Geely is now China’s first carmaker to announce plans to build its own satellites. The company said on Tuesday that it’s investing RMB 2.27 billion (USD 325 million) to develop low-Earth orbit satellites that will provide high-speed internet and navigation for its self-driving cars.
The facilities for building its satellites will be in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, the company said. It aims to launch two satellites by the end of this year.
But Geely might not be able to get a constellation of satellites up in the short term, as priority might be given to China’s state-supported satellite launches, according to the Financial Times. China is planning to accelerate the development of its three major low-Earth orbit satellite programs: Hongyan, Hongyun, and Xingyun.
This article first appeared in Abacus News.