CEVT partners up with Kaira Clan in Oulu, Finland

Leif Axelsson from CEVT and Janne Siltari, Kaira Clan Chairman, in Olou, Finland.

OULU, Finland - September 8th, 2021 Since the middle of 2018, CEVT (China Euro Vehicle Technology AB) has been active in the vibrant start-up ecosystem of Oulu. In the beginning of 2020, a test-car was dispatched in Oulu to increase the possibilities to collaborate and recently the test-car has been upgraded and CEVT will now take the next step. Up until today, CEVT has had great support by Business Oulu to scout and organize events in Oulu and now we would like to announce the additional collaboration with a very innovative and agile company, Kaira Clan.

“Through what we call open innovation we want to explore what happens if we create a co-creation culture and combine two vibrant high-tech ecosystems - Israel, and Finland. We also have a test-car in Tel Aviv, Israel. Three different cultures, two world leading innovation hubs with CEVT in the middle as a facilitator, enabler and a way into the mobility market. Win-win!” - Peter Stavered, Head of Innovation at CEVT.  

“Our goal as facilitators for the CEVT Innovation Hub is to offer Finnish startups and innovation research companies a clear path for the productization of their solutions in the mobility industry." -Janne Siltari, Kaira Clan Chairman

Kaira Clan will provide educational content, mentoring, and best practices through lectures, master lessons, workshops, webinars, and other supporting services such as rapid prototyping. The focus for the talents will be to push their ideas from their earliest stages, all the way to market readiness. 

“We are proud to see Kaira Clan get recognition for the way we innovate and build solutions. We feel it is important to encourage the collaboration of SMEs, large enterprises, and local ecosystems. This collaboration with CEVT Innovation Hub will benefit the existing Kaira Clan innovation lab network as well as the local community, businesses, and future startups.” -Tero Blomqvist, Kaira Clan CEO

Local SMEs have already given positive feedback on this opportunity as usually OEMs do not interact directly with startups. ”There are already over 100 companies and more than 20 research organizations in our cluster, and with the new test car, Lynk & Co 01 EU car, we can test our products and service ideas more swiftly and co-create new solutions. -Eija Hämäläinen, Head of Automotive Cluster, Business Oulu

"I’m especially proud to see another significant international company set foot in Oulu and see the possibilities we have to offer. The CEVT Innovation Hub will offer local companies and startups a great opportunity.” -Päivi Laajala, Mayor of Oulu