Hyundai to build Tesla knockoff for Chinese EV maker Arcfox
South Korean automaker Hyundai Motors plans to build EVs under the brand Arcfox, a Chinese electric car company co-owned by BAIC Motor Corp.
Hyundai and BAIC agreed to build Arcfox EVs at the South Korean automaker’s Beijing plant, according to a new report from the Korean Economic Daily Global.
Established in 2017, Arcfox is a 50-50 joint venture between Hyundai and BAIC. The electric car brand has several models in production, including the Alpha-S.
The Arcfox Alpha S looks like a cross between the Tesla Model S and Hyundai’s IONIQ 6. Arcfox released a new “HI” version as its first EV powered by Huawei technology that looks even more like a Tesla.
Industry sources said discussions are still ongoing Wednesday. If true, it would be the first time Hyundai produces EVs under a foreign brand.
The move comes as Hyundai looks to turn things around in the world’s largest EV market. Hyundai’s market share in China has fallen from a peak of 7% to less than 1% last year, with only 254,000 units sold.
Beijing Hyundai posted an operating loss of around $598 million (800 billion won) last year as the automaker struggles to gain traction.
Hyundai to build Arcfox EVs to regain China market share
Hyundai hopes manufacturing EVs under a new brand can help spark life into the brand. “The cooperation suggests Hyundai has yet to give up on the Chinese market,” one of the sources said. They added, “Hyundai is trying to rebuild a bridgehead for expansion in the country by establishing an EV production line.”
The automaker has struggled in the region since 2017 over tension between Beijing and Seoul. With only electrified versions of gas-powered cars available (no dedicated EVs), local drivers have opted for better options.
Reports suggested Hyundai was looking to launch its dedicated IONIQ EV lineup in China but decided against it due to competition with BYD and others.
The move to produce Arcfox EVs could help Hyundai get a foot in the door in China. Hyundai will likely design, build, and conduct quality control at its No. 3 plant in Beijing.
The South Korean automaker has already sold one of its five factories in China to Li Auto in 2021.
Electrek’s Take
Although Hyundai has recently gained some traction in China, with sales up 9% through the first eight months of 2023, it will take more to regain meaningful market share.
China’s EV market is becoming more competitive, with new domestically produced models from automakers like BYD, NIO, and Li Auto taking market share from once-dominant legacy automakers.
Volkswagen, Toyota, and other automakers are experiencing similar situations. VW also decided to partner up to regain market share in China. The company invested $700 million for a roughly 5% stake in XPeng.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla has launched a limited version of its Full Self-Driving features in China to mixed reviews as it’s still far from what was promised.
After many delays, Tesla has now pushed an update that brings some of the advanced driver-assist features sold under its Full Self-Driving package in North America to the Chinese market.
The features are being pushed through the ‘2024.45.32.12’ update, and Tesla wrote in the release notes (translated from Chinese):
- Autopilot automatic assisted driving on urban roads (optimizing the existing NOA automatic assisted navigation driving function): Using Autopilot automatic assisted driving on controlled roads (main roads where road users enter and exit through ramp entrances and ramp exits) and urban roads will guide the vehicle to exit ramps and intersections according to the navigation route, and identify traffic lights at intersections to go straight, turn left, turn right, turn around, etc. It will also automatically change lanes according to speed and route. When the navigation route is not set, the optimal road will be selected according to the actual road conditions.
- Cabin Camera: The cockpit camera above your rearview mirror can now determine whether the driver is paying attention and remind you to focus on the road through an alarm when the intelligent assisted driving system is activated. The cabin camera video is processed inside the vehicle. No one (including Tesla) has access to it.
- Map package version updated: CN-2025.8-15218.
*The implementation time and effects of some functions may vary depending on the vehicle model and configuration.
The update has received mixed reviews from Tesla owners in China. Some of them are happy with the progress, while others are disappointed that it falls short of the self-driving capabilities Tesla promised and of the capabilities of the competition, which offers more advanced driver-assist systems for less.
Lu Panpan, a Tesla owner in China’s eastern Zhejiang province who bought a Model 3 in 2019, told Reuters:
“We can tell Tesla has no choice but to deliver a knowingly restricted system. It is hard for Tesla to catch up with the smart-driving capabilities in Chinese cars, which even makes less sense given its high pricing.”
Lu paid 56,000 yuan ($7,720) for Tesla’s FSD package. Tesla promised to deliver self-driving capability that would enable to turn your car into a robotaxi.
Instead, 6 years later, owners are getting the capability that other Chinese automakers offer in their vehicles for a fraction of the cost.
A recent report from Bloomberg claimed that Tesla plans to release another update later this year in China with better capacity, and CEO Elon Musk has claimed that he believes Tesla will release full self-driving capability in most markets within the next year – though he has been staying that every year for the last 6 years.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
At PayPal‘s first investor day in four years, CEO Alex Chriss will deliver a clear message to shareholders: Venmo isn’t just an easy way to split the dinner tab.
Chriss, who took the helm in September 2023, is trying to spur a turnaround at the payments company, and Venmo is a key part of his effort. The company told investors in New York on Tuesday that Venmo can top $2 billion in revenue by 2027. The last time PayPal provided an annual revenue figure for Venmo was 2021, when it was about $900 million.
For Chriss, Venmo expansion is all part of a broader push to restore consistent, profitable growth after years of turbulence that saw the company’s market cap dwindle by more than 80% from mid-2021 through late 2023.
With 90 million U.S. users, Venmo has been a cultural staple for years and has become a verb that’s synonymous with sending money to a friend or family member. But monetization has remained a challenge because those transactions generate little revenue.
Meanwhile, competitors like Block‘s Cash App, Zelle and Apple Pay have been gaining ground, offering simple bank integrations and an expanded range of financial services. On Tuesday, PayPal is outlining its strategy to deepen user engagement and position Venmo as the default app not just for peer-to-peer transactions, but for spending, saving and becoming what the company is calling the “go-to money movement app.”
That includes more focus on its debit card, encouraging in-store purchases, getting more merchants to use “Pay With Venmo” and rolling out features designed to keep funds within the app. Ultimately, greater business use means higher transaction volume and more profit. And for consumers, offering them increased value within the app raises the likelihood they’ll use Venmo to pay at checkout and to keep higher balances in their account.
The company has already been headed down that path. Monetized monthly active users increased 24% in 2024, and the company expects mid-single-digit annual growth in Venmo’s user base through 2027. Over that stretch, Venmo debit card total payment volume is projected to rise at a more than 20% compounded annual growth rate, while “Pay With Venmo” is expected to expand at double that rate.
Chriss has prioritized transaction margin dollars, reversing a decline that saw margins contract in 2022 and 2023 before rebounding in 2024. At investor day, he’s outlining long-term financial targets, including high single-digit growth in transaction margin dollars and per share earnings growth in the low teens by 2027.
To push Venmo beyond the consumer market and into the world of business transactions, PayPal has partnered with companies including DoorDash, Starbucks and Ticketmaster. In its fourth-quarter earnings report earlier this month, PayPal said the number of merchants using Pay with Venmo increased 50% from a year earlier.
The company said Instacart and MoonPay joined as partners in the latest quarter and that JetBlue became the first airline to allow use of Venmo for booking flights.
“While we are still early in monetizing Venmo, we have a proven playbook that is resonating with customers,” Chriss said on the earnings call. “This gives us confidence as we move to 2025 and beyond.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway