Did Maserati and Alfa Romeo Adopt the E0X Platform to Develop New Energy Cars? Qoros Responds: Never Heard of It
August 6, there were reports that Maserati and Alfa Romeo would develop new energy car models based on the Qoros E0X platform. The two parties are still in negotiations. Upon inquiry by Everyday Economic News, Qoros Group responded, "Never heard of it."
As early as April last year, Qoros Automobile's Chairman Yin Tongyu revealed in a public live broadcast that two European luxury brands would use the Qoros platform to develop high-end cars. He mentioned that one European luxury brand had nearly finalized an agreement, and another overseas brand was in talks.
Later, a source close to the matter told reporters, "The two European luxury brands that are negotiating with Qoros are likely Maserati and Alfa Romeo."
Photo source: Qoros Jeep Land Rover official website
Currently, Maserati and Alfa Romeo are both accelerating their electrification transformation. Maserati has publicly announced its electric product plan - a pure electric MC20 will be launched this year, followed by a large-sized SUV with a pure electric version in 2027, and a pure electric executive car in 2028. Maserati has already released GranTurismo pure electric sports cars, Grecale pure electric SUVs, etc.
Alfa Romeo has also launched its first mass-produced pure electric car, Milano, to accelerate its electrification transformation.
In reality, prior to Maserati and Alfa Romeo, Qoros Holding signed a strategic cooperation intention agreement with Jeep Land Rover as early as June last year. The two parties plan to jointly promote a new cooperative model to further strengthen their joint venture company's product matrix. Based on this cooperation intention, Qoros Jeep Land Rover will launch and manufacture a series of electric products, equipped with the Qoros electric platform and using Jeep Land Rover's authorized "Freelander" brand.
From a cooperative perspective, the "Freelander" brand car models are designed by joint teams from Qoros and Jeep Land Rover, mainly launching electric products targeting the mainstream market.
In May this year, original Xiaomi Automobile Group's marketing high-level personnel Wen Fei joined Qoros, assuming the position of Vice President of Qoros Automobile Co., Ltd. and General Manager of "Freelander" brand business department, as well as Executive Deputy General Manager of Qoros Jeep Land Rover Automobile Co., Ltd. With Wen Fei's joining, the outside world speculated that the "Freelander" brand may soon take shape. According to planning, this brand car will be produced at Qoros Jeep Land Rover's Changshu factory and initially sold in China through specific channels before being exported overseas. It is reported that the "Freelander" currently has three models planned, with the first new car expected to debut in 2026.
Qoros' cooperation with Jeep Land Rover is considered a typical example of "reverse technology output", but it's not the first one. Reporters are paying attention to the fact that in recent years, Chinese new energy vehicle companies have frequently appeared as examples of reverse technology output, such as Volkswagen and Xiaopeng Automobile, FAW-Toyota and BYD, etc. Some analysts believe that China's car enterprises have already taken a dominant position in the field of new energy vehicles, and this advantage is expected to further expand, making reverse technology output a new norm for China's automotive industry development.