New | ZTE buys Granton Auto to join the game of assembling electric buses and new-energy vehicles

ZTE, China's largest-listed telecommunications equipment maker, said it plans to expand into the country’s burgeoning industry of new-energy vehicles by buying a domestic coach manufacturer.

The company’s new unit, ZTE Smart Auto Corp, bought 70 per cent of Granton Automobile Co in Zhuhai, with annual sales of around 1,000 buses and about 1 billion yuan in annual revenue, according to ZTE vice-president Academus Tian. Granton exports some of its buses to Hong Kong, Germany and the Netherlands.

The move is the first to help ZTE forge a new business in smart and new energy vehicles, projected to generate as much as 100 billion yuan in annual revenue by 2026 in China, Tian told the South China Morning Post. ZTE paid “several hundred million yuan” for its acquisition, he said, declining to specify.

“Undoubtedly, the new-energy vehicle market boasts huge growth potential in China,” he said. “Acquiring the traditional coach manufacturer is an efficient way for ZTE to get into smart vehicles and apply our wireless charging and telecommunication technology.”

Electric buses equipped with ZTE’s wireless-charging technology, which currently operates in Zhengzhou, can be fully charged in 4 hours, he said. After the acquisition, Granton plans to assemble 2,000 coaches including electric buses and mini delivery trucks next year, he said.

ZTE also plans to invest several billions of yuan to set up a smart car manufacturing base in Zhuhai with the annual capacity of producing 10,000 new-energy buses and 20,000 logistics vehicles when construction is completed in two years, he said, declining to specify the company’s investment.

Compared to Chinese tech start-ups for building smart and electric cars, ZTE has an advantage in capital and technology in wireless charging, artificial intelligence and vehicle-to-everything communications, Tian said.