JINHUA, CHINA, Dec. 30, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. (the “Company,” “we” or “Kandi”) (NASDAQ GS: KNDI), today announced that on December 25, 2019, the Company entered into a Strategic Cooperation Agreement (“Agreement”) with Jiangsu Jinpeng Group Ltd. (“Jinpeng”), whereby Kandi and Jinpeng have agreed to jointly develop the Chinese pure electric vehicles (“EV”) market. Mr. Hu Xiaoming, Chairman of Kandi, and Mr. Lu Shouguang, Chairman of Jin Peng, attended the signing ceremony.

Pursuant to the Agreement, the two parties will begin strategic cooperation in the following three areas:             

1. Kandi Electric Vehicle (Hainan) Co., Ltd., Kandi’s wholly-owned subsidiary, will exchange a certain percentage of its equity interests with Jiangsu Jimai New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Jinpeng. The specific terms of such equity exchange will be set forth in the Equity Exchange Agreement the parties are to sign separately.

2. The two parties will jointly establish a Compliant Ride-sharing Vehicle Operating Company (the “Operating Company”) with  Zhejiang Ruibo New Energy Vehicle Service Company Ltd. (“Zhejiang Ruibo”), one of the largest ride-sharing vehicle operators that use a battery exchange model in China. With the goal of becoming the leading Chinese ride-sharing operator in China’s third and fourth tier cities, the Operating Company aims to promote 300,000 government-accredited vehicles within five years. The cooperation will be carried out in accordance with the specific terms in a separate cooperation agreement regarding Operating Company.

3. Both parties will use their respective advantages to jointly create several pure EV models that meet China’s ride-sharing market demands, as well as consumers’ needs from the United States and other overseas markets. In 2020, both parties plan to deliver Kandi’s model K23 to satisfy China’s ride-sharing market as well as the U.S. demand for Kandi models K23 and K27  in batches. The details of each party’s responsibilities will be specified in a separate agreement.

Jinpeng is a large global company that is engaging in the manufacturing, research and development, sales and service of the new-energy vehicles. Headquartered in Xuzhou City of Jiangsu Province, Jinpeng has 11 manufacturing facilities in 6 provinces and cities, including Jiangsu, Henan, Hebei, Sichuan, Hubei, and Tianjin, covering a total area of ​​nearly 4,000 acres. The company has approximately 7,000 employees. It sells over 1 million electric vehicles each year, including three-wheel electric vehicles. Jinpeng has established a massive network of over 10,000 sales outlets spanning across the country, serving more than 8 million users, more than 2,000 of which are county-level distributors with strong network resources. Additionally, the company's products are exported to more than 40 countries and regions such as Southeast Asia and Africa. The company owns a series of production licenses of manufacturing qualification for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, tricycles, and motorcycles.

Hu Xiaoming, Chairman of Kandi, commented, "We are very pleased to establish this strategic partnership with Jinpeng in addition to having established Kandi Electric Vehicle Group Co., Ltd. (now called Fengsheng Automobile Technology Group Co., Ltd. or the Affiliated Company) with Geely. As a pioneer of the battery exchange model in China’s pure electric vehicle industry, Kandi has been in a leading position in the pure electric vehicle time-sharing leasing market.  During 2018 and the first half of 2019, the Affiliated Company has been focused on laying the groundwork for this expansion.  It has strategically focused on pure electric vehicle production and has made impressive progress in new vehicle models development since Geely became its controlling shareholder. I am confident that the Affiliated Company will have a breakthrough in 2020.”

“In order to maximize Kandi’s strength, facilitate the cooperation with Jinpeng and take full advantage of its network resources in the third and fourth tier cities, Kandi and Jinpeng will work closely to execute the project of providing 300,000 government-accredited online ride-sharing vehicles within five years. This collaboration will provide significant opportunities for the growth of the online ride-sharing business in China’s third and fourth tier cities. After a series of restructurings in 2019, I am deeply confident of Kandi’s bright future and our strong integrated capabilities and comprehensive business model to accelerate the multi-level growth of the EV industry in 2020.” Mr. Hu concluded.

About Kandi Technologies Group, Inc.

Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. (KNDI), headquartered in Jinhua Economic Development Zone, Zhejiang Province, is engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, and sales of various vehicular products. Kandi conducts its primary business operations through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Zhejiang Kandi Vehicles Co., Ltd. ("Kandi Vehicles") and its subsidiaries, SC Autosports, LLC, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Kandi in the United States and Fengsheng Automobile Technology Group Co., Ltd (formerly known as Kandi Electric Vehicles Group Co., Ltd., the “Affiliated Company”). Kandi Vehicles has established itself as one of China's leading manufacturers of pure electric vehicle parts and off-road vehicles.

In 2013, Kandi Vehicles and Geely Group, China's leading automaker, jointly invested in the establishment of the Affiliated Company in order to develop, manufacture and sell pure electric vehicle ("EV") products. Geely Group (including its affiliate) and Kandi Vehicles currently hold 78% and 22% of the equity interest in the Affiliated Company, respectively.  The Affiliated Company has established itself as one of the driving forces in the development and the manufacturing of pure EV products in China.

More information about KNDI is available on the Company's corporate website at http://www.kandivehicle.com. The Company routinely posts important information on its website.

Safe Harbor Statement 

This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking statements." All statements other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including the risk factors discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk factors. Other than as required under the applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

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Company Contact:

Ms. Kewa Luo
Kandi Technologies Group, Inc.
Phone: 1-212-551-3610
Email: IR@kandigroup.com 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at Kandi Technologies Group, Inc.

The photo is also available via AP PhotoExpress.