Ford Motor Company (Ford) reached a joint venture agreement with Zotye Auto (Zotye) to establish Zotye Ford Automobile Co. Ltd., a 50:50 joint venture with a total investment amount of RMB 5 billion. The new joint venture will develop a series of economic-type pure electric passenger vehicle products under its own brand. This joint effort made by Ford and Zotye has drawn great attention from the industry and becomes another "masterpiece" for the cooperation between multinational and local automotive manufacturers in the domestic new energy vehicles (NEV) market.

Ford is one of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers. It already operates two successful vehicle joint ventures in China, Changan Ford and JMC. Zotye is the earliest auto brand in China that entered into the pure electric vehicle market. The new joint venture is the third one set up by Ford in China. It will build a new manufacturing plant in Zhejiang Province, equipped with a product R&D center and a dedicated sales and service network which will help Ford bring more NEV products to Chinese consumers as well as make a major leap in creating a greener, sustainable future.

The project is part of Ford’s global strategy. Acting as counsel for Ford, KWM provided a full range of legal services covering investment, intellectual property, listed company compliance and antitrust filing, including due diligence, project negotiation and the preparation of transaction documents. The formal establishment of the new joint venture is yet to be approved by the Chinese government and the KWM team will continue to provide legal support. The project is led by partners Li Xiaoyang, Wang Lixin, Su Juan, Xie Yuanxun and Kate Peng.

Li Xiaoyang commented, “We’re pleased to provide professional legal services for Ford to further expand its business in China. As the world's largest NEV market, China has increasingly become a strategic market for renowned automotive companies. With extensive project experience in the NEV industry and accurate understanding on policies, we are well positioned to provide our clients with a full range of services.”