Mercedes-Benz completes $191 million stake purchase in China's Qianli Technology

Mercedes-Benz on Thursday announced the completion of its acquisition of a 3% stake in Chongqing Qianli Technology, a company that has transitioned from motorcycle manufacturing to developing autonomous driving systems.

The stake is valued at 1.34 billion yuan (approximately US$191 million) and comes three months after the initial announcement of the deal.

The transaction involved Mercedes-Benz Digital Technology, the carmaker’s tech unit, acquiring 135.6 million shares of Qianli from Shanghai-listed Lifan Holdings for 9.87 yuan per share. Before this transaction, Lifan Holdings owned more than 5% of Qianli’s shares. With the completion of this deal, Mercedes-Benz has become Qianli’s fifth-largest stakeholder.

According to the deal terms, the transfer of shares “will not lead to changes in the controlling shareholders and actual controllers of the company.” Mercedes-Benz has pledged to maintain its current shareholding in Qianli for a minimum of 12 months.

This acquisition highlights Mercedes-Benz’s strategy to strengthen its collaborations within China, the world’s largest automotive market.

Beyond this investment, Mercedes-Benz recently became one of the first foreign automakers—alongside Tesla and Volvo—to receive approval to integrate artificial intelligence chatbots into their vehicles in China.

The Cyberspace Administration of China’s Beijing branch has registered the “Mercedes-Benz virtual assistant” as a generative AI service. This occurred around the same time regulators approved Tesla’s xBot and Volvo’s Xiao Wo chatbot, potentially signaling a faster approval process for AI services by Beijing.

Lifan Holdings, the seller in this transaction, was founded in 1992 as a motorcycle manufacturer before expanding into automobile components. The company has previously attracted investors such as a private equity fund backed by the Chinese carmaker Geely and the Chongqing municipal government.