Beijing (ZXZC)- Bosch entered into a strategic agreement with China’s intelligent EV technology startup, U Power, with funds invested through its subsidiary venture capital, U Power announced today.

U Power, Bosch signing ceremony; photo credit: U Power

Per the agreement, the two companies will be cooperating in integrated chassis technologies, supporting the development of U Power’s “UP Super Chassis”. In the meantime, the startup announced the completion of its Pre-A+ round of financing, led by Bosch’s newly established Boyuan Capital. The investment marked the capital’s first-ever investment since establishment.

U Power was founded by Li Peng, a former executive of Great Wall Motor, in April 2021, aiming to redefine the automotive development process by dividing chassis from the body. The company’s self-developed “UP Super Chassis” is customizable for different hardware standards and software platforms, improving productivity. The said chassis is estimated to shorten R&D time to one year while lowering up to 60% of production cost.

CEO of Boyuan Capital, Zhu Lin said, that under the trend of intelligent vehicle making, the value of the traditional automotive supply chain has changed. A lot of new players entered the field, with U Power being particularly technological and promising.

Nowadays, China’s intelligent EV industry has been undergoing increasingly fierce competition. With the progress made in vehicle modularization and intellectualization, the body-chassis-separated manufacturing pattern became possible. Several international startups have already shown results in the field, cooperating with major automakers.

In China, the “super chassis” concept remains fresh. Founder of U Power, Li Peng, said many companies from different backgrounds crave to enter into the future mobility field, but automaking has a high barrier. U Power aims to realize “automaking freedom” through its “UP Super Chassis” technology.