(Yicai) Aug. 28 -- Lizhong Sitong Light Alloys Group has become the exclusive supplier of wheels for a leading Chinese electric carmaker’s new model in a deal that could be worth CNY1.8 billion (USD240 million).

Lizhong unit Baoding Lizhong Wheel will supply the unidentified buyer with aluminum alloy wheels for pure electric cars, its parent company said today. The products, expected to start mass production in the second half of next year, will have a life cycle of three years, it added.

The products match the client's latest vehicle development platform, so they may also be applied to other car models in the future, the Baoding-based firm noted.

The order shows the client’s recognition of Lizhong's aluminum allow wheels and will lay the foundation for the promotion and use of its heat treatment-free and high-performance aluminum alloy wheels in the new energy vehicle market, it said.

Of the 14.7 million aluminum alloy wheels Lizhong sold last year, only 1.2 million went to NEVs. Sales to NEV makers brought CNY562 million (USD77.1 million), accounting for only 2.6 percent of the company's total in 2022.

Lizhong's shares [SHE: 300428] closed 1.7 percent up at CNY21.47 (USD2.94) apiece today amid a overall 1.1 percent gain in the Shanghai market.

Editor: Futura Costaglione