by: Jessica Ferreira
Following BYD, Voyah, Dongfeng and M-Her, Portuguese automobile group Salvador Caetano, will import and distribute a fifth Chinese electric vehicles brand, with a battery supplier in Sines.
The Portuguese group signed an agreement with the Chinese company XPeng to take over the import and distribution of the electric vehicle brand in Portugal and Spain, with sales expected to start in the Iberian markets later this year.
The strategic alliance with the car manufacturer includes the joint development of two electric models for the Chinese market and will, according to Sérgio Ribeiro, executive director of Salvador Caetano Auto, “quickly make XPeng’s technologically advanced electric cars available on the Iberian Peninsula”.
Salvador Caetano Gets Exclusivity for Chinese Car Brands for Portugal and Spain
XPeng, founded in 2014, in Guangzhou, a leading manufacturer and pioneer in intelligent electric vehicle technologies in the Asian country, is launching in Portugal as part of its “Go Abroad 2.0” strategic plan to extend the company’s presence to several countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, presented in 2023.
Xpeng’s main supplier, CALB (China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology), is investing two billion euros in a factory in Sines, which should be operational by the end of 2025 to respond to the current order book on the European continent. It will be the company’s largest industrial unit in Europe, and it is estimated that it could represent around 4% of Portugal’s GDP, as all sales will be exports to the European market.
The agreement signed by Brian Hongdi Gu, chairman of XPeng, and Sérgio Ribeiro, comes just a few weeks after a partnership was signed with Chinese giant Dongfeng Motor Corporation to take over the exclusive import of the Voyah, Dongfeng and M-Hero car brands in Portugal and Spain.
Since May last year, the Portuguese group has also been the representative of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, which ended 2023 as the world leader in the sale of vehicles powered by new energies, for the second year running, having started operations in Portugal with the sale of three models.
The Salvador Caetano Group, founded in 1946 and with more than 7.000 employees, currently has more than a hundred companies in Europe, South America and Africa, and is active in 41 countries in the business areas of industry (automobiles, buses and aeronautics), automobile import and distribution, mobility, industrial equipment, workshops and services.
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