Chinese automaker to set up smartphone manufacturing facility

A new venture from the founder of Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding will aim to release its first smartphone by 2023 and sell 3 million units in its first year, Report informs referring to Reuters.

Geely, which owns Volvo, announced that chairman Eric Li, also known as Li Shufu, will launch a new company that will make premium smartphones, taking it into a competitive sector dominated by a handful of giants.

Geely is the first established carmaker to commit to selling smartphones, though smartphone makers are venturing into the electric vehicle market.

"There is a close connection in technologies within intelligent vehicle cockpits and smartphone technologies," Li said in the statement. "The major trend in the coming future is to create user ecosystems across borders and provide users with a more convenient, smarter, and seamlessly connected multi-screen experience."

The statement said Li's new company, Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology Co Ltd, has signed an agreement with the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone to set up a headquarters in the central city of Wuhan, where it will develop smart devices, including smartphones.