The founder and chairman of the board of the Chinese auto giant Geely, Li Shufu, intends to organize the production of his own premium smartphones, Reuters reported on September 28.
The resource specified that a new company, Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology Co, has already been registered for the project, its headquarters is located in Wuhan province, 55% of it belongs personally to Li Shufu, the rest is registered on Geely.
Li Shufu explains his vision this way: “There is a close relationship between smart car interior technology and smart phones. The main trend of the future is to create an ecosystem between different devices so that it is more convenient for users to operate them.”
Smartphones of the Geely holding will be aimed at the premium segment (that is, the retail price of devices is from $400). Now it is dominated by Apple with a 57% share, about 17% of the market is controlled by Samsung (data from Counterpoint analytical company).
Investments in the project will amount to 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion). The production of smartphones from Geely will start in 2023, in the first year the company plans to sell at least 3 million devices.
Geely is the first automaker to announce its intention to launch its own smartphone. But there are already reverse cases - for example, Apple and Xiaomi are preparing their electric cars.
Smartphone from Geely will be released in 2023
