Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Chinese start-up Byton Ltd (拜騰) are stepping up cooperation in the development of electric vehicles (EVs), with reports that Hon Hai would station experts at Byton’s factory.
Chinese media on Saturday reported that Hon Hai would send about 100 engineers to Byton’s headquarters in Nanjing next year to help them move up mass production of its electric vehicles.
At a virtual meeting with Byton on Friday, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said the company is not only eyeing the success of Byton, but hoping to capitalize on their partnership to make Nanjing a hub for electric vehicles, the reports said.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Hon Hai, Byton and the Nanjing Development Zone on Jan. 4 signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement to jointly accelerate production of Byton’s first model, the M-Byte, by the first quarter of next year.
“We are pleased to work with Byton to advance the production of the M-Byte. This will allow us to contribute to further growing the electric vehicle industry, a demonstration of our commitment to the transformation of the traditional automotive industry,” Liu said in a statement.
The company has been ambitiously eyeing a share of the electric vehicle market since Liu took office in 2019. It in October last year launched an open platform for electric vehicles for all stakeholders to utilize as they develop functional attributes and systems that would support market growth.
More than 400 companies worldwide have so far participated in the platform and Liu has said that the sector is looking promising for the first half of this year.
Analysts have said that global electric vehicle production would reach 4.58 million this year, up about 60 percent from last year’s 2.86 million.
Among those, 2.09 million are expected to be sold in China, compared with 1.21 million last year.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01