(Yicai Global) Sept. 10 -- An insider at China Beijing Hyundai Motor, the South Korean car giant’s Chinese joint venture, has denied a media report that the firm is in talks with Xiaomi EV to sell one of its plants in Beijing to the electric vehicle arm of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi.

News that Beijing Hyundai is in talks with parties for the sale of a plant is groundless, Ifnews reported, citing the insider. The company has no such plans, it added.

The denial followed a report by South Korea’s Pulse News on Sept. 8 that Hyundai Motor had put its second Beijing factory up for sale in an effort to realign its China strategy by shifting focus to electric vehicles and a luxury lineup after years of sluggish sales. Xiaomi EV is one of the potential buyers, it added.

Beijing Hyundai has five passenger car factories, three of which are in Beijing, with a total output capacity of 1.7 million units. The second Beijing plant mainly produces the Sonata, Elantra and Tucson sports-utility models.

The JV was also the focus of media attention in May, when reports said Li Auto would take over its first Beijing plant, and that it was ready to invest CNY6 billion (USD931 million) on transforming the factory. The Chinese EV maker declined to comment, Yicai Global reported on May 28.

Beijing Hyundai’s sales in China have slipped continually, slumping to 194,000 cars in the first half of this year, down over 10 percent from a year earlier. In 2014, the JV sold 1.1 million cars.

Xiaomi EV, which was set up on Sept. 1, has a registered capital of CNY10 billion (USD1.6 billion). The unit has already assembled a team of nearly 300.

Editor: Futura Costaglione