Senmiao Technology announces second order of 500 electric vehicles under framework agreement with BYD

Senmiao Technology Limited, a provider of automobile transaction and related services targeting the online ride-hailing industry in China as well as an operator of its own online ride-hailing platform, announced that it has ordered another 500 electric vehicles manufactured by BYD Company Limited from an authorized dealer of BYD Auto Sales Co., Ltd., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BYD. These automobiles are expected to be delivered to Senmiao by March 2021.

Senmiao initially expects to provide finance and leasing options for these EVs to ride-hailing drivers in one of Senmiao’s two principal markets, Changsha, while exploring new potential cities in which to expand. Senmiao has seen an increase in demand for EVs in financial leasing and operating leasing due to the recent launch of its own proprietary ride-hailing platform, Xixingtianxia. Senmiao also expects to implement services and technology in these vehicles in preparation for ride-hailing activities, including advanced telematics and mapping software.

The order was made pursuant to the previously announced framework agreement with BYD Auto Sales Co., Ltd. for the purchase of BYD manufactured EVs and joint promotion of the use of EVs in China’s ride-hailing market. With this second order, Senmiao has ordered 1,000 of the anticipated 5,000 vehicles in 2020-21. Senmiao intends to finance the purchase of these vehicles through a combination of cash on hand along with financing made available to Senmiao through its collaboration with BYD.

Xi Wen, Senmiao’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are pleased to have made our second order of 500 EVs from our partner BYD, given the positive reception of EVs from our initial order in November 2020. We anticipate continued strong demand for our finance and leasing offerings with the development of our online ride-hailing platform in Changsha as the ride-hailing market returns to normalcy following the impact of the pandemic in 2020. Our core markets Chengdu and Changsha are excellent examples of a paradigm shift throughout China in the ride-hailing market, as the onset of ride-generating aggregation platforms such as Gaode Map and Meituan are helping to balance the competitive dynamics across the industry. We feel that Senmiao is in an advantageous position with both growing brand recognition and strong working relationships with manufacturers, technology providers and large E-commerce platforms. We are currently focused on expanding our share in the Chengdu and Changsha markets where we generated over 1.3 million rides or orders in the last calendar quarter of 2020. Furthermore, we are confident that we will be able to successfully replicate our model in new markets this year.”