China's global e-commerce company Alibaba Group has established a new division, the Ali automotive division, which will be tasked to integrate its automotive-related services with Wang Licheng as the first general manager of the new division.
The announcement was made on April 8, Wednesday, a year after the company said that it was planning an organizational restructuring of the group, reported wantchinatimes.
Wang told the Beijing-based Economic Observer that the new division has currently five teams which are responsible for used cars, O2O (online to offline) service, car products, application development as well as marketing.
The manager of the new division said that his group is also expecting the automobile industry to bring new developments to the Internet, and they anticipate other auto manufacturers such as SAIC Motors, BMW and General Motors to change their response toward O2O car services.
According to the report, Alibaba's new division will cover not only auto finance business, but also handle large data marketing, a platform for car owners, a marketing platform called Alimama, an O2O car service, a navigation system and other services.
The report said that in the previous months, the company hinted on the reshuffle of employees which resulted in the appointment of Zhang Jianfeng as head of Alibaba's two car sale websites.
With the new division, the company has established an integrated system that covers car manufacturing, car sales, and other car services.
The report added that the new division will continue to expand its services as it is expected to enter into partnerships with local and international car brands in April and will begin selling imported automobiles in May.
Wang said that the new app will be released in late June.