The Chinese EV start-up AIWAYS became the majority shareholder in the joint venture auto brand Jiangling (JMC) which had Changan as its former majority shareholder. The acquisition is not an attempt to acquire JMC’s production capacity but more its production certificates. AIWAYS will launch its first EV, the much-anticipated U5 in Q4 2019. Assembly of the U5 starts from September at the company’s newly built state of the art assembly line in Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province. When fully completed the AIWAYS plant will have a capacity of 300,000 units per annum for an investment of 13.3 billion yuan. AIWAYS acquired 50% of JMC for 1.747 billion yuan which is split between 747 million for capital reserve and the remainder as its registered capital, leaving Changan and Jiangling Motors Group each with 25%. Changan called for an increase in the capital of JMC as Chinese automakers try and cope with the shift away from combustion vehicles to smart electric cars.