China’s NextEV Targets Low-Cost Option to Tesla’s Fastest EV

NextEV Inc., a year-old startup in China, thinks it can outperform Tesla Motors Inc. with well-built and low-priced electric cars designed to deliver what consumers "would like the car to be," Bloomberg News reports.

The company so far has raised about half the $1 billion in funding it wants to launch operations in 2016. Founder William Li has attracted such investors as Sequoia Capital and Tencent Holdings. He wants to debut a car next year that can match the performance of the 762-hp "Ludicrous" version of the Tesla Model S but at about half the price.

The Ludicrous Model S retails in the U.S. for $119,000. The base Model S costs $70,000 in the U.S. and about $97,000 in China.

Analysts tell Bloomberg the Chinese government's determination to help put 1 million EVs on the road could make NextEV a big success, if the company can match Tesla's product quality.

Founder Li tells Bloomberg he aims to outsource vehicle production to two unnamed carmakers by the end of this year. NextEV's primary market will be China, although the company envisions developing overseas sales eventually.