LeTV becomes major investor in charging station producer

Ding Lei, former vice-president of SAIC Motor Corp, recently joined LeTV and became a co-founder of its electric-car unit Leshi Super Electric Car Co, said Jia Yueting, founder and chief executive of LeTV.

Many other Chinese Internet companies are also showing interest in the automotive industry.

China's e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding and automaker SAIC Motor Corp announced earlier this year that they would invest 1 billion yuan ($156.2 million) to develop Internet-connected vehicles. The fund will promote the development of "cars on the Internet" and build operational platforms for the cars.

Chinese reports said a 50-50 joint venture between SAIC Motor and Alibaba will be set up based on the fund. The joint venture aims to roll out China's first Internet car in 2016.

Tencent Holdings, Baidu Inc and Xiaomi Corp are all marching into the sector through either partnerships or acquisitions.

Miao Wei, minister of Industry and Information Technology, said in March that China encourages Internet companies to develop electric vehicles.

It is estimated that there are about 120,000 new-energy vehicle owners in China but only 30,000 charging posts.

Despite the lack of charging infrastructure, new-energy vehicles are gaining momentum in the country.

China sold 108,654 units in the first eight months of this year, a 270-percent rise from the same period last year. Of those, the majority were pure electric models.

Citing consulting firms' estimates, LeTV said the auto charging infrastructure industry will generate 33 billion yuan in 2016 and 100 billion yuan in 2020.