Why James Bond’s favorite car company just made a deal with LeTV

James Bond with an Aston Martin DB5 in Skyfall.

At the Shanghai Auto Show on Monday, British luxury car maker Aston Martin made a surprising announcement: it has partnered with Chinese video and smart hardware company LeTV. Details on the planned collaboration are scarce but it should see LeTV helping Aston Martin out with in-vehicle entertainment technology.

So what does Aston Martin, the company behind many of the iconic James Bond cars, hope to get from Chinese upstart smart tech company LeTV?

Brand recognition. As shocking as it sounds given China’s love of luxury cars and Bond movies, it’s true: Aston Martin just isn’t that strong a brand in China. The company has sold less than 300 cars a year in China over the past several years; in 2012 it sold just 102. LeTV doesn’t have the luxury cachet that Aston Martin does, but it’s a household name in China and is increasingly gaining a reputation as an innovator thanks to ambitious projects like its smart car. It may be able to help Aston Martin appeal more to China’s younger generation of wealthy tech entrepreneurs and investors.

Brand repair. The other side of the branding coin is that those Chinese who are aware of Aston Martin may have a negative perception of it. The company was slammed pretty hard in the domestic press last year after blaming a failure that led to a massive recall on a Chinese supplier. A partnership now with a Chinese internet company could be an attempt to send the message that Aston Martin is friendly to China and sees it as an important collaborator, not just a manufacturing location to be blamed when things go wrong.

Content library. There are dozens of companies Aston Martin could have partnered with if it just wanted to get smart entertainment tech into its vehicles for China. The fact that it chose LeTV, which has a massive library of licensed video content, suggests that it doesn’t just want Chinese smart tech in its cars, it wants Chinese entertainment. Chinese consumers may be more willing to pull the trigger on an expensive Aston Martin if they know they can enjoy all their favorite music, movies, and shows while on the go.

Electric synergy. Aston Martin doesn’t currently make an electric car, but like every car maker it must understand the industry is headed in that direction, and it is already toying with the concept. LeTV is working on its own electric smart car, reportedly with a star-studded Silicon Valley team on the job. Although the Aston Martin-LeTV partnership just announced has nothing to do with electric cars, that seems like a very likely avenue for future collaborations, especially given that China is likely to be one of the biggest growth markets for electric vehicles.

The most interesting question about this partnership, though, has yet to be answered: will it just be LeTV helping with Aston Martin’s cars, or will Aston Martin help with the design of LeTV’s upcoming car? The latter seems unlikely given that LeTV CEO Jia Yueting’s plan is to make a car for “everyone” rather than the super-rich demographic targeted by Aston Martin. But even the possibility is exciting: a smart electric car with smog filtration and design help from Aston Martin? That could help put LeTV above its numerous domestic competitors in the smart electric car field.