LeEco forays into electric cars, partners Formula E team

Chinese conglomerate LeEco is creating a brand name for itself in the field of electronic cars through collaboration with the Formula E team Dragon Racing, the company announced in London on Friday.

The collaboration is achieved through a strategic partnership between Dragon Racing and Faraday Future, a California based electric vehicle technology developer founded in 2014 and financially backed by LeEco.

However, the two companies have refused to disclose the exact amount of investment LeEco has in Faraday Future.

Under the strategic agreement Faraday Future will supply financial and technical assistance to Dragon Racing, and the team will be renamed Faraday Future Dragon Racing.

LeEco, founded in Beijing in 2004, is a technology conglomerate keen to build a "Le Ecosystem", which is an online platform with content, devices and Internet TV, video production and distribution, smart gadgets and large-screen applications to e-commerce, eco-agriculture and internet-linked electric cars, although the company is yet to build its first electronic car.

"We decided to work with Dragon Racing by sharing our technology with them and give them financial sponsorship because we believe such collaboration fits in with our company's ideologies on sustainability," said Lei Ding, co-founder and global vice chairman of LeEco.

"The strategic partnership with Faraday Future is a critical part of LeEco's SEE plan. LeEco gives its full support towards Faraday Future Dragon Racing, and believes in the future of Formula E, as it aligns LeEco's vision for future eco-transportation. We look forward to working closely with Formula E in this new and exciting motorsport," Lei said.

LeSEE is the electric car developed by LeEco, currently still in its concept stage.

Lei said there are many ways LeEco can contribute towards the collaboration, examples include using LeEco's sports television division to promote the program in China and the world, and using its internet platforms to help Dragon Racing and Formula E racing reach a wider audience.

Officially the FIA Formula E Championship, Formula E is a class of auto racing that uses only electric-powered cars, with inaugural season started in 2014. Each season, the first race begins in Beijing and the last ends in London.

Nick Sampson, senior vice president of R&D and Engineering at Faraday Future, said Faraday Future will give some technical guidance to Dragon Racing's existing electronic racing car technology in the next racing season, and the exact nature of the technical collaboration will be determined at a future date.

"Partnering with Dragon Racing allows us to further showcase our electric vehicle leadership and technical capabilities in one of the most exciting Formulas in the world. I clearly see Formula E as the right venue to challenge our engineers and technologies in the most extreme performance conditions," said Sampson.

Although Faraday Future is also yet to make its own first electric vehicle, the company has revealed a concept vehicle already, known as FF Zero1, earlier this year. Faraday Future is currently building a $1 billion factory in Nevada with financial support from LeEco.

Faraday Future currently has a team of over 1,000, of which over 500 are engineers. It has about 320 patents in the electric vehicle field.

Jay Penske, president of Dragon Racing, said the technology collaboration between Faraday Future and Dragon Racing will cover many aspects, including powertrain, software, and intellectual property.

Penske said Faraday Future's young and strong workforce, its location in the tech hub Silicon Valley, the fact the company focuses purely on electric vehicles and its long term vision to bring connectivity to electric vehicles are all elements that make the partnership attractive for his team.

"We hope dragon racing will be a small part of the future of Faraday Future," Penske said.

LeEco, most famously known for its TV division, launched its electric car division two years ago when it introduced its first electric car ahead of the Beijing auto show. Called LeSEE, the concept sedan is designed to be fully autonomous with a fold-away steering wheel.

LeEco, known as "the Netflix of China," said it intends to make in-car entertainment a key part of its foray into transportation, so essentially integrating automotive into its ecosystem as a medium to access digital content.

This April, LeEco opened its new North American headquarters in San Jose, California, earlier this year with the objective of tapping into Silicon Valley's talent and innovation.