Renault has established a joint venture with state-owned Chinese automaker Jiangling Motors Group by agreeing to acquire a 50 percent stake in Jiangling Motors' electric vehicle subsidiary for 1 billion yuan ($145 million)."Through this joint venture, Groupe Renault will be able to expand its influence in China's electric vehicle market," the French automaker said Wednesday. Jingling Motors Group set up its EV subsidiary, Jiangling Motors Electric Vehicle Co., in the east China city of Nanchang in 2015. It sold 38,000 full-electric vehicles in 2017, ranking fifth among domestic EV makers, JMEV said on its website, without disclosing its 2018 sales. JMEV has become Renault's third vehicle production joint venture in China. Renault runs a car partnership with Dongfeng Motor Group in the central China city of Wuhan and a light commercial vehicle joint venture with Brilliance Jinbei Automobile Co. in the northeast China city of Shenyang. Jiangling Motors Group has a truck joint venture with Ford Motor Co. in Nanchang.