January 11th, 2017 by James Ayre The Chinese tech giant LeEco has begun construction on its planned $3 billion electric car manufacturing facility in China, following a $1.44 billion investment from an unnamed source. The $1.44 billion investment followed a $600 million investment, also from unnamed sources, that followed a leaked internal letter from founder Jia Yueting explaining the firm’s precarious financial situation (caused by too much expansion, according to Yueting). Once completed, the new facility will reportedly be able to manufacture up to 400,000 vehicles a year by 2018. Issues remain, though, with regard to manufacturing licenses for the facility, so who knows if that production goal will be met? Inhabitat provides more: “According to Car News China, LeEco hasn’t yet obtained a government license to produce their LeSee cars at the factory. The outlet even said there’s a “real possibility” the government will refuse LeEco a license, as the CEO isn’t currently popular in Beijing. However, according to the South China Morning Post, a mayor of a city close to the factory said the local government will support the project. “Should LeEco obtain permission, the factory is slated to produce the company’s first concept car, the LeSee. Zhang Hailiang, chief executive of LeEco’s car unit LeSupercar, said the factory will be automated completely, as robots do the bulk of the work. The electric vehicle would be equipped to operate autonomously. Fancy features include five in-car screens, smart seating, and the ability to recharge via magnetic charging stations.” Considering LeEco’s massive involvement in the streaming media market in China, the interior screens are likely intended to be an integral part of the vehicles, providing an easy new means of pushing the company’s media business. VIDEO Related: LeEco Shows Off Bold New EV Concept Billionaire Behind LeEco (& Faraday Future) Slashes His Pay LeEco LeSEE San Francisco Unveiling Provides New Details Atieva’s Complicated EV History, Concept Image & Name (Atvus) Tags: China, Jia Yueting, LeEco, LeEco LeSEE James Ayre James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.
LeEco, the Chinese tech giant, has started building its $3bn electric car manufacturing facility in China. After a leaked internal letter from founder Jia Yueting explained the company's precarious financial situation, it received $1.44bn and $600m investments from two unnamed sources. Upon completion, the facility will have the capacity to manufacture 400,000 vehicles by 2018. However, manufacturing licences to produce LeSee cars have not yet been granted by the Chinese government, which allegedly has issues with the CEO Yueting.