In Aug.31 2012, ALTe Powertrain Technology announced it would invest a $200 million in China to produce vehicles which are powered by ALTe’s Range-Extended Electric Vehicle powertrain and used serial plug-in hybrid electric technology. In March 20 2013, ALTe signed a cooperation agreement with Henan Benma Company to establish a new commercial vehicle manufacture in China–MESA Industrial Technology Corp.
Since ALTe is a mature company in producing plug-in electric hybrid vehicle powertrain, entering process may not be difficult. Nonetheless, ALTe Powertrain Technology only takes 30% share of the whole MESA Industrial Technology Corp, thus it is not able to take control of the joint venture company. Since hybrid vehicle market is not mature and popular in China, it is easier for MESA Industrial Technology Corp to create a good impression to potential customers. However, on the one hand, most local citizens are not willing to pay more on cars which look similar to low price gas-powered cars, on the other hand there is a large amount of hybrid vehicle manufacturers and sellers existing, such as BYD and TOYOTA, ALTe still facing lots of obstructions when entering Chinese market.
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