By Julie Zhu
HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s Didi Global is in advanced talks to sell its smart-driving and cockpit assets to the unit of state-backed digital mapping company NavInfo, as the ride-hailer focuses on its core business after a bruising regulatory crackdown, two sources said.
Didi plans to sell the assets to AutoAi, a provider of intelligent cockpit-related software and hardware, in exchange for a stake in AutoAi, the two sources and another person with knowledge of the matter said.
China’s biggest ride-hailer expects to pull back significantly from the ultra-competitive electric vehicle market with the deal, which will value the assets at close to 500 million yuan ($70 million), two of the people said.
Electric vehicle (EV) makers are competing fiercely in a consolidating Chinese market, seeking new technologies such as smart cockpits and autonomous driving to appeal to consumers.
Didi sold its electric car development business to Chinese electric car maker Xpeng a year ago in a deal worth $744 million in exchange for a stake of about 3.25% in the automaker. That accounted for the bulk of its EV-related assets, the three sources said.
The deal with AutoAi could be announced in the coming days, they said, declining to be identified because the information was private.
Didi, NavInfo and AutoAi did not respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Julie Zhu; Additional reporting by Zhang Yan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)