Ideanomics signs MoU with Beijing Foton Motor Company; Definitive Agreement to Follow

Ideanomics (NASDAQ: IDEX) (“Ideanomics” or the “Company”), a global Fintech and AI catalyst for transformative industries, today announced the signing of a MoU with Beijing Foton Motor Company(“Foton”), which will serve as a pre-cursor to a definitive agreement, to allow the two parties to begin working immediately.

The agreement for China-based activities is a 2-year deal, at 5 Billion RMB (approximately $750 Million) per year, making the overall deal valued at 10 Billion RMB (approximately US $1.5 Billion). Ideanomics will provide ABS lease financing of 10 Billion RMB over two years, and fulfill with for Foton on orders of 60,000 EV buses, broken down as follows: 1) not less than 20,000 vehicles from state-owned large-scale tourism groups and referred to as “Tourist bus orders”; 2) no less than 20,000 bus orders from local governments or local bus transportation systems; 3) no less than 20,000 Tourist bus orders from major domestic tourism associations and/or their members. Furthermore, for bus orders introduced by Ideanomics, a commission will be paid for each bus unit sold, at an amount to be determined according to each respective order.

For Malaysia-based activities, including cooperation for the extended ASEAN region, the supply of bus parts and systems, including EV batteries, and a cooperation on the implementation of a charging network, for which Ideanomics shall source no less than 6,000 vehicles from the Malaysian central government and its departmental agencies including EV buses and Police passenger vehicles (cars and motorcycles). For orders within Malaysia and the ASEAN region, Ideanomics shall be entitled to commission per unit sold, at an amount to be determined according to each respective order.

For Vietnam-based activities, Ideanomics shall source no less than 20,000 vehicles, both EV Bus and passenger car for e-taxi conversion, with Foton making available its 30,000-part bus system and technology for assembly in Vietnam. The agreement allows for negotiations with the Vietnam state electrical grid, to introduce a national charging network.

The agreement also allows for projects in other geographical areas, including Europe and the Americas, on a project-by-project basis.

“We are very grateful for the efforts of Dr. Wu, Avis Zhu and the entire China-based Ideanomics team, with support from our colleagues at Treeletrik in Malaysia, for successfully delivering on this deal. Foton is arguably the premier EV bus manufacturer globally, and this agreement positions us to further consolidate our position as a global EV advisory services company, as well as enable us to expand our footprint beyond China with the leading EV bus product available today. The fact Foton promoted signing a MoU, to allow the parties to begin activities immediately while the broader definitive agreement is signed, is testament to our growing reputation as the advisory partner of choice for large-scale EV initiatives in Asia,” said Alf Poor, CEO of Ideanomics.

Beijing Foton’s commercial division is focused on building a future of efficient and environmentally friendly EV Buses and other commercial vehicles, as a vehicle manufacturer. Ideanomics is leading the way for the future of ABS financing, technology enablement with the application of blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies as part of the next-generation of financial services,” said Mr. Liang Shaowen, of Beijing Auto Foton Commercial Vehicle. “Together, Foton and Ideanomics will seize upon the opportunity of large-scale EV and Hydrogen replacement of public and private transportation infrastructure in major markets and the same time raise the standard for technologically advanced vehicles which offer dependability, reliability and improved customer satisfaction. This, coupled with compelling, economically viable, financing programs for the cities and bus operators that manage these fleets will serve a much-needed gap in the market.”

SOURCE Ideanomics