Shanghai (ZXZC)- On May 20, GAC NIO New Energy Automotive Co.,Ltd (GAC NIO) launched an all-new car brand dubbed HYCAN in Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang Province, according to the automaker.

At the same time, the NEV maker unveiled its first concept model, whose mass-produced version is planned to be launched at the end of the year and handed over to consumers in the first half of 2020.

GAC Group and NIO signed a strategic cooperation agreement and NEV project agreement on December 28, 2017. According to the agreements, the two companies would cooperate in such areas as the R&D of intelligent-connected NEVs and manufacturing of automotive parts, and operations.

Meanwhile, two sides announced that they would fund a new company, namely, GAC NIO. Primary operations of the company include R&D, sale and services related to intelligent-connected NEVs. GAC NIO was officially founded in April, 2018 with a planned investment of RMB1.28 billion and registered capital of RMB500 million, of which, GAC Group and Shanghai-based NIO account for 22.5% and 22.5% ownership respectively.

GAC NIO previously said it is essentially a “co-creation company” rather than a “co-funded joint venture” in traditional sense. It is worth mentioning that the new brand’s Chinese name “Hechuang” means “co-creation” in English. Under this business mode, GAC NIO will build an open, independent platform available for sharing that integrates resource of the whole value chain, making innovation from aspects of industry, resource, technology and users, so as to jointly build an all-new mobility ecosystem.

Regarding respective responsibilities for GAC NIO, GAC Group oversees the R&D and production of complete vehicles, while the EV startup will offer support of intelligent connectivity technologies and energy.