In China, the electric vehicle production capacity has seriously exceeded demand, leading to a third year of intense competition and price wars with no signs of improvement in sight. On Tuesday, October 14th, the e-commerce giant JD.com suddenly announced a collaboration with CATL’s Evxstore and GAC Group to launch a new car, which will officially go on sale during the “Double 11” shopping event.
At JD.com’s “11.11 Surprise Opening Day” on October 14th, JD Auto announced the joint launch of a new car with CATL’s Evxstore and GAC Group. By integrating JD.com’s user insights and resources in car purchasing and maintenance, GAC’s vehicle manufacturing capabilities, and CATL’s battery technology and charging ecosystem, they aim to innovate a one-stop automotive consumption model.
According to the plan, the car will be officially unveiled during the “JD.com Double 11” period and will be exclusively sold on the JD.com platform.
JD.com Group informed “Jiemian News” that they will gradually start internal testing and public test-drive activities at the end of October, with the official announcement of the new car scheduled for November 9th.
Several media outlets speculate that JD.com may be venturing into the automotive industry by producing their own cars under the JD brand. Responding to “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily”, JD.com stated that this new car is a result of the collaboration of three parties, with JD.com primarily providing consumer insights and exclusive sales, without directly involving in the manufacturing process.
Despite JD.com’s response, the discussion around the “JD Car Manufacturing” label continues to trend on Weibo.
Automotive reviews expert and Weibo influencer “Evaluation by Little Xi” commented, “Surprising! JD.com is actually announcing they will be producing cars? JD Auto announces the joint launch with CATL’s Evxstore and GAC Group… In essence, GAC is manufacturing, CATL is providing batteries, and JD.com is helping with sales and maintenance under their brand. It’s said to be launched during the Double 11. Looks like all companies are diving into the car market.”
Netizens commented, “Lei Jun is making his own cars, JD.com is similar to Huawei in labeling, who doesn’t see through this?” “So many are producing cars, isn’t this track already saturated?”
Public records show that JD.com launched its whole car trading platform in 2018, established the Automotive Business Unit in 2021, upgraded “JD Car Club” to “JD Auto Care” in 2022, covering automotive parts sales and offline maintenance. In 2023, JD.com’s Automotive Business Unit became independent.
In 2021, JD.com collaborated with Skyworth Auto to release the “JD Selected Cars” series. The first customized model, ME5 PLUS, went on sale on the JD.com platform. However, the online buzz did not translate into actual sales. At that time, JD.com’s flagship store for ME5 had almost no orders, and the delivery system and service capabilities were not established.