Quoting Renault's Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares, The Wall Street Journal reports the French Auto maker has already received approval from China's environment ministry to set up the joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co.
Already, a factory is planned at Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province, which will turn out a range of vehicles. The actual number of electric cars it will produce is still unknown.
But in conversation with the Journal's Santanu Choudhury, Tavares said Chinese authorities specifically requested the firm bring EV technology to the country.
Tavares said a decision on which electric models it would introduce in China has yet to be made, but he noted Renault is the only auto maker in the world with four different choices for consumers on sale.
These include its new Zoe, plus the Twizy, Kangoo and Fluence.
The move is indicative of China's strong desire to reign in pollution, as well as its evolving relationships on the internal trade front.
While disputes over Chinese solar panels grab the headlines, the country and businesses that work there has actually been strengthening its ties to Europe.
For example, CEVA Logistics, a global trade services provider, recently began offering rail service between manufacturers in Suzhou, China and consumers and firms in Poland, Germany and the Netherlands.
At present, the commodity mix headed to Europe is divided between electronics and parts for technology firms, while automotive components represent the bulk of what's currently heading back to China.
(In trade, economics dictate that whatever transportation mode one is using -- rail, ship or air -- that the trips be "balanced," meaning there are goods moving in both directions.)
Currently, Renault is one of the few major automotive manufacturers that is not a presence in China, but its electric vehicles -- and particularly, the Zoe -- could dramatically raise its profile.
In Europe, Renault controls about 51 percent of the electric vehicle market, and it is marketing the low-price but still chic Zoe as an electric vehicle for the masses.
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