Chinese battery electric vehicle (BEV) startup BeyonCa announced it had signed an agreement with a Shanghai-based subsidiary of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) as it moves ahead with plans to build a BEV assembly plant in Hong Kong.

Beyonca was established in 2021 with the backing of Renault Group and Chinese state-owned vehicle manufacturer Dongfeng Motor Corporation to produce up market BEVs which would compete with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Tesla.

BeyonCa also said it recently signed agreements with financial institutions such as Fengde Capital, East West Bank and GF Securities, as well as Shandong-based tech company AiTech Flsay Information Technology to help get the project under way which it describes as the first “made in Hong Kong” car brand.

In 2022 the company unveiled its first prototype, the GT Opus 1, and a year later it signed a preliminary investment deal with Saudi Arabia’s AI Faisaliah Group to jointly explore opportunities to sell its vehicles in the Middle East.

BeyonCa’s founder and chairman, Soh Weiming, also CEO of Renault’s China operations, told local reporter the company is making progress in “creating an EV value chain in Hong Kong”, including design, innovation, production and marketing operations.

Soh, who previously worked at VW China for 16 years, emphasised “BeyonCa’s aspiration is not just to set up a factory in Hong Kong. We are looking beyond that - the idea is to nurture a world class new energy vehicle premium brand."

Last month BeyonCa announced it planned to build a vehicle assembly plant in the government-owned Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP) in Tseung Kwan O, and also to establish its global headquarters in Hong Kong, with a view to tapping into the strong automotive supply chain and rich international talent pool of the Greater Bay Area.