Didi in talks with Haima Automobile about EV partnership: sources

[HONG KONG] Didi Global is in talks with Haima Automobile about a partnership to manufacture electric vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Chinese ride-hailing giant is also discussing potential partnerships with other carmakers, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. Deliberations are ongoing and no final decision on the arrangement has been made, the people said.

Didi, facing a regulatory crackdown in China over its privacy and cybersecurity practices, is one of several of the nation's big tech companies seeking to break into the growing market for electric cars.

It launched an EV for ride sharing in late 2020 in partnership with Chinese automaker BYD and has been hiring automobile R&D staff in Beijing and Shenzhen, according to local media reports.

A representative for Didi wasn't immediately able to comment. Haima Automobile said it had no such cooperation at present.

Haikou, Hainan-based Haima Automobile makes minivans, new energy vehicles and other types of passenger vehicles. It used to have a manufacturing partnership with Chinese EV startup Xpeng, producing Xpeng's first car the Xpeng G3, but that ended in December.

Didi's planned Hong Kong stock exchange listing was suspended after the company failed to appease Chinese regulators' demands that it overhaul its systems for the handling of sensitive user data, Bloomberg News reported last month. BLOOMBERG