EuroGroup Laminations (EGLA.MI), an Italian manufacturer of components for electric motors, has signed a memorandum of understanding for a strategic alliance in China in the electric vehicle sector, it said on Thursday.
The agreement was sealed with Hixih Rubber Industry Group, a leading company in the Chinese automotive components market.
The aim of the deal, as outlined by the company in a note, is "to develop an industrial partnership based on a Joint-Venture under the control of EGLA, to further stimulate growth in the Chinese market, in order to increase the commercial penetration in the market, in particular with Chinese manufacturers of electric cars".
A new R&D centre for innovative technologies will be built in the Hixih Group's industrial base of Shandong, a coastal province in East China, along with a new high-tech industrial plant dedicated to the production of motor cores for manufacturers of New Energy Vehicles.
The agreement follows a visit to China this week by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in which she spoke of the need to boost cooperation with the world's second largest economy and get trade on a more balanced footing.
To date, EuroGroup Laminations has two production facilities in China, one dedicated to the EV & Automotive business unit, the other to the industrial business unit.
