chinese telecom company Sina, and the start-up also said it had secured financing from various investors in its latest Series-B funding round. A total of USD929 million was invested in driverless technology in China – including self-driving vehicles – in this year’s first quarter, according to a report by research firm CB Insights, making it one of the most popular sectors for early-stage investment. Nvidia has already forged alliances with automakers Audi, Toyota and Volvo, and has a partnership with Baidu to bring artificial intelligence (AI) to cloud computing, self-driving vehicles and AI home assistants. Tusimple is now part of Nvidia’s AI program for start-ups, which aims to encourage collaboration and promote the U.S. chip designer’s technology, including the Drive PX 2 platform, an AI computing platform for self-driving cars. Tusimple has tested its autonomous trucks in Arizona, and in a port city in Hebei province. The company now plans to test self-driving trucks on a Chinese expressway next month, the South China Morning Post reports.

China’s new-energy vehicle (NEV) market is set to post a slower growth rate of 18.3% this year compared with a 53% expansion last year, consulting firm AlixPartners said. The slowdown is due to a reduction of tax incentives and the government’s subsidy cut on new-energy vehicles. New energy vehicles approved last year need to be reviewed and reevaluated according to the government subsidy policy announced this year. AlixPartners estimated that 600,000 new-energy vehicles will be sold this year, up from 507,000 units last year. The firm sees electric vehicles to take up 83% of total sales in 2017.

British premium automaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced it will build its new compact SUV Jaguar E-PACE in China. The company said its plants in the United Kingdom are close to full capacity, and it expects demand for the five-seat E-PACE would be high after the mid-sized F-PACE SUV became the fastest-selling car in the company’s history, with 80,000 sold so far this year. JLR launched the E-PACE in London last week, with a stunt driver making it into the Guinness Book of World Records with a 15.3 meter jump and 270-degree barrel roll in the vehicle. In China, the carmaker’s joint venture, Chery Jaguar Land Rover, will build the cars at its factory in Changshu, Jiangsu province. Vehicles produced will be for local customers. The car will go on sale in China next year. The joint venture, which started production in late 2014, is currently manufacturing the Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Discovery Sport, and Jaguar XFL in China. John Zeng, Managing Director of LMC Automotive Shanghai, said the localized model will help JLR to make faster inroads into the compact SUV segment in China, which is currently dominated by the Audi Q3, the BMW X1 and the Mercedes-Benz GLA. SUVs have been the fastest growing sector in the Chinese market, with sales soaring nearly 17% year-on-year in the first half of the year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Pan Qing, Executive Director of Jaguar Land Rover China, said: “The Jaguar brand has caught the imagination of Chinese consumers, as evidenced by the 144% year-on-year growth in the first six months of 2017. China, where some 120,000 JLR vehicles were sold in 2016, is the company’s largest single-country market, generating one-fifth of global sales, the China Daily reports.

Volkswagen has set a target to sell one million electric cars annually by 2025, with sales in the Chinese market being a key driver of that growth. “We will launch four families of electric cars by 2025 and the Chinese mainland will be the single largest market,” Jürgen Stackmann, Director of Global Sales and Marketing for Volkswagen Passenger Cars, told the South China Morning Post. Stackmann said the shortage of infrastructure, especially the shortage of battery charging stations, would be “solved very soon”. “I am not at all worried about this issue as the Chinese government has a long term commitment to make electric car development happen in the country,” he added. Volkswagen will begin delivery of its first electric car by 2020 – the same time frame Tesla plans to ship one million vehicles a year. In spite of government support, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China is relatively low, accounting for only 2% in 2017, while battery-powered electric cars have less than 1% market share. China has set a target of getting five million hybrid and electric vehicles on the road by 2020 when subsidies are expected to be canceled. However, there are some concerns that the high cost of batteries will hinder electric carmakers from earning a profit over the next two or three years. Stackmann believes batteries will become more affordable, making the overall price of electric cars acceptable. Despite profitability concerns, most carmakers, including China’s domestic brands Geely and BYD, have ambitions to increase their market share in electric cars.

Renault Group entered into a joint venture with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings to focus on the manufacturing and sale of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) under the Jinbei and Renault brands. Hong Kong-listed Brilliance China will acquire a 100% holding in Shenyang Brilliance Jinbei Automobile, then sell 49% of the shares to the French automaker. Both partners will inject a total of CNY1.5 billion in accordance with the 51:49 ratio. The 49% Shenyang Brilliance Jinbei shares were valued at CNY1. “Renault is entering into a promising and high-potential Chinese LCV market, which accounts for upwards of 3 million vehicles per year,” said Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Renault. Sources in the auto sector said the new joint venture might help Renault consolidate its presence in China with a new production base in Shenyang. The French automaker’s new business would take a market share of 3.5%. In 2016, the Chinese market saw 353,600 light passenger vehicles and 1.5 million light trucks sold, the China Daily reports.