Robo.ai shares up 12.75% premarket after acquiring 51% stake in 加诚汽车 to accelerate AI hardware commercialization.

Robo.ai Inc. (NASDAQ: AIIO) surged 12.75% in premarket trading following its announcement to acquire a 51% stake in UAE-based Alhambra Auto, a trade company with a 20+ country distribution network across emerging markets. The acquisition positions Robo.ai to leverage Alhambra’s existing logistics and sales infrastructure in the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa, accelerating its "AI + smart hardware" globalization strategy by bypassing high costs of building new channels. The move aligns with CEO Benjamin Zhai’s emphasis on combining AI technology with physical assets and strategic logistics hubs, enabling rapid deployment of products like its RoBUS commercial vehicles, Robotaxi, and eVTOLs. The transaction’s immediate impact on market access and cost efficiency, alongside the CEO’s characterization of the deal as a pivotal step in executing the company’s "AI + asset" commercialization model, likely drove the sharp premarket rally.